Mysterious "Fairy Circles" Continue to Enchant Scientists
Researchers revisit an old theory about the ethereal patterns of vegetation that form in some arid landscapes.
By Sarah Witman 5 April 2017
In just a couple places on Earth, namely, the scrubby deserts of Australia and Namibia, mysterious natural formations known as “fairy circles” dot the dry landscape. Some unknown force or phenomenon causes these bare patches to appear amid the sparse vegetation, arranged in a honeycomb-like configuration.
These fairy circles are named for their similarities to mushrooms’ “fairy rings.” Although the name brings to mind mystical sprites, scientists have produced several possible, secular explanations for them. But the truth of how they form remains murky and is a subject of intense debate. Are they caused by small amounts of natural gas seeping into the soil, as proposed by South African scientists in 2011? Or are they perhaps a result of harvester termites’ foraging and nesting habits, as a University of Hamburg researcher posited in 2013? Or as hypothesized by an international team in 2015, is it a quirk of desert environments that vegetation organizes in ring patterns?
https://eos.org/research-spotlights/mysterious-fairy-circles-continue-to-enchant-scientists
