Green leaf volatiles: a natural ally in plant stress resistance

Scientists have identified a natural compound, (Z)-3-hexenyl butyrate (HB), that can induce stomatal closure in plants, a defense mechanism to conserve water and protect against pathogens. This discovery could lead to more sustainable agricultural practices by enhancing crop resilience to environmental stresses without the need for synthetic pesticides.

Not Running Dry: UNLV Project Tackles Water Scarcity in Rural Communities

A UNLV research team is developing sustainable water management solutions for rural arid areas in the U.S. and China, focusing on wastewater reuse through solar-powered treatment processes. The project aims to provide low-cost technologies for non-potable — and possibly potable — reuse in rural communities in both countries, addressing water scarcity and quality issues.

Decoding atractylodes lancea: a genomic journey through adaptation and metabolism

Scientists have decoded the genetic blueprint of Atractylodes lancea, a prized herb in traditional Chinese medicine. Through comprehensive genome resequencing, the study unveils how natural variations drive the plant’s evolution and metabolic adaptations, particularly affecting the production of key medicinal compounds.

Rootstock secrets: how engineered walnuts combat drought through grafting

A cutting-edge study has revealed how genetic signals from rootstocks influence drought resistance in grafted walnut trees. Researchers found that by modifying the JrGA20ox1 gene in rootstocks, they could significantly enhance the trees’ ability to cope with water scarcity. The study demonstrates a powerful new method for improving agricultural resilience to climate change, offering hope for sustaining walnut production under increasingly challenging environmental conditions.

FAU Lands $1.3M NSF Grant to Boost Dryland Soil Quality Amid Climate Stressors

Drylands, found across every continent, cover about 45% of the Earth’s land surface and support 38% of the human population. The NSF grant will enable scientists to enhance understanding of climate resistance of individual microbes and to improve microbial remediations to reduce soil degradation under climate change.

Phosphorylation: the molecular key to birch trees’ drought endurance

Researchers have elucidated the pivotal function of the BpNAC90 gene’s phosphorylation in birch trees, which is essential for their drought tolerance. This discovery in gene expression regulation presents a significant step towards engineering plants with enhanced resilience to arid conditions, offering a strategic approach to combat the impacts of climate change on vegetation.

New report ‘braids’ Indigenous and Western knowledge for forest adaptation strategies against climate change

Severe droughts and wildfires, invasive species, and large insect outbreaks are straining national forests and surrounding lands. A new report outlines a new approach to forest stewardship that “braids together” Indigenous knowledge and Western science to conserve and restore more resilient forestlands in the U.S.

Tropical Plants Beat Drought by Interacting with Specific Microbes

Researchers from the University of Arizona and the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, a Department of Energy user facility, discovered that that plants can maintain specific microbe partnerships during times of drought, revealing a new level of resilience.

Revealing Nature’s Secrets from Space: Satellite Data Unlocks Drought’s Impact on Southwest China’s Carbon Cycle

A new study reveals a significant increase in aboveground carbon (AGC) in Southwest China from 2013 to 2021, defying the adverse effects of extreme droughts. This achievement underscores the region’s pivotal role as a carbon sink, attributed to extensive ecological projects and innovative remote sensing techniques.

Drought, Soil Desiccation Cracking, and Carbon Dioxide Emissions: An Overlooked Feedback Loop Exacerbating Climate Change

Soil stores 80 percent of carbon on earth, yet with increasing cycles of drought, that crucial reservoir is cracking and breaking down, releasing even more greenhouse gases creating an amplified feedback loop that could accelerate climate change.

Study links changes in global water cycle to higher temperatures

A new study takes an important step toward reconstructing a global history of water over the past 2,000 years. Using geologic and biologic evidence preserved in natural archives — including globally distributed corals, trees, ice, cave formations and sediments — the researchers showed that the global water cycle has changed during periods of higher and lower temperatures in the recent past.

Combining math and entomology to predict, mitigate soybean aphid outbreaks

Iowa State researchers are developing mathematical models to simulate soybean aphid population dynamics over a growing season with a wide array of stressors, including droughts and floods. The project received a USDA grant earlier this year and is in collaboration with entomologists at Ohio State University.

New Research Suggests Wheat Crops May Be Threatened by Unprecedented Heat and Drought

A recent study led by a researcher at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University found that the likelihood of extreme temperatures that could affect crop yields has increased significantly in wheat-producing regions of the U.S. and China.

Fire Hydrant Hydrophones Find Water Leaks #ASA184

Acoustic monitoring is the go-to solution for locating a leak in a large urban pipe network, as the sounds from leaks are unique and travel far in water, but even this method struggles in complex systems. To tackle the problem, Pranav Agrawal and Sriram Narasimhan from UCLA developed algorithms that operate on acoustic signals collected via hydrophones mounted on fire hydrants. In doing so, the team can avoid costly excavation and reposition the devices as needed. Combined with novel probabilistic and machine-learning techniques to analyze the signals and pinpoint leaks, this technology could support water conservation efforts.

US forests face an unclear future with climate change

Climate change might compromise how permanently forests are able to store carbon and keep it out of the air. In a new study, researchers found that the regions most at risk to lose forest carbon through fire, climate stress or insect damage are those regions where many forest carbon offset projects have been set up. The authors assert that there’s an urgent need to update these carbon offsets protocols and policies.

MSU research reveals how climate change threatens Asia’s water tower

Tibet is known as the “Water Tower of Asia,” providing water to about 2 billion people and supporting critical ecosystems in High Mountain Asia and the Tibetan Plateau, where many of the largest Asian river systems originate. This region is also one of the areas most vulnerable to the compounding effects of climate change and human activities. Michigan State University researchers are identifying policy changes that need to happen now to prepare for the future impacts projected by climate models.

Thirsty wheat needed new water management strategy in ancient China

Research from Washington University in St. Louis shows that a practice of purposeful water management, or irrigation, was adopted in northern China about 4,000 years ago as part of an effort to grow new grains that had been introduced from southwest Asia. But the story gets more complex from there. Wheat and barley arrived on the scene at about the same time, but early farmers only used water management techniques for wheat.

How to keep your garden up in the middle of a drought

KINGSTON, R.I. – August 1, 2022 – For backyard gardeners, mild droughts and water ban restrictions common during the summer months can be a cause for concern. Kate Venturini Hardesty, a program administrator and educator with the University of Rhode Island’s Cooperative Extension, offers some tips for backyard gardeners who are feeling the heat.

How long does a tree or ecosystem remember a drought?

A team of NAU scientists, led by SICCS professor Kiona Ogle, won a $3.6 million grant from the NSF to study the legacy of extreme climate events on ecosystems in the American West; they hope to not only know how long an extreme event influences ecosystems but also figure out how to better forecast such effects.

Modeling Study Projects 21st Century Droughts Will Increase Human Migration

Drought and the potential increase in the number of droughts worldwide due to climate change remains a concern for scientists. A recent study led by Stony Brook University researchers suggests that human migration due to droughts will increase by at least 200 percent as we move through the 21st Century.

California’s carbon mitigation efforts may be thwarted by climate change itself

Irvine, Calif., July 22, 2021 – To meet an ambitious goal of carbon neutrality by 2045, California’s policymakers are relying in part on forests and shrublands to remove CO2 from the atmosphere, but researchers at the University of California, Irvine warn that future climate change may limit the ecosystem’s ability to perform this service.