A new global-scale modeling study that takes into account nitrogen -- a key nutrient for plants -- estimates that carbon emissions from human activities on land were 40 percent higher in the 1990s than in studies that did not account for nitrogen. Plant regrowth -- and therefore carbon assimilation by plants -- is limited by nitrogen availability, causing other studies to overestimate regrowth and underestimate net emissions from the harvest-regrowth cycle.

Written By:  Bill Graham

Kansas City, Mo. – Missouri’s rich outdoor legacy – past and present – will be available for a hands-on learning experience at Heritage Day. The free event offers nature and outdoor skills activities from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 4, at the Anita B. Gorman Discovery Center, 4750 Troost Ave., in Kansas City.

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We help people discover nature.

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Biocontrol programs use an invasive plant's natural enemies (insects and pathogens) to reduce its population. Most biocontrol programs combine many different enemies. Some combinations of enemy species can actually end up competing or interfering with each other, instead of attacking the weed.

Written By:  Francis Skalicky

THEODOSIA, Mo. – A big fish and a state-record certificate has made a recent fishing trip to Bull Shoals Lake memorable for Chris Kimble.

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Conservation makes Missouri a great place to hunt and fish.

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Written By:  Joanie Straub

Discover nature at Runge Conservation Nature Center five-day youth camp June 4–8.

 

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Looking for something for your child to do this summer? Want to help them discover nature and enjoy the outdoors? The Missouri Department of Conservation’s (MDC) Runge Conservation Nature Center is hosting a five-day youth camp June 4 – 8. The camp will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday thru Friday and 9 to 11 a.m. on Saturday. The program is free and open to campers 9 thru 12-years-old.

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We help people discover nature.

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Written By:  Bill Graham

MDC is providing falcon watch camera at Commerce Tower in Kansas City.

Kansas City, Mo. – Kansas City's downtown hosts peregrine falcons that can dive at more than 200 mph when full grown. But their new generations start life as fragile chicks pecking out of an egg in a nest on a ledge near the top of the 30-story Commerce Tower. Now, the drama of life renewing in a falcon nest amid the skyscrapers can be watched live on streaming video via the web at www.mdc.mo.gov/node/21769.

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We help people discover nature.

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The Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh [RBGE], the Rhododendron Species Conservation Group [RSCG] and BGCI are jointly hosting a two-day International Rhododendron Species Conservation Conference from 20-21 April, 2013

The 2013 European Carnivorous Plant Exhibition and Exchange is to be held at the Nancy botanical garden, France on the 5th -8th July. The programme includes an extensive range of lectures, tours, workshops, and an excursion to the Vosges mountains.

In low doses, hydrogen sulfide, a substance implicated in several mass extinctions, could greatly enhance plant growth, leading to a sharp increase in global food supplies and plentiful stock for biofuel production, new research shows.

Written By:  Francis Skalicky

MDC honors Missouri State University, City Utilities of Springfield and the City of Springfield with tree conservation awards.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Good forestry stewardship will be in the spotlight on Friday, April 19 when Missouri State University, City Utilities of Springfield and the City of Springfield will receive tree conservation awards. The Missouri Department of Conservation will honor all three entities at 12:30 p.m. on Friday at Greenwood Laboratory School in Springfield.

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Missourians care about conserving forests, fish and wildlife.

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Showing a range of peculiar habits and difficult to be discovered and collected, Ypsolophid moths present an exciting catch for scientists. Russian entomologists have discovered and described two species of these engaging moths, coming from the southernmost areas of the Russian Far East.

Written By:  Candice Davis

Bowhunters of every skill level are invited.

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Bowhunters of every skill level are invited to the upcoming Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) Discover Hunting event, Bowhunting 101. Experts from the United Bowhunters of Missouri and On Target Christian Archers will host the course, Saturday, May 11, at the Maintz Wildlife Area Archery Range from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

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Conservation makes Missouri a great place to hunt and fish.

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A team of researchers has succeeded in transforming cellulose into starch, a process that has the potential to provide a previously untapped nutrient source from plants not traditionally though of as food crops.

Researchers believe they have solved a puzzle that has long vexed science. The researchers provide the first three-dimensional model of an enzyme that links a simple sugar, glucose, into long-chain cellulose, the basic building block within plant cell walls that gives plants structure. Cellulose is nature's most abundant renewable biomaterial and an important resource for production of biofuels that represent alternatives to fossil fuels.

New research fuels hope of efficient hydrogen production with green algae may be possible in the future, despite the prevailing scepticism based on previous research.

The biodiversity of Europe today is largely linked to environmental conditions decades ago, according to a new large-scale study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Looking at various social and economic conditions from the last hundred years, scientists found that today's European species were closely aligned to environmental impacts on the continent from 1900 and 1950 instead of more recent times. The findings imply that scientists may be underestimating the total decline in global biodiversity, while future generations will inherit a natural world of our making.

Written By:  Bill Graham

Less than one-half of one percent of the state’s prairie remains. Prairie chickens declined along with habitat loss.

Eagleville, Mo. -- Seven prairie chicken hens on Thursday, April 11, cackled at sunrise in southwest Nebraska, and at dusk glided over the Dunn Ranch Prairie in northwest Missouri. Biologists trapped, moved and released the birds to carry tiny radio transmitters for research and new hope for a signature species critically endangered in Missouri.

“The intent is to infuse genetic diversity into this small population and bolster their overall numbers,” said David Hoover, a Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) wildlife biologist.

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

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Written By:  Bill Graham

Sunk trees become new habitat for fish and improve chances for angler success.

Smithville, Mo. – You could call the second annual FISH Day at Smithville Lake a big splash for anglers. Actually, it was about 130 splashes as big trees were anchored down with concrete weights and shoved off barges into the lake on April 13. Each tree sinking to the bottom became new habitat for fish and improved chances for angler success.

“A lot of people give me calls saying they’re targeting the new brush piles for fishing, and we’re getting good reports,” said Eric Dennis, a fisheries management biologist for the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC).

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Conservation makes Missouri a great place to hunt and fish.

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Written By:  Dan Zarlenga

MDC will hold TRIM-grant workshop at Powder Valley Nature Center May 1.

Kirkwood, Mo.—The TRIM-grant grant program administered by the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) offers funding to assist government agencies, public schools and non-profit groups with the management, improvement and conservation of trees and forests on public land. The Tree Resource Improvement and Maintenance (TRIM) cost-share grants can help communities fund tree inventories, removal or pruning of hazardous trees, tree planting and the training of volunteers and city/county employees to best care for community forests.

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

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The extraordinary level of conservation of the tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) mitochondrial genome has redefined our interpretation of evolution of the angiosperms (flowering plants). This beautiful ‘molecular fossil’ has a remarkably slow mutation rate meaning that its mitochondrial genome has remained largely unchanged since the dinosaurs were roaming Earth.