Theory+suggests+root+efficiency,+independence+drove+global+spread+of+flora

[|Theory suggests root efficiency, independence drove global spread of flora] Science Daily Accessed on February 22, 2018



Summary: A study done in princeton university found that looking at how roots of plants develop can tell us a lot about how the plant had adapted and spread. Most biologist look at above ground characteristics of plants to study them like there leafs and how efficiently they photosynthesize instead they should not only be looking at these characteristics but also the root characteristics like root diameter and reliance on fungi. Hedin said that "It provides some of the hidden, below-ground rules by which plants survive and spread. It's a global view of plant evolution at a time when global rules are essential for building climate models and understanding the biosphere." In short there study reveals how plants obtain nutrients witch has a huge impact on the types of environments that the plant can live on and how it is able to adapt to different environments. For example this can be seen when plants are taken and grown in the tropics the roots get longer and thinner but when plants are grown in arid deserts they have less dependence on fungi. These findings were nothing really new about how plants work but it showed a whole new side of looking at how plants can adapt which can have great effects from studying climate change to preventing against alien species.

Relevance to Course: This study really encompases a lot of topic we have learned thought the year from the nitrogen cycle to the evolution. As said in the summary there research was really nothing new but a new way of looking at data compared to other places and I feel that this is what the course is trying to teach us because you can never redescover something but in order to create something new you have to be able to look at things in a different way. Beyond that it touches on many different topics we have talked about in class from reading the have at least mentioned topics from alien species, climate change, biosphere, plant anatomy, conservation, evolution, and the nitrogen cycle. In summary I feel this article is a great example of the goal of this class, to learn enough to be able to make abstract hypothesis about the environment.

Opinion: This article is very interesting and one of the main reasons I like it so much is it is a breath of fresh air from the stuff we normally read about, like how over populated populated and desegregated our environment is, but this on the other hand is neither good nor bad but just interesting science and a good theory that can explain a little more about the world around us. My only opinion on this article is really why did it take so long to figure something like this out, I feel some one in our class could have done this for there lab and we are just high schoolers. It makes you think what else are we overlooking that is simple enough that someone in high school could figure out.

Law: There is no direct law relating to this since it is a theory, it would be like asking a for a law that relates to gravity, but never the less they talked alot about plants spreading to other countries and also invasive species coming to other countries too so the a law that relates to that would be APHIS' Fruits and Vegetables Import Requirements (FAVIR). These guidelines are in order to protect the US from invading species so some of these guidelines include transportation of fruits and vegetables, plant parts and material for the purpose of planting, and plant inspection centers. These rules are all in order to protect US agriculture and wildlife.