Faster plant growth means the tropics will take in more carbon dioxide than previously thought, though long-term climate effects are unclear. Over the next century, nitrogen pollution is expected to steadily rise, with the most dramatic increases in rapidly developing tropical regions such as India, South America, Africa and Southeast Asia.

Nitrogen fertilizer, applied to farmland to improve crop yield, also affects ecosystems downwind by seeping into runoff water and evaporating

ScienceDaily (Dec. 10, 2008) — A team of researchers led by Princeton University scientists has found for the first time that tropical rainforests, a vital part of the Earth's ecosystem, rely on the rare trace element molybdenum to capture the nitrogen fertilizer needed to support their wildly productive growth. Most of the nitrogen that supports the rapid, lush growth of rainforests comes from tiny bacteria that can turn nitrogen in the air into fertiliz

A paper published in PLoS One by Jana Vamosi and Steven Vamosi outlines that the risk of extinction for plants is higher in countries close to the equator than previously thought.

"The tropics contain many ancient species of plants, leading many to consider tropical species as less susceptible to extinction -- but our study indicates that quite the opposite is, in fact, the case," says Steven Vamosi, an assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the

ScienceDaily (Nov. 17, 2008) — A new study led by Duke University researchers finds that restoring degraded wetlands -- especially those that had been converted into farm fields -- actually decreases their soil bacterial diversity.

But that's a good thing, say the study's authors, because it marks a return to the wetland soils' natural conditions.

"It sounds counter-intuitive, but our study shows that in restored wetlands, decreased so

Most often, one restoration method is used throughout a site,