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Monster Tumbleweeds

October 18, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Tumbleweeds have long been seen as symbols of America’s old west. Tumbleweeds are a structural part of the above-ground anatomy of a number of species of plants known as diaspores. Diaspores are essentially seed dispersal units. In a few seed plants, they comprise most or all of the plant. Once they are mature and dry, they detach from the roots and roll around due to the force of the wind.

There is a new species of gigantic tumbleweed – the Salsola ryanii – that is expanding its territory in the American west. It is the result of a relatively unusual genetic process known as polyploidy, which produces offspring with multiple sets of chromosomes. Researchers believe that that the new hybrid species of tumbleweed is healthier than earlier versions. As a result, one geneticist described Salsola ryanii as a nasty species replacing other nasty species of tumbleweed in the US.

These tumbleweeds can grow up to 6 feet tall. Tumbleweeds in general are invasive plants that cause traffic accidents, damage agricultural operations, and cause millions of dollars in property damage. Last year, the town of Victorville in the California desert was buried in them, piling up to the second story of some houses.

Salsola ryanii has a relatively small range, but it is expanding rapidly. The new study determined that it is more vigorous than its predecessors, which are invasive in 48 states. The plant is an annual but tends to grow on the later side of winter. It is one of the only things that is still green in late summer. With summer rains increasing as the climate changes, these monster tumbleweeds are poised to wreak havoc. The experts are warning that there should be efforts to suppress them before they take over.

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Monster tumbleweed: Invasive new species is here to stay

Photo, posted February 27, 2018, courtesy of Tracie Hall via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Saved By The Trees

February 1, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

The island of Kokota, part of the Zanzibar Archipelago off the coast of Tanzania, is tiny – only one square kilometer and home to just 500 people. For centuries, its residents subsisted by harvesting the islet’s natural resources, including its trees.

By the early 21st century, the deforestation had become unsustainable and the islanders faced a crisis. Fisheries were depleted, and rivers ran dry. The changing climate brought rising sea levels, more erratic rainfall, and coral bleaching in the surrounding waters. The situation looked hopeless.

But in recent years, the island has come back from the brink of ruin. Reforestation efforts began in 2008 on the larger island of Pemba and on Kokota itself, led by a Pemba local and a Canadian tree planter who formed the non-profit Community Forests International. Since then, nearly 2 million trees have been planted on the two islands. Enthusiastic volunteers on Kokota usually help plant trees during the rainy season, when water is plentiful.

Community Forests International, along with spearheading the tree planting effort, also built Kokota’s first school, and installed rainwater storage tanks for the community.

The conservation group is now devising ways for Kokota to make more money by diversifying its agriculture with crops that grow well in its climate including spices like cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg. They are also helping locals to grow more and different vegetables in their gardens.

Small, poor communities are often the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, such as drought, powerful storms, and depleted fisheries. Tiny Kokota provides an example of an environmental comeback. Fighting climate change requires economic solutions along with environmental solutions. For this one tiny island, it appears to have been saved by the trees.

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This island was on the brink of disaster. Then, they planted thousands of trees.

Photo, posted July 18, 2015, courtesy of Marco Zanferrari via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Shifting Climate Zones

November 16, 2018 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

As the climate warms, the planet’s landscape is changing. The Arctic ice is shrinking, the ocean is rising altering coastlines, and plants, animals and diseases are on the move. The world’s climate zones are changing in significant and measurable ways.

Cold And Snow From Global Warming

April 4, 2018 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

The Arctic has been experiencing record warm temperatures and record low sea ice levels. During February, there were nine days in a row with temperatures averaging 27 degrees above normal and often above freezing. Over the previous 20 years, there were only two previous readings above freezing in February – once in 2011 and once last year.

Saving Venice From The Sea

January 26, 2018 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

The risks of rising sea waters are growing more apparent every year. While the world struggles with taking action to reduce the carbon emissions that are driving the sea level rise, cities around the world are building sea walls designed to protect them from storm surges and flooding. Most of these are massive, complex infrastructure projects that cost billions of dollars and take decades to complete.

Winter Outlook

November 8, 2017 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Each year around this time, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, releases its U.S. Winter Outlook that predicts overall weather trends around the country for the upcoming winter. They produce these seasonal outlooks to help communities prepare for the weather that is likely to be forthcoming.

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Spreading Like Wildfire

October 18, 2017 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Last July 7th, 140 wildfires started up in British Columbia, triggering a state of emergency. By the end of the summer, more than 1,000 fires had been triggered across the Canadian province, burning nearly 3 million acres of forest, about 10 times more than the average over the past decade.

Pine Barrens Threatened

September 29, 2017 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Pine barrens occur throughout the northeastern U.S. from New Jersey to Maine. They are plant communities that occur on dry, acidic, infertile soils dominated by grasses, forbs, low shrubs, and small to medium-sized pines. The Pine Bush Preserve in Albany, New York is one of the larger inland pine barrens in the country.

Super Blooms

September 27, 2017 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

This past August one of the driest regions on Earth transformed from a barren desert to a sea of colorful flowers. Heavy rains in Chile’s Atacama Desert caused the phenomenon, locally known as the desierto florido or flowering desert. These things typically only happen every five to seven years, but the previous super bloom actually took place in 2015.

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Sahara Greening And Tropical Cyclones

July 25, 2017 By EarthWise

Global weather patterns are influenced by environmental conditions in places around the world. One of the world’s major weather creators is the Sahara Desert. The Sahara is the largest hot desert in the world. The only larger deserts of any sort are in the polar extremes of the planet and are thus not hot deserts at all.

The Doomsday Seed Vault

April 12, 2017 By EarthWise

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault, tucked away on a Norwegian island far above the Arctic Circle, is often described as humanity’s last hope against extinction after some global crisis and is popularly known as the “Doomsday Vault.” Although its mission is to keep the world’s seeds safe, it wasn’t actually created to reseed the planet after a world-wide catastrophe.

Is Coffee Endangered?

October 5, 2016 By WAMC WEB

There are many worries related to climate change, notably the increasing occurrence of extreme weather events, melting polar ice, rising seas, and so forth. But perhaps one of the most ominous warnings comes from a new report issued by the Climate Institute about the future of coffee.