Bats protect young trees from insect damage, with three times fewer bugs
Not only did the bats reduce the number of caterpillars, they also reduced defoliation by a factor of five.
Category: News
Vegetation regulates energy exchange in the arctic
Despite the importance of high-latitude surface energy budgets for land-climate interactions in the rapidly changing Arctic, uncertainties in their prediction persist.
Want to save the bees? Pay attention to pathogens and flowers
Researchers at UMass Amherst deploy fluorescent paint, pipettes, tents, tweezers and scissors to trace three-way connection between plants, pathogens and bees
Study examines how well-timed cover crops can suppress weeds in California orchards
Experiments show a variety of cover crop management programs can produce weed-suppressing cover crops.
Botanists investigate fairy circles in the desert
When plants in the Namib desert suffer from water stress, strange things happen.
Archaeologists race against the climate to preserve aboriginal art
Trees that have stood for thousands of years may soon collapse due to climate change. If they do, they’ll take irreplaceable aboriginal art with them.
Vampire plant reduces fungi’s ability to decompose leaf litter
Parasitic plants draw life from their hosts, but now it seems that even after death, some plants have a baleful influence.
Botanical gardens act as artificial oases for butterflies in arid urban areas
Botanical gardens provide access to vital plants and water for butterflies in the southwest US. This will only become more important as the climate becomes warmer and drier.
How can you encourage ladybugs to your garden?
Ladybugs, or Ladybirds, are popular insects with gardeners with a taste for pests like aphids, but it’s not just prey that’s important. Entomologists have examined plants to see what else a ladybug looks for in a home.
Better sex doesn’t lead to better reproduction for a Balearic Arum
Botanists have found disturbance can increase pollination and seed set for an Arum on Mallorca. So why isn’t that good news for the plant?
Botanists discover not all clones are the same, it depends on how you make them
A study of Paspalum species native to South America shows that while clones can expand a plant’s range, the method a parent uses to clone itself will impact how the population develops.
Improving crop modeling using machine learning
Integration of machine learning and crop modelling can optimize predictions of plant growth and yield.
Seed distribution by birds can be too much of a good thing
Ecologists find that while birds can scatter seeds, sometimes they take their treasures too far to aid a plant.
Warming wasps pollinate poorly
As temperatures rise, the life span of a crucial pollinator diminishes to the extent it may not be able to do its job.