đ» The Week in Botany, October 7, 2024
I learned about renosterveld this week, a type of South African shrubland. I canât recall hearing of it before, so the authorâs description of it as âthe forgotten relation of fynbosâ seems justified. It sounds like another shrubland thatâs been overlooked in the past. If I were ok with distant travel it sounds like the kind of place Iâd like to visit.
My travel this week will be a lot closer, and just one day, so I should cope with it. On Thursday Iâll be at the Plant Health event at Kew. Unless I have the date wrong, in which case Iâll be at Kew on Thursday wondering when I should have turned up. If youâre theyâre, Iâll be happy to say hello.
If youâre not there, then thereâll be another collection of the stories and papers youâre sharing on Twitter, Mastodon, Bluesky and Threads, at the same time next week. Until then, take care.
Alun (webmaster@botany.one)
On Botany One
How rising temperatures threaten plant sex lives
A new study shows that higher temperatures could seriously hurt plantsâ ability to reproduce by damaging their pollen and reducing fertilization success, threatening both wild plant populations and crop yields.
School Gardens Cultivate Youth Development and Social Justice
Balancing Research and Conservation in Botanical Collections
News & Views
Extinct Biblical Tree Resurrected From Ancient Seed Found In Cave
A 1,000-year-old seed discovered in a cave in the Judean desert has sprouted, grown and reached maturity, and appears to have medicinal qualities.
Scientists discover hidden ancient forest on treeless island
No trees have grown on the windswept Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean for tens of thousands of years â just shrubs and other low-lying vegetation. Thatâs why a recent arboreal discovery nearly 20 feet (6 meters) beneath the ground caught researchersâ attention.
Do Indigenous peoples really conserve 80% of the worldâs biodiversity?
Indigenous advocates say the Nature commentary is unethical as it makes conclusions without enough evidence and undermines Indigenous guardianship of biodiversity, their land rights and access to funding ahead of the upcoming U.N. biodiversity conference.
Megadiverse flowering plant family on isolated islands
International research team find highest speciation in Asteraceae family on oceanic islands.
Botanists identify 33 global âdark spotsâ with thousands of unknown plants
Kew study reveals areas with at least 100,000 undiscovered plant species â most likely to be under threat of extinction.
High CO2 levels are greening the worldâs drylands, but is that good news?
The increased concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere since pre-industrial times isnât just driving climate change â itâs also making much of the worldâs drylands greener with increased plant growth.
The woman fighting to save the Philippinesâ last rainforests
Palawan, a cluster of islands in the Philippines, is breathtakingly beautiful. Home to underground rivers, turquoise coastlines and lush mountain peaks, it has earned the name of the countryâs âlast ecological frontier.â
Wildfires have decimated forests. Hereâs why replanting trees is a challenge
As the gap between burned areas and replanting widens year after year, scientists see big challenges beyond where to put seedlings.
Scientific Papers
âNot everyone has the privilege to have good foodâ: promoting positive youth development and social justice values in school gardens ($)
This exploratory study focuses on positive youth development and social justice youth development frameworks especially food insecurity or inability to access affordable and nutritious food.
ReadCube: https://rdcu.be/dWbYP
Reduced seed viability in exchange for transgenerational plant protection in an endophyte-symbiotic grass: does the defensive mutualism concept pass the fitness test? (OA)
Fuchs et al tested the effects of defoliation and endophyte symbiosis (Epichloë uncinata) on host plant (Festuca pratensis) performance, loline alkaloid concentrations in leaves and seeds, seed biomass and seed germination rates.
Seed morphometrics unravels the evolutionary history of grapevine in France (OA)
This study applies morphometry on 19,377 charred and waterlogged archaeological grape pips to investigate the evolutionary history of grapevine in France over the last 10,000 years. The study compares seed outlines and lengths, corrected for taphonomic distortions, with a reference collection of 80 wild and 466 modern domestic grapevine accessions.
Protected areas, drought, and grazing regimes influence fire occurrence in a fire-prone Mediterranean region (OA)
Kirkland et al use a global database based on the MODIS Fire CCI51 product, and the Greater CĂŽa Valley, a 340,000-ha area in Portugal, as a case study, to investigate the environmental drivers of fire and potential tools for managing fires in a landscape that has undergone changing agricultural and grazing management.
Survival patterns and population stability of cliff plants suggest high resistance to climatic variability (OA)
MĂșgica et al reviewed the survival patterns and population dynamics of plants growing on vertical cliffs and compared them to other plants with similar life forms that grow on the ground.
Will the real Robert Hooke please stand up? (OA)
Robert Hooke's first application of the word cell to structures we still call by that name certainly can be an inspirational pointâbut rather than perpetuating an easily disproved founding myth to make that point, why not use the original source?
