Monthly Archives: November 2009

Bacteria Could Help “Glue” Sahara Sands Together?!? (The Greenwala)

Posted on November 24, 2009 by

Read at : http://www.greenwala.com/community/blogs/all/1464-Bacteria-Could-Help-Glue-Sahara-Sands-Together Bacteria Could Help “Glue” Sahara Sands Together?!? What kind of madness is this? We spend the better part of our lives fighting off bacterial invaders, so why would we now turn around and invite them over … Continue reading →

Posted in erosion, sand fixation, Soil

Termites Create Sustainable Monoculture Fungus Farming (Science Daily / Wageningen Univ.)

Posted on November 24, 2009 by

Read at : Science Daily http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091120000437.htm Termites Create Sustainable Monoculture Fungus Farming ScienceDaily (Nov. 22, 2009) — Food production of modern human societies is mostly based on large-scale monoculture crops, but it now appears that advanced insect societies have the … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Research / science, Technologies

Drought Limits Tropical Plant Distributions, Scientists Report (Science Daily / Smithsonian Res. Inst.)

Posted on November 24, 2009 by

Read at : Science Daily http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070502143743.htm   Drought Limits Tropical Plant Distributions, Scientists Report ScienceDaily (May 3, 2007) — Drought tolerance is a critical determinant of tropical plant distributions, researchers working at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama report … Continue reading →

Posted in biodiversity, conservation, drought, drought tolerant plants, Ecology - environment, Forestry

DNA ‘Barcode’ for Tropical Trees (Science Daily / CNRS)

Posted on November 24, 2009 by

Read at : Science Daily http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091106102954.htm DNA ‘Barcode’ for Tropical Trees ScienceDaily (Nov. 23, 2009) — In foods, soil samples or customs checks, plant fragments sometimes need to be quickly identified. The use of DNA “barcodes” to itemize plant biodiversity … Continue reading →

Posted in biodiversity, conservation, Forestry, Research / science

New Method to Measure Snow, Vegetation Moisture With GPS May Benefit Farmers, Meteorologists (Science Daily / Univ. Colorado, Boulder))

Posted on November 24, 2009 by

Read at : Science Daily http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091120135212.htm New Method to Measure Snow, Vegetation Moisture With GPS May Benefit Farmers, Meteorologists ScienceDaily (Nov. 23, 2009) — A research team led by the University of Colorado at Boulder has found a clever way … Continue reading →

Posted in drought, satellites, soil moisture, Technologies

Flax (Linum) and Ethiopian mustard (Brassica carinata) Can Produce Bioethanol (Science Daily / FECYT)

Posted on November 24, 2009 by

Read at : Science Daily http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091120094745.htm Flax and Yellow Flowers Can Produce Bioethanol ScienceDaily (Nov. 24, 2009) — Surplus biomass from the production of flax shives, and generated from Brassica carinata, a yellow-flowered plant related to those which engulf fields … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, energy/bioenergy/biofuels

Switchgrass Produces Biomass Efficiently (Science Daily)

Posted on November 24, 2009 by

Read at : Science Daily http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091123125201.htm Switchgrass Produces Biomass Efficiently ScienceDaily (Nov. 24, 2009) — A USDOE and USDA study concluded that 50 million U.S. acres of cropland, idle cropland, and cropland pasture could be converted from current uses to … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, energy/bioenergy/biofuels, fertilizer - nutrients

Global campaign on right to water and sanitation in Palestine (ENB / IISD)

Posted on November 21, 2009 by

Read at : Water Issues Announcement List <water-l@lists.iisd.ca> Global campaign on right to water and sanitation in Palestine The EWASH Advocacy Task Force (representing some 30 organisations working in water, sanitation and hygiene in the occupied Palestinian territory) is launching a … Continue reading →

Posted in drinking water, sanitation

Maize Cell Wall Genes Identified, Giving Boost to Biofuel Research (Science Daily / Purdue Univ.)

Posted on November 21, 2009 by

Read at : Science Daily http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091119193936.htm Maize Cell Wall Genes Identified, Giving Boost to Biofuel Research ScienceDaily (Nov. 20, 2009) — Purdue University scientists have helped identify and group the genes thought to be responsible for cell wall development in … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, biotechnology, Technologies

Water soaking through loose soil : Spotting Evidence of Directed Percolation (Science Daily / Am. Phys. Soc.)

Posted on November 21, 2009 by

Read at : Science Daily http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091117124013.htm Spotting Evidence of Directed Percolation ScienceDaily (Nov. 20, 2009) — A team of physicists has, for the first time, seen convincing experimental evidence for directed percolation, a phenomenon that turns up in computer models … Continue reading →

Posted in Soil, Water