Soil ‘memory’ can help plants respond to drought
New research has found that microbial communities in soil have the capacity to remember and adapt to past environmental events, helping plants to withstand drought stress.
Experts from the University of Nottingham's School of Biosciences in collaboration with scientists from the University of Kansas found that soil microbes carry a long-term memory of past climate, and that this memory can shape how some plants respond to new droughts.
The findings have been published today in Nature Microbiology. Droughts are becoming more frequent and severe due to climate change, posing major threats to both crops and natural ecosystems.
In this study, researchers investigated how long-term differences in rainfall shape soil microbes and whether these changes influence how plants respond to future droughts.
They analysed soils from six prairies in Kansas, USA, that experience very different levels of rainfall and identified specific microbes and microbial genes linked to rainfall history.
No direct quotes available in the text.
Author's summary: Soil microbes remember past climate.
More News
- Suffolk voters [reject/approve] ballot measure extending length of county legislative terms
- AP Race Call: Minneapolis mayor's race advances to ranked choice voting
- Voting on Tuesday, the old-fashioned way
- Mamdani prevails in New York City mayoral race
- The story LI's election numbers tell so far
- Anne Donnelly defeats Nicole Aloise in race for Nassau DA
- Takeaways from Election Day 2025
- Nov 5: Primark could be spun off; Workplace sickness crisis; Peugeot Polygon concept
- Prop 50 passed because grifters were scared of losing their grift | The Spectator Australia
- The African Development Bank Group and Equatorial Guinea sign €58 million financing agreement for youth inclusion and employment