An international research team has investigated the potential impacts of climate change on non-vascular vegetation (mosses, lichens) and their functions in ecosystems worldwide. Based on this, the researchers have developed a concept paper proposing the next important steps for the research field.
A new analysis of more than 20,000 trees on five continents shows that old-growth trees are more drought tolerant than younger trees in the forest canopy and may be better able to withstand future climate extremes.
Researchers have shown that plants can regulate the chemistry of their petal surface to create iridescent signals visible to bees.
In a new study scientists have found that smallholder farmers in Ethiopia grow more of the indigenous crop Ensete ventricosum in the direct aftermath of severe droughts as a means of bolstering food security.
Scientists in Colombia show that well managed pasture can store more soil carbon while reducing nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions to offset the climate impact of livestock.
Researchers have identified a new reason to protect mangrove forests: they’ve been quietly keeping carbon out of Earth’s atmosphere for the past 5,000 years.
The maximum summer temperature and the amount of rainfall in summer are the two climate factors that determine the type of native grass that grows in a region, Australian researchers have found in a recent study.
Increased demand for water will be the No. 1 threat to food security in the next 20 years, followed closely by heat waves, droughts, income inequality and political instability, according to a new study which calls for increased collaboration to build a more resilient global food supply.
The effects of drought on major crops that are crucial to achieve both food and energy security. A global, more robust vision of this complex issue to advance the existing knowledge and support better informed, science-based decisions in the future, like fine-tuning crop calendars or implementing other measures as alternative cultivars, additional irrigation, and crop migration.
Violets reproduce both sexually, through cross-pollination of the showy flowers we’re familiar with; and asexually, by self-seeding of less noticeable flowers that remain hidden near the base of the plant. This is called “mixed mating.” Although environmental factors drive how much a plant reproduces sexually or asexually, no study had previously looked at the impact of climate change on mixed mating.
