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Categories: Biology: Botany, Energy: Fossil Fuels
Published Trees in areas prone to hurricanes have strong ability to survive even after severe damage
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The island of Dominica took a direct hit from Category 5 Hurricane Maria. Nine months afterward, researchers found that while 89% percent of trees located in nine previously documented forest stands were damaged, but only 10 percent had immediately died. The most common damage was stem snapping and major branch damage. The damage with the highest rates of mortality were uprooting and being crushed by a neighboring tree. Large individual trees and species with lower wood density were susceptible to snapping, uprooting and mortality. Those on steeper slopes were more prone to being crushed by neighboring trees.
Published Early crop plants were more easily 'tamed'
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Borrowing a page from what we know about animal behavior, archaeologists say that we should reassess our understanding of the process of plant domestication.
Published Shutting down nuclear power could increase air pollution
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study shows that if U.S. nuclear power plants are retired, the burning of coal, oil, and natural gas to fill the energy gap could cause more than 5,000 premature deaths.
Published Rooting out how plants control nitrogen use
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Nitrogen is such a crucial nutrient for plants that vast quantities of nitrogen-containing fertilizers are spread on farmlands worldwide. However, excess nitrogen in the soil and in drainage run-off into lakes and rivers causes serious ecological imbalances. A recent study has uncovered the regulatory mechanisms at work when plants utilize nitrogenous fertilizers in their roots, a positive step in the quest to generate crops that require less fertilizer while still producing the yields needed to feed the world.
Published Engineered plants produce sex perfume to trick pests and replace pesticides
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Tobacco plants have been engineered to manufacture an alluring perfume of insect sex pheromones, which could be used to confuse would-be pests looking for love and reduce the need for harmful pesticides.
Published In Florida study, nonnative leaf-litter ants are replacing native ants
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new look at decades of data from museum collections and surveys of leaf-litter ants in Florida reveals a steady decline in native ants and simultaneous increase in nonnative ants -- even in protected natural areas of the state, researchers report.
Published US forests face an unclear future with climate change
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Climate change might compromise how permanently forests are able to store carbon and keep it out of the air. In a new study, researchers found that the regions most at risk to lose forest carbon through fire, climate stress or insect damage are those regions where many forest carbon offset projects have been set up. The authors assert that there's an urgent need to update these carbon offsets protocols and policies.
Published Moving towards 3 degrees of warming -- the phasing out of coal is too slow
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The use of coal power is not decreasing fast enough. The Paris Agreement's target of a maximum of 2 degrees of warming appear to be missed, and the world is moving towards a temperature increase of 2.5 -- 3 degrees. At the same time it is feasible to avoid higher warming.
Published Sailing cargo ships can benefit from new aerodynamic tech
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A research team has demonstrated a unique method that reduces the aerodynamic resistance of ships by 7.5 per cent. This opens the way for large cargo ships borne across the oceans by wind alone, as wind-powered ships are more affected by aerodynamic drag than fossil-fueled ones.
Published Researchers assemble pathogen 'tree of life'
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers provide open-access tool to capture new data on a global plant destroyer, Phytophthora.
Published DELLA proteins could hold key to the next Green Revolution
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A family of 'promiscuous' proteins found in all land plants is responsible for many different plant functions, despite remaining relatively unchanged for over 450 million years.
Published Ants took over the world by following flowering plants out of prehistoric forests
(via sciencedaily.com) Today, ants are pretty much everywhere. To learn more about how these insects conquered the world, scientists used a combination of fossils, DNA, and data on the habitat preferences of modern species to piece together how ants and plants have been evolving together over the past 60 million years. They found that when flowering plants spread out from forests, the ants followed, kicking off the evolution of the thousands of ant species alive today.
Published Scientists analyze sounds emitted by plants
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have recorded and analyzed sounds distinctly emitted by plants. The click-like sounds, similar to the popping of popcorn, are emitted at a volume similar to human speech, but at high frequencies, beyond the hearing range of the human ear.
Published How plants cope with the cold light of day -- and why it matters for future crops
(via sciencedaily.com) New research has discovered a cold 'coping' mechanism that is under the control of the plant biological clock and could offer solutions to breeding more resilience into crops less suited to cold climates.
Published Moths are more efficient pollinators than bees, shows new research
(via sciencedaily.com) Moths are more efficient pollinators at night than day-flying pollinators such as bees, finds new research.
Published Eco-efficient cement could pave the way to a greener future
(via sciencedaily.com) Scientists develop process to remove toxic heavy metals from coal fly ash, making for greener, stronger concrete.
Published Team uses natural catalysts to develop low-cost way of producing green hydrogen
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have developed a practical way to produce green hydrogen using sustainable catalysts and say their work is a major step towards production simpler, more affordable and more scalable.
Published Probe where the protons go to develop better fuel cells
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have uncovered the chemical inner-workings of an electrolyte they developed for a new generation of solid oxide fuel cells. To uncover the location of the proton-introduction reaction, the team studied extensively the hydration reaction of their scandium-substituted barium zirconate perovskite through a combination of synchrotron radiation analysis, large-scale simulations, machine learning, and thermogravimetric analysis. The new data has the potential to accelerate the development of more efficient fuel cells.
Published Earth's first plants likely to have been branched
(via sciencedaily.com) A new discovery changes ideas about the origin of branching in plants.
Published Researchers find clue to help plants grow with low phosphorus levels
(via sciencedaily.com) Phosphorus is a natural mineral found in fertilizer that is essential for plant growth and development, and Earth's agricultural-grade phosphorus reserves are expected to be depleted in 50 to 100 years. A new discovery is changing their understanding of iron toxicity in plants caused by low phosphorus levels.