Nearly 60 million years ago rainforests prospered at temperatures that were 3-5 degrees higher and at atmospheric carbon dioxide levels 2.5 times today’s levels.

The post Plant diversity in tropical forests increased during ancient global warming event appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Edgewater, Md., and the Alaska Sea Grant Program of the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, were recently identified as the […]

The post Smithsonian scientists to help identify and eradicate invasive species in Alaskan waters appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Now the Global Plants Initiativeis catapulting biodiversity research to a new level by sharing these historic plant collections in a massive online database of high-resolution scans.

The post Online initiative makes massive database of herbarium specimens accessible worldwide appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Smithsonian plant physiologist Bert Drake has studied one wetland's response to climate change for more than two decades. He gives a tour of the field experiment and explains some of the findings.

The post On the Chesapeake Bay, Smithsonian plant physiologist Bert Drake has been studying one wetland’s response to climate change for more than two decades. appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

These opportunistic plants quickly fill-in the gap taking advantage of the increased light coming through the tree canopy and the fresh soil at the fallen tree’s turned-up roots.

The post Falling trees help invasive wineberry move into deciduous forests in North America appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The chief appeal of The Anatomy of Palms is some 800 color photographs that document the extent of palm anatomical diversity.

The post With 800 color photographs, new book takes a fascinating look inside palms appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Recent botanical exploration efforts in the rugged Marquesas Islands (French Polynesia) have increased the known flora of the archipelago by an impressive 20 percent. Field research and collecting in conjunction with the Vascular Flora of the Marquesas Islands and Flore de la Polynesie française projects have yielded 62 new species of ferns and flowering plants bringing the total native species to 360, of which 18 are newly described and illustrated in a special issue of PhytoKeys.

The post Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia yield 18 new species of rare ferns and flowering plants appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Fulcaldea stuessyi is a newly discovered member of the Barnadesioideae, a subfamily of the Compositae, or sunflower family of flowering plants. It was found in northeastern […]

The post Fulcaldea stuessyi is newly discovered member of the Barnadesioideae, a subfamily of the Compositae, or sunflower family of flowering plants, appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center has created NEMESIS--National Estuarine and Marine Exotic Species Information System--an online public database that provides key information about the non-native marine species throughout the United States.

The post New invasive species database allows public to ID marine invaders with a home computer appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Ancient pollen and charcoal preserved in deeply buried sediments in Egypt’s Nile Delta document the region’s ancient droughts and fires, including a huge drought 4,200 years ago associated with the demise of Egypt’s Old Kingdom.

The post Fossil pollen used to augment climate record of Egypt’s Nile Delta appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Invasive European earthworms could prevent roughly half a North American forest’s orchid seeds from even germinating, ecologists from Smithsonian Environmental Research Center and Johns Hopkins […]

The post Invasive earthworms threaten wild American orchids appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Non-native plant species pose a significant threat to the natural ecosystems of the United States. Many of these invasive plants are escapees from gardens and […]

The post Escape of the invasives: Top six invasive plant species in the United States appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Soon after a dirt road through the forests of Lambir Hills National Park in Borneo was improved in 1987, local markets selling the meat of […]

The post Loss of animals spells doom for diversity of rainforest trees appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Phragmites australis, the common reed, has been a component of North American marshes for thousands of years. However, a novel genetic lineage, Phragmites australis australis, […]

The post Climate change conundrum: Invasive reed makes much more methane appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The North Pole isn’t the only place on Earth affected by slight increases in temperature. Until recently, scientific thinking used to posit that tropical forests, […]

The post Rising temperatures mean more blooms for tropical rainforests appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A joint Harvard-Smithsonian study released today in the journal PLOS ONE reveals how much — and how little — Northeastern forests have changed after centuries of intensive […]

The post 400-year study finds Northeast forests resilient, changing  appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Hidden in the thick foliage of tropical forests a subfamily of colorful beetles–the Chrysomelidae–may be hiding the secrets to the earliest stages of social behavior. […]

The post Beetle moms show clear signs of maternal instincts and care appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Tucked into the wooded landscape and rolling hills of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Edgewater, Md., is a new forest. Six months ago, a […]

The post Century-long Smithsonian experiment tests forest diversity appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Plants are among the world’s best carbon sinks, but there’s a side to the plant-CO2 love affair that’s rarely discussed. When carbon dioxide rises, plants […]

The post The strange, controversial way plants trap CO2 appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A 57-acre research plot at a University of Michigan forest preserve northwest of Ann Arbor has been added to a Smithsonian Institution global network used […]

The post University of Michigan forest preserve joins Smithsonian global network appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A global analysis raises the minimum estimated number of tropical tree species to at least 40,000–53,000 worldwide in a paper appearing in Proceedings of the […]

The post Analysis: Many tropical tree species have yet to be discovered appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Pollinators like butterflies, bees, beetles, flies, and moths help to pollinate almost 80 percent of the world’s flowering plants, one benefit of which is providing […]

The post Oasis in the city appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History announced today that scientists with the museum’s Global Genome Initiative will attempt to capture the genomic diversity of half the […]

