Scientists and botanists are continuously exploring nature's vast variety, making tree and plant discoveries that highlight the richness of our planet's biodiversity. 



These findings spark excitement and curiosity, offering fresh perspectives on the vast array of plant species still awaiting exploration. Most recently, experts have added to the world of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dna-technology-will-accelerate-the-pace-of-plant-species-discovery/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">botanical discoveries</a> by naming six new tree species.



These species were identified during an exhaustive comparison of dried plant specimens gathered from across the Neotropics. 



Among the six, three unique species - Matisia petaquillae, Matisia changuinolana, and Matisia aquilarum - were identified in Panama while the other three - Matisia genesiana, Matisia mutatana, and Matisia rufula - were discovered in Colombia.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-plant-specimens-and-new-tree-species">Plant specimens and new tree species</h2>



The process of discovering these new species was a meticulous one, involving the careful collection, drying, and examination of plant samples. 



These samples were pressed into pieces of cardboard, mounted onto specialized paper, and later filed into <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/did-the-centinela-mass-extinction-really-happen/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">herbaria</a> - dedicated repositories for dried plant specimens. 



With digital advancements, curators have made a significant portion of these specimens available online, facilitating easier access and exchange of knowledge.



However, it's important to note that despite digital access, the task of identifying these plant specimens still hinges on expert plant taxonomists.



Scientists often grapple with unidentified specimens for years before they can conclusively establish whether these represent previously unknown species.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-building-upon-previous-discoveries">Building upon previous discoveries </h2>



Ernesto Campos, a research technician at the <a href="https://stri.si.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute</a> (STRI), noted that José Luis Fernández-Alonso played a pivotal role in confirming the identification of a new tree species, Matisia tinamastiana in 2022.



This discovery unfolded in the Altos de Campana Forest Reserve and National Park and laid the cornerstone for the current collaborative efforts.



To identify this intriguing set of species, Fernández-Alonso examined plant samples preserved in herbaria across Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, and the United States. 



Campos provided crucial assistance in Panama, facilitating the review of herbarium collections at different institutions, including the Autonomous University of Chiriquí (UCH).



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-specimens-from-chagres-national-park">Specimens from Chagres National Park</h2>



The discovery journey was further enriched with the collections made by senior botanists at STRI, Rolando Pérez and Salomón Aguilar, who extended the known distribution range of Matisia aquilarum.



This achievement was possible thanks to specimens found at a study site in Chagres National Park, a part of the ForestGEO-STRI forest monitoring network.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-window-into-the-world-of-plants">Window into the world of plants </h2>



The exploration does not end here. With the help of Joana Sumich, a technician in the SCZ herbarium, the researchers are in the process of identifying other plant samples - including some that were collected decades ago. They anticipate uncovering more species previously unknown to science.



To aid non-specialists in identifying these new <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-many-invasive-plant-species-are-in-the-world/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">plant species</a>, the authors have also included an updated dichotomous key of Matisia species for Panama in their manuscript. This represents the first such identification key published in over half a century.



David Mitre, the research manager for ForestGEO-STRI in Panama, aptly summed up the importance of these discoveries.



"Herbaria are not just collections of dried plants, they are a source of new information in the long term. Discoveries like this remind us how important it is to make sure that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/amazon-trees-are-critically-endangered-even-in-protected-areas/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">protected areas</a> are really well protected," said Mitre.



These findings elevate our understanding of our precious ecosystems, shedding light on the multitudes of plant species <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/thousands-of-tree-species-remain-undiscovered/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">waiting to be discovered</a>.



“This window into the world of plants leads to discoveries of new pharmaceuticals and makes it possible for conservationists to justify protection for natural areas where rare species flourish," said Joshua Tewksbury, STRI Director.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-reservoirs-of-preserved-plant-specimens">Reservoirs of preserved plant specimens</h2>



Herbaria play a pivotal role in botanical research, serving as reservoirs of preserved plant specimens that hold invaluable information about the planet's biodiversity. 



These collections, some dating back centuries, are meticulously maintained to ensure their scientific integrity. 



Advances in digital technology have made many herbarium records accessible online, revolutionizing how researchers study plant species across the globe.



Despite this accessibility, the identification of new species remains a time-intensive process that relies heavily on skilled plant taxonomists. 



By carefully analyzing physical traits, geographical data, and historical records, these experts uncover the stories behind each specimen. 



The recent discoveries of the six Matisia tree species highlight the importance of herbaria in preserving the natural history of our planet and contributing to conservation efforts.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://raccefyn.co/index.php/raccefyn/article/view/malvaceae-neotropicae-novae-vel-minus-cognitae-nuevas-especies-d" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Revista de la Academia Colombiana de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales</a>.



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Six new tree species identified in Columbia and Panama

Scientists and botanists are continuously exploring nature's vast variety, making tree and plant discoveries that highlight the richness of our planet's biodiversity. These findings spark excitement and curiosity, offering fresh perspectives on the vast array of plant species still awaiting exploration. Most recently, experts have added to the world of botanical discoveries by naming six new tree species. These species were identified during an exhaustive comparison of dried plant specimens gathered from across the Neotropics. Among the six, three unique species - Matisia petaquillae, Matisia changuinolana, and...

Scientists are hoping to better feed the world. Their research on genetically-modified (GM) crops has brought us drought- and pest-resistant plants. Now, a team from <a href="http://www.rothamsted.ac.uk">Rothamsted Research</a> is hoping to grow a new kind of super yield GM wheat after the UK government gave its approval for the experiment to move forward. 

Scientists from the <a href="http://www.essex.ac.uk">University of Essex</a> and <a href="http://www.lancaster.ac.uk">Lancaster University</a> engineered the new wheat to use sunlight more efficiently. They did this by modifying them with a gene from a plant called the stiff brome.  They believe this will result in the GMO plant carrying out <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/photosynthesis-evolution-microbe/">photosynthesis</a> much more efficiently and increasing greenhouse yields by up to 40%.

"It makes the plant bigger in the greenhouse, it makes the leaves grow bigger, and that's because you have more of this photosynthesis going on," said Malcolm Hawkesford from Rothamsted to <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news">BBC News</a>.

He says that the additional CO2 created from increased photosynthesis will result in more grain production, as well. 

Wheat yields have reached a plateau even as the world’s population continues to grow. Researchers say that in order to keep up with demand, food production must increase by 70% by 2050. They hope that this super yield wheat trial will help increase wheat production worldwide. 

The team of researchers received approval from the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-environment-food-rural-affairs">Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs</a> (Defra) to proceed with the trial at a secure site near Harpenden. 

