environmental science research for everyone
Plant communities have a secret survival tool buried underground: the soil seed bank. When the environment changes, the seed bank helps buffer the plant community against those changes. But what if the seed bank can’t survive the environmental changes either? Scientists explore a wetland to learn more about the secretive soil seed bank.
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Retention logging is the practice of harvesting trees while leaving some fraction of the forest in place. Studies have shown that this type of logging speeds forest recovery and maintains forest habitat for animals. But studies mostly watched forests recover for only a few years, while forests can take decades to recover from deforestation. Does retention logging really help forest ecosystems in the long run?
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Tree growth rate can depend on both past and present environmental conditions. With increasingly frequent and intense droughts, the importance of this environmental “memory” for growth may be changing in two-needle piñon trees.
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Did you know that plants can be parasites of other plants? It’s true, and these parasitic plants might help maintain biodiversity!
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While we easily observe changes to vegetation in a recovering grassland, the changes below ground are less apparent, but equally important, if not more-so.
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Insect pollinators are in trouble, and many plants on farms or in the wild need them to be able to grow fruits and reproduce. With so much at stake for plants around the world, and the humans who depend on them, how can we stop the decline of insect pollinator populations? Urban gardens may have a role to play in supporting pollinators, especially if we plant flowers that provide a stable supply of nectar, their most important food.
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