Featured Posts

To top

Temperature Tag

14 Sep

Forests’ carbon uptake will be compromised by climate change, leaf temperature study suggests

A new study led by Oregon State University suggests leaves in forest canopies are not able to cool themselves below the surrounding air temperature, likely meaning trees' ability to avoid damaging temperature increases, and to pull carbon from the atmosphere, will be compromised in a warmer, drier climate. The findings by an international collaboration that included researchers from multiple universities and government agencies contrast with a prevailing theory in the scientific community that canopy leaves can keep their temperature within an optimal range for photosynthesis -- the process through which green plants make their food from sunlight and carbon dioxide. Published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the research is important for understanding and predicting plant responses to climate...
Continue reading
30 Aug

How light and temperature work together to affect plant growth

Plants lengthen and bend to secure access to sunlight. Despite observing this phenomenon for centuries, scientists do not fully understand it. Now, Salk scientists have discovered that two plant factors -- the protein PIF7 and the growth hormone auxin -- are the triggers that accelerate growth when plants are shaded by canopy and exposed to warm temperatures at the same time. The findings, published in Nature Communications on August 29, 2022, will help scientists predict how plants will respond to climate change -- and increase crop productivity despite the yield-harming global temperature rise. "Right now, we grow crops in certain densities, but our findings indicate that we will need to lower these densities to optimize growth as our climate changes," says senior author Professor...
Continue reading