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UrduA team of researchers has developed an innovative approach that maps the soil salt contentaround the world with an exceptional detail of 10 meters. This breakthrough tackles the pressing need for accurate assessments of soil salinity, a formidable challenge that jeopardizes agricultural productivity and soil vitality on a global scale.
Tag: Soils
Pesticides to help protect seeds can adversely affect earthworms’ health
Research published in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology Letters reveals that worms are affected by small amounts of chemicals from pesticide-treated seeds.
Soil carried on sea freight loaded with dangerous pests and diseases
Often introduced unintentionally by human activities, invasive alien species can outcompete and overwhelm native flora and fauna, driving species to the brink of extinction and disrupting the balance of ecosystems
Lawrence Livermore grabs two spots in DOE’s Energy Earthshot program
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists will lead and co-lead projects in support of the Department of Energy’s (DOE) new Energy Earthshot program.
Could microplastics in soil introduce drug-resistant superbugs to the food supply?
A new review in Pathogens suggests micro- and nanoplastics in agricultural soil could contribute to antibiotic-resistant bacteria with a ready route into our food supply.
Soil microbiome, Earth’s ‘living skin’ under threat from climate change
Using a novel method to detect microbial activity in biological soil crusts, or biocrusts, after they are wetted, a Penn State-led research team in a new study uncovered clues that will lead to a better understanding of the role microbes play in forming a living skin over many semi-arid ecosystems around the world.
The Legacy of Past Disturbance Shapes Coastal Forest Soil Stability
Coastal forests are increasingly exposed to the effects of climate change and sea level rise. New experimental research examined how soils change when transplanted between parts of a tidal creek that differed in salinity. Scientists found that soils with a history of salinity and inundation by seawater were more resistant to changes in water conditions, suggesting that soils learn from their history of inundation.
Humans are leaving behind a ‘frozen signature’ of microbes on Mount Everest
In decades past, scientists have been unable to conclusively identify human-associated microbes in samples collected above 26,000 feet. This study marks the first time that next-generation gene sequencing technology has been used to analyze soil from such a high elevation on Mount Everest, enabling researchers to gain new insight into almost everything and anything that’s in them.
Hijacking the Hijackers: Engineering Bacterial Viruses to Genetically Modify their Hosts
Most methods of editing bacterial genomes use plasmids to transfer DNA between bacterial cells, but this approach isn’t always efficient in mixed microbial communities. This research instead developed a new phage-based DNA delivery tool that leverages these viruses’ ability to inject DNA into host bacteria. The researchers also used this tool to edit individual genes inside a target host organism within a living microbial community.
It Isn’t the Picky Eaters that Drive Soil Microbial Metabolism
How do microbes in soil communities interact to release nutrients from material in the soil? Researchers have discovered that microbes able to break down one type of available food, chitin, are critical for the community’s success but do not necessarily grow the fastest. Instead, species with the ability to use a wide range of food sources produced by other members of the community become the most abundant. The researchers also found that individual microbes can change their behavior when grown alone or in the community.
New research uncovers hidden long-term declines in UK earthworms
British Trust of Ornithology researchers call for better monitoring of soil invertebrates after new research, collating 100 years of data, suggests significant and previously undetected declines in UK earthworm abundance could have occurred.
Whole Ecosystem Warming Stimulates Methane Production from Plant Metabolites in Peatlands
While peatlands have historically stored massive amounts of soil carbon, warming is expected to enhance decomposition, leading to a positive climate change feedback effect. This study experimentally warmed peatlands in northern Minnesota and observed increased methane production relative to carbon dioxide release. This methane release process is likely to amplify global climate warming.
For Grassland Soil Viruses, Precipitation Shapes Diversity, Abundance, and Function
As precipitation patterns shift in response to climate change, scientists must understand how this change affects soil viruses. In this study, scientists analyzed DNA viruses in three grassland soils with different historical precipitation patterns: low precipitation from eastern Washington, intermediate precipitation from Kansas, and high precipitation from Iowa. The researchers found that viruses were more diverse and more common in drier soil.
Moisture Matters for Viruses in Soil
A teaspoon of soil contains billions of viruses and other microorganisms. In this study, scientists examined viruses in soil from Kansas prairies to sequence genetic material, identify viruses’ proteins, and look at how viruses’ activity varied under different environmental conditions. They found that some viruses were more abundant in wet soils, while others were more active.
Now we know how plants steer clear of salt
To avoid salt in soil, plants can change their root direction and grow away from saline areas.
“Ghost Forests” Expanding Along Northeast U.S. Coast
Why are “ghost forests” filled with dead trees expanding along the mid-Atlantic and southern New England coast? Higher groundwater levels linked to sea-level rise and increased flooding from storm surges and very high tides are likely the most important factors, according to a Rutgers study on the impacts of climate change that suggests how to enhance land-use planning.
How Rocks Rusted on Earth and Turned Red
How did rocks rust on Earth and turn red? A Rutgers-led study has shed new light on the important phenomenon and will help address questions about the Late Triassic climate more than 200 million years ago, when greenhouse gas levels were high enough to be a model for what our planet may be like in the future.
Dr. Audrey Chang joins ACSESS as Chief Operating Officer
Chang brings experience in partnerships and team-building
Can the parts of plants we can see help predict the parts of them we can’t?
Aboveground traits can predict what certain species look like below the ground
Droughts are threatening global wetlands: new study
University of Adelaide scientists have shown how droughts are threatening the health of wetlands globally. Published in the journal Earth-Science Reviews, the scientists highlight the many physical and chemical changes occurring during droughts that lead to severe, and sometimes irreversible, drying of wetland soils.
How to Get a Handle on Carbon Dioxide Uptake by Plants
How much carbon dioxide, a pivotal greenhouse gas behind global warming, is absorbed by plants on land? It’s a deceptively complicated question, so a Rutgers-led group of scientists recommends combining two cutting-edge tools to help answer the crucial climate change-related question.
Land Development in New Jersey Continues to Slow
Land development in New Jersey has slowed dramatically since the 2008 Great Recession, but it’s unclear how the COVID-19 pandemic and efforts to fight societal and housing inequality will affect future trends, according to a Rutgers co-authored report. Between 2012 and 2015, 10,392 acres in the Garden State became urban land. That’s 3,464 acres a year – far lower than the 16,852 acres per year in the late 1990s and continuing the trend of decreasing urban development that began in the 2008 Great Recession.
Rutgers Cooperative Extension Offers “Earth Day at Home” Webinar Series
New Brunswick, N.J. (April 16, 2020) – In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day on April 22, Rutgers Cooperative Extension will offer an “Earth Day at Home” webinar series. The webinars, on Mondays from April 20 to June…
Rutgers Expert Available to Discuss Climate Change Impacts on Land, Wildfires and Solutions
New Brunswick, N.J. (Jan. 15, 2020) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick Professor Pamela McElwee is available for interviews on climate change impacts on land, including increasing wildfires such as in Australia and California, and solutions. She is scheduled to testify before…