Researchers have shown that looking at movements of operators and vehicles between farms in the same way we look at contacts in social networks can help explain the spread of dangerous infectious diseases of livestock, such as foot-and-mouth disease and avian influenza.
Urban cropland loss puts harvests at risk
Soils face a global threat as population pressure, human development and swelling cities lead to mounting cropland loss
Researchers use genes as early warning system for harmful algae blooms
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers have sequenced the genes of a harmful algae bloom, unveiling never-before-seen interactions between algae and bacteria that are thought to propagate their growth.
Saving irrigation water with superabsorbent polymers
Soil conditioners called superabsorbent polymers have the potential to reduce irrigation needs for agricultural crops by storing water and nutrients and then releasing them in drought conditions, according to a recent article.
Blending wastewater may help California cope with drought
Researchers at UC Riverside have developed an economic model that demonstrates how flexible wastewater treatment processes which blend varying levels of treated effluent can create a water supply that benefits crops and is affordable.
Subduction zone earthquakes off Oregon, Washington more frequent than previous estimates
A new analysis suggests that massive earthquakes on northern sections of the Cascadia Subduction Zone, affecting areas of the Pacific Northwest that are more heavily populated, are somewhat more frequent than has been believed in the past.
NOAA scientists report mass die-off of invertebrates at East Flower Garden Bank in Gulf of Mexico
Sanctuary recommends public avoid diving, fishing, boating activities in affected area
Large carnivores under threat as prey they depend on decline
Up to 60 per cent of prey species of iconic predators, such as the clouded leopard, are threatened, which puts them at risk of extinction, too
The oceans are full of barriers for small organisms
Subtle and short-lived differences in ocean salinity or temperature function as physical barriers for phytoplankton, and result in a patchy distribution of the oceans’ most important food resource.
Lettuce towers and office block farms – is this the future?
Towers of lettuce and pak choi, or a three-story farm in an office building – could this be the future of farming?