What is on the menu? Botanical carnivory in carnivorous plants of New England (USA) (OA)
Kurosawa & Oakes measured the natural abundance stable isotope ratios of aquatic Utricularia inflata (Lentibulariaceae), terrestrial Sarracenia purpurea (Sarraceniaceae) and Drosera intermedia (Droseraceae) and their nutrient sources during their growing season in two oligotrophic ponds in New England (USA).
Host-driven phenotypic and phenological differentiation in sympatric races of a parasitic plant (OA)
de Vega et al investigated phenological and phenotypic differentiation and potential reproductive isolation among three sympatric genetic races of Cytinus hypocistis (Cytinaceae) - an extreme endophytic holoparasite with a high degree of host specialisation.
Naturalized species drive functional trait shifts in plant communities ($, but some confusion)
Garbowski et al research shows that across deserts, grasslands, and forests, plant communities with higher abundance of naturalized species are more acquisitive above and belowground, shorter, more shallowly rooted, and less dependent on mycorrhizal symbionts for resource acquisition.
ResearchGate, listed as OA.
Diversity and fire responses in Renosterveld, the forgotten relation of fynbos, in southernmost Africa (OA)
Renosterveld alpha, beta and gamma diversity equates to, or surpasses that of, other Mediterranean ecosystems.
In AoBC Publications
Careers
Research Agronomist (Potatoes and Root Crops), Cambridge
Are you an experienced researcher or evidence-led agronomist with a passion for potato and root-cropping systems? NIAB, a leader in bringing research into practice, is seeking a research agronomist to work with the Potato Team within Farming Systems and Agronomy Research. This is your opportunity to be at the forefront of sustainable crop production, delivering cutting-edge R&D, trials and services.
Postdoc in Plant Molecular Biology, ÄeskĂ© BudÄjovice
Institute of Plant Molecular Biology, Biology Centre CAS, Czechia, is looking for a postdoctoral researcher to join a new research group of Dr. Lenka Caisova.
Our group focuses on plant terrestrialization and evolution of multicellularity.
Associate Senior Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Forest Genetics, UmeÄ
The Assistant Professor is expected to develop their own research profile within the subject and will be given development opportunities to be able to qualify as docent and Senior Lecturer in the subject of the position.
Assistant Professor of Crop Physiology and Engineering, Nijmegen
RIBES is seeking to strengthen its team in the area of Crop Biotechnology and Engineering with two new positions. As an assistant professor, you will contribute to our expanding research and education in the area of crop biotechnology and engineering.
Postdoctoral Associate - Agrivoltaics Crop Production, New York
Cornell University is seeking an outstanding Postdoctoral Associate to assist with research and project management on a project assessing the viability of crop production within solar arrays in New York State.
Assistant/Associate Professor, Plant Biotechnology (Non-tenured), Alabama
This position at Tuskegee University must have sound/extensive knowledge and research experience in plant biotechnology that includes gene cloning, gene editing, transfection, tissue culture, and hardening.
Assistant/Associate Professor, Cropping Systems Agronomist, Kansas
This tenure-track, Assistant or Associate Professor position (70% research, 30% extension) at Kansas State University will be responsible for leading an innovative and nationally recognized applied cropping systems research and extension program, focused on dryland and irrigated long-term cropping systems research in western Kansas.
Post-Doctoral Research Associate, Tennessee
The postdoc will study the role of manganese in soil organic carbon stabilization and destabilization processes and carbon-nitrogen interactions. The research will involve extensive field and lab experiments, including stable carbon experiments, statistical data analysis, review/meta-analysis, report and scientific article preparation, and presentation of research findings at professional meetings.
Plant Science Full-Time Tenure-Track Faculty Position, Pennsylvania
The Department of Biology at Kutztown University invites applications for a full-time tenure-track biology faculty position to begin Fall 2025. They will be expected to teach introductory courses in biology and botany as well as advanced courses including Plant Taxonomy and/or Plant Physiology.
Professor of Botany, Wisconsin
The Department of Botany along with the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison seek applicants for up to two tenure-track Assistant Professor positions beginning as soon as Fall 2025 in the areas of evolution, systematics, and/or ecology.
Lecturer (B) - Botany, Adelaide
The School of Biological Sciences seeks to appoint an emerging research leader in Botany, with experience in undergraduate/postgraduate learning and teaching. The successful candidate will have a strong research focus on Australian flora, and/or on how invasive plant species impact native ecosystems.
Research Associate or Research Fellow, Perth
The University of Western Australia has two postdoctoral appointments in Plant genetics and genomics which will enhance your research career. You will be mentored in the laboratory of Professor Jacqueline Batley and engage in collaborative research projects with key research teams and scientists.
Lecturer in Biology (2 positions available), Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is excited to offer two Education Focused Lecturer positions within the School of BioSciences, centred on teaching in the first-year biology program.