Most ethanol today is produced at high-temperature fermentation facilities that chemically convert corn sugarcane and other plants into liquid fuel.
Characterizing villainous sporessome of these microbes protect themselves from heat by forming spores Anand explains.
In addition some spore formers produce harmful toxins. Rounding up bad guysfor nearly five years Anand
which when combined with pasteurization has been relatively successful in dealing with vegetative cells of thermoduric sporeformers to a large extent and spores to a less extent he reports.
Damaging equipmentwhen spore formers persist in an environment they can also do irreversible damage to the stainless steel contact surfaces within the milk-processing equipment Anand explains.
at plant stems. While branching has relevance in agriculture it is also very important in bioenergy crop production.
When they administered this labeled CO2 to plant leaves the plants incorporated the radioactive carbon into sugars via photosynthesis. The scientists then tracked the labeled sugars throughout the plant using detectors placed along the plant stem.
The time taken for the 11c-labeled sugars to move between two detectors on upper and lower regions of the stem was used to calculate sugar transport speeds.
His finding that sugars move at 150 cm per hour along the stem is amazing.
because stems represent the bulk of the biomass that we can harvest for biofuels. Understanding the factors that influence branching in the pea plants used in this study may offer valuable insights to help optimize the growth of bioenergy grasses such as switchgrass
And ragweed allergies are linked also to allergies to bananas cantaloupe cucumber zucchini and chamomile tea.
The trees have been slow to bloom this year due to the inconsistent warm and cold temperatures he says.
Leaf material harvested from the various wheat tests plots was placed immediately on ice and then was dried oven
A fast-forward through more than a decade found Bloom and the current research team able to conduct chemical analyses that were not available at the time the experimental wheat plants were harvested.
which showed that there are several physiological mechanisms responsible for carbon dioxide's inhibition of nitrate assimilation in leaves Bloom said. 3 percent protein decline expectedbloom noted that other studies also have shown that protein concentrations in the grain
and barley--as well as in potato tubers--decline on average by approximately 8 percent under elevated levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide.
decades Bloom said. While heavy nitrogen fertilization could partially compensate for this decline in food quality it would also have negative consequences including higher costs more nitrate leaching into groundwater
and promotions appealing said lead author Samir Soneji Phd Norris Cotton Cancer Center researcher and assistant professor at the Geisel School of medicine at Dartmouth and the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical
Norris Cotton Cancer Center prevention experts recommend stricter security for websites and increased enforcement for direct-to-consumer marketing.
The above story is provided based on materials by Norris Cotton Cancer Centerdartmouth-Hitchcock Medical center. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
In fact a new study shows that the CO2 outgassed by the river is drawn only from the river system itself by the semiaquatic vegetation on the flood plains.
This CO2 comes from the decomposition of the organic matter produced by semiaquatic vegetation in the Amazon wetlands.
The link between aquatic vegetation and CO2EMISSIONTEN French and Brazilian teams within the framework of the ANR-CARBAMA project
The measurements of CO2 concentrations dissolved in the water compared to the satellite map of vegetation showed a very strong correlation between the intensity of CO2 outgassing and the area of flooded vegetation and floating aquatic plants.
and in space as the proportion of vegetation diminishes from upstream of the study area where flooded forests dominate to downstream where the majority of the lakes are found.
According to the researcher's estimates the majority of these emissions come from the respiration of the roots and the fall and decay of the semiaquatic vegetation in the flood plains.
its waters release the same quantity of carbon into the atmosphere as is fixed by its vegetation.
One of the largest impediments for the pulp and paper industry as well as the emerging biofuel industry is a polymer found in wood known as lignin says Shawn Mansfield a professor of Wood Science at the University of British columbia.
and is a processing impediment for pulp paper and biofuel. Currently the lignin must be removed a process that requires significant chemicals and energy and causes undesirable waste.
and store it in wood and roots making these forests what scientists call carbon sinks.
but using 13 percent less water and reflecting 34 percent more radiation back into space by breeding for slightly different leaf distribution angles and reflectivity.
what leaf arrangements would best do this. The researchers aimed for three specific areas of improvement.
The researchers looked at how the plant's biology changed with varying structural traits such as leaf area distributions how the leaves are arranged vertically on the stalk and the angles of the leaves.
