https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Seventy percent of soils in Europe are contaminated with pesticides. A Europe-wide study co-led by researchers of the University of Zurich now shows that their effects on soil life are substantial, as pesticides suppress various beneficial soil organisms. To protect soil biodiversity, the findings should be taken into account in current pesticide regulations. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-pesticides-significantly-affect-soil-life.html Ecology Wed, 28 Jan 2026 15:28:39 EST news688836482 Corn is a colossal grain in the global food and feed chain, with the U.S. producing roughly 30% of the world's supply, or nearly 278 million metric tons in the 2024–25 growing season alone. But its journey from wild grass to staple crop began in central Mexico with teosinte (from the Nahuatl word "teocintli," meaning "sacred corn"). Over thousands of years, domestication and selective breeding transformed teosinte into the corn we enjoy at backyard barbecues today. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-rewilding-corn-reveals-roots-forgot.html Plants & Animals Thu, 22 Jan 2026 14:20:02 EST news688313941 An international research team led by Aalborg University with contributions from the University of Vienna has systematically mapped the microbiome of an entire country for the first time. In the study "Microflora Danica," published in the journal Nature, over 10,000 environmental samples from across Denmark were analyzed—on average at intervals of only around 4 square kilometers. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-microbiome-entire-country.html Ecology Thu, 04 Dec 2025 09:59:32 EST news684064741 Scientists have uncovered a surprising strategy plants use to thrive when an essential nutrient—sulfur—is in short supply. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-uncover-hidden-microbe-strategy-boosts.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 10 Oct 2025 10:36:04 EDT news679311361 Every human being leaves traces behind, and has done so for thousands of years. In a new study, a team led by lead author Dr. Yanming Ruan from MARUM—Center for Marine Environmental Sciences at the University of Bremen shows that human influence on soil erosion goes back much further than previously thought. Their findings have now been published in Geophysical Research Letters. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-deep-root-anthropocene-agriculture-impact.html Earth Sciences Thu, 14 Aug 2025 15:05:55 EDT news674402752 Adding lime to agricultural soils can remove CO2 from the atmosphere, rather than cause CO2 emissions, claims new research. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-agricultural-liming-large.html Ecology Wed, 09 Jul 2025 19:00:08 EDT news671190206 Western Sydney University researchers have discovered that drought-affected wheat plants are able to call on eco-friendly soil bacteria to survive, helping keep crops healthy, boost yields, and provide pathways to develop extreme weather-resistant crops. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-drought-soil-bacteria-wheat.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 29 May 2025 11:55:04 EDT news667738501 Thousands of hectares of Chernobyl-affected farmland, long deemed too dangerous for cultivation in northern Ukraine can safely return to production, according to new research. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-farms-chernobyl-affected-protocol.html Ecology Tue, 29 Apr 2025 15:33:36 EDT news665159610 The less intensively you manage the soil, the better the soil can function; for example, not plowing as often or using more grass-clover mixtures as cover crops. These are the conclusions of a research team led by the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW). https://phys.org/news/2025-04-intensive-agricultural-soil.html Ecology Mon, 28 Apr 2025 16:16:23 EDT news665075778 The topsoil organic carbon pool is at high risk in 43 to 83 million hectares of EU and UK agricultural land, primarily in cool and humid regions, according to a JRC-led study published in Nature Communications. This corresponds to 23% to 44% of all EU+UK agricultural land. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-soil-carbon-large-european-agricultural.html Agriculture Mon, 14 Apr 2025 16:10:01 EDT news663865485 Field trials conducted at the University of Queensland show microbial biotechnology could be a game-changer for farming with simultaneous benefits for soil regeneration, crop yield and carbon sequestration. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-soil-carbon-beneficial-microbes.html Biotechnology Wed, 09 Apr 2025 13:24:30 EDT news663423866 An international team of agronomists is calling for a new approach to estimate crop yield potential and gaps—information that is critical in planning how to meet growing food demand. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-international-team-approach-crop-yield.html Ecology Tue, 08 Apr 2025 12:43:04 EDT news663334981 At least one-quarter of all nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions in California's Salton Sea air basin come from soil, according to a study from the University of California, Davis. https://phys.org/news/2024-12-analysis-reveals-overlooked-emissions-california.html Earth Sciences Tue, 03 Dec 2024 15:55:04 EST news652463702 In the upper reaches of a Minnesota watershed, the water is so full of dissolved nitrous oxide that University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign hydrologist Zhongjie Yu likens it to a soda can. https://phys.org/news/2024-12-streams-farms-emit-high-greenhouse.html Ecology Tue, 03 Dec 2024 12:52:04 EST news652452721 Worldwide, many agricultural soils are deficient in the nutrient zinc—despite the fact that farmers use fertilizers enriched with the element. This limits crop yields and reduces food quality. It's estimated that roughly a third of the global population consume foods low in zinc, which can increase sickness and death in early childhood, as well as impaired growth and cognition. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-fine-tuning-fertilizers-boost-crop.html Biotechnology Thu, 14 Nov 2024 12:42:03 EST news650810521 The changes scientists expect in the climate could cause toxic metals naturally occurring in soils to become more mobile, destabilize ecosystems and increasingly enter the human food chain via agriculture. Such scenarios are particularly likely to occur in slightly acidic soils, which make up around two thirds of all soils. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-climate-mobility-toxic-metals-soils.html Earth Sciences Wed, 30 Oct 2024 09:51:03 EDT news649500661 Using plastic sheets for weed control, even under current best management practices, pollutes soil with macro- and micro-plastics and negatively affects critical soil functions, according to a study. The United Nations considers soil plastic contamination an environmental health and food security threat. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-farms-plastic-mulch-contaminating-agricultural.html Ecology Tue, 22 Oct 2024 11:19:57 EDT news648814790 A study published in Science Advances shows that phosphorus (P) release from soils is enhanced at higher mean annual temperatures (MAT). This finding is based on a new compilation of data on global surface soil temperatures and phosphorus content. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-dataset-reveals-global-soil-phosphorus.html Earth Sciences Mon, 15 Jul 2024 09:46:03 EDT news640255561 RPTU University of Kaiserslautern-Landau has shown for the first time, in a joint study with BOKU University, that permaculture brings about a significant improvement in biodiversity, soil quality and carbon storage. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-permaculture-sustainable-alternative-conventional-agriculture.html Agriculture Thu, 04 Jul 2024 10:46:27 EDT news639308776 A genetic "off switch" that shuts down the process in which legume plants convert atmospheric nitrogen into nutrients has been identified for the first time by a team of international scientists. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-scientists-genetic-legume-limits-biological.html Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 26 Jun 2024 11:00:01 EDT news638603159 Named a critical public health threat by WHO, Aspergillus fumigatus is potentially deadly to immunocompromised https://phys.org/news/2024-06-multidrug-resistant-fungi-commercial-soil.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 25 Jun 2024 11:13:16 EDT news638532791 A team of researchers at the University of Zurich has discovered that plants benefit from a greater variety of interactions with pollinators and herbivores. Plants that are pollinated by insects and have to defend themselves against herbivores have evolved to be better adapted to different types of soil. The research is published in the journal Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-interaction-insects-evolution.html Evolution Wed, 19 Jun 2024 09:35:02 EDT news638008501 New research by the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) and International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) proposes using soil bacteria to cut greenhouse gas emissions from food production. The research is published in the journal Nature. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-method-significantly-agricultural-greenhouse-gas.html Biotechnology Thu, 30 May 2024 11:32:04 EDT news636287522 A study conducted by the University of Kentucky Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment; Bucknell University; Penn State University; and the USDA has shed light on the precarious situation facing firefly populations across North America. The study's results identified multiple factors impacting their numbers, offering a deep dive into how shifting environmental and human factors influence these iconic insects. https://phys.org/news/2024-04-comprehensive-unveils-multiple-threats-north.html Plants & Animals Mon, 29 Apr 2024 11:32:29 EDT news633609144 A research team at the University of Hohenheim and Technical University of Munich has developed a new transdisciplinary approach to resolve the tradeoff between biodiversity and agricultural production. https://phys.org/news/2024-04-hybrid-intelligence-biodiversity-agriculture.html Ecology Thu, 11 Apr 2024 11:48:04 EDT news632054881 Enhanced rock weathering—a nature-based carbon dioxide removal process that accelerates natural weathering—results in significantly higher first year crop yields, improved soil pH, and higher nutrient uptake, according to a paper, published in PLOS ONE on 27 March. https://phys.org/news/2024-04-weathering-results-higher-crop-yields.html Agriculture Mon, 08 Apr 2024 10:32:05 EDT news631791122 More efficient use of phosphorus could see limited stocks of the important fertilizer last more than 500 years and boost global food production to feed growing populations. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-phosphorus-stocks-years-boost-global.html Agriculture Mon, 25 Mar 2024 07:19:27 EDT news630569961 Potassium deficiency in agricultural soils is a largely unrecognized but potentially significant threat to global food security if left unaddressed, finds new research involving researchers at UCL, University of Edinburgh and the UK Center for Ecology & Hydrology. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-potassium-depletion-soil-threatens-global.html Ecology Mon, 19 Feb 2024 05:00:01 EST news627295952 New research from Michigan State University shows how evaluating historical crop yields across distinct areas of agricultural fields can provide farmers with essential information on soil health characteristics and carbon sequestration. The paper was published in Scientific Reports. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-historical-crop-yields-reveal-key.html Ecology Thu, 25 Jan 2024 10:22:53 EST news625400570 Though natural fertilizers made from treated sewage sludge are used to reintroduce nutrients onto agricultural fields, they bring along microplastic pollutants too. And according to a small-scale study published in Environmental Science & Technology Letters, more plastic particles get picked up by the wind than once thought. Researchers have discovered that the microplastics are released from fields more easily than similarly sized dust particles, becoming airborne from even a slight breeze. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-small-scale-microplastics-natural-fertilizers.html Environment Wed, 17 Jan 2024 10:41:09 EST news624710467