Conservationist Isabella Tree: ‘Rewilding is vital for the UK’s agricultural future’ https://botany.fyi/zypk4n
The farmer and author on allowing nature to transform and restore our ecology – and how the best way to measure progress is through dung beetles. #Botany
I think it depends on the organism's family. For ones with lots of photos, like butterflies (Lepidoptera), the automatic ID is mostly accurate, even for species that are closely related.
Still, I usually try to verify by checking the field guides. For other organisms, I may downgrade my ID to a lower level (genus, family, etc.), unless the species level ID is usually provided by many other observers.
@colinpurrington One of my occasional iNat 'buzz' moments is when there was a taxon change in my observations of a local cricket.
When I asked why, it turns out that one cricket observer was the expert on that species of cricket, and had written a paper to reorganize the local species in that genus, which he then propagated to iNat.
The newly-planted trees only lasted about a week before a man decided to damage 26 of the 29 trees. According to police, the man who damaged the trees is in custody. #Botany
Dissection of rhizosphere microbiome and exploiting strategies for sustainable agriculture (OA) https://botany.fyi/2ych5u
The rhizosphere microbiome, influenced by soil and plant genetics, can be divided into environment-dominated and plant genetic-dominated components. Xun et al present the challenges that need to be overcome to implement strategies for modulating these two components of the rhizosphere microbiome. #Botany#PlantScience
@botanyone I think this is a crucial direction going forward-- finding ways to nurture the soil instead of basically treating it as in inert substrate, with plants nourished only with manufactured/mined chemical inputs
Plant cover and biomass change on extensive green roofs over a decade and ten lessons learned (OA) https://botany.fyi/0790np
MacIvor et al. present findings on plant cover and biomass from a green roof testing facility in Toronto, Canada that was monitored for over a decade. They examine the contributions of growing media, planting, and irrigation in the first seven years (2011–2021) of the eleven-year monitoring period. #Botany#PlantScience
@botanyone interesting. I'd be interested in seeing an un-irrigated project in my context- summers not so hot and dry as Toronto, winters longer and colder. I bet lots of alpine and dryland plants could survive, but I'm also pretty sure dandelions would thrive and trees would seed in for sure, not sure how well they'd survive long term as their size/roots outgrow the substrate.
I am currently in Kunming and I was flattered today when my writing in 'Birds & Flowers: An Intimate 50 Million Year Relationship' was described using a Chinese saying that translates as 'like a comb easily going through silky long hair'!
Botanists analyze the role of pollinators in the evolution of flowers with various sexual forms
Botanists explore Darwin's theory on precise pollination in flowering plants. Their study reveals correlations between heterostyly, floral traits, and pollinators, supporting Darwin's hypothesis. This macroevolutionary analysis sheds new light on the role of ecology in plant reproductive mechanisms.
When left to its own devices, #carob tends to grow as a many-trunked tree or a very tall bush. The street tree examples I've seen tend to be pruned to be single trunk.
But occasionally I see carob volunteers that unknowing folks prune into hedge shapes. This is growing right next to its tall street tree parent.
The effect of elevation, latitude, and plant richness on robustness of pollination networks at a global scale ($) https://botany.fyi/vc3E8N
Wang et al analyzed a total of 87 networks of plant-pollinator interactions on 47 sites from 14 countries. They conducted a piecewise structural equation model to examine the direct and indirect effects of elevation, latitude, and plant richness on the network robustness.
ReadCube: https://rdcu.be/dEyrk #Botany
@botanyone Very excited about this paper ^^ because it has used the data we collected from our back gardens during lockdown. Collecting the data and having a good reason to observe the plant-insect interactions in the garden brought me enormous joy, and now it is also bringing the world new knowledge.