We've shown that by altering leaf arrangement we could have a yield increase without using more water
and cassava guided by similar computational approaches with the end goal of making more productive and sustainable crops.
The sagebrush ecosystem is adapted not to frequent fires like some forests in California and the central Rockies and fires have increased in frequency and in size over the last half century.
The most common species big sagebrush doesn't re-sprout from the stump. After it burns it's dead
and it's not very good at dispersing seeds long distance said author Robert Arkle a supervisory ecologist for the USGS Forest & Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center at the Snake river Field Station in Idaho.
Seeds aren't viable very long. Some years they don't reproduce at all without the right spring conditions.
Managers are now seeing sagebrush country burn every 20 years in parts of the Great Basin fueled by drought and vigorous nonnatives like cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum.
To cover such large areas BLM spreads seed from aircraft or with tractor and rangeland drill seeders usually in the fall or early winter.
and shrub seeds to the site. In recent years BLM has moved to using native species when possible.
Arkle and his colleagues found little sagebrush cover at burned sites whether treated or not.
We did not see a trend of increasing sagebrush cover with time so time is not the limiting factor in this 20 year window.
If not time then what does need sagebrush to recover? The limiting factor could be related to climate or prevalence of nonnative plants.
and colleagues found preferring a sagebrush steppe environment featuring very little human development and dwarf sagebrush (Artemisia arbuscula A. nova or A. tripartita) but not cheatgrass or other nonnative plants.
The outlier ESR sites preferred by sage grouse had healthier sagebrush and shared common climate and post-treatment weather conditions.
Sagebrush recovery fared better in more northerly higher elevation sites with relatively cool moist springs.
Spring weather has big role in successful germination and growth of sagebrush during the crucial first growing season.
Sagebrush biology and physiology can be the biggest hurdle for restoration managers. To Arkle's mind the study results argue for maintaining
But the factors that ultimately determine the survival of the sagebrush ecosystem may be out of managers'control.
The study and another tracking the recovery of mountain big sagebrush (A. tridentata subsp. vaseyana) at high elevation suggest that climate may play a role in the failure of big sage germination and establishment in hotter locations.
Moreover comparing a GM variety to diverse cultivars can help scientists and consumers put into context any biochemical changes that are observed.
The paper published in the current issue of the Journal of Applied Ecology gives farmers of pollination-dependent crops tangible results to convert marginal acreage to fields of wildflowers said Rufus Isaacs MSU entomologist
As part of the study marginal lands surrounding productive blueberry fields were planted with a mix of 15 native perennial wildflowers.
Once the wild bees were more abundant more flowers turned into blueberries and the blueberries had more seeds
Based on the results a two-acre field planted with wildflowers adjacent to a 10-acre field of blueberries boosted yields by 10-20 percent.
which can recoup the money from planting wildflowers. With 420 species of wild bees in Michigan alone it makes sense to attract as many free pollinators as possible.
Norris Cotton Cancer Center researchers take a look at what we know about e-cigarettes and health.
The above story is provided based on materials by Norris Cotton Cancer Centerdartmouth-Hitchcock Medical center. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length h
The peanut in fields today is the result of a natural cross between two wild species Arachis duranensis and Arachis ipaensis
In addition these genome sequences will serve as a guide for the assembly of the cultivated peanut genome that will help to decipher genomic changes that led to peanut domestication which was marked by increases in seed number and size.
and wild peanuts and develop genomic tools for peanut breeding. The initial sequencing was carried out by the BGI Shenzhen China known previously as the Beijing Genomics Institute.
It's an additional treatment option for those who are allergic to some types of grasses but not those allergic to other varieties of grass trees and weeds.
According to ACAAI those with seasonal allergies can be affected by the pollen of 11 different types of weeds and trees and eight varieties of grass.
Although the approved tablets are beneficial only for those suffering from some forms of grass allergy the FDA's approval will help open the door for others getting approved such as tablets for ragweed and dust mite allergy.
