News Earth

Trees have a tipping point

Amount of forest cover can shift suddenly and unexpectedly

By Alexandra Witze

- More than 2 years ago

Like Coke versus Pepsi, tropical land ecosystems come in two choices: forest or grassland. New research shows these two options can switch abruptly, and there’s rarely any in-between.

Fires like this one in South Africa burn rapidly and regularly through savanna ecosystems, a process that allows grasslands to remain open and helps prevent trees from establishing themselves.