Arctic foxes grow their own gardens

Alice Major

Islands on tundra brighten
summer after summer
in the brief green season.

Oases spread
around dens dug
by fox engineers,
little hunters
who nourish thin soil
with leftovers — remnants
of dinner, scat and urine.

The mutual mulch of leavings
tilled by continual
freeze and release.
Sown with drifting seed – grass
and sedge, willow,
pasque flower, yellow toss of poppy.

Plants that pull in
insects, pollinators, then
small voles and lemmings
willing to live near
the fox’s sharp pounce.

Symbionts drawn together,
gardening
their world.

The Science

A 2016 study calls Arctic foxes ecosystem engineers. The dens of these small canids can be seen from kilometres away as bright green patches on the brown tundra, and researchers found that the effects of a fox den increase nutrients in the soil drastically. The dens themselves can be centuries old—it’s hard work to dig in the poor soil and permafrost, and specific sites are chosen on ridges and other spots where permafrost is further below the surface and coarse sediment makes excavation easier. Den areas have much more vegetation that holds more insulating snow, making them attractive winter habitat to lemmings, the foxes’ main prey, and potentially influencing lemming populations positively.

The Poet

Poet and essayist Alice Major has been inspired by science and maths since she was given a book on relativity at the age of ten. Since then, she has published 12 collections of poetry and a collection of essays, Intersecting Sets: A Poet Looks at Science. Her most recent collections are Welcome to the Anthropocene (University of Alberta Press, 2018) and the just-published Knife on Snow. Her numerous awards include the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Distinguished Artist Award, and an honorary doctorate from the University of Alberta. She served as first Poet Laureate of her home city of Edmonton, Alberta.

Next poem: Gut Reaction by Heather Martin