The rapid growth of aquatic plants during the summer months prevents light from reaching the river bed
and increases in the frequency and severity of forest fires. Prolonged periods of inundation on the other hand may decrease productivity
We will evaluate these responses for the first time at a regional scale using remotely sensed indicators of vegetation condition
The scientists looked at the genes'response to five abiotic stresses--drought heavy metal contamination salt cold and nutrient deprivation--and five biotic stresses--bacteria fungus insect predation weed
People with this disease cannot eat food containing wheat rye or barley which is a main source of protein intake in the western diet.
years old according to a new study by Dartmouth-Hitchcock Norris Cotton Cancer Center. In research published on March 31 2014 in JAMA Pediatrics Dartmouth researchers found that one-half to one-third of children did not identify milk
Control Research Program at Norris Cotton Cancer Center. The advertisement would be deceptive by industry standards yet their self-regulation bodies took no action to address the misleading depiction.
The above story is provided based on materials by Norris Cotton Cancer Centerdartmouth-Hitchcock Medical center. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
The study confirms that even with coarse resolution the satellite method could estimate the photosynthetic activity occurring inside plants at the molecular level for areas with relatively homogenous vegetation like the Corn belt.
Unlike most vegetation food crops are managed to maximize productivity. They usually have access to abundant nutrients
and other human influences in the agricultural areas we're not going to correctly estimate the amount of carbon taken up by vegetation particularly corn Joiner said.
and looked for any seasonal changes in vegetation by making a measure of its'greenness'.
'They examined in detail at daily intervals the growth cycle of the vegetation--identifying physical changes such as leaf cover color and growth.
The team was able to examine the data for specific vegetation types:''mosaic'vegetation (grassland shrubland forest and cropland;
broad-leaved deciduous forest; needle-leaved evergreen forest; needle-leaved deciduous and evergreen forest; mixed broad-leaved and needle-leaved forest;
or farming provide the most reliable information on vegetation response to changes in our climate.
and vegetation type making our study more rigorous and with a greater degree of accuracy.
when we control for land cover changes across the globe a changing climate is significantly altering the vegetation growth cycles for certain types of vegetation.
The study used the Global Inventory Modelling and Mapping Studies (GIMMS) dataset and combined satellite imagery with an innovative data processing method to study vegetation cycles.
Agroforestry is integrated an land-use management technique that incorporates trees and shrubs with crops and livestock on farms.
Specifically the use of restored areas that have vegetation next to water resources and contour planting in grasslands appear to be the most effective techniques to reduce sediment transfer to the watershed river network says Wilson.
He is also using plant incubators in his unit to shorten the vegetation period of the new rice.
#Phloem production in Huanglongbing-affected citrus treescitrus Huanglongbing (citrus greening disease) is highly destructive and fast-spreading contributing to a reduction in crop yields in Florida
Citrus trees affected by HLB exhibit a progressive degeneration of the phloem tissue that results in partial or total phloem collapse.
According to the authors of a new study observations of infected citrus suggest that photoassimilate transport takes place in newly developed phloem tissue of young flush and of the older supporting branches and trunk.
At some point after leaf development the phloem eventually collapses and becomes dysfunctional. Craig Brodersen Cody Narciso Mary Reed and Ed Etxeberria from the University of Florida's Citrus Research and Education Center published the results of a study in Hortscience in
which they monitored the progression of phloem production over time in field-grown trees to determine how the trees are capable of sustaining new growth
and then documented the subsequent phloem collapse. The scientists collected fully expanded and developed tissue from HLB-affected trees from 5-year-old'Valencia'orange trees that had been determined previously to be infected with CLAS.
and Education Center using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis. Symptomatic tissue was characterized by blotchy leaf mottle smaller and misshapen yellow leaves
The data suggested that in HLB-affected trees production of vegetative and reproductive tissues is supported for a limited time by new phloem production during periodic flushes of new growth.
Our study indicates that a systemic wave of cambial activity can take place in stems petioles
and midveins of fully expanded leaves and mature stems affected by HLB said Brodersen. In newly produced vegetative tissue even after leaves had expanded already fully phloem elements contain no signs of deterioration.
The scientists concluded that because of the short window during which the phloem appears healthy the weeks immediately before
and after the spring and summer flush are the most critical from a citrus management perspective.
