You have to nurture these threads Amos, and give them time...

That first one, with its "frequent wetting and drying cycles" sounds like they're moving towards reversing what we've being doing all these years, and are starting to find ways for us to undo the damage, by producing what will eventually become peat, or in time, coal. That's the way to do it.

An interesting site - thanks Amos. Here's a bit for the Trekkies among us - a step towards holodeck technology.