In certain trees, soils can form along branches and can support varied plant and animal life.
In certain trees, soils can form along branches and can support varied plant and animal life. However, what conditions these ‘canopy soils’ form in, and what kind of biodiversity they support, has been difficult to study.
Now, researchers from Utah State University and Imperial College London have surveyed dozens of trees in Costa Rica, mapping the canopy soils to determine where they form and how they might be affected by a changing climate. The results are published in Geoderma.
First author Jessica Murray, from Utah State University, said: “We found canopy soils most often form in cool, foggy areas in these tropical forests where there are large, old trees. Unfortunately, this describes some of the most at-risk forest types, which are threatened by changing climate and deforestation.”
Read more at: Imperial College London
Researcher Jessica Murray in a tree in Costa Rica, sampling canopy soil (Photo Credit: Marco Molina)
