No. 49, May/June 2001
Linkages between Climate Change and Desertification: Smith & Huxman

Fig. 2: Elevated pivoting walkway, FACE facility

This elevated walkway and hanging platform was especially designed to allow researchers to access the study plots without disturbing the ground's biological soil crust. Such crusts are important in deserts because they can directly fix nitrogen from the atmosphere, thus acting as an important nutrient source to other plants.