In a new article in the journal Nature Communications – Rainfall Drives Variation in Rates of Change in Intrinsic Water Use Efficiency of Tropical Forests – the authors inferred water use efficiency (WUE) from carbon isotope discrimination in tree rings from tropical forests around the world for most of the 20th century (1915–1995). “As expected,…
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Summary Experiments exposing today’s seeds with future CO2 conditions can fairly accurately portray future plant response Plant growth is stimulated as CO2 increases, but drought and high temperatures can limit that growth Higher-carb crops expected under future climate change If you were to take a seed and zap it into the future to see how…
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When it comes to watering walnuts, most California growers believe you need to start early to keep trees healthy and productive throughout the long, hot summer. But according to striking results from a long-term experiment in a walnut orchard in Red Bluff, California, growers can improve crop production if they hold off irrigation until later…
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Overview: This article, from Scientia, addresses Professor Amelie Gaudin’s research on developing better and diverse agricultural cropping systems. “The ultimate goal of our research is to use agroecological principles to help develop more efficient and resilient cropping systems,” said Gaudin. – – – – – – – – – – Dr Amélie Gaudin at the…
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With the Global Climate Action Summit occurring this week in San Francisco, it’s time for an update on UC Davis’ broad expertise in climate change. What Can I Do About Climate Change? UC Davis has launched a new blog featured on its Science & Climate website called “What Can I Do About Climate Change?” centered…
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Plant Sciences faculty member and Cooperative Extension specialist Bruce Linquist received the Distinguished Rice Research and Education Award from the Rice Technical Working Group at their annual conference last month in Long Beach, California. Linquist chaired the conference. Linquist has been collaborating with rice researchers in the southern U.S., and he is the only California…
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I might be just the kind of person the state’s founders envisioned when on March 23, 1868 – 150 years ago Friday – they chartered the University of California. A fourth-generation California rice grower, I was able to go to a world-class university and pursue an advanced degree, thanks to California’s system of public higher…
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Exotic Grasses Depleted Seed Bank Accounts During Drought While Natives Were Saved Quick Summary Native wildflowers saved a lot of seeds during California’s drought — 201 percent more than usual Exotic grasses decreased their seed bank by 52 percent during the drought Drought-tolerant wildflowers enjoyed the greatest increases Effects of a prolonged drought remain unknown,…
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Quick Summary The Plant and Environmental Sciences building at UC Davis earns LEED gold for operations and maintenance The first-ever BREEAM certification for in-use academic building in United States The goal with BREEAM is to build sustainable practices into our operations across campus UC Davis’ Green Building Team has news to shout from the rooftop…
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Summary: The need for scientists — and ecologists, in particular — to engage with the public is well known. This article addresses how the U.S. land-grant mission and the Cooperative Extension system have initiated, developed, and implemented models of public engagement for the past 100 years. Cooperative Extension engages through trusted and established relationships, and…
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