It's a long slow descent into mortal danger from the safety of home among the upper branches of the forest.
and cover the pile with leaf litter. Then it's back up the tree in an achingly sluggish climb.
#Sequence of water buffalo completedlal Teer Livestock Limited an associate of Lalteer Seed Ltd. the largest seed company in Bangladesh with strong hybrid research program
#Exploring the roots of the problem: How a South american tree adapts to volcanic soilssoils of southern South america including Patagonia have endured a high frequency of disturbances from volcanic eruptions earthquakes landslides and erosion.
The greater surface area of cluster roots increases root exudates of organic acids and phosphatases. These exudates enhance plant phosphorus acquisition from unavailable forms in the soil.
Piper designed a field study to better understand the role of cluster roots of E. coccineum across a natural precipitation and phosphorus gradient in its native habitat.
Seedlings were assessed for number and biomass of cluster roots plant size and growth and foliar phosphorus levels.
The number of cluster roots was significantly higher in large seedlings yet biomass investment in cluster roots was greater for small seedlings.
Piper found that cluster roots mediate a decoupling of foliar P from soil P concentrations for small seedlings.
The relative investment in cluster roots was linked directly to both low soil N and leaf P. Seedlings from sites with lower total soil N had more cluster roots regardless of other soil characteristics.
The cluster root adaptation is very sensitive and highly expressed at low total soil N levels
The investment in cluster roots declines after seedling establishment most likely as aerial growth is increasingly important for light competition.
Embothrium coccineum may have an important role in reforestation of Patagonia as an early successional species. Cluster roots have been identified in other plant species including some agronomic crops in the Cucurbitaceae.
and P may lead to advantageous root adaptation in other plants. Piper is already exploring further research to understand how E. coccineum benefits neighbors by providing increased nutrient availability from root exudates
or leaf litter decomposition. As a result of this study nitrogen status of soil and plants in addition to phosphorus will always be included in Proteaceae studies by Piper.
because trees and the fungi associated with their roots break down rocks and minerals in the soil to get nutrients for growth.
and assess how they were broken down and weathered by the fungi associated with the roots of the trees. â#As reported in Biogeosciences the researchers found that low atmospheric CO2Â acts as a â#carbon starvationâ##brake.
because low CO2Â reduces plantsâ##ability to perform photosynthesis meaning less carbon-energy is supplied to the roots and their fungi.
Tracking an alien invader of conker trees using people poweran army of citizen scientists has helped the professionals understand how a tiny'alien'moth is attacking the UK's conker (horse-chestnut trees
No bigger than a grain of rice the horse-chestnut leaf-mining moth has spread rapidly through England and Wales since its arrival in London in 2002.
The caterpillars of the moth'tunnel'through the leaves of conker trees causing them to turn brown and autumnal in appearance even in the height of summer.
In 2010 thousands of'citizen scientists'were asked by two professional ecologists to collect records of leaf damage from across the country as part of a project called'Conker Tree Science'.
and other people to put a damaged leaf in a plastic bag wait two weeks and then see insects--the adult moths
Unlike some other citizen science projects that use biological records submitted by members of the public for long-term monitoring the Conker Tree Science project set out to test two specific hypotheses over the course of a year.
Conker Tree Science was run with funding from the Natural Environment Research Council and begun when the two authors were at the University of Bristol.
Leaf research needs photos, lab analysisevery picture tells a story but the story digital photos tell about how forests respond to climate change could be incomplete according to new research.
During that same period Yang and his colleagues took weekly leaf samples from the forest
The study showed that peak leaf senescence--the increase in red pigments in the fall--was captured quite well by the cameras.
but could also be useful for tourism officials in places like Vermont where leaf peepers plan trips to take in the fall colors.
A pilot program in Indiana is testing this approach compensating farmers for losses that stem from the planting delay he said.
and abundance of beneficial insects and opens the plantations to winds that help disperse coffee rust spores according to U-M ecologist John Vandermeer
and to the pollination of a range of agricultural crops--from carrots to almonds to oilseed rape--that is valued at â billion.
and then sells both the seeds and the weed killer to farmers. â#oewhat weâ##re doing is a little differentâ#Pepper said. â#oeweâ##re not actually adding in a gene from another species. Rather weâ##re knocking down the effect of one
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena Germany have now found that ants also keep harmful leaf pathogens in check.
