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Article: Dry season produces biggest growth spurt.(tropical rain forests)
- Article from:
- USA TODAY
- Article date:
- June 1, 2006
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 Society for the Advancement of Education. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The Amazon rain forest puts on its biggest growth spurt during the dry season, show satellite images provided by NASA. "Most of the vegetation around the world follows a general pattern in which plants get green and lush during the rainy season and, then, during the dry season, leaves fall because there is not enough water in the soil to support plant growth," points out researcher Alfredo R. Huete.
"What we found for a large section of the Amazon is the opposite. As soon as the rains stop and you start to enter a dry period, the Amazon becomes alive. New leaves spring out; there's a flush of green growth and the greening continues as the dry season progresses."