Soil Types News

February 25, 2025

Top Headlines

Animals as Architects of Earth: First Global Study Reveals Their Surprising Impact

Feb. 17, 2025 — Animals are not just inhabitants of the natural world -- they are its architects. A new study has revealed how hundreds of species shape the landscapes we depend on, from vast termite mounds visible ...

New England's Salt Marshes Store 10 Million Cars' Worth of Carbon -- And Add Another 15,000-Worth Every Year

Feb. 13, 2025 — In the race to combat global climate change, much attention has been given to natural 'carbon sinks:' those primarily terrestrial areas of the globe that absorb and sequester more carbon than they ...

Where Do Invasive Species Spread and Why? Researchers Take a Novel Approach to Find the Answer

Feb. 12, 2025 — Researchers took a deep dive to understand why certain locations are more susceptible and attractive to invasions by non-native plants or animals, making them prime targets for these species to ...

Climate Change Threatens Global Cocoa Production: New Study Highlights Pollination-Based Solutions

Feb. 14, 2025 — This Valentine's Day, millions of pounds worth of chocolate will be exchanged as gifts, but climate change and biodiversity loss imperil future global supplies of this treat. A new research study ...

Latest Headlines

updated 11:12pm EST

Micro-Nano Plastics Make Other Pollutants More Dangerous to Plants and Intestinal Cells

Feb. 11, 2025 — Researchers find that tiny plastic particles increase the absorption of environmental arsenic and pesticides in lettuce and human intestinal cells, ...

Twenty Years On, Biodiversity Struggles to Take Root in Restored Wetlands

Feb. 7, 2025 — While the restoration of natural areas is high on political agendas, a comprehensive new study shows that -- after more than two decades -- biodiversity growth has stalled in restored Danish ...

Large Differences in Water-Seeking Ability Found in U.S. Corn Varieties

Feb. 6, 2025 — A study has identified key genetic pathways in corn that help its roots branch out to find water in soil; the varieties adapted to temperate regions like the U.S. corn belt showed large differences ...

Value-Added Pancakes: Using Science to Improve Nutrition of Breakfast Staple

Feb. 5, 2025 — Food scientists are working to make pancakes healthier by boosting the popular morning favorite's nutritional value while enhancing its taste and ...

High-Yield Rice Breed Emits Up to 70% Less Methane

Feb. 3, 2025 — Rice cultivation is responsible for around 12% of global methane emissions, and these emissions are expected to increase with global warming and as the human population continues to grow. Now, ...

Burn Grasslands to Maintain Them: What Is Good for Biodiversity?

Jan. 31, 2025 — As grasslands get abandoned, controlled burning is discussed as a labor-saving method of keeping forests at bay. A research team found that this method results in higher biodiversity and a higher ...

Skin-Penetrating Nematodes Have a Love-Hate Relationship With Carbon Dioxide

Jan. 21, 2025 — Globally, over 600 million people are infected with the skin-penetrating threadworm, Strongyloides stercoralis, mostly in tropical and subtropical ...

Study Reveals How Microbes Help Detoxify Our Atmosphere

Jan. 29, 2025 — Researchers have discovered crucial new information about how microbes consume huge amounts of carbon monoxide (CO) and help reduce levels of this deadly ...

Complexity of Tree-Planting Schemes

Jan. 28, 2025 — Research with smallholder farmers in Kenya shows that tree-planting schemes must account for complex local issues and ...

How Animal Poop Helps Ecosystems Adapt to Climate Change

Jan. 27, 2025 — Relatives of the llama are dropping dung as they venture into higher elevations in the Andes Mountains, providing a nutrient-rich environment for life to thrive despite glacier ...

Bacteria Found to Eat Forever Chemicals -- And Even Some of Their Toxic Byproducts

Jan. 23, 2025 — A team has identified a strain of bacteria that can break down and transform at least three types of PFAS, and, perhaps even more crucially, some of the toxic byproducts of the bond-breaking ...

Little Birds, Little Poops, Little Food Safety Risk

Jan. 21, 2025 — Smaller poops from smaller birds carry very low risk of foodborne pathogens on farms, finds a new ...

Researcher Studies the Power of Native Plants to Combat Road Salt Pollution

Jan. 17, 2025 — Salt pollution from road deicing salts threatens freshwater ecosystems and urban green infrastructure. New research on salt-tolerant plants like cattails highlights their potential role in mitigating ...

