| Hi Everybody,
My name is Amanda Mackie. I just graduated with my Masters in Environmental Biology from MIT and I am excited to be interning with EwA this summer! |
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| Urban and rural trees respond differently to climate change. To predict how rural forests might respond to climate change, researchers often study how the same tree species behave in warmer urban areas. This recent study shows that this comparison may underestimate how much rural trees will be affected due to lower genetic diversity in urban trees. The findings suggest we need to consider both genetic and environmental factors when predicting how the forest will adapt to climate change. |
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| | 📸 Leaf bud bursting on a Red Oak | Credit: Meghan Blumstein in the Des Marais Lab at MIT, MIT News |
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| Plants recruit beneficial microbes for immune defense. Plants have no adaptive immune response, so they must rely on other means to prevent disease. This review paper summarizes investigations into how beneficial root and leaf microbes can protect plants against pathogenic microbes, such as a fungus that causes Take-All-Decline (TAD) in wheat, rye, barley, and other grasses. This paper also highlights how plants can recruit these beneficial microbes to their roots and leaves. |
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| Diverse soil fungal communities benefit forests and climate. The soil microbiome is an often overlooked but vital part of the forest ecosystem. This recent study found that a more diverse soil fungal community was correlated with increased tree growth in field sites across Europe. Helping forests grow can fight climate change by storing more carbon in trees and in the fungi that live in the soil.
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| Benefits of increasing tree diversity in forestry. In the past, forestry often replaced diverse natural forests with a single species of fast-growing trees like pines. Studies like this one have highlighted the value of forests with diverse species for climate resilience, biodiversity, and productivity. For example, mixed forests of Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris) and European Beech (Fagus sylvatica) resulted in increased tree volume, density, and productivity compared to growth in single-species plantings. |
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| Using soil microbes in ecosystem restoration. The UN declared 2021-2030 the Decade of Ecosystem Restoration, aiming to restore over 350 million hectares. This review discusses the importance of soil microbes when restoring ecosystems. They describe ways to rebuild microbial communities of degraded ecosystems such as transferring healthy soil or adding specific beneficial microbes. Additionally, the authors suggest using soil microbial diversity as a metric to assess ecosystem recovery. |
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| Thank you for reading my first news digest! See you all in the field! |
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| | - AmandaEarthwise Aware | Summer Intern |
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