The Saharan cousin of Mediterranean olive trees remains largely unknown. However, this subspecies (called the Laperinne's olive tree) is of great interest for several reasons. Researchers have shown that its longevity is ensured by its original vegetative reproduction. Extremely drought-resistant, this "relict" tree could act as a genetic resource to improve its domestic counterparts, provided conservation actions are implemented to prevent its disappearance.

Written By:  Joe Jerek

Meet others with woods for hunting, beauty, income at May 31 - June 1 statewide conference.

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – Woodland landowners from around the state are invited to attend the 34th annual Missouri Tree Farm Conference May 31 – June 1 at the Days Inn, 3805 S. Baltimore St., in Kirksville. The conference is part of the Missouri Tree Farm Program, which provides help to landowners on woodland management for wildlife and timber production. The Program also helps connect participating landowners to others with similar interests.

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is cohosting the conference.

Key Messages: 

We work with you and for you to sustain healthy forests, fish and wildlife.

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Written By:  Bill Graham

Backyard wildlife watchers Dick and Jane Petri are following barred owls raising chicks mere yards from their deck.

Lee’s Summit, Mo. – You might call this the big bird show for Dick and Jane Petri, ardent backyard wildlife watchers. Barred owls are raising at least two chicks in a nest that is mere yards from their deck. The owls don’t seem to mind onlookers, and the Petri’s find their gaze often trained on the nest high in a hollow dead limb on a large cottonwood tree.

One evening they watched the male and female owl chase marauding crows away from the nest.

“It’s really something to see,” Jane Petri said. “This is fun. We waste a lot of time out here watching.”

Key Messages: 

Missourians care about conserving forests, fish and wildlife.

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Figs and fig trees are familiar to a wide cross-section of human society, both as a common food and for their spiritual importance. What is less well understood is the global nature of this association between figs and humans, which is maintained across species, continents and societies.

Agricultural researchers are studying whether a naturally occurring soil bacterium, referred to as UD1023, can create an iron barrier in rice roots that reduces arsenic uptake.

Researchers have discovered a new culprit contributing to amphibian decline and altered mammal distribution throughout the Midwest region -- the invasive plant European buckthorn.

Written By:  Joe Jerek

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) will hold a public auction for various used vehicles and equipment on Saturday, June 1, starting at 10 a.m. at its Salem Maintenance Center, 1715 Hwy 32 West. The auction will include several dozen vehicles, along with ATVs, trailers, boats, outboard motors and other equipment.

Key Messages: 

Conservation pays by enriching our economy and quality of life.

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That human land use destroys natural ecosystems is an oft-cited assumption in conservation, but ecologists have discovered that instead, traditional ranching techniques in the African savanna enhance the local abundance of wild, native animals. These results offer a new perspective on the roles humans play in natural systems, and inform ongoing discussions about land management and biodiversity conservation.

New discoveries of the way plants transport important substances across their biological membranes to resist toxic metals and pests, increase salt and drought tolerance, control water loss and store sugar can have profound implications for increasing the supply of food and energy for our rapidly growing global population.

Researchers at the University of Arizona's Tumamoc Hill have digitized 106 years of growth data on individual plants, making the information available for study by people all over the world.

In the spring following a forest fire, trees that survived the blaze explode in new growth and plants sprout in abundance from the scorched earth. For centuries, it was a mystery how seeds, some long dormant in the soil, knew to push through the ashes to regenerate the burned forest.

Ants play a variety of important roles in many ecosystems. As frequent visitors to flowers, they can benefit plants in their role as pollinators when they forage on sugar–rich nectar. However, a new study reveals that this mutualistic relationship may actually have some hidden costs. By transmitting sugar–eating yeasts to the nectar on which they feed, ants may be indirectly altering the nectar–chemistry and thus affecting subsequent pollinator visitations.

Botanic gardens are involved in a wide range of activities that have relevance to the growing food security crisis. Complete our survey to tell us what you are doing

Why do rose petals have rounded ends while their leaves are more pointed? Scientists have revealed that the shape of petals is controlled by a hidden map located within the plant's growing buds.

Written By:  Candice Davis

WAYNE COUNTY, Mo. -- Hunting stories are vital to the tradition of hunting. No hunt is complete until the hunter shares the play-by-play of what happened in the wild. For new turkey hunter Holly Spain, a student at Three Rivers College, it’s a story of how she discovered the excitement of being in the woods during the spring turkey season.

“We left the house just after five that morning and it was exciting to be out there,” Holly described the morning of her hunt.

Key Messages: 

Conservation makes Missouri a great place to hunt and fish.

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Written By:  Joe Jerek

MDC thanks hunters and anglers for their patience during this brief service interruption.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) wants hunters and anglers to know that the purchase of hunting and fishing permits will be unavailable from 9 p.m. on Tuesday, May 7, through 7 a.m. on Wednesday, May 8. The brief service interruption is for maintenance to the related computer system. The system maintenance will include online permit purchases and purchases through permit vendors. MDC has minimized the time required for this necessary improvement and thanks hunters and anglers for their patience during this brief service interruption.

Key Messages: 

Conservation makes Missouri a great place to hunt and fish.

Two-thirds of all forest inventory plots in the Northeast and Midwestern United States contain at least one non-native plant species, a new US Forest Service study found. The study across two dozen states from North Dakota to Maine can help land managers pinpoint areas on the landscape where invasive plants might take root.

In the spring following a forest fire, trees that survived the blaze explode in new growth and plants sprout in abundance from the scorched earth. For centuries, it was a mystery how seeds, some long dormant in the soil, knew to push through the ashes to regenerate the burned forest.

Sperm cell release can be triggered by tightening the grip around the delivery organ, according to a team of nano and microsystems engineers and plant biologists.

Researchers have digitized 106 years of growth data on the birth, growth and death of individual plants on Tumamoc Hill in Tucson, Ariz., making the information available for study by people all over the world. The permanent research plots on the University of Arizona's Tumamoc Hill represent the world's longest-running study that monitors individual plants. Knowing how plants respond to changing conditions over many decades provides new insights into how ecosystems behave.