GM crop trials face many hurdles. Sometimes, even after government approval has been granted and the experiments are able to proceed, the trials aren’t successful. In other cases, protesters destroy the crops. 

Critics of GM agriculture say that increasing food production isn’t the answer to world hunger. Liz O’Neil from GM Freeze points to poverty – and not photosynthesis – as the problem that needs to be addressed. Rather than GM plant trials, she says that public funding should be spent on solutions such as waste reduction and poverty eradication.

It’s unclear whether approval for the program signals that the UK government is softening its stance on GM crops post-Brexit.

--
By Dawn Henderson, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

UK government approves GM super yield wheat trial

Scientists are hoping to better feed the world. Their research...

It’s one of the first science lessons we all have to memorize in grade school: <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/133-new-species-plants-animals/">plants</a> take in <a href="http://www.earth.com/video/carbon-dioxide-atmosphere/">carbon dioxide</a> and sunlight in order to use photosynthesis to turn it into the oxygen that humans and animals need to survive. But how did plants first develop the ability to photosynthesize? For a long time, scientists weren’t sure. However, the discovery of a new microbe may have provided some clues. 

A group of Japanese researchers found those clues in microscopic Methanospirillum hungatei. Although the microbe existed before the development of photosynthesis, its genes are similar to the kinds of genes modern plants use for photosynthesis. 

Scientists made this discovery by examining the enzymes synthesized by genes in the microbe. They analyzed metabolic substances within Methanospirillum hungatei and were even able to locate CO2 trapped inside the organism. These tests showed that it used a primitive process that very much resembles what we all know as photosynthesis. 

The process was discovered by researchers led by Ashida Hiroki of <a href="http://www.kobe-u.ac.jp/en/">Kobe University</a>, Kono Takunari, also of Kobe University, as well as Matsumara Hiroyoshi from <a href="http://en.ritsumei.ac.jp">Ritsumeikan University</a>. Their findings were published in the journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/ncomms/">Nature Communications</a>. 

The study sheds light on how plants evolved to form a photosynthesis system – something that has so far remained a scientific mystery. Understanding this process will help do more than satisfy scientific curiosity. Researchers hope that better understanding photosynthesis will be able to help them increase agricultural production for crops, as well as biofuel. 

The next time you sit outside, consider for a moment how the plants and trees provide the oxygen in every breath you take. Then let your wonder deepen as you realize that although science is still working to discover how it happened, plants actually evolved to do that. Also, relax: there won’t be a multiple-choice test on this later. 

--

By Dawn Henderson,<a href="http://earth.com"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="http://www.kobe-u.ac.jp/en/">Kobe University</a>, <a href="http://en.ritsumei.ac.jp">Ritsumeikan University</a>

Minuscule microbe provides clues to the evolution of photosynthesis

It’s one of the first science lessons we all have...

Something is rotten in the state of Pennsylvania. The town of Jersey Shore, to be exact – and no, it’s not wannabe reality TV stars. That’s a different Jersey Shore. This one is plagued by a field of rotting radishes.

The odor first infused the town about three weeks ago. Residents couldn’t find the source of the foul stench, so they turned to TV news station <a href="http://wnep.com/">WNEP</a> for help.

After getting descriptions of the odious odor from town citizens – who said the gag-worthy aroma was similar to a leaky propane tank, rotten eggs or bad pumpkins, and worse than a dead deer – the news team from the aptly named Nippenose Township set out to investigate.

The news team’s first stop was to check in with the obvious suspect: the town sewage plant. But things smelled no worse than usual there, WNEP said.

"If someone could smell our plant five miles (away), then the odor here would be quite overbearing and that's not the case," <a href="https://www.jerseyshorewater.com/">Jersey Shore Sewer Authority</a> director Shawn Lorson told the station.

So the news team had to follow their noses. Their olfactory investigation led them to some fields outside Jersey Shore.

Turns out the citizen who guessed rotten pumpkin wasn’t too far off. The fields that were raising such a big stink in Jersey Shore were full of bad vegetables, all right: rotting radishes.

The fields belonged to <a href="http://www.taseeds.com/">T.A. Seeds</a>, a company that sells hybrid corn, soy, alfalfa, and other crops throughout the U.S. In the winter, they told WNEP, they plant radishes as a cover crop to help scavenge the nutrients in the soil.

Usually, the radishes are mostly decayed by the time the weather warms up, and the town never has to deal with the smell. This year, however, unusually warm weather sent the horrible stench of rotten vegetables wafting through town.

“You know you are going to get more odor if you have this warm weather in January. You are going to smell it a lot quicker,” T.A. Seeds president Taylor Doebler told the Nippenose news team.

Eventually, the smell should go away, he said.

—

By Kyla Cathey / Earth.com staff writer

This town stinks thanks to rotting radishes

Something is rotten in the state of Pennsylvania. The town...

The Asian shot hole borer has a name longer than it is. This tiny bug has a big appetite, though, and a new favorite food: avocado trees.

The little beetles are native to southeast Asia, but traveled to Los Angeles in 2003. More than a dozen years later, they’re expanding into other areas of Southern California.

Among those areas are the avocado tree orchards of Ventura County.

“Shot hole borers will bore into almost everything, including avocado trees, which is why they are getting a lot of attention,” graduate student Shelley Bennett said in a <a href="http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2017/017516/holy-guacamole">press release</a>. “But these beetles also affect many native tree species.”

Bennett works in the <a href="http://rivrlab.msi.ucsb.edu/">Riparian InVasion Research Laboratory</a> at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The lab studies invasive insect species, among other topics. One team has been tracking Asian shot hole borers in California.

The two species of shot hole borer seen in the state are tiny – usually less than a tenth of an inch. They have a big appetite, though.

Worse, both species of beetle carry a pathogenic fungus that causes a disease called Fusarium dieback.

For the beetles, the fungus is vital. It’s carried by pregnant females, who plant it beneath a tree’s bark before laying their eggs. The eggs hatch into larvae, which eat the fungus as they grow to adulthood.

Once they’re adults, each females collects some fungus of her own before heading out into the world.

But for trees that are susceptible to Fusarium dieback, the fungus that causes it is devastating. The disease affects the vascular systems of more than 130 tree species, cutting off the flow of nutrients that keep them alive.

Aside from the avocado trees, the beetle has been spotted in oak and sycamore trees in Santa Barbara County, and along the Santa Clara River which runs through parts of Southern California.

The spread of the invasive insects could lay waste to Southern California’s avocado groves, valued at more than $400 million.

Worse, they could cause damage to the state’s riparian habitats – natural areas along rivers that offer habitat for native animal and plant species.

