Rip Van Winkle' plants hide underground for up to 20 years

Date:

April 19, 2018

Source:

University of Sussex

Summary:

Scores of plant species are capable of living dormant under the soil for up to 20 years, enabling them to survive through difficult times, a new study has found.

A lady's slipper orchid (Cypripedium calceolus) photographed in Estonia.

Credit: Richard Shefferson

Scores of plant species are capable of living dormant under the soil for up to 20 years, enabling them to survive through difficult times, a new study has found.

Plants play greater role than megaherbivore extinctions in changes to ecosystem structure

April 16, 2018 by Alan Williams,

Plants may have exerted greater influence on our terrestrial ecosystems than the megaherbivores that used to roam our landscapes, according to new research.

Previously, scientists believed that the Late Quaternary extinction event, which took place between ~11,000 and 15,000 years ago across much of northern Europe, played a significant role in the subsequent expansion of woody plants and declining nitrogen availability over the last 10,000 years.