Intriguingly the leaves of acacia colonized by parasitic ants showed more leaf damage from herbivores
Analysis of the surfaces of the leaves revealed that the number of plant pathogens as well as of necrotic plant tissues increased considerably
and/or rye--and sometimes grape wine imported from southern or Central europe. New research published in the Danish Journal of Archaeology examines evidencederived from samples inside pottery and bronze drinking vessels and strainers from four sites in Demark and Sweden.
#Ramularia and the 4 Rsthe gene that has provided spring barley with resistance to powdery mildew for over 30 years increases susceptibility to newly-important disease Ramularia leaf spot.
#Walden Pond trees leafing out far earlier than in Thoreaus timeclimate-change studies by Boston University biologists show leaf-out times of trees and shrubs
and if plants leaf out early in warm years they risk having their leaves damaged by a surprise frost.
But if plants wait to leaf out until after all chance of frost is lost they may lose their competitive advantage.
when Caroline Polgar a graduate student with Primack examined Thoreau's unpublished observations of leaf-out times for common trees
On average woody plants in Concord leaf out 18 days earlier now. In New england plants have to be cautious about leafing out in the early spring.
If they leaf out too early their young leaves could suffer from subsequent late frost.
and collected leafless dormant twigs from each species and placed them in cups of water in their lab. Over the following weeks they observed how quickly each species was be able produce their leaves in these unseasonably warm lab conditions.
We found compelling evidence that invasive shrubs such as Japanese barberry are ready to leaf out quickly once they are exposed to warm temperatures in the lab even in the middle of winter
whereas native shrubs like highbush bluberry and native trees like red maple need to go through a longer winter chilling period before they can leaf out
not only leaves but also numerous branches pollen cones seed cones and even a winged seed still attached to the cone.
The various species of Agathis are identified usually by their pollen cones so this is the first time that a fossil Agathis could be compared directly to trees growing today.
Many of the most important crops in Europe such as rapeseed sunflower soybeans apples and strawberries benefit from pollination by insects.
which helpful bacteria that have entered the roots of plants convert nitrogen in the atmosphere into ammonia
. 4 million years ago mainly ate tiger nuts (grass bulbs) supplemented with the odd grasshopper and worm.
Tiger nuts are edible grass bulbs still eaten in parts of the world today. The study published in the journal PLOS ONE also suggests that these early hominins may have sought additional nourishment from fruits and invertebrates like worms and grasshoppers.
What this research tells us is that hominins were selective about the part of the grass that they ate choosing the grass bulbs at the base of the grass blade as the mainstay of their diet.'
and seeds and to consume fewer desserts and convenience foods. â#¢Fat is a critical nutrient
#Researchers target cancer stem cells in malignant brain tumorsresearchers at the Cedars-Sinai Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute and Department of Neurosurgery identified immune system targets on cancer
stem cells--cells from which malignant brain tumors are believed to originate and regenerate--and created an experimental vaccine to attack them.
Results of laboratory and animal studies are published in the online edition of Stem Cells Translational Medicine
Like normal stem cells cancer stem cells have the ability to self-renew and generate new cells
if the cancer stem cells can be destroyed a tumor may not be able to sustain itself
The researchers identified certain fragments of a protein--CD133--that is found on cancer stem cells of some brain tumors and other cancers.
which reveals the oldest evidence of sexual reproduction in a flowering plant--a cluster of 18 tiny flowers from the Cretaceous period--with one of them in the process of making some new seeds for the next generation.
Even more remarkable is the microscopic image of pollen tubes growing out of two grains of pollen
This sets the stage for fertilization of the egg and would begin the process of seed formation--had the reproductive act been completed.
In Cretaceous flowers we've never before seen a fossil that shows the pollen tube actually entering the stigma said George Poinar Jr. a professor emeritus in the Department of Integrative Biology at the OSU College of Science.
and try growing oilseed crops to make your own fuel for your diesel vehicles--after all, that's
and grow deep, healthy roots in loose soil, while better filtering rainwater. Here's an example of a Silva Cell at Vancouver's Olympic Village:
Photo of urban farm in Chicago is from Linda via Wikimedia More urban roots on Smartplanet:
and shucked and eaten as quickly as possible off the stalk--is the sweetest that money can buy.
