Tuesday, May 05, 2026

 

UC Santa Cruz receives California Department of Fish and Wildlife funding to assess health of state’s streams



A $2.2 million grant will scale a pioneering environmental DNA-based index, adding a broad biodiversity assessment tool that benefits statewide management of vital freshwater ecosystems



University of California - Santa Cruz

Environmental DNA sampling in Tahoe National Forest 

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CALeDNA technician Ajith Seresinghe samples Pauley Creek, monitored by the Sierra Streams Institute, in Tahoe National Forest.

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Credit: Photo by Emma Walker





SANTA CRUZ, Calif. – Healthy watersheds support wildlife, recreation, and clean water for communities across California. From a public-health standpoint, we need to know if a river or stream is safe to swim or fish in. From the lens of wildlife support, in addition to being clean, a healthy aquatic habitat must sustain a whole food web.

Knowing a stream’s health also indicates how resilient it is to adversities such as wildfires, land-use changes and agricultural runoff. When stream health is compromised, the potential consequences are dire: from a community’s loss of recreational options or a food source, to the rapid collapse of an ecosystem that evolved over millennia.

California invests in work to monitor ecosystems and to understand the range of pressures on them, as well as opportunities to maintain or restore them. For example, through its Cannabis Restoration Grant Program, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) funds innovative research and projects that help support and protect California’s natural resources in areas affected by cannabis cultivation—such as initiatives that help scientists and land managers better detect impacts and guide restoration.

Now, researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, have been awarded a $2.2 million grant from the program for a project based on a rising and effective monitoring tool: environmental DNA (eDNA). With the CDFW grant funding, UC Santa Cruz researchers will lead a project to extend their genomics-based biodiversity-monitoring platform to create an eDNA-based stream-health index. 

The project will help provide faster monitoring and a clearer, more comprehensive picture of biodiversity conditions across California watersheds and help scientists and resource managers better prioritize restoration and conservation actions in the state’s freshwater ecosystems.

The California Environmental DNA (CALeDNA) program will build upon the state’s traditional stream-health assessments with the speed, precision, and lower-cost processes of genomics, coupled with powerful bioinformatics brought by a California-based startup that spun out of UC Santa Cruz called eDNA Explorer. This approach can halve the time needed to go from field sampling through lab processing, data analyses, and translation of results to useful information, potentially lowering the cost of stream evaluation to hundreds of dollars.

Screening the Golden State’s health

The project’s leaders liken the extraction and analysis of eDNA from California’s streams to a blood test for a routine screening—to gain insights into what’s coursing through the system and get a quick and clear picture of health.  

“We are very grateful to have the chance to bring in AI, geospatial data, historical data—as well as both established and totally novel eDNA assays—all together to make a next generation complementary tool for environmental health assessment for California streams,” said CALeDNA Director Rachel Meyer.

To build the dataset for the index, the team will collect 2,400 samples from over 400 streams across 50 watersheds throughout California between May and September of this year. Many of those samples will be collected by trained volunteers participating in this community science effort. These “community scientists” will go out into the field with standardized eDNA collection training and, ideally, a desire to improve biodiversity monitoring to better understand how our environment is altered by factors such as land use and a changing climate.

“A stream is a system. We understand streams best through the elements we can see, like insects, fish and vegetation. With eDNA we finally get to ask questions about the microbial world beneath as well,” said CALeDNA Chief Scientist Jen Quick-Cleveland.

 

 

Meyer and Quick-Cleveland run CALeDNA and are the principal investigators of the project to build the California Stream Health Index. They say the index will help identify new early signs of ecological decline, allowing land managers and regulators to respond before impacts become severe. 

Other key collaborators in the project are the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project and the California State Water Resources Control Board, which have decades of experience developing and applying several other stream health scoring methods. Together, the teams will see how the different methods complement each other. The resulting index must be compared with and, to some extent, calibrated, against existing stream-assessment tools and other environmental data. Through this process, the research team aims to ensure the index produces reliable and comparable results across California’s diverse watersheds. 

