When roots crack and worms crunch

Roots can be "listened to" while growing – and worms when burrowing. Researchers from ETH Zurich and the French National Institute for Agricultural Research present a new method for soil analysis.

Cause for hope: Secondary tropical forests put on weight fast

How fast tropical forests recover after deforestation has major consequences for climate change mitigation. A team including Smithsonian scientists discovered that some secondary tropical forests recover biomass quickly: ...

Scientists discover new soil viruses

Soil is the unsung hero of our lives. It provides nourishment to crops to provide us with food, offers drainage for rainwater into aquifers, and is a habitat for a variety of organisms. On the microscopic level, soil thrives ...

During drought, dry air can stress plants more than dry soil

Newly published research by Indiana University scientists finds that low relative humidity in the atmosphere is a significant, growing and often under-appreciated cause of plant stress in hot, dry weather conditions.

Soil tainted by air pollution expels carbon

New UC Riverside research suggests nitrogen released by gas-powered machines causes dry soil to let go of carbon and release it back into the atmosphere, where it can contribute to climate change.

Death in space: Here's what would happen to our bodies

As space travel for recreational purposes is becoming a very real possibility, there could come a time when we are traveling to other planets for holidays, or perhaps even to live. Commercial space company Blue Origin has ...

Excessive salts in the soil removed with gypsum, organic matter

Wheat and rice farming on the vast Indo-Gangetic plains, affected by excessive salts in the soil, can be cost-effectively improved by treatment with gypsum and organic manure followed by sowing with salt-tolerant crop varieties, ...

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