Decomposition
Diary
What drives ecosystems to instability?
Trying to decipher all of the factors that influence the behaviour of complex ecological communities can be a daunting task. However, MIT researchers have now shown that the behaviour of these ecosystems can be predicted based on just two pieces of information: the number of species in the community and how strongly they interact with each other.
Cont. MIT
Oct 14, 2022
Global spread of powdery mildew through migration and trade
The worldwide distribution of one of the most important cereal pathogens is the result of human activity. Researchers at the University of Zurich have traced the history and spread of wheat powdery mildew along wheat trade routes and found that mixing of genetic ancestries of related powdery mildew species played a central role in the evolution and adaptation of the pathogen.
Cont. Science Daily
Aug 03, 2022
A warming climate decreases microbial diversity
Researchers at the University of Oklahoma have found that the warming climate is decreasing microbial diversity, which is essential for soil health. Led by Jizhong Zhou, Ph.D., the director of the Institute for Environmental Genomics at OU, the research team conducted an eight-year experiment that found that climate warming played a predominant role in shaping microbial biodiversity, with significant negative effect.
Cont. Science Daily
Jun 15, 2022