Scientists have revealed the critical role that the chemical composition of bedrock plays in limiting vegetation growth in some of the world’s most barren and rocky terrains.
Scientists have revealed the critical role that the chemical composition of bedrock plays in limiting vegetation growth in some of the world’s most barren and rocky terrains.
A team of international scientists, including Professor Tim Quine from the University of Exeter, has conducted pioneering new research into vegetation productivity in a karst region of Southwest China.
Covering around 15 per cent of the Earth’s land surface, karst terrains are usually characterised as being barren, rocky ground - usually with caves and sinkholes – and an absence of surface lakes and streams.
Crucially, the areas have well-jointed, dense limestone found near the surface, and a moderate to heavy rainfall – with the water being able to percolate away through the rock, dissolving and removing the limestone as it goes.
While this topography is known to hinder vegetation productivity, the role that geochemistry of the bedrock – that is its chemical composition – plays in reducing plant growth has not been extensively studied.
Read more at University Of Exeter
Image Credit: University of Exeter
