Root systems of all types connect plants to the soil and are a key function in sustaining life on earth. Roots are one of the many organs in plants of all types, trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals, ...

Plant species vary greatly in how efficiently they convert sunlight into organic matter, how fast they reproduce, how much nutrients and water they need, how much carbon they store, or how fast their ...

When looking at forests, we hardly get to see beyond a bunch of green. However, for a plant ecologist, forests represent a much more complex world consisting of different species. This diversity of ...

Phosphorus is essential for undisturbed plant growth and development. However, in many soils, phosphorus is only poorly available. One mechanism used by plants to increase phosphorus availability is ...

Highly developed seed plants evolved deep root systems that are able to sense Earth's gravity. The 'how and when' of this evolutionary step has, until now, remained unknown. Plant biologists have ...

A new theory of plant evolution suggests that the 400 million-year drive of flora across the globe may not have been propelled by the above-ground traits we can see easily, but by underground ...

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- When I started gardening, I chose plants based on how they looked and smelled. Then I started noticing how plants of different types looked grouped together and bloomed throughout ...

A plant's root system is crucial to its overall health. Look at the roots of a sick, struggling plant, and you will generally see a sick, struggling root system. While plants are fairly tolerant of ...