I've seen photos of the rabbit-proof fence effects, with regrowth creating microclimates that are cooler and drier than the adjacent farmland.

That glacier study is very cool! A longstanding debate in paleoecology is how fast certain trees could have advanced into deglaciated terrain if that soil was presumably devoid of microbial life for soil production. It doesn't surprise me at all that there's a lot going on under those things!

I'm going to snag these for theclimateblog. I want to start doing quickie climate research posts, maybe once a week or so.