El Niño increases seedling mortality even in drought-tolerant forests
Global climate change may lead to more extreme weather events such as droughts. To predict the impact of climate change on tropical forests, it is necessary to understand more accurately the effects of drought......»»
Novel method to measure root depth may lead to more resilient crops
As climate change worsens global drought conditions, hindering crop production, the search for ways to capture and store atmospheric carbon causing the phenomenon has intensified. Penn State researchers have developed a new high-tech tool that could.....»»
Vietnam farmers struggle for fresh water as drought brings salinization
Every day, farmer Nguyen Hoai Thuong prays in vain for rain to fall on the cracked dry earth of her garden in Vietnam's Mekong Delta—the country's "rice bowl" agricultural heartland......»»
Increased risk of major bark beetle outbreaks in Norway
The European spruce bark beetle has killed several hundred million spruce trees in Sweden and Central Europe in the last five years. A warmer climate will ultimately result in more damage also in Norwegian spruce forests. Fewer spruce trees and softe.....»»
Good news for gray whales: "Unusual mortality event" declared over
It was a worrisome few years for North Pacific gray whales, with hundreds washing up dead on shorelines along the West Coast leading to an estimated 30% decline in their population......»»
Tropical plants beat drought by interacting with specific microbes, study shows
Plant-soil-microbe interactions play a crucial role in processes that take place in the soil directly around plant roots, or the rhizosphere, and these processes contribute to nutrient cycling and metabolite turnover in the environment. Amid the wate.....»»
Multiple processes shape plant ecological uniqueness in Northeast China"s forests
In a study published in Journal of Biogeography, scientists from the Institute of Applied Ecology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have shed light on understanding the driving mechanisms of the uniqueness of plant species composition in different l.....»»
Satellite data unlocks drought impact on southwest China"s carbon cycle
Over the past four decades, Southwest China has been a major carbon sink, significantly mitigating anthropogenic CO2 emissions. However, recent severe droughts, especially from 2009 to 2013 and in 2022, have drastically reduced its carbon absorption.....»»
Forest and stream habitats keep energy exchanges in balance, global team finds
Forests and streams are separate but linked ecosystems, existing side by side, with energy and nutrients crossing their porous borders and flowing back and forth between them. For example, leaves fall from trees, enter streams, decay and feed aquatic.....»»
New starting point discovered in the fight against P. aeruginosa
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an important opportunistic pathogen responsible for life-threatening infections that are associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality. Researchers from TWINCORE, the Center for Experimental and Clinical Infection Re.....»»
Increasing sea temperatures associated with higher bull shark abundance
Increasing sea surface temperatures over the past 20 years in Mobile Bay—an estuary in the US state of Alabama—have coincided with five-fold increases in the abundance of juvenile bull sharks (Carcharhinus leucas), according to a study published.....»»
Researchers: Sweden has vast "old growth" forests, but they are being chopped down faster than the Amazon
Most of Europe's natural ecosystems have been lost over the centuries. However, a sizeable amount of natural old forest still exists, especially in the north. These "old-growth" forests are exceptionally valuable as they tend to host more species, st.....»»
Researchers use genetic engineering to create flood-tolerant plants
Adding too much water to your plants can damage them as much as not having enough water. In the environment, plants submerged under excessive rain have limited access to light and oxygen, which reduces or eliminates their ability to thrive. This pose.....»»
Increasing soil organic matter to improve soil health, carbon storage
Soil organic matter (SOM) is crucial to soil health and carbon storage in agriculture. Adding crop residues to the soil increases SOM, but can also accelerate its decomposition, known as the priming effect. The temperature sensitivity (Q10) of SOM de.....»»
Creating soundscapes increases coral larval settlement, study finds
A team of marine biologists and oceanographers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Falmouth, Massachusetts, has found that creating soundscapes for coral larvae encourages them to settle on desired coral reefs......»»
Toyota agrees to biggest wage hike in 25 years
Toyota has agreed to the demands of monthly pay increases of as much as $193 and record bonus payments......»»
Apple increases R&D in China with two lab expansions
Apple is significantly increasing its R&D facilities in China, with the expansion of an applied research lab in Shanghai and a new lab constructed in Shenzhen.Shanghai [Pexels/Wolfram K]Apple's research and development spending is huge, having forked.....»»
News reports that don"t report magnitude of scientific findings could mislead the public
When media coverage doesn't include the numerical magnitude of a scientific study's effect, the risk of readers developing biases increases significantly, according to a new University of Michigan study......»»
Rainforest"s next generation of trees threatened 30 years after logging
Rainforest seedlings are more likely to survive in natural forests than in places where logging has happened—even if tree restoration projects have taken place, new research shows. The work appears in Global Change Biology......»»
A trip to the coast, a dip in the pool, and a snow-chilled drink: How ancient Romans kept cool in summer
The dog days of summer are upon us. Or so the ancient Romans named the dies caniculares that followed the rise of the "dog star" Sirius which the ancients believed to signal the oncoming sweltering heat and drought of summer......»»
How green corridors are breathing new life into French forests
In the summer of 2008, during a family holiday road trip, we passed by the Aquitaine region in southwestern France. As we drove through a sprawling woodland, a mesmerizing sight unfolded before my eyes: a meticulously ordered army of trees, standing.....»»