The post Smithsonian and Partners To Preserve Earth’s Genomic Plant Diversity appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

On crime scene investigation shows, forensic scientists use remnants of genetic material to solve mysteries in a matter of hours. Researchers at the Smithsonian Environmental […]

The post Environmental “Forensics” Pieces Together Mysterious Plant Invasion appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Invasive species have become a problem in marine environments around the world, and the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries are no exception. Non-native species of […]

The post Smithsonian Scientists Work to Stop Invasions appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

How more than 1,000 tree species may occur in a small area of forest in Amazonia or Borneo is an unsolved mystery. Their ability to […]

The post Trees employ similar strategies to outcompete their neighbors appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

New results from a long-term Smithsonian study are providing strong evidence of the dramatic impact high numbers of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are having upon […]

The post Deer Discovery: Invasive Plants Get Boost from too Many Deer appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Profound ideas don’t need to be complicated. A simple cube made of aluminum tubing, a centerpiece of a new exhibit “Life in One Cubic Foot,” […]

The post From Rochester to Polynesia, a simple cube unveils Earth’s dazzling biological diversity appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last few years, you’ve doubtless caught at least a passing reference to the plight of the […]

The post Discovery: Rising CO2 depletes pollen’s nutritional potency, bees suffer appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) celebrated with Panama the completion of the Panama Canal expansion project on June 26, 2016. The $5.6 billion engineering […]

The post Smithsonian celebrates Panama Canal expansion! appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Coastal marine environments are impacted by human disturbance. Dock pilings allow MarineGEO researchers to study these impacts in a standardized way around the world to […]

The post The incredible marine diversity under boat docks appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The global conservation movement has reached a turning point. We have documented the fast pace of habitat loss, the growing number of endangered and extinct […]

The post Earth Optimism: Change is Possible appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Earth Day is coming up, and this year, the Smithsonian has a different take on it. It has invited more than 150 scientists, thought leaders, […]

The post Earth Optimism Summit to showcase steady, positive gains in conservation appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

If you’ve seen the movie Jurassic Park, you know that amber played a significant role in rebuilding a lost world: A mosquito trapped within its […]

The post Resin from shipwreck hints at trade routes and botany of ancient Asia appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Zebra mussels in the Great Lakes, lionfish in the Atlantic and pythons in the Everglades: Large creatures like these generally draw the spotlight when talking […]

The post DNA is trusty new weapon for detecting slime nets and other invasive marine parasites appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A tiny invasive insect from Asia might have an effect on Chesapeake Bay waters. The emerald ash borer is killing millions of ash trees in […]

The post Invasive ash borer found in Smithsonian Environmental Research Center forest; ash deaths may impact Chesapeake waters appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The post Global forest network cracks the case of tropical biodiversity appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Visitors to the tropics are amazed by the huge variety of colorful, complex and sometimes ferocious creatures living near the equator. Smithsonian scientists and colleagues […]

The post Is This the Long-Sought Answer to the Question of Tropical Biodiversity? appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

For the first time, a new public database will link genetic data with records of where and when the samples it was taken from were […]

The post A first: New website reveals origin of genetic samples and date collected appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Coral reefs are home to some of the most colorful, diverse life on the planet. And yet, for all their fame as biodiversity hotspots, it’s […]

The post Coral reef eavesdropping unveils burrowed, romantic male singers appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Earth’s changing climate could cause the extinction of up to a third of its parasite species by 2070, according to a global analysis reported […]

The post Study shows parasites may be among earliest victims of climate change appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Hidden in plain sight–that’s how researchers describe their discovery of a new genus of large forest tree commonly found, yet previously scientifically unknown, in the […]

The post Remarkable new tree species was “hidden in plain sight” in the Andes appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

White-tailed deer don’t like to eat the invasive plants Japanese stilt grass, garlic mustard or barberry. Native oak seedlings and tulip poplar, on the other […]

The post Too many hungry deer are lowering diversity of native plants in eastern U.S. forests appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Millions, if not billions, of specimens reside in the world’s natural history collections, but most of these have not been carefully studied, or even looked […]

The post Using digitized Botany specimens, AI excels in simple curatorial tasks appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

For many Californians, last year’s wet winter triggered a case of whiplash. After five years of drought, rain from October 2016 to February 2017 broke […]

The post In San Francisco, one wet winter can switch up Bay’s invasive species appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Camouflage is a valuable survival strategy—just ask a chameleon. Scientists have just discovered a new form of mimicry camouflage: beetles that hide by chewing beetle-shaped […]

The post For millions of years these tiny beetles have chewed their way out of sight appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well if one has not dined well,” Virginia Woolf once said. Woolf’s sentiment is one that the staff […]

The post Behind the scenes in the restaurant kitchen that feeds the National Zoo’s residents appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Life and the Earth have always evolved together. When it opens on June 8, 2019, the David H. Koch Hall of Fossils — Deep Time […]

The post Sneak Peek: David H. Koch Hall of Fossils appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.