The <a href="http://www.ucsb.edu/">UC Santa Barbara</a> researchers are working with scientists from the <a href="http://ucanr.edu/">UC Cooperative Extension</a>, the <a href="https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/">California Department of Food and Agriculture</a>, and other agencies to come up with a solution.

—

By Kyla Cathey / Earth.com staff writer

Tiny shot hole borers want our guacamole!

The Asian shot hole borer has a name longer than...

A team of researchers wanted to learn more about how and why gynodioecious plants change their sex, so they shone some light on the question. Literally.

Scientists from the <a href="https://www.lincoln.ac.uk/home/">University of Lincoln</a> found that it's the amount of light they receive that triggers sex changes in the relatively rare plants.

Gynodioecy in plants is a system of reproductive behavior in which plants can either be female or hermaphrodites. Female plants have all of their reproductive parts intact, but hermaphrodites do not produce pollen.

The new study shows that at least some plants express as female when light conditions are good. When conditions are poor, they become hermaphrodites.

Gynodioecious plants are comparatively rare. Most plant species are dioecious – they produce both male and female plants, and both participate in reproduction.

Scientists have known for some time that dioecious plants can switch gender from female to male and back due to environmental triggers. However, sex changes in gynodioecious plants have not been well studied before.

The researchers hoped to change that, so they <a href="http://www.amjbot.org/content/103/11/1928">conducted a study</a> of 326 Geranium sylvaticum specimens.

“We conducted a transplantation experiment in the field where plants with different sex expression were reciprocally transplanted between high light and low light habitats. We measured plants’ reproductive output and sex expression over four years,” the scientists wrote.

They found that, regardless of each individual plant’s origin, those that received more light expressed their sex as female. Those that grew with less light were hermaphrodites.

“This study shows that sex expression in Geranium sylvaticum is [liable to change] and related to light availability,” the researchers wrote.

Because plants may live in light conditions that don’t change much from year to year, they might not change their sexes frequently. That means more species of gynodioecious plants may swap their genders than we thought, the scientists said – but no one has observed them yet.

The study was published in the journal <a href="http://www.amjbot.org/">American Journal of Botany</a>.

New study sheds light on gender in gynodioecious plants

A team of researchers wanted to learn more about how...

Here at <a href="http://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a>, we always like to highlight some of the incredible work being done by nature and wildlife non-profit organizations all around the world. Today, in our regular “Your World” feature, we celebrate the top Instagram feeds from plant non-profits.

Arbor Day Foundation
<blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-version="7">
<div style="padding: 8px;">
<div style="background: #F8F8F8; line-height: 0; margin-top: 40px; padding: 62.40740740740741% 0; text-align: center; width: 100%;"></div>
<a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BPGipFUgFCW/" target="_blank">It's like another 🌎 pc: @mikeygribbin #treesareadventuresbackdrop #vsconature #treeisland #treestagram #optoutside #arborday #adventuretime</a>
<p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A photo posted by Arbor Day Foundation (@arbordayfoundation) on <time style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;" datetime="2017-01-10T23:25:18+00:00">Jan 10, 2017 at 3:25pm PST</time>

</div></blockquote>
<script async defer src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script>

&nbsp;

Trees For Cities 
<blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-version="7">
<div style="padding: 8px;">
<div style="background: #F8F8F8; line-height: 0; margin-top: 40px; padding: 50.0% 0; text-align: center; width: 100%;"></div>
<a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BN4dLmbAhok/" target="_blank">Green is the prime color of the world, and that from which its loveliness arises - Pedro Calderon de la Barca #nature #magic #trees #landscape #treesforcities #greenspaces #urbantrees #urbannature #urbanparks #tree #forest #urbantrees #nature #environment #inspiringquotes #quoteoftheday #quotestoinspire #ilovetrees #treesofinstagram #treestagram #treelovers #treescape #photooftheday</a>
<p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A photo posted by Trees For Cities (@treesforcities) on <time style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;" datetime="2016-12-11T15:36:50+00:00">Dec 11, 2016 at 7:36am PST</time>

</div></blockquote>
<script async defer src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script>

&nbsp;

Woodland Trust 
<blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-version="7">
<div style="padding: 8px;">
<div style="background: #F8F8F8; line-height: 0; margin-top: 40px; padding: 33.19444444444444% 0; text-align: center; width: 100%;"></div>
<a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BPCu-iwjehE/" target="_blank">It's definitely not #Snowing here at HQ yet but we thought we'd share this entry by Christopher Walmsley from our #FarmersWeekly #PhotoCompetition in 2016. Breathtaking! #WoodlandTrust #Farmers #TreesonFarms #Trees #Treestagram #Snow #SnowScene #WinterScene #WinterLandscape #Horizon #NaturalBeauty #Snowy #SnowyTrees #Surreal #BeautifulLandscape #LandscapePhotography #Frozen #WinterWonderland #Winter #FrozenWorld</a>
<p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A photo posted by Woodland Trust (@woodlandtrust) on <time style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;" datetime="2017-01-09T11:56:08+00:00">Jan 9, 2017 at 3:56am PST</time>

</div></blockquote>
<script async defer src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script>

&nbsp;

Greenpop
<blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-version="7">
<div style="padding: 8px;">
<div style="background: #F8F8F8; line-height: 0; margin-top: 40px; padding: 50.0% 0; text-align: center; width: 100%;"></div>
<a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BPEx5t2D78_/" target="_blank">Today, this #treetuesday we have chosen to commemorate the amazing oak cork tree. This unique and valuable tree is an evergreen and is very special as it has the ability to regenerate its outer bark. This bark is used to stopper wine bottles and other food stuff products as well as being used to make cork flooring! If used in a sustainable way, we can reap the tree-mendous benefits from the cork oak for years to come!</a>
<p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A photo posted by Greenpop (@greenpopsa) on <time style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;" datetime="2017-01-10T07:00:10+00:00">Jan 9, 2017 at 11:00pm PST</time>

</div></blockquote>
<script async defer src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script>

&nbsp;

Fruit Tree Planting Foundation
<blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-version="7">
<div style="padding: 8px;">
<div style="background: #F8F8F8; line-height: 0; margin-top: 40px; padding: 50.0% 0; text-align: center; width: 100%;"></div>
<a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BOSNkj-jZ8o/" target="_blank">It's #CitrusSeason! 🍋🍊😍 #oranges #lemons #limes #grapefruit #pomelos #tangerines #tangelos #planttrees #plantfruittrees #bounty #pickyourown #backyardorchard #arizonacitrus #californiacitus #floridacitrus #fruittrees #fruittree #growyourown #gardening</a>
<p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A photo posted by Fruit Tree Planting Foundation (@fruittreeplantingfoundation) on <time style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;" datetime="2016-12-21T15:40:41+00:00">Dec 21, 2016 at 7:40am PST</time>

</div></blockquote>
<script async defer src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script>

Your world: top Instagram feeds from plant non-profits

Here at Earth.com, we always like to highlight some of...

