News tagged with nutrient cycle

Trace element plays major role in tropical forest nitrogen cycle

A new paper by researchers from the University of Georgia and Princeton University sheds light on the critical part played by a little-studied element, molybdenum, in the nutrient cycles of tropical forests. Understanding ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created Mar 22, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

The oldest evidence of bioturbation on Earth

The Ediacaran Period, an interval in Earth's history after the Snowball Earth glaciations but before the Cambrian radiations, marks the introduction of complex macroscopic organisms synchronously in unrelated groups. It has ...

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Mar 20, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 1

Restored wetlands rarely equal condition of original wetlands

Wetland restoration is a billion-dollar-a-year industry in the United States that aims to create ecosystems similar to those that disappeared over the past century. But a new analysis of restoration projects ...

Biology / Ecology

created Jan 24, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 7 | with audio podcast

Team finds natural reasons behind nitrogen-rich forests

(PhysOrg.com) -- Many tropical forests are extremely rich in nitrogen even when there are no farms or industries nearby, says Montana State University researcher Jack Brookshire.

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Jan 16, 2012 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (6) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Diverse ecosystems are crucial climate change buffer

Preserving diverse plant life will be crucial to buffer the negative effects of climate change and desertification in in the world's drylands, according to a new landmark study.

Space & Earth / Environment

created Jan 12, 2012 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (6) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

How ammonia affects city's air

(PhysOrg.com) -- Motor vehicles and industry are primary producers of ammonia in Houston's atmosphere, and cars and trucks appear to boost their output during the winter, according to a new study by researchers at Rice University ...

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Oct 11, 2011 | popularity 4 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Are all alien encounters bad?

The pages of ecological history are filled with woeful tales of destruction from non-native species -- organisms that originated elsewhere.

Biology / Ecology

created Aug 30, 2011 | popularity 4 / 5 (5) | comments 12

Researchers link oceanic land crab extinction to colonization of Hawaii

University of Florida researchers have described a new species of land crab that documents the first crab extinction during the human era.

Biology / Ecology

created May 16, 2011 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Drought-exposed leaves adversely affect soil nutrients, study shows

Chemical changes in tree leaves subjected to warmer, drier conditions that could result from climate change may reduce the availability of soil nutrients, according to a Purdue University study.

Biology / Ecology

created Apr 05, 2011 | popularity 4 / 5 (3) | comments 1

Earth's life support systems discussed

In the search for life on Mars or any planet, there is much more than the presence of carbon and oxygen to consider. Using Earth's biogeochemical cycles as a reference point, elements like nitrogen, iron and sulfur are just ...

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Feb 02, 2011 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (3) | comments 2

Seeing the hidden services of nature

Following an intense study of agricultural ecosystems near Montreal, a new tool that enables the simultaneous analysis and management of a wide range of ecological services has been developed by Ciara Raudsepp-Hearne of McGill ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created Mar 02, 2010 | popularity 4 / 5 (2) | comments 1

Your old sofa - and much more - could be composted, say scientists

(PhysOrg.com) -- Polyurethane plastics used to make a host of products from furniture fillings to shoe soles, cable insulation and paints - and which can be difficult to recycle - could soon be degraded in compost heaps, ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Feb 22, 2010 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

In Organic Cover Crops, More Seeds Means Fewer Weeds

(PhysOrg.com) -- Farmers cultivating organic produce often use winter cover crops to add soil organic matter, improve nutrient cycling and suppress weeds. Now these producers can optimize cover crop use by ...

Biology / Ecology

created Jan 26, 2010 | popularity 2.5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Climate change turns up heat on mushrooms

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have discovered that spring-fruiting fungi, including the morel and St George’s mushroom are fruiting nearly three weeks earlier than they did 50 years ago.

Biology / Ecology

created Dec 09, 2009 | popularity 3.7 / 5 (3) | comments 1

Mapping nutrient distributions over the Atlantic Ocean

Large-scale distributions of two important nutrient pools - dissolved organic nitrogen and dissolved organic phosphorus (DON and DOP) have been systematically mapped for the first time over the Atlantic Ocean in a study led ...

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Nov 03, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0