News by Subject Biology

A new research study published in the journal Invasive Plant Science and Management tackles an important, unresolved question in the biology of invasive plants. Which is most important to the establishment of new invasive communities -- proximity to seed sources, canopy disturbance, or soil disturbance?

Scientists have revisited -- and confirmed -- one of the most famous textbook examples of evolution in action.

Researchers have found declines in the number and diversity of bird populations at nine sites surveyed in northern New Mexico, where eight species vanished over time while others had considerably dropped.

Forests in the eastern United States may have had it easy compared to their western counterparts, with the intense, prolonged droughts and wildfires that have become typical out west in recent years. But as the climate changes over time, eastern forests are also likely to experience longer droughts. And although wildfires are comparatively rare, prescriptive fires are increasingly used in the east. How will these forests fare in the future? A new study from the University of Illinois provides answers.

Trees are growing more rapidly due to climate change. This sounds like good news. After all, this means that trees are storing more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in their wood and hence taking away the key ingredient in global warming. But is it that simple? A team from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) analyzed wood samples from the oldest existing experimental areas spanning a period of 150 years -- and reached a surprising conclusion.

As increasingly hot and severe wildfires scorch the West, some lichen communities integral to conifer forests aren't returning, even years after the flames have been extinguished, according to a study from scientists at the University of California, Davis.

A study published today in Nature revealed that turning up the heat accelerates spring greening in mature trees, shrubs and mosses and delays fall color change. The research team used direct observation and digital repeat photography to measure plant greenness over three years at the Spruce and Peatland Responses Under Changing Environments study, a unique ecosystem-scale experiment constructed and operated by DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory.