In an interesting turn of botanical events, University of Houston engineers report that while melatonin keeps us asleep, it wakes up plants, helping them grow.

Galápagos is a living laboratory where every environmental decision matters. On Santa Cruz, the most populated island of the archipelago, freshwater is a limited and increasingly vulnerable resource due to urban growth, agricultural pressure, saltwater intrusion, and climate change. In this context, understanding how water behaves across the landscape becomes essential for water security.

Our study proposes a geomorphological approach to identify which watersheds offer the best conditions for water conservation, which require immediate intervention due to their susceptibility to erosion, and which could be suitable for sustainable agricultural activities.

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates – The United Arab Emirates has launched Abu Dhabi’s AI Ecosystem for Global Agricultural Development, a platform designed to bring AI solutions to climate-exposed agricultural regions and support the communities most affected by shifting weather patterns.

The Perspectives from the Global South team (ECHOES) at the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology has launched the Executive Report: Regenerative Agriculture and Resilient Food Systems during a series of activities at COP30.

In an innovative twist to sustainable agriculture, a new study reveals how sugarcane waste can be transformed into biochar—a powerful soil amendment that enhances soil quality. This research not only highlights a green approach to waste management but also provides a significant boost to soil health, offering a win-win for both the environment and farming practices.

To meet ambitious U.S. Department of Energy targets for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), production of purpose-grown energy crops must ramp up significantly. Although researchers have made substantial progress in understanding the management and conversion of these crops, key knowledge gaps hold the industry back. Now, two new studies from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign help fill in the blanks for Miscanthus and switchgrass management. 

What would happen if farmers around the globe were to switch over to sustainable pest management? An international study headed by the University of Bonn and ETH Zurich focused on precisely this question. The study is based on assessments provided by more than 500 leading experts from around the world who work in various disciplines from ecology through to economics. Most of those surveyed believe that the consequences of such a transformation would be positive in the long term – even from an economic perspective. However, the main effects of this transformation will vary around the world depending on the region. The results were recently published in the journal Nature Communications.