Helicopter View of Fairy Circles in Australia (IMAGE)
Caption
The active formation of nearly circular grassland gaps (fairy circles), as seen from a helicopter. At this transition from Eucalypt and Acacia trees to a Triodia grassland, the hummock grasses arrange themselves to form round bare-soil gaps. This "ecoystem-engineering" results in the most green and vital grasses growing next to the fairy circle while grey and less vital grasses further away cannot benefit from this extra source of water in the same way.
Credit
S Getzin, University of Göttingen
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