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Image or reality? Leaf study needs photos and lab analysis

By Guest PostJanuary 27, 2014Environmentautomated remote photography, brown university, canopy, carbon absorption, climate change, data from satellites, forest greenness, jianwu tang, leaf function, leaf study, levels of chlorophyll, light into energy, manuel correllus, martha, monitor forest change, photosynthesize, state forest, vineyard, xi yang

Automated remote photography is a convenient, labor-saving research tool for tracking leaf function and doing forest research. But does photography mirror what’s actually happening on the ground? A new study finds photography accurately tracks the timing of red pigments in the fall, but the timing of green in the spring and summer — not so much.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Every picture tells a story, but the story digital photos tell about how forests respond to climate change could be incomplete, according to new research. (more…)

Weevils and Weeds

By Guest PostJuly 3, 2012Environmentamanda stout, chester county, China, coverdale farm preserve, creek state park, dave pro, delaware, doug tallamy, judy hough goldstein, margo mcdonough, mile a minute, pea patch island, photosynthesize, rhinoncomimus latipes, shrubs, weed, weeds, weevil, weevils, white clay, yard

UD researchers use weevils to check spread of prolific mile-a-minute weed

Mile-a-minute weed has declared war on Doug Tallamy’s yard. This non-native, invasive vine is growing up his trees, scrambling over shrubs and smothering tree seedlings. By blocking sunlight, it weakens a plant by reducing its ability to photosynthesize.

Mile-a-minute doesn’t care one whit that Tallamy, professor and chair of the University of Delaware’s Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology, is a highly respected proponent of native gardening who doesn’t believe in planting any non-natives, let alone a highly invasive non-native.

“The deer brought mile-a-minute from our neighbor’s yard three years after we moved in,” says Tallamy. “We had just a few plants the first year, a few hundred the second year, and 20 trillion the third year.” (more…)

Too Much of a Good Thing: Human Activities Overload Ecosystems with Nitrogen

By Guest PostOctober 7, 2010Environment, Sciencebacteria, burning of fossil fuels, coastal zones, DNA, ecological damage, eutrophication, fresh waters, humans, microorganisms, national science foundation, nitrogen, nitrogen cycle, nitrogen fertilizers, nitrogen fixation, nitrogen-producing industrial and agricultural activities, paul falkowski, photosynthesize, plants, proteins, rna, robert burnap, Rutgers University, time-honored sustainable practices

*Resulting ecological damage is serious, but could be reduced by wider use of more sustainable, time-honored practices*

Humans are overloading ecosystems with nitrogen through the burning of fossil fuels and an increase in nitrogen-producing industrial and agricultural activities, according to a new study. While nitrogen is an element that is essential to life, it is an environmental scourge at high levels. (more…)

Tag Archives: photosynthesize

Image or reality? Leaf study needs photos and lab analysis

Weevils and Weeds

Too Much of a Good Thing: Human Activities Overload Ecosystems with Nitrogen