Articles for tag: botany, Carbon Sequestration, Climate Change, ecology, Soil Science

A close-up view of a mossy tree root surrounded by dry leaves in a tranquil forest.

20% of Plants Have Mysterious Deep Roots — And They Might Store Carbon

Jan Otte

Scientists thought for a long time that plant roots followed a simple rule: the deeper you go, the fewer roots there are. But a new study published in Nature Communications has turned this long-held belief on its head. It shows that 20% of plants around the world grow a second set of roots more than ...

Kilimanjaro's giant groundsel

What on Earth? Meet the Alien-Looking Plants That Only Grow on Kilimanjaro

Jan Otte

The highest mountain in Africa, Mount Kilimanjaro, is a land of extremes where equatorial heat gives way to Arctic ice in barely a few thousand meters. But tucked among its dramatic slopes is one of the most unusual botanical beauties in nature: the giant groundsel (Dendrosenecio kilimanjari). Rising nowhere else on Earth, these towering plants ...