Soil Types News

June 13, 2025

Top Headlines

DNA Floating in the Air Tracks Wildlife, Viruses -- Even Drugs

June 3, 2025 — Environmental DNA from the air, captured with simple air filters, can track everything from illegal drugs to the wildlife it was originally designed to ...

Student Discovers Long-Awaited Mystery Fungus Sought by LSD's Inventor

June 2, 2025 — Making a discovery with the potential for innovative applications in pharmaceutical development, a microbiology student has found a long sought-after fungus that produces effects similar to the semisynthetic drug LSD, which is used to treat ...

Human-Caused Dust Events Are Linked to Fallow Farmland

June 2, 2025 — California Central Valley, which is known for the agriculture that produces much of the nation's fruits, vegetables and nuts, is a major contributor to a growing dust problem that has profound implications for people's health, safety and ...

Scientists Say Microplastics Are 'Silently Spreading from Soil to Salad to Humans'

May 22, 2025 — A review has stressed that agricultural soils now hold around 23 times more microplastics than ...

Nordic Studies Show the Significance of Old-Growth Forests for Biodiversity

May 27, 2025 — Researchers conducted a systematic review of 99 scientific publications that compared the flora or fauna of old-growth forests, managed forests and clearcut sites in boreal Europe. The reviewed studies showed large differences in the species ...

Wild Spinach Offers Path to Breed Disease Resistance Into Cultivated Varieties

May 20, 2025 — Several varieties of wild spinach that originated in Central Asia show resistance to a destructive soil-borne pathogen that beleaguers growers of spinach seed in the Pacific Northwest -- a finding ...

Cover Crops May Not Be Solution for Both Crop Yield, Carbon Sequestration

May 19, 2025 — People have assumed climate change solutions that sequester carbon from the air into soils will also benefit crop yields. But a new study finds that most regenerative farming practices to build soil organic carbon -- such as planting cover crops, ...

Dual Associations With Two Fungi Improve Tree Fitness

May 15, 2025 — When trees and soil fungi form close associations with each other, both partners benefit. Many tree species have further enhanced this cooperation by forming a concurrent symbiosis with two different groups of mycorrhizal fungi. Those trees cope ...

Artificial Intelligence and Genetics Can Help Farmers Grow Corn With Less Fertilizer

May 14, 2025 — Scientists are using artificial intelligence to determine which genes collectively govern nitrogen use efficiency in plants such as corn, with the goal of helping farmers improve their crop yields ...

Microbial 'Phosphorus Gatekeeping' Found at Center of Study Exploring 700,000 Years of Iconic Coastline

May 12, 2025 — A team of researchers investigated a sequence of coastal dunes of different ages (from 0-700,000 years old) in Cooloola National Park near Rainbow Beach to understand how soil microorganisms coped ...

Replanted Rainforests May Benefit from Termite Transplants

May 6, 2025 — Termites -- infamous for their ability to destroy wood -- are rarely welcomed into rainforests that have been painstakingly replanted. But a new paper suggests that termite transplants may be necessary to help regenerating forests to thrive. ...

New Study Unlocks How Root Cells Sense and Adapt to Soil

Apr. 30, 2025 — Scientists have discovered, for the first time how root cells respond to their complex soil environment revealing that roots actively sense their microenvironment and mount precise, cell-specific molecular responses. The findings could help the ...

Latest Headlines

updated 12:59pm EDT

Want to Understand Grasslands? Look at the Bigger Picture

Apr. 28, 2025 — New research asks how local and regional factors determine the makeup of plant species in grasslands. Researchers from a restoration ecology lab are attempting to solve a longstanding question in ...

Keeping Tabs on Native Woodlands in Times of Flood and Drought

Apr. 24, 2025 — Like farmland in Australia, native forests struggle with drought and flooding, so future management decisions need more sophisticated systems to monitor and manage their water needs. A new study aims ...

Less Intensive Farming Works Best for Agricultural Soil

Apr. 25, 2025 — The less intensively you manage the soil, the better the soil can function. Such as not plowing as often or using more grass-clover mixtures as cover crops. Surprisingly, it applies to both ...

Controlling Starch Levels in Algae Could Have Biotechnology and Sustainability Benefits

Apr. 24, 2025 — High-starch algae are important in biofuel production, as a feed supplement in agriculture and as an efficient way to bind carbon dioxide. ...

Nutrients Strengthen Link Between Precipitation and Plant Growth, Study Finds

Apr. 17, 2025 — A new study has investigated how the relationship between mean annual precipitation (MAP) and grassland biomass changes when one or more nutrients ...

New Giant Virus Isolated

Apr. 16, 2025 — Researchers have isolated a giant virus, which was named Jyvaskylavirus. The discovery shows that giant viruses are more common in northern regions than researchers have thought. It also illustrates ...

Growing Wildflowers on Disused Urban Land Can Damage Bee Health

Apr. 15, 2025 — Wildflowers growing on land previously used for buildings and factories can accumulate lead, arsenic and other metal contaminants from the soil, which are consumed by pollinators as they feed, a new ...

New Plant Molecule Encourages Plant-Fungi Symbiosis to Improve Crops

Apr. 14, 2025 — Scientists use small peptides to enhance symbiosis between plants and fungi, offering a sustainable alternative to artificial fertilizers. Plant biologists discover new plant molecule, CLE16, as well ...

Engineered Bacteria Emit Signals That Can Be Spotted from a Distance

Apr. 11, 2025 — Engineers have made bacteria to produce hyperspectral signals that can be detected as far as 90 meters away. Their work could lead to the development of bacterial sensors for agricultural and other ...

