Latest Peter Reich Stories

Plants’ ability to absorb increased levels of carbon dioxide in the air may have been overestimated, a new University of Minnesota study shows. The study, published this week in the journal Nature Climate Change, shows that even though plants absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide and actually can benefit from higher levels of it, they may not get enough of the nutrients they need from typical soils to absorb as much CO2 as scientists had previously estimated. Carbon dioxide absorption...

Long-term study finds that each species plays a role in maintaining a productive ecosystem Vegetation, such as a patch of prairie or a forest stand, is more productive in the long run when more plant species are present, results of a new study show. The long-term study of plant biodiversity found that each species plays a role in maintaining a productive ecosystem, especially when a long time horizon is considered. The research found that every additional species in a plot...

Unprecedented long-term study conducted over 14-year period at U's Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve Vegetation, such as a patch of prairie or a forest stand, is more productive in the long run when more plant species are present, a new University of Minnesota study shows. The unprecedented long-term study of plant biodiversity found that each species plays a role in maintaining a productive ecosystem, especially when a long time horizon is considered. The study found that every...

Last of the oak savannas survives at NSF Cedar Creek Long-Term Ecological Research site Grasses bend in the wind, their golden tips tracing arcs across fields that stretch toward the horizon. Sunwashed by a fading evening light, these reedy ballet dancers are central figures in savanna, an ecosystem that covers some 20 percent of Earth's land area. The largest savanna--or grassland with widely spaced trees--is in Africa. But the American Midwest is half a planet away from the...

U of Minnesota study involved a 10-year outdoor experimentRising levels of carbon dioxide may overheat the planet and cause other environmental problems, but fears that rising CO2 levels could directly reduce plant biodiversity can be allayed, according to a new study by a University of Minnesota scientist Peter Reich. In fact, rising CO2 may actually help counteract losses of diversity from another environmental villain: the global rain of nitrogen from fertilizers and exhaust fumes. The...