The data was collected at Buttercups Sanctuary for Goats in Kent. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Queen Mary University of London.
and use to meet their needs Dong said We originally thought this would look at seeds growing in a cube.
and disposable chips containing seeds that will grow into seedlings. Hundreds of the chips-in-mini-greenhouses can grow thousands of plants at the same time each greenhouse providing different environmental conditions.
As the plants within all those chambers grow a camera attached to a robotic arm takes thousands of images of cells seeds roots and shoots.
The images record traits such as leaf color root development and shoot size giving researchers clues to the relationship between a plant's genotype the growing conditions and the observable traits of its phenotype.
and Madan Bhattacharyya who's studying how fungal pathogens interact with soybean seeds at different moisture levels.
and rest on vegetation before entering and being captured by the trap. This study presents evidence that placement of an attract
and the carbon isotopes of leaf wax a marker for plant varieties (grasses indicate dry conditions).
carbon isotopes from plant leaf wax. Leaves are covered with a carbon-based wax that protects them from losing too much water to evaporation.
Different plants have different carbon isotopes in their leaf wax. Tropical grasses which are adapted for dryer climates tend to have the C-13 isotope.
Taken together the results suggest a dry period strong enough to alter the region's vegetation that was correlated closely with the peak glaciation in the northern hemisphere.
However it seems that in most years autumn weather plays a bigger role perhaps acting as a filter that weeds out weaker birds before the real winter hits.
and the hidden nature of their webs which are built in palmetto shrubs. Red widows conceal their funnel-shaped retreats in unopened palmetto leaves making them difficult to spot.
The only clues to the spiders'presence visible solely on foggy mornings during four months of the year are spun the threads loosely between tips of palmetto frond.
and in May 2003--have enough webs been located to study the dietary habits of these elusive spiders.
which often are larger and stronger than the spiders themselves fly just above the tops of scrub vegetation said Mark Deyrup senior research biologist for the Archbold Biological Station who co-authored the study.
Sometimes beetles hit the web strands between tips of palmetto fronds and tumble into the denser tangle of threads below catching them in the red widows'webs.
#Excessive deer populations hurt native plant biodiversitytoo much garlic mustard growing in the forests of Pennsylvania?
A new study published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences concludes that an overpopulation of deer is the primary reason garlic mustard is crowding out native plants such as trillium
The study was initiated in 2003 at the Trillium Trail Nature Reserve in Fox Chapel Pa. by a team of researchers from the University of Miami and University of Pittsburgh.
The project takes a long view on why invasive garlic mustard plants thrive to the detriment of native species. Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) is a plant native to Europe
The persistence of garlic mustard greatly reduces forest biodiversity. To study the effect of rampant deer on trillium
and garlic mustard populations the researchers established multiple 196-square-meter plots in the forest. Half were fenced to exclude deer.
Years of observation and hours of statistical analysis later the team found that in plots where deer were excluded the trillium population is increasing
and the garlic mustard population is trending toward zero. This demonstrates that the high population growth rate of the invader is caused by the high abundance of deer says Susan Kalisz professor of evolutionary ecology in the University of Pittsburgh's Department of Biological sciences and principal investigator of the study.
This effect is reversible with deer exclusion. The team's results support an ecological theory that native species in communities can exert biotic resistance.
If the native plants are allowed to thrive rather than being consumed by deer the combined natural competitive advantages of those plants--including trillium--allow them to repel the outsiders.
Ants promote the regeneration of these forests by dispersing seeds to safe sites for tree establishment.
and the extension of coca plantations the forests are fragmented highly. The forest relicts are surrounded by an open largely degraded cultural landscape.
The red lipid-rich aril a fleshy pulp surrounding the seeds of Clusia is highly attractive to many animals.
They feed on the nutritious part of the fruits the fleshy aril and defecate the seeds. Ants haul seeds which have fallen to the ground to their nests or leave them intact on their way.
Research has already been conducted on the influence of this so-called secondary seed dispersal but very little is known about its impact in degraded forest ecosystems.
The study reveals that ants reduce seed predation by rodents and increase germination success --which confirms the importance of this ecosystem function for forest regeneration.
which are surrounded by coca fields and degraded fallows covered with fern and shrub vegetation. The microclimate in the deforested areas is characterized by harsh abiotic conditions that limit seed germination
and recruitment and hence inhibit the re-establishment of forest trees. The researchers deposited 1440 Clusia seeds in 72 depots at six sites.
