Plants need light to feed themselves, so they grow in ways that help them collect as much of it as they can. Sometimes that’s straight up, but not always.
Indoor plant factories have high energy costs since LEDs replace the sunlight outdoor plants get for free. Scientists found a way to dial back how much light is needed by breaking it into tiny bursts.
The short answer is that leaves fall off trees when they aren’t doing their job any more.
Emily Nunell/The Conversation CC-NY-BD
New research finds more CO₂ can actually make most plants smaller in the long-term - but the story for crops isn’t so simple.
Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) used in medical devices and for growing plants, like potatoes seen here, are used by NASA to grow plants in space. The U.S. space agency plans to grow food on future spacecraft and on other planets as a food supplement for astronauts.
NASA
LED lights can actually improve upon the sun and help grow plants in space. A Canadian team of researchers is helping to refine and perfect LED technology.
Tropical rainforests are among the biggest contributors to the global greening boom.
AAP Image/Dave Hunt
The globe is greening as plants grow faster in response to rising carbon dioxide. But a new analysis shows they aren’t using more water to do it - a rare piece of good news for our changing planet.
Since 1999, Australia has swung between drought and deluge with surprising speed, because El Niño has fallen into sync with similar patterns in the Indian and Southern Oceans.
Rivers in many agriculturally significant areas of Australia could lose water as the landscape grows greener.
Kerry Raymond/Wikimedia Commons
Rising carbon dioxide levels are making plants grow faster, sucking up more water and reducing river flows in many agriculturally important areas of Australia, according to new research.