If a tunnel tree falls in the forest…

The “Pioneer Cabin Tree,” of <a href="http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=551">Calaveras Big Trees State Park</a> in Northern California, has been toppled by a powerful winter storm. The ancient sequoia had been carved into a living tunnel over a hundred and thirty years ago, allowing horses, and eventually cars to pass through. In recent years, passage through the base of the towering tree had been restricted to hikers.

The <a href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/fronts/HOME?SITE=AP&amp;SECTION=HOME">Associated Press</a> reports that last weekend’s storm may have been the largest to hit California and Nevada in over ten years, leading to flooding and mudslides in some regions. At over 150 feet tall and with a base of approximately 33 feet in diameter, the iconic tunnel tree was not able to withstand the storm.

A post on the Calaveras Big Tree Association’s Facebook page stated, “The storm was just too much for it.”

It was reported on Sunday by state park volunteer Jim Allday that Pioneer Cabin had fallen. <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/">SFGate</a> spoke with Allday to confirm that local flooding was likely the cause of the tree’s demise.

“When I went out there [Sunday afternoon], the trail was literally a river, the trail is washed out,” Allday said. “I could see the tree on the ground, it looked like it was laying in a pond or lake with a river running through it.”

Jim’s wife. Joan Allday, added that the tree had been weakening for several years.

“It was barely alive, there was one branch alive at the top,’ she said. ‘But it was very brittle and starting to lift.” 

While sequoias can live for more than 3,000 years, it’s unclear exactly how old the iconic tree was. According to<a href="http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-live-winter-weather-california-iconic-sequoia-tree-in-california-state-1483942759-htmlstory.html"> the Los Angeles Times</a>, trees in Calaveras Big Trees State Park are estimated to be more than 1,000 years old. 

In the 1800s, tunnel trees were created to promote tourism. Cutting through a living sequoia can do damage to the tree and most of the tunneled-through sequoias in California are dead. Wawona Tree in Yosemite National Park, the most renowned at an estimated 2,100 years old, was felled by a winter storm in 1969. Many of the remaining sequoia tunnels are fallen trees – logs on their sides carved through for passage. 

“Tunnel trees had their time and place in the early history of our national parks,” the<a href="https://www.nps.gov/seki/faqtunnel.htm"> National Park Service</a> has written. “But today sequoias which are standing healthy and whole are worth far more.”

--

Image: Tom Purcell-flickr

Famous sequoia tunnel tree takes final bow

If a tunnel tree falls in the forest… The “Pioneer...

What’s going on in the world today? Plenty. In your daily dose of Earth news for January 9, 2017, you'll find a new nature miniseries, tips on algae growth, potential uses for earwax, and more.
<h2>Earth news for January 9, 2017:</h2>
<h4>BBC launches ‘Spy in the Wild’</h4>
With “Planet Earth II” over, nature fans are looking for their next fix. “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfdrQL5Ff-A">Spy in the Wild</a>” aims to provide it. The new <a href="http://bbc.co.uk/">BBC</a> documentary conceals cameras in lifelike robots, and sends them to watch animals in their natural habitats.

Maybe they're a little too lifelike. In the first episode, a robot disguised as a langur monkey successfully infiltrates a group in India. When the robot was dropped from a height, the monkeys began mourning, producers said.

The miniseries airs in the UK beginning Thursday. In the U.S., the first episode will run February 1 on <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/">PBS Nature</a>.
<h4>Could earwax be the next big tech innovation?</h4>
Scientists at the <a href="http://www.gatech.edu/">Georgia Institute of Technology</a> have taken on a new – and sort of disgusting – project: figuring out a technological use for earwax.

The project was inspired after her boyfriend had water trapped in his ear by an earwax plug, doctoral student Alexis Noel said. She wondered how the earwax was able to allow the water in, then trap it so effectively, and mentioned it to Dr. David Hu. They decided to take on the problem.

Using earwax from pigs, sheep, rabbits, and dogs, they began testing its properties and trying out different uses. They’ve found that earwax is made up pretty consistently across species.

They also found that it has excellent filtering properties. As earwax collects dust, it traps it. When too much dust is trapped, the earwax crumbles and falls away, and new wax is formed.

While they’re still studying exactly how earwax is formed, the researchers already see potential uses in tech. One idea would be to create a biomimetic adhesive surface for ventilation systems in robotics and other machinery.
<h4>Colorful new flatworm species discovered in Brazil</h4>
Scientists have found three new land-based species of flatworm in the Araucaria forest of Brazil. Flatworms are invertebrates, and also predators that hunt other invertebrate species.

The Araucaria is part of Brazil’s Atlantic Rainforest and is considered to be a hotspot of flatworm diversity, the scientists wrote in their article in <a href="http://zookeys.pensoft.net/articles.php?id=11093">ZooKeys</a>, an open access journal. The three new species belong to the genus Cratera.
<h4>In forests, Missouri bees prefer darker flowers</h4>
Bees prefer darker colors in cool climates, at least when it comes to flowers. That’s what scientists at <a href="https://www.slu.edu/">St. Louis University</a> discovered while observing how native bee species interact with birds foot violets.

In most cases, the bees prefered the concolor morph, in which all five petals of the flower are light in color. In sunny locations, the concolor morph far outnumbers the bicolor morph, which has two dark purple petals and three light ones.

But in shady, wooded areas, the bicolor morph makes up about half of the flower population. Bees in these areas always land on the darker petals to feed, the researchers found. Testing revealed darker petals were warmer.
<h4>Scientists at UC Irvine find a new method for recycling greenhouse gases</h4>
A team of researchers from <a href="https://uci.edu/">University of California, Irvine</a> has discovered a new method for dealing with carbon dioxide: using it to help produce biofuel.

The bacterium Azotobacter vinelandii can be used to convert carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide. Though toxic in enclosed spaces, carbon monoxide can be used to produce biofuels and chemical products. Their findings were published in the journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/nchembio/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nchembio.2245.html">Nature Chemical Biology</a>.
<h4>Biodiversity of algae is important in biofuel production</h4>
<a href="https://www.umich.edu/">University of Michigan</a> researchers studying algae-derived biocrude have found that when raising algae, biodiversity is important. They found that growing a wide variety of algae reduced crop failure and gave a better return on investment. While their research was conducted indoors in tanks, that will be true in outdoor tanks or ponds, too, the researchers said.

