Vascular plants may have contributed to shaping Earth’s atmosphere long before trees evolved.
photosynthesis
Posted inResearch Spotlights
How Forest Structure Drives Productivity
Data from northern Wisconsin forest sites uncovered that vertical heterogeneity metrics are the most influential factors underlying rates of photosynthesis.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Understanding the Calcium Carbonate Cycle in the North Pacific
Using data collected from Hawaii to Alaska, a new study sheds light on calcium carbonate cycling in the ocean, an understudied component of the global carbon cycle.
Posted inNews
Algal Mats May Be a Key to the Arctic Food Web
Melt ponds in sea ice have thriving algal communities with startlingly high levels of photosynthetic activity.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Drop in Rain Forest Productivity Could Speed Future Climate Change
As temperatures rise, tropical forests will become more stressed and photosynthesize less.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Water Stress Controls the Capacity of the Terrestrial Carbon Sink
Despite increased photosynthetic activity at northern latitudes in recent decades, plant productivity in tropical zones suffers because of water limitations.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
High Climatic Response of High-Latitude Forests
The seasonal amplitude of atmospheric CO2 is increasing, partly due to boreal forest responses to warming. Photosynthesis and expansion of boreal forests are shown here to be temperature-limited.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Most of the Arctic’s Microscopic Algae Are Chilling Under Ice
New research reveals that tiny single-celled organisms in the Arctic Ocean are growing more numerous as climate change thins the ice.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
In Vegetation Growth Studies, What You Measure Matters
Different satellite-based metrics for global vegetation coverage tell complementary, but not identical, stories.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Sunlight Stimulates Brown Algae to Release Organic Carbon
Sargassum and other brown algae might be an underappreciated contributor of organic compounds called polyphenols to the open ocean.