Most scientists have to content themselves with a lifetime of boring study, the occasional breakthrough, maybe once in every twenty years a major discovery of some kind.
In China, meanwhile, the science game is, well, a little different:
In the heart of China's karst landscapes, the recent discovery of massive sinkholes that contain ancient forests play a vital role in biodiversity conservation, and seem to be teeming with life. ...
Peering down into these giant holes in the Earth, one is greeted not with a desolate rocky cave, but a hidden lush green forest.
Scientists in China be like:
Admittedly, the idea of a "hidden lush green forest" in a sinkhole — a "tiankeng" — sounds more bizarre and exotic than it really is, though the reality of it is cetainly beautiful and astonishing:
Scientifically, meanwhile, these little habitats are gold mines for scientists:
The unique microclimates and isolated environments within tiankengs foster the development of diverse ecosystems relatively untouched by human activity. The forests within tiankengs are more than just collections of trees; they are dynamic environments that support complex food webs and ecological interactions.
Here's some great footage of one of these sinkholes and the strange flora and fauna that can be found within them:
Of note, it is not easy to access these places (which is one reason they're so pristine and untouched):
It would be hard to overstate just how unique these climates are: They "not only house some of the last remaining members of certain plant and animal species but also genetic variations that have ceased to exist on the surface."
As one scientist drily noted:
It's interesting that we've gone from living in caves to now studying and exploring them.
Just so long as one of those things doesn't open up under my house!
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