Scientists have developed a model to calculate the age of nitrogen in corn and soybean fields, which could lead to improved fertilizer application techniques to promote crop growth while reducing leaching. Nitrogen, a key nutrient for plants, can cause problems when it leaches into water supplies.
A unique housing arrangement between a specific tree species and carbo-loading bacteria may determine how well tropical forests can absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, says new research from 16 September 2013 in an advance online publication of the journal Nature.