About the cover
August 2009 Volume 2 No 8
Phosphorus is frequently the limiting nutrient in marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Analysis of lightning-derived glassy compounds from North America, Africa and Australia suggests that cloud-to-ground lightning increases the bioavailability of this nutrient. The image shows a 3.5-cm-wide fulgurite from Greensboro, North Carolina, USA. The centre of the fulgurite is filled with a blue glass. Photo taken by Virginia Pasek.
