Growth & Development
How does a plant vary across its range?
A French-US team studied whether Arabidopsis in its natural range varies by latitude or from a core to the periphery.
Close Encounters
Weeds with a bad reputation have value for pollinators and biodiversity
Ecologists have found that weeds are far more valuable in supporting biodiversity than we give them credit for.
Ecosystems
Study in Sydney reveals that preserving pollination is more complex than boosting bees
An Australian team has been studying how to best grow vegetables by experimenting with pak choi in urban gardens. They found that canopy cover and garden richness, rather than pollinator visits are the key factors in improving yield.
Plants & People
Is that an invasive alien species? Time to reach for the phone.
Smartphone apps are a tool that could help monitor, predict, and ideally prevent the spread of invasive species. But are they living up to their full potential?
Ecosystems
Under-damaged reed beds are harming small wetland birds
Small wetland birds may find nesting easier if you periodically set fire to the neighbourhood.
Computational Models
Finding the habitat of an invisible plant
Finding a suitable habitat for Rafflesia arnoldii is difficult. While it produces the single largest flower on the planet, it’s invisible for much of its life.
Ecosystems
Changing seasons change tree growth, changing carbon sequestration by forests
An earlier spring changes the growing conditions for trees, and not always for the better.
Ecosystems
Reverse archaeology reveals new insights into global warming
Often archaeologists will examine differences in vegetation to gain information on buried sites. Now, some botanists have reversed this and are using archaeological sites to learn about the effect of nutrient differences on plants.
Cells, Genes & Molecules
Botanists find the effects of ancient climates in the modern genomes of two closely related oak species
Botanists examined the genomes of two species, Quercus acutissima and Q. chenii, to see if changes in the climate three million years ago affected how they hybridised.
Close Encounters
What does cyanobacteria look for in a good moss host?
Cyanobacteria can provide an important source of nitrogen for mosses, but some mosses are better at attracting them than others.
Close Encounters
With hundreds of thousands of flowers, macadamia can be limited by not getting enough pollen
This study is the first to demonstrate pollen limitation in a mass-flowering tree.
Cells, Genes & Molecules
Why would a plant that doesn’t live in a wildfire zone need to be able to smell smoke?
The ability to smell smoke is important if you’re expecting a fire – but some plants have altered how they use this sense to modify how they grow.