Winds of Adversity

Hi friends! Today is about how adversity can make us stronger. For all you Biosphere 2 fans out there (anyone? anyone?) there is a cool example about trees. Okay, there is a real-life example from a tough valley that Jeff and I walked through as well if trees aren’t your thing. I still think the tree story is pretty cool though! Enjoy!

In 1987, construction of Biosphere 2 commenced in Oracle, AZ.  In case you are wondering, Earth was referred to as Biosphere 1.  Part of the purpose of Biosphere 2 was to mimic seven different biome areas (e.g., rainforest, coral reef, etc.) found on Earth to examine the viability of a closed-system ecosystem (ref. 1,2).  It was used only twice for its original intended purpose, with a team there from 1991 to 1993 and another in 1994.  Although there was publicity over many of the issues that emerged from this experiment, an interesting mystery about trees in Biosphere 2 was discovered.