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Plant Biology

showing 6-10 of 46 breaks

Can forests survive climate change?

Many forests across the globe are experiencing tree mortality episodes as a consequence of long, intense drought periods, likely associated to anthropogenic – human-caused, as opposed to natural – climate change. To date, most research has focused on plant mortality processes during drought, and the... click to read more

  • Enric Batllori | Serra Húnter Fellow, Lecturer at Unitat de Botànica i Micologia, Departament de Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals, Universitat de Barcelona; Centre de Recerca Ecològica i Aplicacions Forestals (CREAF), Barcelona, Spain
  • Francisco Lloret | Professor at Centre de Recerca Ecològica i Aplicacions Forestals (CREAF); Unitat d’Ecologia, Departament de Biologia Animal, Biologia Vegetal i Ecologia, Universitat Autònoma Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
Views 2514
Reading time 4 min
published on Jan 21, 2022
How roots help us fight against hard soils

Soil is a vital commodity for food security - more than 95% of global food production depends on soil. Modern intensive farming practices help us to meet the growing demand for food today. On the downside, they often compromise the health of agricultural soils. Increasingly heavy... click to read more

  • Bipin K. Pandey | BBSRC Discovery Fellow at Future Food Beacon and School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
  • Malcolm J. Bennett | Professor at Future Food Beacon and School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, UK
Views 4591
Reading time 3 min
published on Oct 8, 2021
The plant with the spider-like poison – Australia’s giant stinging tree

Deep in the rainforests of eastern Australia, all along New South Wales up to south-eastern Queensland, one can find Dendrocnide excelsa, the giant stinging tree. Key to its name, the stinging tree possesses thin, felt-like hairs on its leaves that, in reality, act as densely... click to read more

  • Ralph Bulanadi | PhD Student at Department of Quantum Matter Physics, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
Views 4734
Reading time 4 min
published on Apr 6, 2021
Crop yield responses to conservation agriculture in Africa

Food demand in sub-Saharan Africa will increase drastically in the coming decades due to rapid population growth and a rise in wealth. Maize is the main African staple crop in terms of calorie intake. However, yields are low and have been stagnating. For example, average... click to read more

  • Marc Corbeels | Senior researcher at International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Nairobi, Kenya; French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD), University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France
Views 2930
Reading time 3.5 min
published on Mar 24, 2021
How a mint turned into catmint

The plant catmint, also known as catnip, is named after its notorious effect on cats. When cats sniff or rub against catmint, it drives them to act strangely: rolling over, pawing and rubbing. Its scientific name is also feline-inspired: Nepeta cataria. The cause of the cats'... click to read more

  • Benjamin R. Lichman | Lecturer at Centre for Novel Agricultural Products, Department of Biology, University of York, York, UK
Views 4484
Reading time 3.5 min
published on Feb 17, 2021