But, clinging to the rocks and thin ancient soils was life - just a paper-thin film of microbes.

但是，附着在岩石和稀薄的古老土壤上的是生命——只是一层薄如纸的微生物薄膜。

With nothing to cling to, the thin red soil has washed down the mountain slopes into the Betsiboka River, choking its mouth completely.

没有任何东西可以依附，薄薄的红土从山坡上冲下，流入别西博卡河，完全堵住了河口。

The trees, mostly the blue oak (Quercus Douglasii), are about thirty to forty feet high, with pale blue-green leaves and white bark, sparsely planted on the thinnest soil or in crevices of rocks beyond the reach of grass fires.

树木，主要是蓝橡树 (Quercus Douglasii)，高约 30 到 40 英尺，有淡蓝绿色的叶子和白色的树皮，稀疏地种植在最薄的土壤或草火无法触及的岩石缝隙中。