A new mandate to conserve the genetic diversity of their forests spurred the Natural Resources Institute of Finland to launch a new seed banking venture. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault opened on February 26, 2015, located on Spitsbergen Island, it is heavily guarded by permafrost. Prior to opening the seed bank the primary method for…
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Precision agriculture is a modern farming practice employed to make production more efficient. Precision agriculture, also referred to as “site-specific agriculture”, allows farmers to work smarter rather than harder by tailoring management and cultivation practices according the actual needs of the site. Farmers and site managers can take vast expanses of fields and treat them…
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Desiccation is injury incurred by plants when water is transpired through leaves faster than it can be uptaken by roots. This is usually caused by extended periods of cold, dry weather, winter winds and/or instances of freezing and thawing. Antidesiccant treatments apply a waxy coating to the leaves of broadleaved evergreens which helps stem water…
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Recent research has uncovered the critical mechanism involved in the symbiotic relationship between fungi and trees. As it turns out, the fungus is able to take control of its tree host by injecting a small protein that neutralizes the tree’s immune defenses thereby allowing the fungus to colonize the plant. This is a critical advance in our understanding…
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Collaborative research conducted by scientists from U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and scientists from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF), funded by the American Chestnut Foundation has found that the addition of a gene from a wheat variety to the American Chestnut’s genome produces increased resistance…
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Utricularia gibba, commonly known as the humped bladderwort, is a carnivorous, obligate wetland plant native to most of the contiguous United States. A study recently published in the Journal of Molecular Biology and Evolution investigates the unique genome of this aquatic plant. What sets the bladderwort’s genome apart from other plants is its ratio of…
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This week, February 22-28, is National Invasive Species Awareness Week (NISAW). Events have been organized across the country to help educate the public about the insidiousness of invasive species, the problems they cause and what we can all do to help. Find an event near you and participate and help identify solutions to invasive species issues…
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A bill introduced at the beginning of January by representatives from Idaho and Oregon aims to change the way the federal government budgets for suppression, control and fighting wildfires. The Wildfire Disaster Funding Act of 2015 (H.R. 167) would end the need to transfer funds from critical forest conservation and management programs. Florida State Forester and President of…
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The cork tree, a broad-leaved evergreen, found throughout southwestern Europe and into northwestern Africa in Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia, is actually a member of the oak family. Also called the cork oak, Quercus suber, is a unique and valuable species. The cork is actually produced beneath the thick, dark grey, knobby bark…
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A common disease among eastern hard pines is eastern gall rust. In the U.S. the range of this disease includes Minnesota eastward to the New England states and south to the states bordering the Gulf of Mexico. Host trees include Scotch, Austrian, Jack, Pitch, Shortleaf and Loblolly pines, each within their respective range. Red, black…
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