With climate change and more frequent extreme weather events, researchers predict that global yields of important crops like maize, rice, and soybeans could decline by 12 to 20% by the end of the century. To prepare, plant scientists are hoping to find ways to improve yields and grow hardier varieties of these crops. New insights into the genetic makeup of wild varieties of common crops show how domestication has changed crop traits over time and proposes a new cultivation method to improve genetic diversity.

CU Boulder engineer Nicole Xu fits moon jellyfish with microelectronic devices that enhance their natural swimming ability and will one day be able to gather data.

World-renowned plant biologist Lucia Strader, previously at Duke University, will join the faculty at the Salk Institute in October 2025. Her research will help Salk’s Harnessing Plants Initiative design more resilient crop varieties that can thrive in changing environments.

Ash dieback and other tree diseases are resulting in significantly more greenhouse gas emissions than previously thought because a large amount of carbon is escaping from woodland soils, a study has found. This is in addition to carbon losses from tens of millions of dying trees and reduced removal of CO₂ from the atmosphere due to the widespread deaths of mature ash trees. The research team led by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) etimate losses from soils alone due to ash dieback in British woodlands resulted in 5.8 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions over five years (2016-21).

Timber companies are more likely to use plantation forestry—clear-cutting and replanting trees close together. Leveraging a unique lidar dataset, the authors created 3D maps of forest before five wildfires burned 1.1 million acres. During extreme weather, the number of trees per acre was the strongest predictor of high-severity fire. Thinning trees would reduce risk, even in the face of accelerating climate change.

A new study led by researchers at the National Institute for Environmental Studies, Japan Agency for Marine-Earthe Science and Technology and The University of Tokyo published in Communications Earth & Environment, analyzed long-term projections from state-of-the-art Earth System Models and identified large-scale atmospheric circulation and ecosystem changes that lead to the degradation of the Amazon rainforest. The research reveals that if no efforts are made to stop climate change, the dieback of the Amazon rainforest may start within the 21st century.

A research team led by Prof. YANG Yuanhe from the Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has shown how microbes can stabilize soil carbon and potentially weaken the climate risk.