Drought News

August 18, 2016

Soot May Have Killed Off the Dinosaurs

Newly Discovered Baby Titanosaur

How Forests Will Respond to Climate Change

Evolution in Action Detected in Darwin's Finches

Latest Headlines

updated 8:20pm EDT

Mussel Flexing: Bivalve Save Drought-Stricken Marshes, Research Finds

Aug. 18, 2016 — As coastal ecosystems feel the heat of climate change worldwide, new research shows the humble mussel and marsh grass form an intimate interaction known as mutualism that benefits both partner ... read more

Disregarded Plant Molecule Actually a Treasure

Aug. 11, 2016 — A plant molecule once regarded as a biological dead end now offers new leads into the development of hardier plants, ... read more

Drought Conditions Slow the Growth of Douglas Fir Trees Across the West

Aug. 8, 2016 — Douglas fir trees are consistently sensitive to drought conditions that occur throughout the species' range in the United States, according to ... read more

Small Molecules to Help Make SMARTER Cereals

Aug. 8, 2016 — Researchers are rethinking plant breeding strategies to improve the development of new high-yielding, stress-tolerant cereal varieties. They say small gene-regulating ... read more

Hidden, Local Climate Impacts of Drought-Friendly Vegetation

Aug. 5, 2016 — Scientists determined that if a many Los Angeles property owners switch their lawns to drought-tolerant landscaping, it could increase local temperatures and exacerbate heat waves, and would have ... read more

Early Snowmelt Reduces Forests' Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Uptake, Decreases Streamflow Volume

Aug. 3, 2016 — Earlier, slower snowmelt hinders a subalpine forest's ability to regulate atmospheric carbon dioxide and reduces streamflow, a phenomenon with ... read more

Restoring Prairie and Fighting Wildfire With (Drone Launched) Fire(balls)

Aug. 1, 2016 — One ecologist wants to change the way we think about prescribed burns. The professor says he can harness extreme fire to restore grasslands on the Great Plains -- and he has ... read more

Morphology Suggests an Endangered Goby in Southern California Is a New Species

July 27, 2016 — An endangered fish along the coast of California -- the tidewater goby -- may actually be two species rather than one, according a new ... read more

Trees' Surprising Role in the Boreal Water Cycle Quantified

July 21, 2016 — This is the first study to show that deciduous tree water uptake of snowmelt water represents a large but overlooked aspect of the water balance in boreal watersheds. For the ... read more

Developing Highly Drought-Resistant Crops

July 19, 2016 — International research has found how plants, such as rice and wheat, sense and respond to extreme drought stress, in a breakthrough that could lead to the development of ... read more

African Countries Are Building A Wall Of Trees To Halt Desertification

Nemo's Garden Off Italy Offers Hope for Seabed Crops

Will California Face Crop Shortages Without Federal Water?

The Rewilding of California Wolf Territory

Crop Roots Enact Austerity Measures During Drought to Bank Water

July 11, 2016 — With a growing world population and a changing climate, understanding how agriculturally important plants respond to drought is crucial. A team has discovered a strategy employed by grasses in ... read more

Breeding Populations of White-Naped Cranes on Decline in Eastern Mongolian Stronghold

July 7, 2016 — Breeding populations of white-naped cranes have decreased by 60 percent in Ulz River basin, an important stronghold for the species in Eastern Mongolia, a new study ... read more

Drought Stalls Tree Growth and Shuts Down Amazon Carbon Sink, Researchers Find

July 6, 2016 — A recent drought completely shut down the Amazon Basin's carbon sink, by killing trees and slowing their growth, a ground-breaking study has ... read more

Characteristics Improving Bean Resistance to Drought Identified

July 5, 2016 — A combination of characteristics is the key to success for the genetic improvement of beans to make them resistant to droughts, say scientists, whose research can improve crop yield in Central and ... read more

Radiography of Drought Periods in Spain from the Last 318 Years

June 30, 2016 — The Mediterranean Basin has been witness to increased droughts for at least five decades, but has this always been the case? A research team has been successful in reconstructing, for the first time, ... read more

El Niño Could Drive Intense Season for Amazon Fires

June 29, 2016 — The long-lasting effects of El Niño are projected to cause an intense fire season in the Amazon, according to the 2016 seasonal forecast from ... read more

Serpentine Plants Survive Harsh Soils Thanks to Borrowed Genes

June 27, 2016 — Scientists have analyzed the genomes of plants that grow in harsh, serpentine soils to find out how they survive . It appears that they have used two strategies: adapting to their environment through ... read more

Better Soil Data Key for Future Food Security

June 21, 2016 — Future food security depends on a variety of factors -- but better soil data could substantially help improve projections of future crop yields, shows new ... read more

Which Animals Will Cope With Climate Change Droughts?

June 21, 2016 — Scientists believe the current rate of climate change is unprecedented in Earth's history and will lead to more and worse droughts in many areas. Now a research team may have found a way to ... read more

Animal Hormone Is Involved in Plant Stress Memory

June 17, 2016 — Regulating melatonin production in plants via drought priming could be a promising approach to enhancing abiotic stress tolerance of crops in future climate scenarios, report ... read more

Functional Traits of Giant Sequoia Crown Leaves Respond to Environmental Threats

June 15, 2016 — As many as 2 billion leaves on a sequoia vie for resources. Established leaves that live for up to 20 years draw water up the tree's trunk and send nutrients down, while the trunk amasses wood ... read more

Droughts Across Europe Affect British Trees Most

June 15, 2016 — Environmental scientists have found beech forests across western Europe are increasingly at risk from drought -- with areas of southern England worst ... read more

Water Yields from Southern Appalachian Watersheds in Decline Since the 1970s

June 1, 2016 — Newly published research shows water yields from unmanaged forested watersheds in the southern Appalachian Mountains declining by up to 22 percent a year since the 1970s. Changes in water yield were ... read more

Researchers Identify Critical Factors That Determine Drought Vulnerability of Wheat, Maize

May 26, 2016 — Researchers have identified critical information about the environmental variables and agronomic factors that determine the vulnerability of maize and wheat production to ... read more

Ecosystems With Many and Similar Species Can Handle Tougher Environmental Disturbances

May 25, 2016 — How sensitive an ecosystem is to unforeseen environmental stress can be determined, according to research. The approach is to study how many species there are in an ecosystem and what proportion of ... read more

Making Plants Fit for Climate Change

May 17, 2016 — Breeding barley that provides good yields even in a hot and dry climate is the focus of a new research study. The project is part of the new Bavarian alliance "BayKlimaFit" aimed at finding ... read more

Illinois River Water Quality Improvement Linked to More Efficient Corn Production

May 10, 2016 — Nitrate concentrations and loads in the Illinois River from 1983 to 2014 were correlated with agricultural nitrogen use efficiency and nitrate discharged from Chicago's treated wastewater, say ... read more

Arizona Black Rattlesnake on ‘extinction Trajectory,' Biologists Find

May 3, 2016 — A combination of drought and fire has put the Arizona black rattlesnake on an “extinction trajectory,” according to researchers. The Arizona black rattlesnake is found at higher elevations in ... read more

United States Absorbed Carbon Dioxide Despite a Drought

Apr. 25, 2016 — The warm spring of 2012 in the U.S. caused plants to absorb more carbon, thereby compensating for reductions during the subsequent summer drought, researchers have ... read more

Rough Childhoods Have Ripple Effects for Wild Baboons

Apr. 19, 2016 — Numerous studies show that childhood trauma can have far-reaching effects on adult health; new research finds the same is true for wild baboons. Baboons that experience multiple misfortunes in early ... read more

Monday, July 11, 2016