ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

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• Impacts of plant invasions become less robust over time: Invasive plants are more likely to be replaced by other 'invasives'
• Let's just harvest invasive species -- problem solved?
• Skeletal remains of 24,000-year-old boy raise new questions about first Americans
• U.S. national survey finds frog abnormalities are rare
• Invasive sparrows immune cells sharpen as they spread
• Three new wafer trapdoor spiders from Brazil
• Newly discovered ancestral enzyme facilitates DNA repair
• CT and 3-D printers used to recreate dinosaur fossils
• Researchers classify urban residential desert landscapes
• Zinc sulfate, sugar alcohol zinc sprays improve apple quality
• High tunnel, open-field production systems compared for lettuce, tomato
• New Habanero-type pepper introduced
• Research reveals how farmers could mitigate nitrous oxide emissions
• Unexpected properties of methane-producing microbe
• Global warming in the Canadian arctic

Impacts of plant invasions become less robust over time: Invasive plants are more likely to be replaced by other 'invasives' Posted: 20 Nov 2013 11:37 AM PST Among the most impressive ecological findings of the past 25 years is the ability of invasive plants to radically change ecosystem function. Yet few if any studies have examined whether ecosystem impacts of invasions persist over time, and what that means for plant communities and ecosystem restoration.

Let's just harvest invasive species -- problem solved? Posted: 20 Nov 2013 11:37 AM PST According to a recent study , harvesting invasive plants for use as biofuels may sound like a great idea, but the reality poses numerous obstacles and is too expensive to consider, at least with the current ethanol pathways.

Skeletal remains of 24,000-year-old boy raise new questions about first Americans Posted: 20 Nov 2013 11:36 AM PST Results from a DNA study of a young boy's skeletal remains believed to be 24,000 years old could turn the archaeological world upside down – it's been proven that nearly 30 percent of modern Native American's ancestry came from this youngster's gene pool, suggesting First Americans came directly from Siberia.

U.S. national survey finds frog abnormalities are rare Posted: 20 Nov 2013 10:40 AM PST A 10-year study by the US Fish and Wildlife Service shows some good news for frogs and toads on national wildlife refuges. The rate of abnormalities such as shortened or missing legs was less than 2 percent overall -- indicating that the malformations first reported in the mid-1990s were rarer than feared. But much higher rates were found in local "hotspots," suggesting that where these problems occur they have local causes.

Invasive sparrows immune cells sharpen as they spread Posted: 20 Nov 2013 08:19 AM PST Researchers find the immune systems of house sparrows at the edge of the species' range in Kenya were more attuned to finding dangerous parasites than birds from older sites in the same country. These differences may help keep invading birds from becoming sick in new areas where pathogens are more likely novel.

Three new wafer trapdoor spiders from Brazil Posted: 20 Nov 2013 07:36 AM PST Scientists have discovered three new gorgeous species of the wafer trapdoor genus Fufius. Little is known about the biology of the enigmatic Cyrtaucheniidae family, but among the curiosities is that these spiders live in burrows or silken tubes in crevices, carefully prolongued with silk.

Newly discovered ancestral enzyme facilitates DNA repair Posted: 20 Nov 2013 07:06 AM PST Researchers have discovered how a new human enzyme, the protein PrimPol, is capable of recognizing DNA lesions and facilitate their repair during the DNA copying process, thus avoiding irreversible and lethal damage to the cells and, therefore, to the organism.

CT and 3-D printers used to recreate dinosaur fossils Posted: 20 Nov 2013 05:14 AM PST Data from computed tomography scans can be used with three-dimensional printers to make accurate copies of fossilized bones, according to new research.

Researchers classify urban residential desert landscapes Posted: 19 Nov 2013 08:28 AM PST Researchers developed a method to quantitatively classify urban residential landscapes in a desert environment in New Mexico. The team studied areas around 54 homes and classified 93 percent of all the landscapes into nine common types. Results also showed that landscape types are distributed differently in front- and backyard landscapes in the desert environment. They anticipate that the study will help landscape horticulturists to design water conservation plans that are landscape-specific.

Zinc sulfate, sugar alcohol zinc sprays improve apple quality Posted: 19 Nov 2013 08:28 AM PST Researchers calculated the response of apple fruit quality to sprays of zinc sulfate and sugar alcohol zinc to determine whether continuing to supply zinc to trees could increase the fruit quality of "Fuji" and "Gala" apples. Results showed that, although the apple trees showed no zinc deficiency symptoms and the leaf zinc nutrition was at a low level, continuing zinc sprays throughout the growing cycle was necessary to increase fruit quality.

High tunnel, open-field production systems compared for lettuce, tomato Posted: 19 Nov 2013 07:10 AM PST Researchers used crop enterprise budgets to provide baseline information and contrast the economic potential of growing lettuce and tomato under high tunnel and open-field production systems. Results showed it was 43% more profitable to grow lettuce in the open field than in the high tunnel, while growing tomato in high tunnels was three times more profitable than open-field production.

New Habanero-type pepper introduced Posted: 19 Nov 2013 07:10 AM PST Researchers have introduced "CaroTex-312," a new high-yielding, orange-fruited, Habanero-type, F1 hybrid pepper. The yield attributes of "CaroTex-312," particularly its potential for producing high early yields, should be especially appealing to growers trying to widen their marketing window. The report also suggested that the new cultivar has several potentially useful disease-resistance attributes.

Research reveals how farmers could mitigate nitrous oxide emissions Posted: 18 Nov 2013 04:31 PM PST Farmers may be able to help reduce emissions of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O) by incorporating copper into crop fertilisation processes, according to new research.

Unexpected properties of methane-producing microbe Posted: 18 Nov 2013 01:29 PM PST Methanosaeta species are so active in some wetlands, they are considered the most prodigious methane producers on Earth. This is a concern because atmospheric methane is 20 times more effective at retaining heat than CO2, and as tundra soils warm due to climate change, greater methane releases are expected. Also, methane produced in anaerobic biomass digesters is economically important as "one of the few proven, economical, large-scale bioenergy strategies" in use today, the authors say.

Global warming in the Canadian arctic Posted: 18 Nov 2013 01:00 PM PST Researchers have been studying methane emissions produced by thawing permafrost in the Canadian Arctic. These emissions are greatly underestimated in current climate models.

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