Environment

urban community garden with signs
By Susan V. Fisk

Today’s cities don’t have walls for protection like ancient ones, but they are separate from less urban and rural land. Most goods that city-dwellers purchase are brought in from rural farms and manufacturers. There is an active community of urban gardeners and landscape architects who are trying to bring more of the “country” back into the city. And for good reason.

plant roots protruding through rocky soil and ruler
By Eric Hamilton

Hidden under our feet lies an entire unseen world. The soil teems with life. Microbes, small animals and fungi all call the darkness home. And so do plants. At least the half of them that we know as roots.

tractor in field with rows of soil
By Susan V. Fisk

You may have heard the term “carbon sequestration.” In its basic terms, it refers to keeping and returning carbon to the soil. Since carbon is an element, how and why should this be done?

subsurface tile drain emptying water into a field ditch
By Eric Hamilton

As most kids know, a big pile of mud can be a load of fun.Researcher stands next to a truck-mounted soil probe machine

But not for farmers. Muddy fields mean too much water. And too much water means crops might not grow well.

Researcher holds up apple tree roots to examine
By Rachel Schutte

As the saying goes, an apple a day keeps the doctor away. But what’s the key to growing a quality apple?

Apple trees growing in pot containers under a shade tarp.

An excavator installs culverts in a field area with people standing by
By Adityarup "Rup" Chakravorty

Bioreactors are underground trenches filled with woodchips. They have been gaining traction as a tool to remove nitrogen from the water in agricultural settings. Excavator places concrete barriers in place to line the bioreactor trench in an agricultural field

row of blossoming almond trees
By Eric Hamilton

For years it’s been relatively easy to measure pollution from, say, a factory. At a factory, there might be just one pipe of waste to measure. Easy enough.