Agricultural and Forestry Science

Recent studies have shown the importance of links between soil organisms and those feeding above-ground. However, to date these have involved two or three trophic levels, because it has been assumed that the effects weaken as one progresses up or down a food chain. In a forthcoming paper in Ecology Letters, Gange, Brown & Aplin show that strong interactions occur between four trophic levels.

They found that symbiotic mycorrhizal fungi in the soil affect plant growth, which determined the a

Argonne research published in Science

A new study, published today in Science, indicates that the potential for soils to soak up atmospheric carbon dioxide is strongly affected by how long roots live. Large differences in root replacement rates between forest types might alter current predictions of how carbon absorption by soil will act to ameliorate global warming from excess human-caused carbon dioxide.

The study, by researchers at Argonne National Laboratory, Duke Univer

In a special Soil Measurement & Methods section of Vadose Zone Journal, scientists review the state-of-the-art tools for measuring water content in soil

Growing grapes for wine is tightly linked to soil moisture: too little, and the crop can be lost, but an oversupply of water tends to favor leaf development at the expense of fruit quality. It is often difficult to determine which portions of the vineyards require more or less irrigation due to California wine country’s natural g

Tropical regions could enjoy secure food supplies over the next fifty years if local smallholder farmers are helped to help themselves, says a University of East Anglia development expert writing in this week’s international journal Science.

Professor Michael Stocking acknowledges that soil degradation is rife in some areas and that around a billion people currently lack food security, but he questions the bleak picture of the future of tropical soils and food security often painted by

Once a raging forest fire is quelled, the next worry is erosion of the landscape. With vegetation destroyed, rain easily washes away the soil, causing large flows of debris and landslides. Erosion endangers sources of drinking water, streams, and roads. In an unprecedented study, Chris Pannkuk and Peter Robichaud show that scorched evergreen needles can play a key role in preventing erosion after a forest fire. They found that ponderosa pine needles were effective in reducing erosion caused

Malaria is a major scourge on health in many parts of the world, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa where over 90% of declared cases have been recorded. Mosquito nets impregnated with insecticides are considered as a good prevention and control weapon against the mosquito vectors, in particular in areas where malaria is strongly endemic.

The only insecticides currently recommended by WHO (1) are pyrethroids whose rapid action causes a “knock-down (KD)” (2) effect and high mortality when mos