Plants & People
New research shows that Bioenergy plants need to be in the right location to deliver benefits
Finding the win-wins for Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) as we move to net zero – for the UK at least, size matters.
Close Encounters
Should we be looking to parasitic plants to help control invasive species?
Biologists have been looking at biological controls like herbivores to control invasive plants. New research suggests we should also look at what parasitic plants can do.
Taxonomy & Evolution
New genus and species of probable arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi uncovered in the Rhynie chert
The new species bears a strong similarity to modern-day Archaeospora.
Cells, Genes & Molecules
Move over Factor 50! Can increasing their number of chromosomes help protect plants against UV?
Increased chromosome number due to UV is known to occur in lab experiments, but does it happen in real environments?
Ecosystems
What makes a good invasive species – genetics or plasticity? Insights from Impatiens glandulifera
Understanding what makes invasive plant species so good at invading may help us protect vulnerable plant biodiversity.
Ecosystems
Plastic plants?! Nanoplastics may be bad news for plants too.
More evidence that the damaging potential of small plastics needs to extend to terrestrial environments.
Taxonomy & Evolution
Nothofagus macrocarpa populations represent relics of a once-greater range
Today’s remaining isolated populations are highly genetically diverse and extensively hybridized.
Close Encounters
Spider orchid conservation: the importance of serendipitous fungi
Mycorrhizal fungi can be isolated from related common species to propagate threatened Caladenia.
Computational Models
Individual variation in plant dispersal and fecundity increases rates of spatial spread
The highest increases in spread rates occur when variation in dispersal positively co-varies with fecundity.
Plants & People
Ethnobiologists consider their impact during and after the COVID-19 pandemic
A group of scientists with diverse backgrounds reached out to each other under unprecedented times and set out new goals for their own discipline.
Growth & Development
Under-producers have a greater effect than super-producers on fruiting patterns in masting trees
Smaller plants are the main drag on both seed production and synchrony in their populations.
Ecosystems
Citizen science data can complement collections well for some applications
The range and occurrence of anther smut shows very similar patterns in both collections and iNaturalist data.