The research is being funded by a $2 million, four-year grant from the <a href="http://www.nsf.gov/">National Science Foundation</a>.
<h4>Scientists explore link between rainfall in West, Rocky Mountain air quality</h4>
When the western U.S. suffers from a drought, Rocky Mountain air quality suffers, too, scientists at the <a href="http://www.utah.edu/">University of Utah</a> found.

That’s because drought sparks more wildfires, which creates haze in the Rockies, the scientists said. Haze can be evaluated with instruments that measure aerosol optical depth – the amount of aerosols between the sensor and the sun.

Aerosols in the Rockies went up when the west was in a drought, according to the study published in the journal <a href="http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aa510a/meta;jsessionid=5E21027595D39B0B34BD2C5716CCDC9D.c4.iopscience.cld.iop.org">Environmental Research Letters</a>.
— January 9, 2017

Earth news daily: January 9, 2017

What’s going on in the world today? Plenty. In your daily...

The story of the city mouse and the country mouse may be truer than we thought. A new study has found that plants and animals that live in urban areas are being changed by city life.

The <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2017/01/01/1606034114.full">analysis</a>, led by Dr. Marina Alberti of the <a href="http://www.washington.edu/">University of Washington</a>, looked at 1,600 cases around the world. They found that animals and plants living in cities showed changes in body size along with changes in behavior and reproduction habits compared to their country cousins.

“Humans challenge the phenotypic, genetic, and cultural makeup of species by affecting the fitness landscapes on which they evolve,” Alberti and her co-authors wrote in the analysis. “Recent studies show that cities might play a major role in contemporary evolution by accelerating phenotypic changes in wildlife, including animals, plants, fungi, and other organisms.”

For example, one 2008 study found that wildlife and plant populations exposed to human activity – especially activity in which humans alter the natural world, such as overharvesting or pollution – show faster rates of evolutionary change.

The researchers looked at another study that recorded changes in the behavior of crows and ravens in response to human behavior. That 2005 study found that social species with the ability to create and evolve their own “culture,” such as crows, can adapt and change that culture to take advantage of city life.

Alberti and her fellows used their “meta-analysis” to try to piece together the role that urbanization as a whole, rather than just individual human behaviors, plays in plant and animal evolution. That included widespread habitat modification like paved roads, street lights, and tall buildings; social interactions among species and between animals and humans; and disturbances of the natural ecosystem like flooding (though flood prevention or damming rivers) or pollution.

“By explicitly linking urban development to traits that affect ecosystem function, we can map potential eco-evolutionary implications of emerging patterns of urban agglomerations and uncover insights for maintaining key ecosystem functions upon which the sustainability of human well-being depends,” they wrote.

The analysis was published in <a href="http://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.

City life may influence plant and animal evolution

The story of the city mouse and the country mouse...

A new, open source plant database could help farmers choose top-producing bioenergy crops. To show the database's value, the scientists who developed it used it to show that Miscanthus yields more than twice as much biolfuel as switchgrass in the U.S.

Shared databases like this one are becoming more popular for plant science, climate change, and ecology research. But databases for biomass crops are lacking, Dr. Stephen Long said. The <a href="http://illinois.edu/">University of Illinois</a> professor was the study's lead author.

"To understand yield trends and variation across the country for our major food crops, extensive databases are available – notably those provided by the <a href="https://www.nass.usda.gov/">USDA Statistical Service</a>," he said. "But there was nowhere to go if you wanted to know about biomass crops, particularly those that have no food value such as Miscanthus, switchgrass, willow trees, etc."

To collect a useful mass of data for these crops, researchers at the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology's <a href="http://www.energybiosciencesinstitute.org/">Energy Biosciences Institute</a> came up with <a href="https://www.betydb.org/">BETYdb</a>. The open-source repository for physiological and yield data will aid in future bioenergy research, the researchers said.

The plant database also supports automated data collection as well as big data analysis. The latter is important, because BETYdb already contains more than 40,000 open-access records.

“By making all of this data open access, we hope that researchers can identify new plants and best practices for biomass production," first author Dr. David LeBauer said. "We've been using these data not only to summarize what has been observed in field trials, but also to identify new crops and predict productivity in new environments."

To show the database’s value, scientists used the plant database to definitively establish that Miscanthus has a yield 2.4 times higher than switchgrass. The difference held up under a wide range of management and environmental conditions, such as fertilization rates, stand ages, and planting densities.

Miscanthus was originally grown only in Europe. There, it was twice as productive as switchgrass, a North American native, regardless of temperature, water, or nitrogen.

"This was based on limited data and did not take into account the breeding improvements in switchgrass that were occurring," Long said. "Now that Miscanthus is grown in North America along with many improved cultivars of switchgrass we wondered: does the remarkable two-fold difference in yield still hold? And it does."

The research was published in the journal <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1365-2486">Global Change Biology</a>. The <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/">National Science Foundation</a> and the Energy Biosciences Institute funded the study.

New plant database could set the pace for biofuel production

A new, open source plant database could help farmers choose...

New research has been published in the journal <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/">Science</a> outlining the discovery of a 52-million-year-old fossilized fruit in South America. This plant family’s history is largely unknown because so few samples have been found in the fossil record. The family of plants, nightshades, includes foods such as potatoes, tomatoes, and peppers – however, given this fruit’s age, it’s probably best left uneaten.

This ancient fruit was found in a fossilized rainforest in Patagonia, where, as N. Ruben Cuneo of the Museum of Paleontology Egidio Feruglio reports, these discoveries “are probably destined to revolutionize some traditional views on the origin and evolution of the plant kingdom.” Many researchers believe this area will yield many more discoveries of fossil plants.

Peter Wilf, a professor of geosciences at <a href="http://www.psu.edu/">Pennsylvania State University</a>, led the team that discovered the fossilized plant. He told BBC News, “Here we have this discovery of these incredibly rare, delicate fossils – here you have a berry surrounded by this papery calyx – it’s almost unheard of that such a thing could be fossilized.”

The fossilized fruit is of the genus Physalis, belonging to the family Solanaceae, or nightshade, which includes flowering plants such as tobacco and petunias. The berry is also closely related to tomatillos and ground cherries.

It was previously believed tomatillos and ground cherries evolved more recently – around the time the Andes appeared. Scientists say this discovery shows the origin of the genus goes back tens of millions of years, much further than previously thought.

In the much warmer world of 50 million years ago, South America was closer to Antarctica and Australia than it is today.

Wilf further emphasized the importance of this discovery, explaining, “It’s the only fossil fruit ever found in this whole group of plants, that now has over 2,000 species. A lot of the evolutionary history of life, especially plants, which are rare as fossils, is largely unknown.”

The story of the 52 million year-old fossilized fruit

New research has been published in the journal Science outlining...

