NOT ALL WETLANDS ARE CREATED EQUAL
“Are you sure the GPS is right? You set it for the right point?” I asked as we floated towards
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Remediation
Can seaweed farming help fight climate change?
Seaweed farming is the fastest growing sector of food production and provides healthy, nutritious sea vegetables. Farming seaweed can also have positive benefits by decreasing wave action, taking up carbon dioxide, and locally reducing the effects of ocean acidification. Spatial planning, market analyses, and infrastructure development are needed to facilitate the expansion of seaweed aquaculture.
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Fungi to the rescue: Can fungi help clean up radioactive waste?
U.S. Nuclear weapon production in the 1940s resulted in the production of large quantities of radioactive waste. Much of this waste was stored underground in holding tanks that are prone to leak and have been leaking ever since. Due to the massive amount of waste, cleanup is dangerous and expensive. Bioremediation, cleanup using natural organisms, is being considered as an option. This study searched for fungi that could be used for bioremediation of radioactive waste.
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Soybean Soybetter
By 2050, the demand for staple food crops, such as potatoes and wheat, is expected to nearly double from what it is today. We could farm all the land in the world, but scientists and others believe this could be detrimental for a multitude of reasons. How can we increase our crop yields without expanding our already limited fields? The answer may lie in cutting out leaves. Taking this approach, Srinivasan and colleagues increased soybean production by up to 8%, that’s approximately 6.5 metric tons per year.
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Will Climate Policies Give Us Cleaner Air?
Clean air is very important to keep people healthy. While most people in the US are fortunate to have reasonably clean air, many people still get sick and die every year from dirty air. Around the world people are worried about the impacts of climate change. There may be a way to reduce the impacts from both air pollution and climate change at once.
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Habitat Reconstruction: Restoring Salt Marshes
How impactful are restoration projects for the environment? With the help of isotopic analysis researchers hope to find the answer.
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Tracing the Source
Using unique data and sophisticated models, one science team seeks to inform policy development to address harmful algal blooms in
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The Minamata Convention: Can We Make Mercury History?
A new international treaty provides a chance to make mercury pollution history.
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The long arm of invasive plants – how one invasive (Eleagnus umbellata, autumn olive) changes the soil microbial community
Invasive plants plague many parts of the US, from roadside environments to natural ecosystems. Research on one invasive plant, the autumn olive (Eleagnus umbellata), indicates that the soil microbial community changes based on proximity to the plant. Long-term changes in soil microbial communities might negatively impact restoration efforts.
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Relationship Stuck in the Mud: Species Interactions Lead to Restoration Success in a Salt Marsh
Derksen-Hooijberg M, Angelini C, Lamers LPM, et al. Mutualistic interactions amplify saltmarsh restoration success. J Appl Ecol. 2017;00:1–10. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.12960
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