Harnessing advanced technology

Advanced laboratory methods and machine learning tools will be used by researchers to scour for millions of eDNA sequences and identify thousands of biodiversity patterns, then link those to environmental stressors. Through all stages of development, the index and supporting tools will be vetted by agencies, Indigenous tribes, conservation practitioners, researchers, and land managers. One key area of engagement is on the different lenses index users may want to explore to define stream health. The project will produce standardized sampling protocols, open-source analytical tools, and a cloud-based platform that will allow users to calculate stream health indexes from different lenses, and explore biodiversity data as a whole.

While all steps will be made open-source, a cloud-based platform is critical to make this intuitive for the diverse people who want this stream assessment. eDNA Explorer will inject computational power and user-friendly software to package the stream-health index into web tools that make the data accessible, transparent, engaging, and understandable. 

“Water is life. California’s wildlife, water quality, and communities depend on our ability to do solid stream management,” said Julie Stanford, eDNA Explorer’s chief executive officer. “This project will bring in many perspectives to create a multifaceted index that describes stream health. We’re excited to talk to as many people as possible.”

The research team will follow a multi-phase process over three years that includes statewide data collection, development and testing of candidate indexes, scientific review with end users, and the release of final tools and protocols. Community engagement will also help ensure the index and resulting tools are practical and useful for the wide range of organizations working to protect California’s waterways.

“Ultimately, the project aims to establish a reliable and affordable method for assessing stream conditions across the state,” said CDFW Environmental Program Manager Alexandria Turner, “that can be adopted widely and provide important data to help California better safeguard its freshwater biodiversity and watershed health for future generations.”

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Tree bark could help clean water and air




RMIT University
Researcher holds up a sample of eucalyptus bark 

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PhD researcher Pallavi Saini holds a sample of eucalyptus bark during laboratory analysis at RMIT University.

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Credit: Will Wright, RMIT University






Eucalyptus bark, usually stripped from logs and treated as waste, could be repurposed to help clean polluted water, filter dirty air and capture carbon dioxide, according to new research from RMIT University.

Researchers at RMIT have shown the bark can be converted into a highly porous form of carbon that traps pollutants as water or air flows through it. The findings point to a practical way of turning a common forestry by‑product into a useful environmental material using a relatively simple processing method.

Turning waste into a filter

Porous carbon materials are already widely used in water filters, air purifiers and industrial gas treatment systems. Their effectiveness comes from their structure rather than the source material itself.

These materials contain a network of microscopic pores. As air or water passes through, unwanted molecules are captured and held within the tiny spaces.

PhD researcher Pallavi Saini, who led much of the experimental work, said the performance of eucalyptus bark was unexpected.

“It is usually treated as low‑value waste, but with a simple process we were able to convert it into a highly porous material with strong adsorption performance,” Saini said.

“It highlights how overlooked biomass can be transformed into something useful.”

In the study, the researchers used a relatively simple, one‑step activation process to produce porous carbon from eucalyptus bark. While similar approaches have been explored using other biomass sources, many porous carbons are still produced through more complex, multi‑stage routes that require additional energy and infrastructure.

Why eucalyptus bark?

Plant-waste based carbons are being studied worldwide using feedstocks ranging from agricultural residues to forestry and industrial waste. These materials are typically assessed based on availability, sustainability, processing complexity and performance.

Dr Deshetti Jampaiah said eucalyptus bark compared favourably on several of these measures, particularly in Australia.

“The strength of this approach lies in its simplicity,” Jampaiah said.

“We are converting a widely available waste material into a functional carbon with promising performance, without relying on complex processing steps. That makes it highly relevant for real‑world environmental applications.”

Australia is home to more than 900 species of eucalypt and related trees. As a next step, the researchers plan to work with Indigenous people and organisations with deep knowledge of eucalyptus species to help identify which species may be best suited for this type of application.

The team says there is potential to further optimise the material by understanding species‑specific chemical and structural characteristics, guided by both scientific analysis and long‑standing ecological knowledge. Any future work would be undertaken through genuine, respectful collaboration.

Because the bark comes from existing forestry operations, it does not compete with food production and aligns with circular‑economy and waste‑reduction goals.