The majestic beauty of Caribbean coral reefs is largely dependent on the balance between the coral and algal growth. Otherwise, algae will smother the coral, having a devastating effect on both the health and beauty of the reef. 

That’s exactly what took place in the Caribbean beginning in the early 1980s. At that time, Caribbean coral reefs depended on long-spined black sea urchins to consume the algae and keep levels balanced. But a mysterious disease began killing off these long-spined urchins, a phenomenon first discovered by <a href="https://www.stri.si.edu/">Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute</a> (STRI) scientist Harilaos Lessios in 1983 at the Atlantic entrance to the Panama canal. As the urchins died off, the reef’s only other hope for algal maintenance were parrotfish. But large parrotfish populations were simultaneously being ravaged by rampant overfishing. 

The result was chronic algal overgrowth that smothered reefs across the Caribbean and continued for years. But according to a new report from STRI marine biologists Catie Kuempel and Andrew Altieri, Caribbean coral reefs may have found new heroes: smaller urchins and finger-sized parrotfish.

Kuempel and Altieri set out to examine the scene on the seafloor in Bocas del Toro, Panama. While they found that many reefs had already died, they were surprised to see much lower levels of algae. The team determined that the most commonly seen algae-eating seafloor grazers were much smaller sea urchins, Echinometra viridis, and tiny parrotfish, Scarus iseri. For the most part, this species of parrotfish managed to avoid the perils of overfishing due to their size. What both the urchins and parrotfish lacked in physical size compared to their predecessors, they compensated for in larger numbers.

Kuempel and Altieri propose that working as a team, these tiny urchins and parrotfish could be capable of restoring the algal balance in degraded Caribbean coral reefs.

"These dollhouse-sized species came the rescue of reefs in Panama, and may be important elsewhere as well," said Altieri.

The STRI team published their findings in the journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/articles/srep39670">Nature</a>.

Tiny grazers could be the new heroes of Caribbean coral reefs

The majestic beauty of Caribbean coral reefs is largely dependent...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Nushagak Bay, a large estuary in southwest Alaska. Nushagak runs mainly north to south and exits in Bristol Bay, a large body of water in the Bering Sea.



"The bay is primarily fed by the Nushagak River, which begins in the Alaska Range and flows southwest approximately 450 km. The bay is also fed by several additional rivers including the Wood, Igushik, Snake and Weary rivers," says ESA.



"The dark colors of the Nushagak River are most likely due to tannins or lignins (chemical substances found in plants). Tannins and lignins from roots, leaves, seeds, bark and soil can leach into the water and give it a brown or even black colour. The sediments then flow southwards where it is mixed with the bluer waters of the bay."



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> (ACS) reveals that proteins on flu viruses are actually flexible, tilting and waving in a “breath-like” motion. According to the experts, these proteins could be used to better defend against the flu.



"The main antigenic targets of influenza virus are two surface glycoproteins, hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). Whereas the structural and dynamical properties of both glycoproteins have been studied previously, the understanding of their plasticity in the whole-virion context is fragmented," wrote the researchers.



To investigate, the team conducted detailed simulations of the influenza A H1N1 virion, or the swine flu. The experts concluded that the visualizations show many new vulnerable states of flu viruses, which could improve future vaccines and antiviral drugs.



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Lake Trasimeno, which is located west of Perugia in central Italy. It is the fourth largest lake in the country. While Trasimeno’s water level varies, it has a maximum depth of approximately six meters.&nbsp;



"In this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image, captured on 6 August 2022, the lake’s emerald green colour is likely due to the presence of phytoplankton. Streaks in the water, particularly visible in the west, indicate the presence of soil and sediments which have been stirred up by winds. Dark colored waters in the southern part of the lake indicate a presence of submerged and floating macrophytes (aquatic plants) as well as algae," says ESA.



"Surrounded by hills on three sides, Trasimeno is subject to heavy storms created by winds, especially from the north and west. There are three islets in the lake: Maggiore, Minore and Polvese (the largest). The lake’s shores are sparsely inhabited with only two popular villages: Castiglione del Lago and Passignano sul Trasimeno."



"Italy is experiencing its worst drought in 70 years which has affected drinking water supplies, hydroelectric power and agricultural production. High temperatures, hot winds and lack of rainfall are the main causes of drought in the Umbrian region which saw Lake Trasimeno’s drop 1.3 m, reaching the limit of the hydrometric zero in July 2022."



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> describes a new self-powered nanosensor that can instantly detect mercury contamination with the tap of a finger.&nbsp;



The oxidized form of mercury can be harmful when it is ingested through contaminated water or food. This makes it necessary for experts to develop sensors that can quickly and accurately detect the presence of mercury.&nbsp;



Zong-Hong Lin and colleagues have now created a triboelectric nanosensor (TENS) that can detect mercury by simply by touching a sample. According to the researchers, their TENS could serve as the basis for similar devices to safely and remotely monitor other pollutants.



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> explores the ability of salt to transform the way that foods and beverages taste. Salt is known to cover up undesirable flavors, such as bitterness in coffee or beer, but how exactly does sodium chloride change the taste of other compounds?



One previous study showed that, not only does salt suppress bitterness, but also enhances sweetness and sourness. Another study revealed that bitterness reduction by salt seems to be happening at the tongue receptor level as well as in the brain.&nbsp;



While it is known that salt taste is mediated by the presence of sodium channels in the form of taste buds, experts believe that there is also an unknown receptor responsible for how we taste salt that has not yet been identified.&nbsp;



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

How does salt makes things taste better?

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Santiago, the capital city of Chile. The city is located in the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Region, which has a population of about eight million people.&nbsp;



'The weather of Santiago resembles the Mediterranean climate with dry and warm summers with temperatures reaching up to 35°C (from October to March) and cool and humid winters that can drop to 0°C (from April to September)."



"The city lies in the centre of the country’s central valley around 80 km from the Pacific Ocean to the west and borders Argentina to the east. A tiny part of Argentina is visible in the top-right corner of the image where the mountain crest of the Andes Mountains acts as a divider between the two countries," says ESA.



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Santiago, Chile in South America

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Spiral,Galaxy,,Illustration,Of,Milky,Way

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Astronomers at <a href="https://www.jhu.edu/">Johns Hopkins University</a> have created an interactive map of the universe, including the actual position and real colors of 200,000 galaxies. The map allows the public to access data that was previously only available to scientists.



The map was developed using data collected by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. For over two decades, a telescope in New Mexico was aimed at slightly different locations to capture the night sky.&nbsp;



"Growing up I was very inspired by astronomy pictures, stars, nebulae and galaxies, and now it's our time to create a new type of picture to inspire people," said map creator Brice Ménard, a professor at Johns Hopkins. "Astrophysicists around the world have been analyzing this data for years, leading to thousands of scientific papers and discoveries. But nobody took the time to create a map that is beautiful, scientifically accurate, and accessible to people who are not scientists. Our goal here is to show everybody what the universe really looks like."



