BLACKSBURG, Va., Feb. 26 -- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University issued the following news release:
In the forests of the southeastern United States, dense tree cover dominates most landscapes.That'swhy the Appalachian Trail is sometimes nicknamed "The Green Tunnel."
But avid hikers know thatoftenin the Southeast,they'llemergefrom the green tunnel.
"When you walk out of the forest onto the rock, the contrast is immediate," said Sean Bemis, a geoscientistandleadauthorof a studythat usestheseunique outcroppingsas a natural laboratoryto examinefundamentalconnections betweenrock weathering and vegetation. "You are standing onsolidrock and you wonderwheredid all the trees go?"
Because of the lack of vegetation, these outcroppi...