Category: Research
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Grass: “Let me help you there, Forest…”
The concept of using biotic resistance by natives to prevent invasives from making inroads into natural areas is nothing new. One of the earliest examples of this is the hypothesis that diversity in either species or function is a way for natural communities to resist encroachment by invasive species. This so-called Elton Hypothesis postulates that…
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Beach Bum: Getting Salty with Bermuda Grass
I was staying at a beachside hotel in southwestern Florida when I noticed a high sprawling grassy area that crept up from the beach and threatened to move into the parking lot. Curious about what type of grass could grow in such a salty environment, I came closer, expecting it to be something like Paspalum…
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An irresistible force meets an immovable object?
I’ve been doing a long running observation on a stand of Imperata cylindrica (Cogon grass) in Florida since 2021, with the cogon grass rapidly overwhelming its competitors as it spread laterally along a roadside. For a history of this series of observations: April 2021Rapid expansion of an invasive grass as viewed using Google StreetView December…
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Ultra-low GI Rice for Diabetics
I’ve been reading stories about how eating rice (Oryza sativa) can cause diabetes, even though there is some controversy because the cases of diabetes in rice-eating countries was low in the past, and only shot up once meat eating became more prevalent in such countries. Nevertheless, such fears affected the lives of many people who…
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Grasslands accurately track climate change effects instantaneously in real time
The ability to track changes in the biotic environment due to climate change is crucial in order to better understand, predict, and plan mitigation strategies against it. Unfortunately, previous studies on forests and various types of ecosystems have proven somewhat uninformative, with conflicting results being obtained, or with the resulting effects lagging behind the changes….