Potential uses

Materials like this are already being explored internationally for a range of environmental applications. In time, eucalyptus bark‑derived porous carbon could potentially support:

  • water purification, including treatment of contaminated groundwater and wastewater
  • air and industrial gas filtration
  • point‑of‑use filtration systems in regional and remote communities
  • carbon dioxide capture, where pore structure, regeneration and material cost are critical considerations

Any real‑world use would depend on further work to assess durability, regeneration, scale‑up and performance in operating systems.

Distinguished Professor Suresh Bhargava AM said the research demonstrated how waste materials could be re‑imagined as part of environmental solutions.

“This work shows how eucalyptus bark can be transformed into materials that support cleaner water, cleaner air and carbon capture,” Professor Bhargava said.

“At CAMIC, we combine circular‑economy innovation with real societal impact, while mentoring the next generation of researchers to ensure the work remains purposeful.”

Sustainable valorisation of eucalyptus bark waste into microporous carbon materials for efficient CO₂ capture’ is published in the international journal Biomass and Bioenergy (DOI: 10.1016/j.biombioe.2026.109242).

MULTIMEDIA

Here’s a link to the images and videos for this story: https://spaces.hightail.com/space/3UbTjgB4gv

Image 1: Portrait of Distinguished Professor Suresh Bhargava AM
(First image only: solo portrait)

Distinguished Professor Suresh Bhargava AM in a laboratory at RMIT University.
Credit: Will Wright, RMIT University

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A researcher wearing a laboratory coat stands inside a research laboratory, with benches, equipment and storage units visible in the background.

Image set 2: Group shots of researchers in the laboratory
(Images where Professor Bhargava appears on the right, with colleagues at the bench)

Distinguished Professor Suresh Bhargava AM (right) with colleagues Dr Deshetti Jampaiah (left) and PhD researcher Pallavi Saini (centre) in an RMIT University laboratory.
Credit: Will Wright, RMIT University

Alt text
Three researchers wearing laboratory coats stand together in a laboratory. One researcher is positioned on the right, with two colleagues standing to the left and centre, with laboratory benches and equipment visible behind them.

Image set 3: Researchers examining material together
(Images where the group is discussing or handling a sample)

Dr Deshetti Jampaiah, PhD researcher Pallavi Saini and Distinguished Professor Suresh Bhargava AM examine a eucalyptus bark sample during laboratory testing at RMIT University.
Credit: Will Wright, RMIT University

Alt text
Three researchers wearing laboratory coats and gloves stand in a laboratory and look down at a small, dark sample being held between gloved hands.

Image set 4: Close‑ups of eucalyptus bark sample held by Pallavi Saini
(Images where Pallavi is holding the material sample up to camera)

PhD researcher Pallavi Saini holds a sample of eucalyptus bark during laboratory analysis at RMIT University.
Credit: Will Wright, RMIT University

Alt text
A gloved hand holds up a small, dark, irregularly shaped material sample in the foreground, with a researcher in a laboratory coat visible softly out of focus in the background.
 

 

Why are mountain forests in Mexico and Central America hotspots for oak trees? New study led by The Morton Arboretum shows most definitive answer yet



Findings offer unique case study on species evolution




The Morton Arboretum

Sierra Madre Occidental, Mexico 

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Sierra Madre Occidental, Mexico

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Credit: The Morton Arboretum






Eds: To access the study, register with EurekAlert! at http://www.eurekalert.org/register and select Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) from the list of news portals. EurekAlert! service is free of cost to registered reporters. If already registered with EurekAlert!, obtain access to PNAS by updating your profile at https://www.eurekalert.org/update-profile and editing your news portal subscriptions. Once registered, you can directly access the study at https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1126223.   

Photos and b-roll: Available in Dropbox

LISLE, Ill. (May 4, 2026)—The mountains of Mexico and Central America harbor some of the greatest biodiversity of oak trees worldwide, and a landmark study conducted by The Morton Arboretum with U.S. and Mexican collaborators provides the most definitive answer to date as to why. 

The team of researchers led by University of Chicago Ph.D. candidate Kieran Althaus, an affiliate of the Arboretum’s Science and Conservation Department, uncovered the conditions that enabled oaks to rapidly diversify in the Americas. The findings have advanced scientific understanding of the origins of one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots, forming a unique case study for evolution at a global scale. 

