Plants with jobs
Toronto, Canada (SPX) Oct 02, 2015 -
Two University of Toronto Scarborough scientists have developed a new research framework for the agricultural sector that offers evidence-based understanding of the relationship between short-term yields, long-term sustainability and biodiversity.
In a paper published this week in the Journal of Applied Ecology, Marney Isaac, Canada Research Chair in Agroecosystems and Development and her ...
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Warmer temperatures stimulate diversity of soil fungi
London, UK (SPX) Oct 02, 2015 -
Remote and covered by ice for much of the year the Antarctic Peninsula is home to hidden and dynamic communities of microbes that have an important role to play in the fragile ecosystems in which they are found. Writing in the journal Nature Climate Change this week, a team of scientists report how they have found a direct relationship between temperature and the diversity of Antarctic soil fung ...
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Ice samples from Greenland and Russia provide clues to climate
Birmingham, UK (SPX) Oct 02, 2015 -
Scientists at the University of Birmingham have discovered evidence of carbonaceous aerosols - organic dust - transported from Asia and deposited in the Arctic over the last 450 years, according to research published in the journal Nature Scientific Reports.
They have also found that increased levels of dust were being deposited during warmer periods when the Arctic Oscillation - changes i ...
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Root microbiome engineering improves plant growth
Washington DC (SPX) Oct 02, 2015 -
Humans have been breeding crops until they're bigger and more nutritious since the early days of agriculture, but genetic manipulation isn't the only way to give plants a boost.
In a review paper published in Trends in Microbiology, two integrative biologists present how it is possible to engineer the plant soil microbiome to improve plant growth, even if the plants are genetically identic ...
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NYC risks future flooding during hurricanes
University Park PA (SPX) Oct 02, 2015 -
Whether or not a coastal city floods during a hurricane depends on the storm, tide and sea level, and now a team of climate scientists show that the risk of New York City flooding has increased dramatically during the industrial era as a result of human-caused climate change.
"We wanted to look at the impact of climate change on sea level and storm characteristics to see how that has affec ...
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Extreme Pacific sea level events to double in future
Manoa HI (SPX) Oct 02, 2015 -
Many tropical Pacific island nations are struggling to adapt to gradual sea level rise stemming from warming oceans and melting ice caps. Now they may also see much more frequent extreme interannual sea level swings. The culprit is a projected behavioral change of the El Nino phenomenon and its characteristic Pacific wind response, according to recent computer modeling experiments and tide-gauge ...
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