Ecosystems
Antarctica’s First Assessed Plant Is Already Endangered
A tiny Antarctic moss is sending a big warning: even the continent’s remote plant life may be threatened by climate change, human activity and invasive species.
Ecosystems
The Parasitic Plant That Changes Its Perfume
Orobanche flava may steal from other plants underground, but above ground it uses changing floral scents to attract the insects it needs.
Ecosystems
The Flower That Tells Pollinators to Move On
In Saxifraga fortunei, a yellow-to-red colour change in the pistil may tell hoverflies and honeybees which flowers are still worth visiting.
Ecosystems
High in the Mountains, Every Degree Matters for Pollinators
Research from the Australian Alps reveals that some mountain flowers act as miniature solar heaters, providing pollinators with warm refuges when cold conditions would otherwise keep them grounded.
Ecosystems
Scaled Gardeners: How Fish Dictate the Future of the Amazonian Flooded Forest
When Amazonian forests flood, fish take over the work of seed dispersal, carrying viable seeds through rivers and helping plants colonise new areas.
Ecosystems
Lichens and Bryophytes Reveal the Effects of Urban Heat
Lichens and mosses may act as living sensors of urban warming, helping researchers understand how rising city temperatures alter biodiversity at the smallest scales.
Ecosystems
What Would a Flower Need an Elephant’s Trunk For?
A recent study uncovers the overlooked purpose of the strange floral snouts in some lousewort species.
Ecosystems
The Silent Partner: The Real Value of Pollination in Daily Life
Pollinators are a vital link between biodiversity and human health, securing both essential nutrients and family livelihoods. While their decline threatens to deepen poverty and malnutrition, protecting local plant diversity offers a sustainable path to resilience.
Ecosystems
Fire Signals and Dry Soils: How Cerrado Seeds Time Their Germination
By testing how seeds respond to drought and smoke together, scientists uncover how plants in Brazil’s Cerrado survive the harsh mix of fire, dry spells and unpredictable rain.
Ecosystems
The Jungle’s Heaviest Courier Service: The Case of Tent-Roosting Bats
Tent-roosting bats are the unsung "nocturnal gardeners" of the Lacandon Rainforest. New research reveals they disperse up to 79.8 million large seeds annually, carrying fruits weighing up to 250% of their own body mass to help regenerate mature forests.
Ecosystems
The Cerrado’s Secret Carbon Stores at Risk
Newly revealed peatlands in the Cerrado hold millennia of carbon, but shifting water and climate regimes could turn them from allies into threats.
Ecosystems
From Pot Plant to Cliff Invader
A garden plant called Kalanchoe × houghtonii is spreading along Mediterranean coasts and may be pushing out native plants that normally grow there.