At each site they studied three habitat types: forest interior degraded habitat close to the forest and degraded habitat far from the forest edge.
To quantify the effect of rodents in addition to the impact of ants half of the depots where equipped with wire exclusion cages.
and hauled away about 60 percent of all seeds says Silvia Gallegos lead author of the study
and a doctoral student at the Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (Bik-F) and the University of Halle-Wittenberg. 48 hours and again one month after establishing the depots the team searched for the seeds within a 2. 5
meter radius. More than 80 percent of the seeds transported away could be relocated. In most cases the ants removed the aril
which is a benefit for the plants due to a lower risk of fungal infestation and a higher germination rate.
Especially in the degraded habitats we found that seeds which had been removed by ants were predated less often
and germinated more frequently than the unmoved seeds explains Dr. Matthias Schleuning co-author and scientist at Bik-F. Quite often the ants removed the seed aril only in their nests
or on the way there--often leaving the seeds protected by the litter layer. Under the leaf litter the seeds were less likely to be detected by rodents
or other seed predators and benefited from the humid conditions favorable for germination. The effect in the deforested habitats was clearly visible:
one month after the experiment had started establishment of seedlings was about five times higher for dispersed than for non-dispersed seeds.
Dispersal distance had a positive effect as well: The farther the ants had transported the seeds the higher was the chance that Clusia seedlings had established.
Even more important services by ants in the futureants have a clearly positive impact on the dispersal
and establishment of the investigated tree species. This is particularly relevant as other animal and plant species may follow the species that facilitates the establishment of others.
Due to the ecosystem service provided by ants in the degraded areas a faster and sustainable establishment of tree seedlings like Clusia may be expected.
In addition to soybeans coffee beans and shirts if made from cotton consume lots of water from the growing process to processing to shipping--with most of that water consumption resulting from evaporation
and reduced seed set greatly reducing the crop yield. The impacts on wheat and soybean are likely to be less profound primarily because of the fertilisation effects that elevated levels of CO2 can have on these crops.
#Dry future climate could reduce orchid bee habitatduring Pleistocene era climate changes neotropical orchid bees that relied on year-round warmth
In previous studies researchers have tracked male and female orchid bees and found that while females stay near their nests male orchid bees travel with one study concluding they roam as far as 7 kilometers per day.
These past findings corroborated by genetic data in the current study reveal that males are more mobile than females.
since male orchid bees habitually travel far they can keep bee populations connected and healthy.
Climate and ecological niche computer model simulations were matched closely by genetic data of the two less-tolerant orchid bee species. The genetic data included mitochondrial markers
Orchid bees live in the neotropics an ecozone that includes part of South and Central america the Mexican lowlands and the Caribbean islands.
They are one of the most important pollinators visiting many types of plants including some 700 species of orchids that are pollinated exclusively by these bees.
The list is expanding to include the production of rum gin whiskey bourbon flavored liqueurs and even agave spirits similar to tequila.
Even the source of the vodka--corn wheat rye barley potato berries and cactus--didn't affect peoples'preferences he noted.
#Radiation damage at the root of Chernobyls ecosystemsradiological damage to microbes near the site of the Chernobyl disaster has slowed the decomposition of fallen leaves
Some 15 or 20 years later these tree trunks were in pretty good shape. If a tree had fallen in my backyard it would be sawdust in 10 years or so.
They set out to assess the rate at which plant material decomposed as a function of background radiation placing hundreds of samples of uncontaminated leaf litter (pine needles and oak maple and birch leaves) in mesh bags throughout the area.
A statistical analysis of the weight loss of each leaf litter sample after those nine months showed that higher background radiation was associated with less weight loss.
and in the most contaminated regions the leaf loss was 40 percent less than in control regions in Ukraine with normal background radiation levels.
and fungi that decompose plant matter in healthy ecosystems are hindered by radioactive contamination. They showed a smaller effect for small invertebrates such as termites that also contribute to decomposition of plant biomass.
There's been growing concern by many different groups of the potential for catastrophic forest fires to sweep through this part of the world
It adds to the fuel as well as makes it more likely that catastrophically sized forest fires might start.
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