Soil Types News

May 9, 2024

Top Headlines

Saturated Soils Could Impact Survival of Young Trees Planted to Address Climate Change

May 9, 2024 — New research has looked into the potential effects of increased rainfall in regions being earmarked for expansion of temperate rainforests. Amid global calls for more trees to be planted as part of ...

Natural Compounds That Selectively Kill Parasites

May 8, 2024 — An international team has found a family of natural compounds with potential as new and more effective treatments for parasitic worms. The compounds stall the unique metabolic process that worms use to survive in the human ...

Bee Body Mass, Pathogens and Local Climate Influence Heat Tolerance

May 7, 2024 — How well bees tolerate temperature extremes could determine their ability to persist in a changing climate. But heat tolerance varies between and within populations, so entomologists examined bee physical traits to understand how these traits ...

AI to Make Crop Production More Sustainable

May 6, 2024 — Drones monitoring fields for weeds and robots targeting and treating crop diseases may sound like science fiction but is actually happening already, at least on some experimental farms. Researchers are working on driving forward the smart ...

Latest Headlines

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Oil Palm Plantations Are Driving Massive Downstream Impact to Watershed

May 2, 2024 — The global demand for palm oil -- the most widely consumed vegetable oil on the planet, in everything from instant noodles to lipstick -- is driving worldwide tropical deforestation. While many ...

Researchers Develop an AI Model to Reduce Uncertainty in Evapotranspiration Prediction

Apr. 30, 2024 — Evapotranspiration (ET) includes evaporation from soil and open water pools such as lakes, rivers, and ponds, as well as transpiration from plant ...

Barley Plants Fine-Tune Their Root Microbial Communities Through Sugary Secretions

Apr. 25, 2024 — Different types of barley recruit distinct communities of soil microbes to grow around their roots by releasing a custom mix of sugars and other ...

The Spiciness of Mustard May Depend on Soil Microbes

Apr. 22, 2024 — New study finds microbes may influence the taste of mustard ...

How Soil Microbes Survive in Harsh Desert Environments

Apr. 17, 2024 — Prolonged droughts followed by sudden bursts of rainfall -- how do desert soil bacteria manage to survive such harsh conditions? This long-debated question has now been answered by microbiologists. ...

Dog Attacks on Mountain Tapirs Highlight a Growing Threat to Endangered Wildlife

Apr. 17, 2024 — Researchers who captured footage of dog attacks on endangered mountain tapirs in Colombia are calling for action to protect threatened ...

Leptanilla Voldemort, a Ghostly Slender New Ant Species from the Dark Depths of the Underground

Apr. 12, 2024 — In the sun-scorched Pilbara region of north-western Australia, scientists have unearthed a mysterious creature from the shadows -- a new ant species ...

Integrated Dataset Enables Genes-to-Ecosystems Research

Apr. 8, 2024 — A new dataset bridging molecular information about the poplar tree microbiome to ecosystem-level processes has been released. The project aims to inform research regarding how natural systems ...

'Diverse' Agriculture Benefits People and the Environment at the Same Time

Apr. 4, 2024 — A new analysis from 2,655 farms on five continents suggests that moving away from industrial, monoculture farming could benefit both the planet and ...

Manganese Plays a Surprising Role in Soil Carbon Sequestration

Mar. 28, 2024 — A recent study reveals an unexpected link between manganese -- a naturally occurring mineral -- and increased carbon emissions from high-latitude boreal forests. The study uncovers how manganese ...

Small Changes Can Yield Big Savings in Agricultural Water Use

Mar. 25, 2024 — While Hollywood and Silicon Valley love the limelight, California is an agricultural powerhouse, too. Agricultural products sold in the Golden State totaled $59 billion in 2022. But rising ...

Better Phosphorus Use Can Ensure Its Stocks Last More Than 500 Years and Boost Global Food Production

Mar. 25, 2024 — More efficient use of phosphorus could see limited stocks of the important fertilizer last more than 500 years and boost global food production to feed growing populations. But these benefits will ...

Researchers Discover Evolutionary 'Tipping Point' in Fungi

Mar. 25, 2024 — Scientists have found a 'tipping point' in the evolution of fungi that throttles their growth and sculpts their shapes. The findings demonstrate how small changes in environmental factors ...

