Frequent fire too hot to handle for invasive plants
Land managers know one of the best ways to prevent forest fires is to set fires. Periodic controlled or prescribed burns can reduce the amount of flammable materials lying about on a forest floor, so when wildfires do start, they stay small......»»
How bad are invasive plants for birds? Research suggests large-scale removal may not have intended benefits
A prevailing opinion in land management is that non-native invasive plants are of no ecological value and they significantly diminish habitat quality for wildlife. Conservation practitioners allocate significant resources to invasive plant removal, o.....»»
AI deciphers new gene regulatory code in plants and makes accurate predictions for newly sequenced genomes
Genome sequencing technology provides thousands of new plant genomes annually. In agriculture, researchers merge this genomic information with observational data (measuring various plant traits) to identify correlations between genetic variants and c.....»»
Barley plants fine-tune their root microbial communities through sugary secretions
Different types of barley recruit distinct communities of soil microbes to grow around their roots by releasing a custom mix of sugars and other compounds, according to a new study led by Jacob Malone of the John Innes Center, UK, published in the op.....»»
EPA issues four rules limiting pollution from fossil fuel power plants
Coal to be hit hard, natural gas plants will have to capture carbon emissions. Enlarge (credit: Jose A. Bernat Bacete) Today, the US Environmental Protection Agency announced a suite of rules that target pollution from f.....»»
US announces sweeping cuts to power sector carbon emissions
President Joe Biden's government on Thursday finalized sweeping plans to curb planet-warming emissions from the nation's fossil fuel plants as part of the United States' efforts to confront the climate crisis......»»
Researchers discover mechanism regulating bud dormancy release in tree peony
In perennial woody plants, bud endodormancy is crucial for survival under adverse environmental conditions in winter, such as low temperature (LT) and dehydration stress. To break bud dormancy is essential for the resumption of bud growth and floweri.....»»
Artificial intelligence helps scientists engineer plants to fight climate change
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has declared that removing carbon from the atmosphere is now essential to fighting climate change and limiting global temperature rise. To support these efforts, Salk Institute scientists are harne.....»»
International study produces a comprehensive "tree of life" for flowering plants
With their own botanical collection material and their research knowledge on the evolution of cruciferous plants (plants of the cabbage family), bioscientists at Heidelberg University have contributed to a large-scale international study that has pro.....»»
The high and mighty Himalayas: A biodiversity hotbed facing significant challenges
The Himalayas are home to a vast diversity of species, consisting of 10,000 vascular plants, 979 birds and 300 mammals, including the snow leopard, the red panda, the Himalayan tahr and the Himalayan monal......»»
Australia"s tall, wet forests were not open and park-like when colonists arrived—and we shouldn"t be burning them
Some reports and popular books, such as Bill Gammage's Biggest Estate on Earth, have argued that extensive areas of Australia's forests were kept open through frequent burning by First Nations people. Advocates for widespread thinning and burning of.....»»
Leaf size and defensive traits found to modulate effects of soil fauna on litter decomposition
Leaf litter, as a multifunctional legacy of plants, plays an essential role in driving biogeochemical cycles, while providing important habitat and food resources for soil organisms. Litter traits and soil fauna play a crucial role in determining lit.....»»
Vast DNA tree of life for plants revealed by global science team using 1.8 billion letters of genetic code
A new paper published today (April 24) in the journal Nature by an international team of 279 scientists led by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew presents the most up-to-date understanding of the flowering plant tree of life......»»
New model extends theory of pattern formation to the nano-cosmos
A new model developed by scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPI-DS) extends the theory of elastic phase separation towards nanoscopic structures. Such patterns are frequent in biological systems and also used.....»»
Illinois residents encouraged to destroy the eggs of invasive insects to slow spread
While Chicagoans were alarmed to learn the spotted lanternfly had been found in Illinois last year, experts say spring is the time to take action against that insect—as well as another damaging invasive species that has made far more inroads and go.....»»
Climate change supercharged a heat dome, intensifying 2021 fire season, study finds
As a massive heat dome lingered over the Pacific Northwest three years ago, swaths of North America simmered—and then burned. Wildfires charred more than 18.5 million acres across the continent, with the most land burned in Canada and California......»»
Enhanced CRISPR method enables stable insertion of large genes into the DNA of higher plants
Scientists at the Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry (IPB) have succeeded for the first time in stably and precisely inserting large gene segments into the DNA of higher plants very efficiently. To do this, they optimized the gene-editing method.....»»
Gone in a puff of smoke: 52,000 square kilometers of "long unburnt" Australian habitat has vanished in 40 years
Landscapes that have escaped fire for decades or centuries tend to harbor vital structures for wildlife, such as tree hollows and large logs. But these "long unburnt" habitats can be eliminated by a single blaze......»»
Green Roofs Are Great. Blue-Green Roofs Are Even Better
Amsterdam is experimenting with roofs that not only grow plants but capture water for a building’s residents. Welcome to the squeezable sponge city of tomorrow......»»
Scientists find common genes defending coffee plants against devastating disease
Arabica coffee is the most economically important coffee globally and accounts for 60% of coffee products worldwide. But the plants it hails from are vulnerable to a disease that, in the 1800s, devastated Sri Lanka's coffee empire......»»
Io: New image of a lake of fire, signs of permanent volcanism
Juno captures images of Io's violence as study says it has always been that way. Enlarge (credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Gerald Eichstädt/Thomas Thomopoulos) Ever since the Voyager mission sent home images of Jupite.....»»