As research ramps up on how to maximize the benefits of colocating agriculture and solar panels, researchers are also beginning to investigate other potential ecosystem benefits.
soils
Many Forests in One: A Glimpse into the Amazon’s Diversity
In some areas of the Amazon rainforest, trees green up as a response to drought, while in others they die off. Scientists are trying to understand why.
Thanh Huong “Helen” Nguyen: Chasing Down Pathogens
An environmental engineer addresses some of public health’s biggest problems.
Researchers Find Bacterial Communities Deep Beneath the Atacama
Extremophile microbes exist in the gypsum-rich “fringes” of the driest place on Earth.
Unlocking Earth’s Terrestrial Sedimentary Record with Paleosols
Harnessing the micro-stratigraphy of pedogenic carbonates, scientists have demonstrated that age determination of fossil soils is possible via uranium-lead dating.
New Observations Provide Insight into Soil Desiccation Cracking
A new application of distributed fiber optic sensing provides early detection of soil desiccation cracking behavior and illustrates, for the first time, the phenomenon of soil crack breathing.
Agricultural Lands Are Losing Topsoil—Here’s How Bad It Could Get
A new study says topsoil erosion is likely to increase under climate change, though policy changes now could help stem the loss.
Cómo el volcán Tungurahua arrojó metales pesados en el suministro alimentario de Ecuador
Cuando el volcán Tungurahua de Ecuador entró en erupción múltiples veces entre 1999 y 2016, las comunidades agrícolas cercanas fueron cubiertas por ceniza, la cual dejó metales pesados en sus cultivos.
How Soil Symbionts Could Unlock Climate-Smart Agriculture
By tracing the evolutionary history of beneficial soil microbes, scientists hope to unearth a sustainable solution for producing food to feed a growing global population.