"In this map, we are just a speck at the very bottom, just one pixel. And when I say we, I mean our galaxy, the Milky Way which has billions of stars and planets. We are used to seeing astronomical pictures showing one galaxy here, one galaxy there or perhaps a group of galaxies. But what this map shows is a very, very different scale."



"From this speck at the bottom, we are able to map out galaxies across the entire universe, and that says something about the power of science."



The <a href="https://mapoftheuniverse.net/">interactive map</a> is available online, where it can be downloaded for free.



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky" Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features northwest Lesotho in South Africa.



According to ESA, Lesotho is the only nation in the world that lies completely above 1,000 m in elevation. The country is famous for its tall mountains and narrow valleys, and is known as Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky."



Out of a population of around two million people, about 80 percent live in rural areas. More than 75 percent of these people are engaged in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-will-have-a-global-impact-on-agriculture/">agriculture</a>, including rainfed cereal production and animal grazing.&nbsp;



ESA reports that the country’s agricultural system faces a growing number of issues, with climate-related vulnerabilities such as drought, floods and extreme temperatures occurring more frequently. 



Diamonds are amongst the minerals found in the mountains. Indeed, Lesotho can truly be called the Kingdom in the Sky. Beautiful, culturally rich, safe, affordable, and easily accessible from Durban and Johannesburg, mountainous Lesotho is a vastly underrated travel destination. the Kingdom of Lesotho (Sotho: 'Muso oa Lesotho) is an enclaved country in southern Africa. It is just over 30,000 km2 (11,583 sq mi) in size and has a population of around 2 million.



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Dublin, the capital and largest city of Ireland. Beyond its pub culture, Dublin is known as a modern culinary destination and a UNESCO City of Literature.



"Dublin is located near the midpoint of Ireland’s east coast in the province of Leinster. The city, which covers an area of around 115 square kilometers, is bordered by the Dublin Mountains, a low mountain range to the south, and is surrounded by flat farmland to the north and west," says ESA.



"The city straddles the River Liffey, which rises in the Wicklow Mountains and flows around 80 kilometers eastwards through the city of Dublin, in which it is canalised and bordered with quays. It then empties into Dublin Bay, an arm of the Irish Sea."



Dublin has an abundance of green spaces, including one of the largest enclosed public parks in any European capital city. Phoenix Park, which was originally formed as a royal hunting park in the 1660s, includes 707 hectares of green space.



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features the province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain. The image was captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.



"Together with the provinces of Huesca and Teruel, Zaragoza formed the old kingdom of Aragon. Its capital, also called Zaragoza (not visible in this image) is home to around half of Aragon’s population," says ESA.



"The Ebro River can be seen winding its way through the province from west to east in this image. Between its source in the Cantabrian Mountains in the northwest and its delta on the Mediterranean coast, the Ebro River is fed by more than 200 tributaries as it flows 910 km across much of northern Spain."



Since rainfall is very scarce in this region, irrigation in the Ebro basin is critically important. In the valleys surrounding the Ebro River, many fields are used for growing crops such as corn, wheat, and barley.



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> reveals the evolution of the Columbia Glacier in southeastern Alaska. Columbia is among the fastest shrinking glaciers in the world, and the video documents its rapid retreat over the years.&nbsp;



Columbia Glacier is a large, multi-branched calving glacier that flows out of the Chugach Mountains to the Prince William Sound.&nbsp;



According to USGS, Columbia had a long history of stability prior to 1980, with a length 41 miles, and small, short-lived advances or retreats.



In the years since 1980, however, satellite images have captured Columbia’s alarming retreat. By using false-color images, scientists can distinguish between snow and ice, open water, vegetation, and rocky debris on the glacier’s surface.



The series of false-color images featured in today's video were acquired over the span of 35 years. You can see that by 2021, the glacier’s main branch had retreated about 15 miles from its initial position.



The Columbia Glacier has also lost more than 50 percent of its volume, mostly due to calving. <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/nasa-reveals-3d-visual-of-an-atmospheric-river/">NASA</a> reports that while climate change likely started the retreat, mechanical processes kept the disintegration going.



The NASA images are provided by Jesse Allen, Robert Simmon, Joshua Stevens, and Lauren Dauphin using data from Landsat satellites, from the U.S. Geological Survey, and data from MODIS on NASA’s Terra satellite. The structure of Columbia’s moraine played a large role in the stability of the glacier before 1980. 



Like other tidewater glaciers, the Columbia built up a moraine over time, and the mixture of ice and rock functioned like a dam keeping out the sea. It was supported on one end by the shoreline and by the underwater terminal moraine at the other.



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory/&nbsp; NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features the Pyrenees Mountains, which form a natural boundary between France and Spain in southwest Europe.



The mountain range is 430 kilometers in length. It stretches from the Mediterranean Sea on the east to the Atlantic Ocean on the west.



At an elevation of 3404 meters, Pico de Aneto is the highest mountain peak in the Pyrenees, and the third-highest peak in Spain. Pico de Aneto is located in the Posets-Maladeta Natural Park, which spans more than 82,000 acres.&nbsp;



"Geological studies have revealed that the Pyrenees Mountains have been around for longer than the Alps, with their sediments first deposited in coastal basins during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras," reports ESA.



"The entire mountain range formed due to the upwelling of large sedimentary rocks by the collision of the Iberian and the Eurasian plate around 100 to 150 million years ago, followed by intense erosion from ice and water."



The western Pyrenees receive more precipitation due to moisture blowing in from the Atlantic Ocean. The mountain range contains many lakes, several small glaciers, and some of the highest waterfalls in Europe.



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes two exoplanets that are orbiting a star 218 light-years away. A team of researchers led by the University of Montreal has found evidence that these planets are "water worlds."



The experts used data from NASA’s Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes. They discovered that exoplanets Kepler-138 c and Kepler-138 could be composed largely of water.



"We previously thought that planets that were a bit larger than Earth were big balls of metal and rock, like scaled-up versions of Earth, and that's why we called them super-Earths," explained study co-author Björn Benneke.&nbsp;



"However, we have now shown that these two planets, Kepler-138 c and d, are quite different in nature and that a big fraction of their entire volume is likely composed of water. It is the best evidence yet for water worlds, a type of planet that was theorized by astronomers to exist for a long time."