Direct Measurements Can Reduce Uncertainty in Soil Carbon Credit Markets

Jan. 17, 2025 — Scientists find a 'measure and remeasure' approach is a feasible method of verifying soil carbon storage in croplands for climate ...

How Climate Change May Alter Hydrology of Grassland Ecosystems

Jan. 16, 2025 — New research reveals that drought and increased temperatures in a CO2-rich climate can dramatically alter how grasslands use and move water. The study provides the first experimental demonstration of ...

Gene-Edited Soil Bacteria Could Provide Third Source of Nitrogen for Corn Production

Jan. 16, 2025 — If corn was ever jealous of soybean's relationship with nitrogen-fixing bacteria, advancements in gene editing could one day even the playing field. A recent study shows that gene-edited ...

Biochar Reduces the Risks of DDT-Contaminated Soil

Jan. 16, 2025 — DDT soil pollution is still a major problem in many parts of the world. Researchers have developed a new method to manage ecological risks from the toxin by binding it with biochar. When they mixed ...

Diversified Cropping Systems Boost Nitrogen Supply but Not Soil Carbon

Jan. 15, 2025 — Longer, more diverse rotations of crops fertilized with livestock manure have many environmental benefits, but carbon sequestration isn't one of them, according to a new ...

How Cryogenic Microscopy Could Help Strengthen Food Security

Jan. 15, 2025 — A research team reports on a novel observation of a plant protection mechanism in response to salt stress. The study opens new avenues of research to strengthen food ...

Could This Fundamental Discovery Revolutionize Fertilizer Use in Farming?

Jan. 15, 2025 — Researchers have discovered a biological mechanism that makes plant roots more welcoming to beneficial soil ...

Study on Hemp May Lead to More Sustainable Farming Methods

Jan. 14, 2025 — A new study of hemp microbes may lead to more sustainable farming methods, using nature to boost the growth of the plant which has become increasingly popular for its versatile uses: CBD-rich ...

Study Shows How Plant Roots Access Deeper Soils in Search of Water

Jan. 10, 2025 — Scientists have discovered how plants adapt their root systems in drought conditions to grow steeper into the soil to access deeper water ...

Rapid Return of Water from Ground to Atmosphere Through Plants

Jan. 9, 2025 — A new study provides the first comprehensive global estimates of the amount of water stored in Earth's plants and the amount of time it takes for that water to flow through them. The information ...

Don't Write Off Logged Tropical Forests -- Converting to Oil Palm Plantations Has Even Wider Effects on Ecosystems

Jan. 9, 2025 — A research team has carried out the most comprehensive assessment to date of how logging and conversion to oil palm plantations affect tropical forest ecosystems. The results demonstrate that logging ...

Study Identifies Coastal Black Pine Trees Resistant to Tsunamis and Strong Winds

Jan. 8, 2025 — Researchers have found that the taller the Japanese black pine trees (Pinus thunbergii) along the coast, the deeper their roots penetrate the ground. Deeper roots make trees more resistant to damage ...

A New Way to Determine Whether a Species Will Successfully Invade an Ecosystem

Jan. 6, 2025 — A formula can be used to predict what happens when a new species is introduced into an ecosystem -- whether it will establish itself in the community or fail to gain a foothold and die ...

Shrubs Can Help or Hinder a Forest's Recovery After Wildfire

Dec. 16, 2024 — When and where to plant tree seedlings to restore forests after wildfires has a lot to do with shrubs, finds a new ...

How the Dirt Under Our Feet Could Affect Human Health

Dec. 12, 2024 — Researchers are linking human activity to increased gene transfer from soil bacteria to ...

Ugh, My Stomach: Identifying Amino Acids That Prevent Sporulation in Food Poisoning

Dec. 12, 2024 — A team analyzed the amino acids that affect the formation of spores in a bacterium that causes food poisoning, Clostridium perfringens, and identified serine as an amino acid that inhibits spore ...

Australia's Extinction Tally Is Worse Than We Thought

Dec. 11, 2024 — A new study estimates that more than 9000 insects and other native invertebrates have become extinct in Australia since European arrival in 1788 and between 1-3 additional species become extinct ...