Most of these funds were spent on addressing problems related to the growth of street tree roots,
The seeds or saplings planted this year won't be a harvestable or marketable asset for potentially 30 to 40 years.
Solar panel discs bloom at the end of 16-foot fronds. When charged with six hours of sunlight, they can shine for nearly 10 hours straight.
Within a foot of the bulb, the dizzy bugs drop, falling to their watery deaths inside a bucket.
At around $1, 000 for a two-bulb unit, the systems could add up. Compared to organic pesticides prices,
It decomposes like any old branch in the soil to recreate what happens in the forest,
trees and greenery--planned for these projects. Amazon is the latest tech company to join the architectural fray.
But there so many others â skate, cod, scallops. When you go scallop dredging, you ruin their environment.
and roots--it releases a lot of carbon, in the form of carbon dioxide and methane, into the atmosphere as it thaws.
whose roots have lost their solid support system, lean crazily. Thermokarsts are becoming more common in some regions,
A park for all seasons--fall for the hues of red, orange, and yellow foliage; winter for snow-covered trees and ice skating;
spring for tulip bulbs and pink and white blossoming trees; summer for picnicking on Sheep Meadow and concerts on the Great Lawn. 2. Barcelona,
you'll find Jardins Mossã Â n Costa i Llobera (home to hundreds of varieties of cacti) and the Jardins Mossã Â n Cinto Verdaguer (where 100,000 plants bloom throughout the year.
the historic Hirschgarten is known now more for its massive beer garden than for its greenery,
Spring for cherry blossom trees; fall for the changing autumn leaves. 10. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Highlights include Wissahickon Valley Park with 50 miles of rugged terrain for mountain bikers and hikers, plus trout fishing in Wissahickon creek;
such as Brazil's sugar cane-based fuel, meant to spur domestic demand. A bipartisan group called to put the subsidies to rest in a letter,
longer growing seasons deeper roots (10 to 12 feet down) hold down topsoil reduce erosion build soil sequester carbon from the air reduce farm equipment maintenance requirements use less herbicide Will perennial grains really be the answer
The practice of modeling structures after those of nearby animals is a time-honored tradition with ancient roots,
or ditching it into the pulp and paper market. Accordingly, Mccraw believes we're headed for a pine pulpwood shortage.
Their roots weave across the stone facades, the trunks and branches extending off the top of the structures.
Residents see the wall trees as valuable both for their historical significance such stone walls were a distinctly British design
Some people do actually eat the seed, and apple trees do grow from random seeds scattered on compost heaps on the side of the road.
This is the problem with complex organisms and complex ecosystems. There s always going to be some level of contamination and risk.
Furthermore, what's important is that you can process all kinds of available biomass--wood chips, switch grass, corn stover, rice husks, wheat straw ââ Â,
the bark bleed, and the leaves die. Dutch researchers discovered that 70 percent of trees in The netherlands are affected by Wi-fi radiation.
using sticks to break the kernels off the stems. They pounded off the hulls with an old mortar
and pestle, winnowed the grains in an antique basket and cooked them over an open fire.
The Spanish moss that sways gently from the branches of oak trees appeared in Chiang's dish as a backdrop to woodsy lichen flakes and a puree of wild plants.
including Carolina peas, raw peanuts, benne, barley and camelina, a microscopic oil seed from antiquity.
Barns, Pocantico Hills, USA Sean Brock Mccrady's, Husk, Charleston, South carolina Jeremy Charles Raymonds, St john's, Newfoundland, Canada Andrã Â Chiang Restaurant
Tim Edwards of the fuel branch of AFRL said in a release today. Virent has made fuels and chemicals from sugars in cellulosic biomass before.
a process the company says is more effective and cheaper than extracting sugar from corn or sugarcane.
But others could address real issues around sanitation, urban greenery and traffic. A project called DIY Traffic Controller, developed by Theodore Ullrich, an industrial designer from Tomorrow Lab and his partner Aurash Khawarzad
and made available to the adjacent plants (large bamboo stalks, in the prototype). Sensors measure the amount of urine entering the urinal and monitor ammonia levels.
Lockheed martin debuts maple seed-inspired dronemaple seeds. Most people admire them for being pretty and delicate
A foot long, the SAMARAI (after samara, the name for maple seeds) also has one wing
D c. How samara fly In a manner similar to insects, hummingbirds and bats, maple seeds fly by creating a vortex over the leading edge of the wing.
Reducing the pressure above the wing's surface like this creates a mini sideways tornado
when maple seeds swirl to the ground, they go much more slowly and land farther from the tree than they otherwise would.
Beyond their utilitarian function, enabling natives to cross distant ridges, the bridges are essentially the roots of a type of rubber tree called ficus elastica.
Left unfettered, the roots expand in more unwieldy pattern (hint: they're definitely not being
But at some point roughly 500 years ago, indigenous tribespeople discovered that they could guide the formation of this outgrowth using betel nut trunks as tools.
Once the roots reach the opposite bank, they form a stable foundation from which to they continue to grow
Living root bridges Related stories: Video: China unveils world s longest sea bridge, but is it?
and then be kneaded in the shape of a chrysanthemum flower--the most challenging part of the process.
I think, stems from our simultaneous obsession with pork and animal-centric cooking in general. Ramen perfectly encapsulates our hedonistic pleasure in eating--it's comforting
In this video, you can see Treebot inch its way up thin stalks of bamboo as well as trees with much thicker diameters.
and you hold your breath as it makes 90-degree turns onto branches. While it would best most humans any day
such as leaving traditional communities without the natural wealth they relied upon, a problem which falls back on governments and seeds unrest.
Perhaps the additional, continual complaints about the lack of a work-life balance could be solved by taking a leaf out of Google's book.
It turns out that the bean leaf solution is as good as the best of those methods.
it is an important step in the long-term strategy to find a solution to provide affordable access to safe water for All the Swach's filter uses a combination of paddy husk ash and silver particles to kill 80
India produces 20 million tons of paddy husk ash each year as a byproduct of rice milling.
They would give it back to the pulp and paper mill and those guys would mix it back in with their black liquor.
Green algae used to make plastics that dont contain petroleum The algae bloom of alternative energy Video:
disperse seeds, and pollinate plants. And humans, directly and indirectly, keep infringing on their natural habitats;
 she says. caption id=attachment 7063 align=alignright width=300 caption=Some Acacia wattle seeds contain toxins
although they also contain bamboo, sugarcane bagasse, and wheat or rice straw. The company makes a point of noting that these are plants that are used not typically in food production,
stone fruits and citrus varieties, can now look at everything from unit costs and revenue for individual crop types to how many boxes per hour crews are harvesting.
Wired's Brandon Keim reports on the new drought-resistant seeds: None have been tested in large-scale, real-world conditions,
Most likely a combination of new seed technologies and old agriculture methods like dry farming will provide our best defense against the inevitable loss of precipitation over our farmland.
Placing microchips into 2, 500 tree trunks within 247 acres of forest, the organization is testing
it can actually be made from sugar cane. To me, the building block is not as important as
Maybe sugar cane makes sense in certain regions of the world, but were going to need a whole suite of solutions.
In some cases, it might make sense to use sugar cane; or to use petroleum-based plastic;
What works as a good solution where they have a lot of sugar cane in Brazil may not work in Sydney
His backyard holds a small mill with one Šbeater  machine that produces about 40kgs of pulp.
Future plans also involve making paper with more raw materials like bamboo, sugarcane and vegetable waste.
which will produce 100 kgs of pulp, as well as other equipment like cutting, pressing and glazing machines.
such as pulp made from sugar cane and those based on some rice bioproducts. Overall, the company's goal is to reduce packaging volume by 10 percent by 2012.
Our facility is going to be colocated with a pulp mill. Â There are over 500 pulp mills in this country
and they're on their back. We're focusing on three areas: pulp mills and ethanol plants in the Southeast, Northeast and Northwest,
The way we're going to cross the Valley of Death is co-locate with a pulp mill.
Our initial efforts will focus on the sustainable sourcing of sugarcane, oranges and corn. More evidence that water conservation technology in the field is a smart corporate sustainability investment
by cantilevering each floor off of a main trunk, or core, that runs 42 stories up the center of the building.
which pioneered the tree-trunk construction, with steel at its core and reinforced concrete slabs for its floors.
The Timber Tower calls for cross-laminated timber slabs for the trunk, floors and walls,
They can come from smaller species, with smaller trunks, in agriculturally managed forests and even from the millions of fir trees killed by beetle infestation each year in North america.
