Researchers from the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis try to unravel one of nature's baffling mystery - the fairy circles of Namibia. Both science and mystics are puzzled with patches of soils surrounded by symmetrical rings of grass in the Namib Desert for so long. These millions of "fairy circles" stretched from Angola to South Africa but no one really knows how they were formed.
Researcher Lixing Wang's work in the Indiana University journal explained that it is not just busting the mystery of the Namibian fairy circles that they are aiming. While giving a scientific explanation to grass circles that has long been associated fairies is cool, there is a higher stake that might change the way that people view vegetation theories. Wang stressed that it is important to learn from Earth's water cycle and its impact on vegetation patterns, especially in Namibia where the ecosystem has limited water.
Wang, an ecohydrologist at IUPUI said that the Namibian fairy circles are products of an ecohydrological interaction among grass called "self-organization." The self-organization hypothesis is a process where grass clusters together to form a circle. Soil patches act like water reservoir and grass organize in circles around the soil edges so that they can access the water.
So what makes certain patches of soil percolates more water in the first place? Researchers believe that sand termites are in the center of each Namibian fairy circles, according to Phys.Org. These termites literally weed out grass surrounding their nests, making the sand more porous in the process. When scare rainwater comes in, it seeps through the soil more effectively.
To support the theory, Wang and his associates brought in the equipment that measures grass biometric, infiltration rate, soil moisture, among others. The discovered high water infiltration rate inside the Namibian fairy circles. They also found out that the grass surrounding the fairy circles are "healthier" compared to those outside. Lastly, Wang stressed that grass is actually cramping around the Namibian fairy circles because they have to compete for water.