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and Leah Hustak (STScI)



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes Earth’s interconnected systems, and how this network is affected by rising temperatures.&nbsp;



During 2020, average global temperatures matched the hottest year on record. The hurricane season was also record-breaking, with many of the storms intensifying at extraordinary speeds. Hot water in the ocean is fuel for hurricanes. The satellite data shows that it's all one interconnected system showing how Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected.



According to NASA, dust swept up from Northern Africa plays a major role in the formation of hurricanes, and is also a key source of fertilization in the Amazon rainforest. As a result of<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seagrass-wasting-disease-is-fueled-by-climate-change/"> climate</a> change, dust plumes are expected to decline, which will have an effect on vegetation far away.&nbsp;



Images from Earth-observing satellites show how the world’s plant life is affected by natural disasters, fires, and deforestation. Satellites also reveal how widespread changes in vegetation impact waterways,&nbsp; the climate, air quality. Satellites communicate by using radio waves to send signals to the antennas on the Earth. "Earth From Space" is a groundbreaking two-hour special that reveals a spectacular new space-based vision of our planet. 



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://welcome.miami.edu/">University of Miami</a> Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science explores how changes in water temperatures have affected tiger shark habitats and movements in the North Atlantic Ocean. The study reveals that rising temperatures have caused the sharks to shift toward the poles over the past 40 years.



“Tiger shark annual migrations have expanded poleward, paralleling rising water temperatures,” explained study lead author Neil Hammerschlag. “These results have consequences for tiger shark conservation, since shifts in their movements outside of marine protected areas may leave them more vulnerable to commercial fishing.”



The researchers analyzed nine years of tracking data from satellite-tagged tiger sharks, combined with four decades of conventional tag and recapture data provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Cooperative Shark Tagging Program.



The experts found that during the last decade of record heat, for every one-degree Celsius increase in water temperatures, tiger sharks migrated further poleward by over 400 kilometers. They also migrated two weeks earlier than usual to waters off the northeastern coast of the United States.



“Given their role as apex predators, these changes to tiger shark movements may alter predator-prey interactions, leading to ecological imbalances, and more frequent encounters with humans,” concluded Professor Hammerschlag.



Video Credit: University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

Today’s Video of the Day from the University of Miami...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> is focused on the melt ponds that emerge during the spring and summer on the Greenland Ice Sheet, which is the largest ice mass in the northern hemisphere.



"Melt ponds are vast pools of open water that form on both sea ice and ice sheets and are visible as turquoise-blue pools of water in this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image," says ESA.



"When snow and ice melts atop glaciers, water flows in channels and streams and collects in depressions on the surface. These melt ponds can speed up the melting of the surrounding ice since they greatly reduce the ice’s ability to reflect sunlight."



"This can create a positive feedback where an increasing number of melt ponds absorb more heat which causes ice cover to melt even faster."



According to ESA, Greenland has been hit with a late-season heatwave that began in early September. This caused the type of melt event that usually occurs in the middle of summer.



"In a recent paper published in Nature Climate Change, scientists found that major sea-level rise from the melting of the Greenland ice cap is now ‘inevitable’ even if the burning of fossil fuels were to halt overnight," says ESA. "Using satellite observations of Greenland ice loss and ice cap from 2000 to 2019, the team found the losses will lead to a minimum rise of 27 cm regardless of climate change."



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> describes a new map of Mars that is providing insight into the planet’s watery past. The map also reveals where future missions could safely land on Mars.&nbsp;



The map has been created over the last decade using observations of water-rich rocks and mineral deposits. The images were captured by ESA’s Mars Express and NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.



"A big surprise is the prevalence of these minerals, with the map revealing hundreds of thousands of water-affected locations in the oldest parts of the planet," says ESA. "The new data will help answer exciting questions about Mars’ climate history, whether water was globally persistent or confined to short, intense episodes, and whether the conditions were ever suitable for life."



"Specifically, the map shows the locations and abundances of aqueous minerals. These are from rocks that have been chemically altered by the action of water in the past, and have typically been transformed into clays and salts."



According to John Carter of the Institut d’Astrophysique Spatiale (IAS), our collective understanding of Mars has been oversimplified. He explained that planetary scientists have tended to think that only a few types of clay minerals on Mars were created during its wet period, then as the water gradually dried up, salts were produced across the planet.



The new map shows that the composition of Mars is much more complicated than what we thought. For example, while many salts formed after Martian clays, there are some salts that are presumed to be older than some of the clays.&nbsp;



“The evolution from lots of water to no water is not as clear cut as we thought, the water didn’t just stop overnight. We see a huge diversity of geological contexts, so that no one process or simple timeline can explain the evolution of the mineralogy of Mars. That’s the first result of our study. The second is that if you exclude life processes on Earth, Mars exhibits a diversity of mineralogy in geological settings just as Earth does,” said Carter.



Video Credit: ESA



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.stowers.org/">Stowers Institute for Medical Research</a> describes how cavefish adapted to a sedentary lifestyle over tens of thousands of years. 



The experts found that the muscle metabolism of cavefish has been genetically reprogrammed over time. As a result, the animals have experienced major changes in their morphology and behavior. Despite these changes, however, the cavefish remain healthy and fit.



The research may provide new clues about the evolutionary consequences of prolonged physical inactivity in humans.&nbsp;



“It’s no surprise that people are moving less and less as technology has advanced,” said Rohner. “With cavefish, we have a unique system where we can study what might happen if people remained couch potatoes over very, very long periods of time.”



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> some of the most incredible waves in the world, as seen by Landsat satellites.



"With more than 370,000 miles of coastline on Earth, there are plenty of places where epic waves build up, curl over, and hurtle toward the shore.- much to the thrill of surfers," says NASA. "There are some places where these waves are so magnificent that they can be seen from space."



"With the broad perspective of satellites, we can see how these iconic waves develop into the world’s tallest, longest, fastest, and heaviest."



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



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Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> describes why satellite images and measurements of our planet have become "essential to our survival, offering a new outlook of our world."&nbsp;



Rising sea levels pose one of the biggest societal threats associated with climate change. According to ESA, satellite altimeter missions such as Copernicus Sentinel-6 are essential in monitoring global and regional changes in sea level.



"Unbeknown to many, the island of Crete, Greece, plays an important role in the Copernicus satellite altimetry constellation and on an international stage," reports ESA.



"Satellite altimetry data have to be continuously monitored at the ESA’s Permanent Facility for Altimetry Calibration where different techniques have pioneered the use of transponders to provide the best measurements to validate satellite altimeters in space soon after launch."



Dr. Craig Donlon explains that, by understanding planet Earth through satellite measurements, we are able to find evidence of change.&nbsp;



Video Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Satellites have become essential to our survival

[sendtonews key="761m2QQvR1-2035772-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...