While there are hundreds of native dung beetles in Australia active year-round, they prefer nativeanimal dung. Therefore, dung beetles that specialise in burying cattle, horse and sheep manure have been imported and released in Australia by CSIRO since the mid-1960s.Introduced dung beetles play a remarkable role in Australian agriculture. By burying and consuming dung, they recycle nutrients and improve soil structure. Some of the environmental and economic benefits dung beetles provide to graziers include:Helping soil retain moisture and nutrients,Providing a readily available source of biological soil carbon for plant growth,Increasing nitrogen availability while minimising losses to the atmosphere and surrounding environment through run-off,Recycling phosphorous contained in animal dung directly into the soil.Reducing the requirement of N and P for pasture plants thereby reducing inputs and associated costs.
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