Maize Genes Control Little Helpers in the Soil

Mar. 25, 2024 — Tiny organisms such as bacteria and fungi help to promote the health and function of plant roots. It is commonly assumed that the composition of these microbes is dependent on the properties of the ...

Product That Kills Agricultural Pests Also Deadly to Native Pacific Northwest Snail

Mar. 21, 2024 — A product used to control pest slugs on farms in multiple countries is deadly to least one type of native woodland snail endemic to the Pacific Northwest, according to scientists who say more study ...

Deep Earth Electrical Grid Mystery Solved

Mar. 20, 2024 — To 'breathe' in an environment without oxygen, bacteria in the ground beneath our feet depend upon a single family of proteins to transfer excess electrons, produced during the ...

Fairy Circles: Plant Water Stress Causes Namibia's Gaps in Grass

Mar. 19, 2024 — Namibia's legendary fairy circles are mysterious, circular, bald patches in the dry grasslands on the edge of the Namib Desert. Their formation has been researched for decades and has recently ...

Genes Identified That Allow Bacteria to Thrive Despite Toxic Heavy Metal in Soil

Mar. 18, 2024 — Some soil bacteria can acquire sets of genes that enable them to pump the heavy metal nickel out of their systems, a study has found. This enables the bacteria to not only thrive in otherwise toxic ...

We Know the Arctic Is Warming -- What Will Changing River Flows Do to Its Environment?

Mar. 5, 2024 — Scientists recently combined satellite data, field observations and sophisticated numerical modeling to paint a picture of how 22.45 million square kilometers of the Arctic will change over the next ...

Advances in Forensic Science Improve Accuracy of 'Time of Death' Estimates

Mar. 4, 2024 — Accurate 'time of death' estimates are a mainstay of murder mysteries and forensic programs, but such calculations in the real world are often complex and imprecise. In a first-of-its-kind ...

Scientists Discover 18 New Species of Gut Microbes in Search for Origins of Antibiotic Resistance

Feb. 29, 2024 — Researchers have discovered 18 new species of Enterococcus type bacteria from soil samples collected from all corners of the globe, which may offer new clues to the origins of antibiotic-resistant ...

Study Reveals Accelerated Soil Priming Under Climate Warming

Feb. 28, 2024 — A new study highlights a crucial biosphere feedback mechanism and its effects on releasing soil carbon into the ...

Global Warming Increases the Diversity of Active Soil Bacteria

Feb. 25, 2024 — Warmer soils harbor a greater diversity of active microbes, according to a new study. The study represents a significant shift in our understanding of how microbial activity in the soil influences ...

Carbon Emissions from the Destruction of Mangrove Forests Predicted to Increase by 50,000% by the End of the Century

Feb. 22, 2024 — The annual rate of carbon emissions due to the degradation of carbon stocks in mangrove forests is predicted to rise by nearly 50,000% by the end of the century, according to a new study. Mangroves ...

Potassium Depletion in Soil Threatens Global Crop Yields

Feb. 19, 2024 — Potassium deficiency in agricultural soils is a largely unrecognized but potentially significant threat to global food security if left unaddressed, finds new ...

Viruses That Can Help 'Dial Up' Carbon Capture in the Sea

Feb. 19, 2024 — Armed with a catalog of hundreds of thousands of DNA and RNA virus species in the world's oceans, scientists are now zeroing in on the viruses most likely to combat climate change by helping ...

Root Microbes May Be the Secret to a Better Tasting Cup of Tea

Feb. 15, 2024 — You'd think the complex flavor in a quality cup of tea would depend mainly on the tea varieties used to make it. But a new study shows that the making of a delicious cup of tea depends on ...

Pesticides to Help Protect Seeds Can Adversely Affect Earthworms' Health

Feb. 14, 2024 — While pesticides protect crops from hungry animals, pesky insects, or even microbial infections, they also impact other vital organisms, including bees and earthworms. And today, research reveals ...

Controlling Root Growth Direction Could Help Save Crops and Mitigate Climate Change

Feb. 14, 2024 — Scientists have determined how the well-known plant hormone ethylene is crucial in controlling the angle at which roots grow. The findings can be used to engineer plants and crops that withstand the ...

Alien Invasion: Non-Native Earthworms Threaten Ecosystems

Feb. 9, 2024 — Analysis reveals imported earthworm species have colonized large swaths of North America, and represent a largely overlooked threat to native ecosystems. The researchers warn of the need to better ...