Trees growing atop granite in the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains rely on nutrients from windborne dust more than on nutrients from the underlying bedrock. This surprising finding resulted from a study led by University of Wyoming (UW) scientists and was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Scientists sampled live pine needles to measure nutrients from dust and from bedrock. Trees anchored in bedrock break up the rock and create soil, but most nutrients come from dust. The results suggest that dust-derived nutrients can be vital to mountain ecosystems, even when nutrient supply from bedrock is substantial.
"Researchers can see the global influence of what were thought to be regional processes," said Yuretich." This study shows that dust transported around the world in the atmosphere is an important source of nutrients for plants, even where its contribution isn't obvious. Earth maintains its balance, often in surprising ways." Find out more...
"Today is a most unusual day, because we have never lived it before; we will never live it again; it is the only day we have."
American writer
"The man who has no inner life is the slave of his surroundings."
Swiss moral philosopher, poet, and critic
