Home / Resources and Writings / Weblog / August 2005


39 More Species Protected by Species at Risk Act (SARA)

Category(-ies): Plant Conservation

Species decline and loss occurs due to various factors. Human action is often the cause of environmental changes that put pressure on threatened species. Canada's Species at Risk Act (SARA) was proclamed in 2003 to prevent the extinction of indigenous species and sub-groups and to provide management of recovery and protection efforts for threatened plants and animals. There were 39 additions to the list of protected species in July, 2005. The butternut tree was added to the list this year, along with 16 other plants.

Link: The Growing Species at Risk List from EnviroZine, Environment Canada's online newsmagazine

Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 9:42 AM



Managing Canada's Aging Urban Trees

Category(-ies): Plants in the Landscape

In many cities across Cananda, trees planted when subdivisions were built are mature and nearing the end of their lifespans. In many neighborhoods all the trees were planted at the same time and are often all the same type. Urban forestry experts are concerned that if a replacement strategy is not developed, entire neghborhoods could lose their trees at one time, leaving the streets bare.

The non-governmental National Forest Strategy Coalition is urging that a coherent plan be developed to deal with the issue. The organization is preparing an inventory of the condition of Canada's urban forests to highlight the need for government funding and action to coordinate replanting efforts. Any strategy to manage urban forests must take the modern city environment into consideration and provide for the continued care of the trees.

Link: Aging Urban Forests Under Threat from CBC News

Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 4:24 PM | Comments (0)



Moon Trees

Category(-ies): Plants in the Landscape

Astronauts on Apollo missions were allowed to carry a small Personal Preference Kit, a small pouch in which they could carry along prized possessions of their choice. In his kit, outdoorsman Stuart Roosa decided to carry some seeds, which he obtained from the US Forest Service. After the return of the Apollo 14 spacecraft, the seeds (sycamore seeds) were germinated by researchers at various locations with differing environments.

Continue reading "Moon Trees"

Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 5:17 AM



Trees are not Always Good for the Environment

Category(-ies):

Trees provide many services to the environment. They stabilize soil, clean the air and provide homes and food for wildlife. But in dry areas planting more trees may not be best idea for land and water management. Trees in dry areas transpire more water than they trap, preventing that water from reaching the underground aquifers and rivers that supply water for human use.

In South Africa, where water management is crucial, the government has taken a hard line with forestry companies to preserve the grasslands, which transpire half as much water as forest lands.

Link: Down with trees from the Economist.com

Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 6:00 AM | Comments (0)



A Taste for Bitter

Category(-ies): Plants, Food and Medicine

Being able to discern bitter tastes was probably an advantage for early humans; it helped them avoid toxins. New research has found evidence of evolutionary selection for the ability in humans. Scientist have found that some of the genes responsible for bitter taste recognition expanded rapidly in the human population during the Middle Pleistocene, before the expansion of early humans out of Africa.

While this ability may have helped early populations avoid toxic meals, it may also limit the consumption of foods that contain healthful compounds that also taste bitter. Many foods rich in antioxidants are avoided in modern diets because of their bitter flavours.

Link: Toxins Drove Evolution of Human Taste Sense, Global Study Reveals a news release from Duke University Medical Centre

Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 10:16 AM | Comments (0)



Testing Trees' Ability to Survive Future Air

Category(-ies): Climate Change

Scientists working on the Aspen Free-Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment (FACE) project in northern Wisconsin are spewing air pollutants into a test forest to determine the trees' ability to cope with the air contamination levels expected for the area fifty years from now. The US$ 8-million project has put billions of pounds of ozone and other pollutants into the air at the site since the projects inception in 1997. The air at the test site contains one and a half times the normal level of contaminants found in northern Wisconsin, about the same as a clear day in Los Angeles.

Continue reading "Testing Trees' Ability to Survive Future Air"

Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 10:36 AM | Comments (0)



Developing Plants to Cope with the Stress of Life on Mars

Category(-ies): Plant Explorers

Plants grown outside of their normal environments can experience stress. Drought, temperatures out of their normal range and exposure to toxins cause plants to react, producing chemical responses that ready the plant to cope with the harmful conditions. But too much stress can kill plants. If humans are to explore other planets in the solar system, we will need to develop plants capable of handling extreme conditions.

Continue reading "Developing Plants to Cope with the Stress of Life on Mars"

Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 10:01 AM | Comments (0)



India's Valley of Flowers Named World Heritage Site

Category(-ies): Plant Conservation , Plant Legal News and Issues , Plants in the Landscape

India's Valley of Flowers, unknown to westerners until the 1930's, has been named a World Heritage Site. The beautiful alpine valley is known for its carpet of wildflowers brought forth by the monsoons. The valley covers over 87.5 square kilometers at an altitude of between 3,250 and 6,750 metres above sea level within the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, which was designated a World Heritage site in 1988. The area is home to several endangered animals and 521 varieties of flowering plants.

Years of work by forest service workers and local volunteers led by Indian Forest Service officer, Jyotsna Sitling helped to clean up and regenerate areas of the flower fields. Ms. Sitling submitted the request for heritage status with the Archeological Survey of India in 2004. World Heritage status was granted to the region in July 2005.

Links:

Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 5:53 PM | Comments (3)



Treehoppers?

Category(-ies): Plant Relationships

Most grasshoppers live in the grass as one would expect from the name. But at least one grasshopper prefers trees to grass. A rare grizzly spur-throat grasshopper, Melanoplus punctualatus was recently found by a Kansas middle-school student, participating in a schoolyard prairie project. The insect is native to eastern and southern forests in the USA. It is rarely seen in other areas. A local entomologist confirmed the identification and is studying the feeding habits of the group of insects found in the area.

Links:

Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 2:02 PM | Comments (0)



New Nitrogen Checker Uses Light to Analyze Plant Health

Category(-ies): Plant Discoveries

Researchers have developed technology to read the nitrogen level of plants by sending a pulse of polarized light into leaves and analyzing the spectrum of light re-emitted by the plants. Leaves absorb and transmit varying amounts of light, depending on the type of plant and its condition. By using polarized light in the visible red wavelengths of the light spectrum, the scientists have been able to analyze specific levels of chlorophyll molecules to reveal nitrogen levels in the plants.

The team working on the project has built a tractor-mountable device and hopes that it will allow farmers to survey their fields to determine the correct amounts of fertilizers to apply, saving money and reducing the impact of excess fertilizer on the environment.

Link: Field Of Beams: Novel System Uses Polarized Light Pulses To Reveal Crop Health from Science Daily

Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 1:54 PM



Scientist Use “Gene Trapping” to Study Floral Development

Category(-ies): Plant Discoveries

Scientists are using a method called “gene trapping” to find genes involved in flower formation. The method involves the use of a transformed gene that lacks an external promoter sequence to complete the expression of the gene's trait. The altered gene is inserted randomly into the genome of Arabidopsis thaliana. The altered gene will respond when in the proximity of an active gene that has an external promoter sequence.

Researchers later screen the plants for evidence of the effects of the altered gene. The effects will show up in areas turned on by the “trapped genes” allowing the scientists to find and sequence those genes. Further experiments can be done by modifying the “trapped gene” and studying its expression in the plants.

Link: Trapping Genes That Control Flower Development from I-Newswire

Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 1:48 PM | Comments (0)