Don’t blame a lack of rain: A tropical forest of dry, bare-branched trees might be that way because of soil chock full of phosphorus.
In Panama’s dry season, leafy woodlands stand starkly next to forests of naked trees. Scientists had thought that rainfall caused the contrasting growth patterns because different soils there have different abilities to hold water.
Log in
Subscribers, enter your e-mail address for full access to the Science News archives and digital editions.