… My Great Aunt Lila used to say that plants bring out the goodness in people. Her house in the Hudson Valley was full of exotic tropicals and orchids that she cared for meticulously. And yet she was always ready to give them away when anyone showed an interest in one, which for me was every visit. She would … Aloe plant care: Keep your new pups in direct sunlight. Lightly water them once a week for two to four weeks. Plants in a newspaper pot can be transplanted directly into a larger pot full of …
Type: Blog
… citizen science rare-plant monitoring program, made steps toward extending its boundaries to southern Illinois. Many rare plants occur in southern Illinois, and local communities want to assess the health of these plant populations. However, they currently lack a standardized … method of large-scale monitoring of rare plants. Plants of Concern (POC) scientists traveled to Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (SIUC) in mid-May to train members of Dr. David …
Type: Research
… of an explosive radiation during the Jurassic period, at a time when flowering plants began to dominate many terrestrial environments. Repeated multidirectional habitat transitions occurred as this group evolved, leading to the loss of morphological characters that may be used to describe groups. Furthermore, phylogenetic analyses based on targeted gene sequencing have …
Type: Research
… services these communities provide. The vast majority of studies linking functional traits to community assembly use vegetative plant traits of mature life stages, like plant height and specific leaf area, to predict community outcomes. Regenerative traits, like seed and germination traits are vital to understanding assembly and persistence of plant communities; however, they are surprisingly …
Type: Research
… the University of Minnesota and has been funded by the National Science Foundation since 2000. To learn why some small and isolated plant populations persist or grow while others perish, we … studies have provided insights into the ecology and conservation of prairie plant populations. To investigate factors that contribute to successful plant reproduction, we have monitored the flowering phenology and reproductive …
Type: Research
… and where they go by building our own model insect. It was really easy—a fun and funny way to teach our kids about the different parts. You can build your own model insect at home, too. … one kind of insect. Coffee filters —Cut these each into six pieces for wings. You can see how to cut them from the photo of our completed insect below. Pipe cleaners —Cut these into 3-inch pieces for legs. Craft supplies to decorate and color your insect —Use feathers, googly eyes, crayons, gems, and tacky glue. …
Type: Blog
… North American, tallgrass prairie, frequent fires maintained grassland habitat and contributed to the diversity of birds, mammals, insects, and plants that are found in prairies today. Yet, widespread habitat loss and the elimination of fire are causing native plant populations to decline in the few prairie patches that remain. Prescribed burns promote native plants. They … we are using 25 years of demographic data from purple coneflower ( Echinacea angustifolia ) to parameterize demographic models and quantify the extent to which improved germination and …
Type: Research
… this week, our favorite came from 8-year-old Prairie! In the video below, Prairie wants to know, in essence, if she can transport Spike’s malodorous odor from the Chicago Botanic Garden to her classroom. Good question, Prairie! Conservation scientist Dr. Shannon Still has a fascinating response. Dr. Still will attempt to pollinate Spike’s flowers during bloom with pollen shared by our friends from The Huntington …
Type: Blog
… of topographic relief, this expansive habitat appeared as a “sea of grasses” that extended to the horizon. On closer examination, this seemingly uniform and unvarying landscape was made up … increasingly isolated, and many populations are declining and exhibiting reproductive failure. To slow the decline of this regionally important species, we propose to identify demographic, genetic, and management-related drivers of population decline. …
Type: Research
… that gauged the effectiveness of insects for controlling weeds. Introducing insects to control weeds has been helpful, but often the insect does not damage the target weed, and … iDiv Research Institute in Germany, showed that most studies were not appropriately designed to assess the impacts of biocontrol agents on population growth rates of targeted weeds. Kayri … about the risks and rewards of introducing insects to control weeds. https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/69/4/247/5427085/ …
Type: Research
