Researchers have developed a novel filter, made from tannic-acid treated sawdust which may help reduce plastic pollution, while another approach has been presented to create a backyard-compostable bioplastic, using...
This is the last of our quartet of blog posts looking at the newsworthy world of the blue-greens, and looks at those organisms from a different viewpoint… Image: DDDDDDDDD / Wikipedia Cyanobacteria lighting the way for...
Bloom: From food to fuel, the epic story of how algae can save our world by Ruth Kassinger 2019. Elliott & Thompson. As a Botanist, especially one who has taught an undergraduate module on marine biology for over 12...
There’s been plenty of media attention on the threat plastics, especially microplastics, pose to animal life. A paper in New Phytologist suggests that there’s more to this. Plants might be suffering from...
It has been said that humans try to understand plants for two reasons: Either to kill them better – e.g. if they are considered to be weeds that compete for resources with our crop plants – or to exploit them for human...
A new paper in PLOS One says trees outside your house can act as sentinels tracking the concentrations of potentially hazardous chemicals in your home's air.
You might be surprised that it has any positive effects, but anthropogenic Nitrogen has been boosting the nutrients for sugar maples in Michigan. But these benefits are likely to be lost in the future due to rising CO2...
Urban green infrastructure provides a range of ecosystem services to human society. But how much does plant choice matter in the delivery of these services? Paradoxically, much of the literature on green infrastructure...
Heathlands are human-shaped habitats that have a strong cultural and natural value, adding substantially to many ecosystem services such as food and water supply, carbon sequestration, recreation and biodiversity...