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Soil nutrients shape tropical forests, large-scale study indicates

01-11-2007 · EurekAlert!

Tropical forests are among the most diverse plant communities on earth, and scientists have labored for decades to identify the ecological and evolutionary processes that created and maintain them. A key question is whether all tree species are equivalent in their use of resources -- water, light and nutrients -- or whether each species has its own niche.A large-scale study by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and eight other institutions sheds some light on the issue.

Keywords: soil, nutrients, shape, tropical, forests, large-scale, study, indicates, nutrient, forest, large, scale, indicate

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