They did it, in fact, with their landmark Chestnut building and its unique trunk-and-cantilever structural system.
Plantlab also deploys infra red light, relative humidity, air temperature, root and substrate temperature, and airflow to achieve
(which translates to Green Leaf) Eco Community Development. The development is being billed as a sustainable garden city,
The engineered maize seeds produced proteins decorated with sugars that could be converted to human forms.
a non-food feedstock consisting of corn stalks and leaves. Using corn stover instead of corn alleviates two problems:
cellulosic, sugarcane, grain (mostly corn from the U s.)600 more plants are needed in next decade.
a patent-pending technology that uses a growing organism and byproducts from food production (oat hulls from New york, cotton hulls from Texas and rice hulls from Arkansas) to create a strong composite material.
it starts breaking down like a seed husk within three months to a year. It s getting broken into biocompatible stuff.
So the mycelium from mushrooms you use that as a glue to hold together these agricultural byproducts?
That mycelium is sort of like the root structure of a mushroom. Mycelium is comprised of tiny hollow fibers,
and the fibers are made up mostly of chitin which is what s in lobster shells.
The key is the mycelium the whole organism and the seed husk becomes the final product.
In every other approach, they take not the seed husk but the seed the more expensive part that people would eat
--and they grow the seed and throw away parts of it, so it requires much more energy
and creates more waste. We re using waste materials and using the entire organism. The future for us is replacing foam.
Chief scientist and cofounder Gavin Mcintyre just won a half a million dollar proposal to adopt this same platform for automobile interior trim parts and cushions.
The heart of our innovation is mycelium. We have patents pending in 35 countries on that.
They mix it with other materials, like leaves or twigs, and compost it over 90 to 120 days.
Of course, the seed-free type exists here, but isn't popular, as the Spanish swear that the seeds provide much richer flavor for both table and wine grapes.
Even when they must cram 12 grapes in their mouth as the clock strikes 12 on nochevieja (New year's eve
most Spanish choose the challenge of the seeds over risking a less flavorful uva. Most wineries also seem to be producing the wrong type of wine,(like) cheap table wine,
That gives you deeper roots, which hold the soil better and help filter out pollutants. Keep fertilizing materials off hard surfaces.
and fallen branches might also affect soil health, biodiversity and wildlife habitat. The study, conducted over four years, covers 80 forest types within 19 different eco-regions,
But for the overly-obsessed, New york city-based start up Blossom One has introduced what may just be the ultimate kitchen appliance.
the $11, 000 Blossom One Limited features the kind of high-tech precision that's sure to appease the taste buds of even the most discriminate of coffee snobs.
smashes speed record Users can program the Blossom One Limited with presets for various flavors of coffee.
since Blossom One has partnered with high-end growers to provide beans that come in QR-coded bags,
and grafts fruit branches onto non fruit-bearing public trees, hiding farm-fresh produce in an urban environment.
Supreme court lifts ban on genetically modified seeds
Genetically modifying plants to absorb arsenicsince ancient times, humans have been using and abusing arsenic for everything from mining to medicine to murder.
A second copy of ACR3 allows the ladder brake fern to safely transport arsenic from its roots to its fronds,
Salt said rice plants could be modified with the gene to store arsenic in the roots of plants-instead of rice grains-in contaminated paddies.
Flowering species (from more recent branches of plant evolution) appear not to have ACR3 at all.
In Moore County in North carolina, Cedar Grove maps show sewer lines that literally branch around some of the black neighborhoods without going through them.
Turning algae into oil the NASA way Growing the next'green'fuel Algae could be jet fuel of the future The algae bloom of alternative energy The Algaeus algae-fueled Prius hits
Black beans and pinto beans, rice and amaranth, soups and dressings, milk, yogurt, cheese and coffee, sweets and jams:
which affects the liver, in spinach and bitter gourd. In May, the Delhi High court ordered the government to conduct surprise checks to test vegetables
we can easily imagine air travel returning to its roots as a mode of travel that only the wealthy can afford.
which include papayas, corn, bananas, ginger, sugar cane, lettuce and tomatoes. The farm is edged almost entirely by a babbling brook,
grasses or non-edible plant parts including corn stalks and wheat straw. The remaining amount includes 1 billion gallons of biomass-based diesel fuel
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