The paper, “Timing and origins of Mexican and Central American oak diversity,” published May 4 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) and set to be the cover article of its May 12 digital issue, revealed that oak lineages were able to very quickly adapt—in terms of tree time—when they encountered high-elevation terrain. 

“The fastest expansion of oak diversity anywhere in the world has taken place in Mexico and Central America, revealing the importance of this region for these keystone species,” Althaus said. “Mountain ecosystems prove key to generating oak diversity.”

According to the authors, oaks’ movement into rugged and complex habitats, combined with their high level of adaptability to new climates, facilitated the formation of a vast oak diversity hotspot. Using data from 322 of the world’s approximately 450 oak species, the researchers carefully reconstructed oak evolutionary history. 

Two major groups of oaks—red and white oaks—independently migrated into the mountains of Mexico about 25 million years ago. The study discovered that upon their arrival, the two groups of oaks diversified along a parallel path, rapidly evolving into a remarkable array of species. Now, Mexico and Central America are home to at least 160 different oaks, representing roughly 40% of global oak diversity.

Even still, more than 30% of the world’s oak species are at risk of extinction. Oaks are foundational in many ecosystems, having deep cultural value for indigenous people in the region and supporting biodiversity, including fungi, insects, birds and mammals. Each oak species hosts a unique community of life, making their conservation vital to maintaining healthy ecosystems.    

“The ability to predict how these plant communities may respond to environmental change is an important, valuable tool that should be considered in future forest management,” said study co-author Socorro Gonzalez, Ph.D., researcher at Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigación para el Desarrollo Integral Regional (CIIDIR), Instituto Politecnico Nacional in Mexico. 

The results of this publication represent a milestone in more than 15 years of fieldwork, botanical expeditions and data sharing between researchers in the United States and Mexico, highlighting the power of international partnerships and positive outcomes of scientific mentorship.

The study’s senior author is the Arboretum’s Director of the Herbarium and Lead Scientist in Plant Systematics Andrew Hipp, Ph.D. Co-authors include the Arboretum’s Director of the Global Tree Conservation Program Silvia Alvarez-Clare, Ph.D. and Plant Systematics Research Program Manager Marlene Hahn as well as researchers from Harvard University, Duke University and institutions in Mexico. These international collaborators include La Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Morelia; UNAM, México; Herbarium and Botanic Garden, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP); and CIIDIR, Instituto Politecnico Nacional.

“This work reflects years of shared effort and deep, sustained collaboration across borders,” Hipp said. “It also constitutes the first chapter of Kieran’s Ph.D. dissertation, underscoring the significance of such projects in granting exposure to the next generation of conservation leaders.”

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About The Morton Arboretum 

The Morton Arboretum is a globally recognized leader in tree research and education. Its 1,700 acre site cares for 106,714 specimens representing 4,067 different kinds of plants. The Arboretum’s Center for Tree Science, Global Tree Conservation Program, Chicago Region Trees Initiative, and Center for Species Survival: Trees are contributing scientific knowledge and technical experience to secure the future of trees locally, nationally, and worldwide. Information about the Arboretum’s scientific work and how it contributes to a greener, healthier world where people and trees thrive together can be found at mortonarb.org.

 

Atmospheric systems control the transport of rainfall and nutrient from Africa to the Amazon



Study indicates that events such as cold air masses in the Northern Hemisphere alter the transport of aerosols across the Atlantic that nourish forest soils. It was previously believed that this influence came from changes in wind direction




Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo






How are cold air masses advancing in the United States connected to fertilizers carried by “flying rivers” from Africa that nourish the soils of the Brazilian Amazon? An article published in Geophysical Research Letters reveals an atmospheric connection between these distant regions. 

Scientists discovered that synoptic systems – large-scale meteorological phenomena spanning thousands of kilometers – such as cold waves in the U.S. and high-pressure anomalies in the South Atlantic, modify heavy rainfall along the tropical belt of the Atlantic Ocean. 

