A research team pioneers an automated, high-throughput pipeline using open-source tools to quantify over 50 root traits in diverse maize genotypes, enabling researchers to investigate how genetics, hormones, and developmental stages influence root growth.

Lightning has a greater impact on forests than previously thought. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have developed new model calculations that, for the first time, estimate the global influence of lightning on forest ecosystems. According to their findings, an estimated 320 million trees die each year due to lightning strikes. Tree losses caused by direct lightning-ignited wildfires are not included in these figures. In the future, lightning-induced tree mortality could rise due to an increase in flash frequency.