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Root System Architecture: Which Traits Improve Crop Yield?
Root system architecture (RSA) can be used to address challenges of patchy resource distribution, climate change, and water shortage. Crop RSA for foraging resources in deep and shallow soils have differences in root growth angles, axial root numbers, and lateral root density. Low-input, high-input/industrial, and conservation agriculture require different RSA to deliver water and nutrients… Continue reading…
Additional reading
How Does Climate Change Affect Plant Phenology?
Plant phenology is a sensitive indicator of global changes such as climate change and nitrogen deposition. Climate change is responsible for earlier spring phenology (leaf out and flowering) but has less effect on fruiting and the end of the autumn season. Nitrogen deposition delays most phenological phases, such as spring phenology, fruiting, and the end… Continue reading…
What Is Plant Disease Detection and Which Technology Works Best?
Plant health monitoring can improve agricultural practices, profits, crop yield, safety, and quality. Non-destructive technologies for early disease detection on-site include spectroscopy and image processing. Among these techniques, vis-NIR spectroscopy-based devices are the most widely used for non-destructive, early detection of plant diseases. Plant diseases result in the annual global loss of over 30% of… Continue reading…
What Is Nitrogen Deposition? How It Affects Plant Growth and Photosynthesis
Nitrogen (N) deposition from air pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and ammonia has been increasing for over a century, with no signs of a halt. N-deposition effects on growth, leaf traits, and physiological processes are species-specific and are influenced by other environmental factors. Positive effects occur as long as N deposition is moderate; higher doses,… Continue reading…
Mycorrhizal fungi Associations in Various Forest Types and Climate Change
Key Takeaways Global change, such as higher carbon dioxide, warming, pests, and diseases, has common effects on mycorrhizal community composition and abundance. The effects of drought, forest fires, and nitrogen deposition on the mycorrhizal community differ among forest types. As the temperature rises, the abundance of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi is increasing, and ectomycorrhizal fungi are… Continue reading…
How Transpiration and Evaporation Shape Global Trends in Evapotranspiration
Evapotranspiration around the world can vary across biomes, and each biome experiences interannual variations. Transpiration contributes more to evapotranspiration in tropical humid regions, and soil evaporation is more prominent in arid and semiarid sparsely vegetated regions. Anthropogenic interventions, such as land-use change and irrigation, can alter evapotranspiration, transpiration, and soil evaporation. Evapotranspiration is a vital… Continue reading…
What We Learned in 2025 About Root Morphology
In 2025, root aging and senescence were in focus, as they can alter soil properties that affect vegetation’s effectiveness for restoration and land stability. Another trend was leveraging and improving soil beneficial microbial communities through intercropping and artificial inoculations to enhance crop sustainability. Belowground studies are diversifying into plant organs other than roots, such as… Continue reading…