Nature reports

With eDNA metabarcoding, researchers read DNA traces from soil, water, or even air as if they were barcodes. This allows them to discover which plants are or were present, even when they are invisible to the naked eye. It is a..

Dune restoration is becoming increasingly important due to rising sea levels and stronger storms. Paul Berghuis and colleagues from NIOZ and Utrecht University showed in the dunes of Texel that dune grass patches “cooperate” to..

Researchers from Hortus botanicus Leiden and Radboud University have developed a novel, non-invasive method to measure the body’s response to pollen by analyzing exhaled breath. During walks along flowering grasses, concentrations..

Followers of posts on social media, as well as citizen scientists, are most motivated by their joint passion for nature. Both groups contribute to research and conservation of urban flora, but with very different activities. This..

Physician and botanist Philipp Franz von Siebold brought unique Asian plant species to Leiden in the 19th century. His legacy shows which plants once played an important role in healthcare. Many of these medicinal plants can be..

According to the IUCN Red List, over 47,000 plant and animal species are threatened with extinction. Most species, however, are at little to no risk. What makes one species much more vulnerable than another?..

In the Netherlands, the dog rose (Rosa canina) is a familiar face in hedgerows, woodland edges, and along dikes. But this wild rose’s roots run far deeper than European soil alone. With its soft blossoms and bright red rosehips,..

For a long time, the soil was the domain of chemistry and physics. This only changed forty years ago. Today, the soil has become a large and indispensable field of research. The Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) has..

The results of recent research reveal both the vulnerability and the surprising resilience of tropical seagrass, despite the growing threats posed by climate change. Led by Fee Smulders from Wageningen University & Research,..

The wood of every tree is different. Promovenda Vicky Beckers from Naturalis and Leiden University worked on ways to better distinguish between different wood species. This is important for our understanding of plant evolution,..