The prevalence of anoxic environments rich in organic material,
combined with the presence of nitrated compounds has
led to an astonishing variety of underground organisms which live in
the absence of oxygen and "breathe" nitrate. Likewise, the scarcity
of carbon in the environment has forced plants to economize on its use.
Thus, all our efforts to return carbon to the biosphere will encourage
the native life to proliferate. Conversely, the huge quantities
of nitrate in the soil will be heaven to human farmers.
Although Planet's native life is based, like Earth' on right-handed
DNA, and codes for all the same amino acids, the inevitable chemical
and structural differences from a billion years of evolution in an
alien environment render the native plant life highly poisonous
to humans....