Scientists Discover Microbes in Earth's Deep Soil

Apr. 7, 2025 — Scientists have discovered a new phylum of microbes in the Earth's Critical Zone, an area of deep soil that restores water quality. Ground water, which becomes drinking water, passes through where ...

How Much Food Can the World Grow? International Team Calls for New Yield Potential Estimates

Apr. 9, 2025 — Agronomists question statistical methods used to predict yield potential and 'yield gaps' for major crops. In some cases, yield potential is overestimated, while in others it can be ...

Park Entrances May Be Hotspots for Infective Dog Roundworm Eggs

Mar. 27, 2025 — In an analysis of soil samples from twelve parks in Dublin, Ireland, park entrances were more heavily contaminated with infective roundworm eggs than any other tested park ...

Using Cover Plants to Remove Pollutants from Arable Soil

Mar. 25, 2025 — Nitrate, pesticides, metals, plastic -- agricultural soils often contain pollutants. But are there sustainable and climate-friendly ways to restore and promote soil health in agricultural land? Yes, ...

Peatlands' Potential to Capture Carbon Upgraded as Temperatures Rise

Mar. 20, 2025 — According to a predictive model, the microalgae present in peat bogs could offset up to 14% of future CO2 emissions, thanks to their photosynthetic activity. This conclusion was reached by basing the ...

New 'Shy' Fungus Found in Old-Growth Forest

Mar. 18, 2025 — Although fungi of the genus Piloderma are common, scientists have now discovered five previously unknown species. One of these is one of the most widely distributed species in Northern Europe, while ...

Time Is Not the Driving Influence of Forest Carbon Storage

Mar. 18, 2025 — It is commonly assumed that as forest ecosystems age, they accumulate and store, or 'sequester,' more ...

Researchers Demonstrate New Technique for Boosting Plant Growth With Bacteria

Mar. 17, 2025 — Researchers have demonstrated a technique for successfully encapsulating bacteria that can then be stored and applied to plants to improve plant growth and protect against pests and pathogens. The ...

Study: 'Sustainable Intensification' on the Farm Reduces Soil Nitrate Losses, Maintains Crop Yields

Mar. 13, 2025 — A nine-year study comparing a typical two-year corn and soybean rotation with a more intensive three-year rotation involving corn, cereal rye, soybean and winter wheat, found that the three-year ...

Packets of Freeze-Dried Bacteria Grow Biocement on Demand

Mar. 5, 2025 — Cement manufacturing and repair could be significantly improved by using biocement-producing bacteria, but growing the microbes at construction sites remains a challenge. Now, researchers report a ...

Iconic Australian Bird Reveals Hidden Farming Talent

Mar. 5, 2025 — The beloved Australian lyrebird best known for its stunning tail and powers of mimicry may have a cunning hidden ...

Ideal Nitrogen Fertilizer Rates in Corn Belt Have Been Climbing for Decades

Mar. 3, 2025 — The amount of nitrogen fertilizer needed to maximize the profitability of corn production in the Midwest has been increasing by about 1.2% per year for the past three decades, a trend driven by ...

The International Space Station Is Overly Sterile; Making It 'Dirtier' Could Improve Astronaut Health

Feb. 27, 2025 — Astronauts often experience immune dysfunction, skin rashes, and other inflammatory conditions while traveling in space. A new study suggests that these issues could be due to the excessively sterile ...

Genetic Switch Could Help Control Leaf Growth in Poor Soils

Feb. 27, 2025 — A new study has identified a genetic circuit in plants that controls individual leaf growth and allows the plants to adapt to their environment. The findings could help the development of more ...

Animals as Architects of Earth: First Global Study Reveals Their Surprising Impact

Feb. 17, 2025 — Animals are not just inhabitants of the natural world -- they are its architects. A new study has revealed how hundreds of species shape the landscapes we depend on, from vast termite mounds visible ...

Climate Change Threatens Global Cocoa Production: New Study Highlights Pollination-Based Solutions

Feb. 14, 2025 — This Valentine's Day, millions of pounds worth of chocolate will be exchanged as gifts, but climate change and biodiversity loss imperil future global supplies of this treat. A new research ...

New England's Salt Marshes Store 10 Million Cars' Worth of Carbon -- And Add Another 15,000-Worth Every Year

Feb. 13, 2025 — In the race to combat global climate change, much attention has been given to natural 'carbon sinks:' those primarily terrestrial areas of the globe that absorb and sequester more carbon ...

Where Do Invasive Species Spread and Why? Researchers Take a Novel Approach to Find the Answer

Feb. 12, 2025 — Researchers took a deep dive to understand why certain locations are more susceptible and attractive to invasions by non-native plants or animals, making them prime targets for these species to ...

Micro-Nano Plastics Make Other Pollutants More Dangerous to Plants and Intestinal Cells

Feb. 11, 2025 — Researchers find that tiny plastic particles increase the absorption of environmental arsenic and pesticides in lettuce and human intestinal cells, raising new safety concerns about plastic ...

Twenty Years On, Biodiversity Struggles to Take Root in Restored Wetlands

Feb. 7, 2025 — While the restoration of natural areas is high on political agendas, a comprehensive new study shows that -- after more than two decades -- biodiversity growth has stalled in restored Danish ...

Large Differences in Water-Seeking Ability Found in U.S. Corn Varieties

Feb. 6, 2025 — A study has identified key genetic pathways in corn that help its roots branch out to find water in soil; the varieties adapted to temperate regions like the U.S. corn belt showed large differences ...