During the wet seasons, these changes determine whether the Amazon receives air laden with particles from Africa or air free of these aerosols. “Clean” days (with fewer particles) were preceded by peak precipitation in the ocean. Until now, the reason for these fluctuations was unclear, and it was assumed that the influence stemmed from changes in wind direction. 

The continuous “transport” of dust and smoke aerosols containing minerals between Africa and South America affects the atmosphere and nutrient cycles in the Amazon. Despite its dense vegetation and biodiversity, most soil in the region is nutrient-poor due to intense leaching, the process of “washing” and removing nutrients from surface layers through rainwater or irrigation. 

Phosphorus is the most limiting element, followed by calcium, potassium, and magnesium. However, the scarcity of these minerals is partly offset by the transatlantic transport of aerosols from biomass burning in Africa and mineral dust from the Sahara Desert. 

“The results demonstrate that there’s an interconnection, a symbiosis of life on the planet. Climate change affects this pattern, causing a disruption whose outcome and consequences for future ecosystems are still unknown,” explains Professor Luiz Augusto Toledo Machado, from the Physics Institute at the University of São Paulo (IF-USP) and a collaborator with the Department of Chemistry at the Max Planck Institute in Germany.

Machado, the corresponding author of the research letter (a more concise, focused, peer-reviewed scientific article format designed to communicate original findings more quickly), highlights the importance of this “exchange” of nutrients, especially those originating from the Sahara Desert. 

“Contrary to what one might imagine, this region is very important for the health of the planet. Its dust contains crucial minerals not only for fertilizing the Amazon, but also for sustaining aquatic life. Among them are iron and phosphorus, which are fundamental for forest productivity and life in the oceans,” he explained to Agência FAPESP

He cites a 2022 study published in the journal Nature led by Brazilian researchers demonstrating that low levels of phosphorus in the soil can limit the growth of the Amazon rainforest even if the atmosphere is rich in carbon dioxide. Higher concentrations of CO₂ cause plants to grow faster, sequestering carbon and mitigating the impacts of climate change.  

Two years later, maps developed with the help of artificial intelligence confirmed the low phosphorus levels in the region (read more at agencia.fapesp.br/51531). 

Daily measurements

To investigate the factors influencing the variability of atmospheric “cleanliness” in the Amazon, the researchers used daily black carbon measurements recorded by the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory (ATTO), combined with global meteorological data. 

Located in the Uatumã Sustainable Development Reserve in the Brazilian state of Amazonas, the tower stands 325 meters tall. Managed jointly by scientists from Brazil and Germany, it aims to continuously record meteorological, chemical, and biological data, such as greenhouse gas concentrations.

Black carbon is used as an indicator of long-range particle transport during the rainy season. It is soot formed by burning fuels and biomass. These microscopic particles absorb sunlight, warm the atmosphere, and can travel over long distances. According to Machado, approximately 60% of the black carbon that reaches the Amazon during the rainy season originates in Africa. 

In their study, the researchers assessed the average daily concentrations of black carbon in January and February, which correspond to the start of the rainy season in the region, between 2015 and 2022. They found that concentrations varied significantly, with some days showing high levels due to African influence and others showing exceptionally clear conditions.

To characterize rainfall variability, the group identified days corresponding to maximums and minimums of average daily precipitation, which they classified as “peaks” and “troughs,” respectively. Then, maps were generated corresponding to humid (“clean”) and dry (“polluted”) conditions.

The results revealed that rainy days in the tropical region generally coincide with clean air conditions over the Amazon and are associated with cold air incursions into the United States. These events are characterized by high-pressure systems dominating the eastern United States, while an increase in atmospheric pressure was observed over the central and southern Atlantic in the Southern Hemisphere. 

This synoptic configuration promotes stronger low-level wind convergence over the equatorial Atlantic, intensifying moisture transport to the Amazon and leading to increased precipitation and atmospheric cleansing.

Conversely, particles and gases are transported from Africa to South America primarily above the marine boundary layer – the lower part of the atmosphere in direct contact with the ocean – and subsequently to the Amazon basin. This process is aided by the Amazon’s low-level jet stream.

