A study led by Alicante university has discovered new examples around the world of fairy circles – enigmatic patterns of bare soil surrounded by plants in arid areas, which until now only had only been described in Namibia and Australia.
There have been multiple hypotheses proposed to explain their formation, but the global dimension had not been analysed.
“Investigating their effects on the functioning of ecosystems and environmental factors that determine their distribution is essential to better understand the causes of their formation and ecological importance,” says Emilio Guirado, principal investigator of study, from the UA laboratory of arid zone ecology and global change.
Full report in Friday’s Costa Blanca News
