While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
- In North America, woodlands have expanded into areas that were once grasslands.
- Thomas Rogers and F. Leland Russell of Wichita State University investigated whether woodland expansion is related to changes in climate.
- Rogers and Russell analyzed core samples from oak trees on a site that was not wooded in the past and indexed the age of the trees with historical climate data to see if tree populations and climate were correlated.
- Tree population growth was associated with dry intervals.
- Droughts may have played a role in woodland expansion.
The student wants to emphasize the aim of the research study. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?