Machado explains that changes in the low-level jets over the Atlantic and the Amazon can alter particle transport and impact the resilience of the ecosystem. For this reason, the study now includes analyzing these jets to understand how they may behave in the coming decades. 

The research is supported by FAPESP through a Thematic Project of the Research Program on Global Climate Change (RPGCC).

About FAPESP

The São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) is a public institution with the mission of supporting scientific research in all fields of knowledge by awarding scholarships, fellowships and grants to investigators linked with higher education and research institutions in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. FAPESP is aware that the very best research can only be done by working with the best researchers internationally. Therefore, it has established partnerships with funding agencies, higher education, private companies, and research organizations in other countries known for the quality of their research and has been encouraging scientists funded by its grants to further develop their international collaboration.

 

Saving chocolate while restoring rainforests? Rock dust boosts soil nutrition and supports farmers






European Geosciences Union

Steeley will discuss how enhanced rock weathering benefits cabruca and agroforestry systems at EGU 2026. 

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Steeley will discuss how enhanced rock weathering benefits cabruca and agroforestry systems at EGU 2026. Credit: Steeley et al., 2025, https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.70097

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Credit: Steeley et al., 2025, https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.70097






Vienna, Austria – Chocolate is the food of the gods. The name of the tree from which the confection originates, Theobroma cacao, combines the Greek words for god (theós) and food (brôma). This small evergreen tree grows in tropical forests rich in both biodiversity and carbon. Over the past 40 years, demand for chocolate, the product of processing cacao pods, has surged, says Isabella Steeley, a doctoral student at the University of Sheffield in England. With that demand, she says: “more cocoa needs to be produced.”

Meeting it often means clearing tropical forests, replacing diverse, carbon-dense ecosystems with cacao plantations. Another path is to increase yield on existing farms. Average cacao yields are about 480 kilograms per hectare, but potential yields may be ten times greater, Steeley says.

In a study to be presented at the European Geosciences Union General Assembly this week, Steeley examines whether enhanced rock weathering can improve soil fertility and yields in two cacao systems in Brazil’s degraded, fragmented Atlantic Rainforest. One system involves reforesting degraded pastures with rows of cacao and shade trees in a commercial farm. The other, the traditional cabruca system, intersperses cacao trees within native forest. It preserves more forest than plantations, but is less productive, a compromise between yield and biodiversity, Steeley says.

In intact forests, plants recycle nutrients: roots suck them from the soil while organic matter replenishes them. Clearing trees breaks that cycle. Because of the heat and rainfall, tropical soil isn’t very sticky, which results in low nutrient retention. Moreover, soil become acidic, dropping uptake of already limited nutrition. Once cacao trees become established, their yields typically decline after a couple decades, while acidity facilitates the uptake of toxic elements like aluminum or cadmium. Enhanced rock weathering involves adding finely crushed rock: here, an andesitic basalt dust produced in Brazil. As the rock dust weathers, it neutralizes acidity, improving nutrient availability and potentially supplying essential elements to crops. And, it removes atmospheric CO2.

Steeley will share results from the first two years of a three-year study. Soil improvements were strongest in the commercial cacao farm, suggesting such farms could help reconnect fragmented rainforest.

Her team also introduces a new way to quantify how much rock dust has weathered, enabling calculation of how much carbon has been sequestered. Early results indicate that cabruca soils may capture more CO₂ than commercial farms through enhanced rock weathering, raising the possibility that smallholders could fund soil amendment costs by selling carbon credits.

Because most cacao is produced on farms smaller than 50 hectares, improving yields could directly benefit local communities. “This work is a collective effort, with local farmers and agronomists supporting the research,” Steeley says. Farmers are “really excited about any kind of innovation that can help sustain their livelihoods.”

Text written by Alka Tripathy-Lang.

More information:

Note to the media:

When reporting on this story, please mention the EGU General Assembly 2026, which is taking place from 03– 08 May 2026. This oral presentation is part of Session SSS5.6 and will take place on Tuesday 05 May, at 09:25 CEST in Room 0.11/12. Isabella Steeley will be on site and available for interviews.

If reporting online, please include a link to the abstract: https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU26/EGU26-19336.html