Earth and Environment
Explore Earth and Environment
Dr. Allen Place | Small but Deadly: The Story of Karlodinium veneficum
The oceans are vast and teeming with life, but survival in this watery realm is no less competitive than on land. Among the ocean’s myriad inhabitants are dinoflagellates, tiny single-celled organisms that play a crucial role in marine ecosystems. Despite their minuscule size, some dinoflagellates possess extraordinary biochemical weaponry. One of the most fascinating examples is Karlodinium veneficum, a species armed with potent toxins known as karlotoxins. These molecular marvels enable K. veneficum to thrive by allowing it to prey on smaller organisms and warding off predators.
Dr. Kurt Vollmer | Weeding Out the Competition: The Promise of Cover Crops in Sustainable Agriculture
Agriculture today faces mounting challenges. Climate change, soil degradation, and the spread of herbicide-resistant weeds threaten productivity and sustainability. However, a promising and natural solution is gaining momentum: cover crops. These plants, grown to improve soil and suppress weeds rather than for harvest, are proving to be powerful allies for farmers striving to protect the environment while maintaining high yields
Dr. Chandrika Varadachari | Caged Urea: A Smart Fertilizer That Boosts Crop Yields and Protects the Environment
In an era of increasing urgency to address environmental degradation, the impact of conventional agricultural practices has come under scrutiny. Synthetic nitrogen-based fertilizers, such as urea, are essential for feeding the global population, but cause significant environmental damage. Nitrogen from urea-based fertilizers often finds its way into water bodies, contributing to pollution. Meanwhile, urea can transform into nitrous oxide gases, which accelerate climate change when released into the atmosphere.
Professor Anne Poelina | The Key to Solving Climate Change May Lie in Indigenous Wisdom
In the Kimberley region of Western Australia, Indigenous First Australians are partnering with researchers to pioneer environmental planning and management. By blending ancient wisdom, Indigenous First Law and Indigenous science with Western science, they’re reimagining our relationship with nature and climate action. Professor Anne Poelina of the Nulungu Research Institute at the University of Notre Dame Australia argues that the key to our planet’s future may lie in Indigenous knowledge and wisdom.
Dr. Naoko Kurata | Beyond the Surface: How Marine Bacteria Influence Sea Slicks
The surface layer of the ocean, teeming with microscopic life, plays a crucial role in global processes such as climate regulation. Marine bacteria in these layers are of particular interest to scientists due to their impact on various oceanic processes. These bacteria play important roles in the production and decay of substances called surfactants. In turn, surfactants influence the formation of sea slicks – which are areas of calmer waters visible on the ocean’s surface. Surfactants affect how the ocean and atmosphere interact, influencing the exchange of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide. They also help produce marine aerosols, tiny particles that impact cloud formation and climate.
Julius Reiff | Soil, Seeds, and Sustainability: The Power of Permaculture during Environmental Breakdown
Pressing environmental challenges, such as soil degradation, biodiversity loss, and climate change, can negatively affect agriculture, while also being driven by common agricultural practices. To ensure food security while promoting environmental sustainability, innovative agricultural practices are essential in order to prevent this destructive and vicious cycle. Permaculture, a holistic approach to farming that mimics the resilience of natural ecosystems, offers a promising solution. Despite this, it has not been thoroughly appraised by researchers in its potential to protect and improve the environment and facilitate agricultural goals, such as improving soil conditions.
Root Collar Excavation – ARR Solutions
Lazy summer afternoons are vastly improved by a delicious ripe peach. But what if one day peaches just disappeared? In this dystopia, people would find their grocer’s shelves starkly empty of peaches and other stone fruits. Unfortunately, this future scenario is far from fictional. A fungus is seriously threatening peach production in the southeastern United States. It infects and destroys the roots of fruit trees, later spreading into the trunk and killing the tree. The disease it causes, called Armillaria root rot, is the leading cause of premature peach tree decline in southeastern USA, costing growers around 8 million dollars in losses annually.
Empowering Communities to be Sustainable Custodians of African Water Resources
The UN sustainable development goals serve as a blueprint for a sustainable future. These goals include The Africa Water Vision for 2025 by the African Union, which entails re-thinking the governance of water resources in African countries. However, strategies to meet such goals are not consistently implemented. The ‘Unlocking Resilient Benefits from African Water Resources’ – or RESBEN – project, funded by the UKRI, is a large-scale project that engages communities in research, towards re-thinking how water resources are managed in African countries. The project includes all the partners of the African Research University Alliance Water Centre of Excellence, and two UK universities: Lancaster University and the University of Sheffield.
Dr Laurie Durel – Laure Gosselin | How Conversations Shape the Effectiveness of New Climate Policies
Climate change has become a topic of public discussion, no longer confined to scientists and politicians. Various stakeholders, including environmental NGOs and industry representatives, hold different perspectives on how to address climate change. This web of actors and ideas in a given political debate, combined with their interactions, is called a discursive field. Discursive fields influence our thinking and determine whether certain ideas gain political traction. They can enable or constrain the ability of political institutions to adopt new policies. As agreeing on efficient climate change policies becomes increasingly urgent, it is vital that we consider how discursive fields impact climate change policy.
RECROP COST Action: Ensuring Crop Resilience in Extreme Climate Conditions
In a world increasingly shaped by extreme climate conditions, our agricultural systems face unprecedented threats. Rising temperatures, prolonged droughts, and intense rainfall events put immense pressure on crops, especially during their most vulnerable stage: reproduction. Plant reproduction is crucial for producing the seeds and fruits that form the backbone of our food supply. Yet, extreme weather can disrupt this delicate process, leading to reduced yields and threatening global food security. RECROP, a visionary COST Action consortium, is dedicated to addressing these challenges.
A Decision-Making Toolbox for Prioritising Ecological Restoration
The fate of humanity is intricately intertwined with the state of the environment. Vital ecosystem services, such as freshwater provision, underpin food security, health, wellbeing, and economic prosperity. However, ecosystems everywhere face mounting challenges, including pollution and the impacts of climate change. Approximately one-quarter of the Earth’s land-based ecosystems suffer degradation, impacting over 41% of the global population. Without intervention, 95% could be degraded by 2050. Additionally, climate change presents a significant threat to water availability and the sustainability of ecosystems.
RECROP COST Action: Ensuring Sustainable Food Systems for Future Generations
In a world increasingly shaped by the challenges of climate change, our agricultural systems face a threat that undermines food production worldwide. As the core of our diet relies heavily on plants, the increasing demand for higher yields to feed a growing population has never been more critical. Yet, this demand collides with the harsh reality of climate change: rising temperatures and heat waves, long droughts or heavy rainfalls and floods make our naturally stress-sensitive crops even more vulnerable.
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