BOTANY
NEWS
Botanical Information
Welcome to this tenth edition of Botany News!
TOPICS:
-
A note from the editor
-
Growing by the hot springs
-
North woods – land of spruce and fir
-
Will food from plants save the small planet?
-
A
special announcement to Icelandic readers
-
The flower box
Subscribers: 100+
Are you not subscribed?
Join us now:
A note from the editor
HAPPY NEW YEAR! Welcome back to Botany News and a
special welcome to new
subscribers.
Winter is here again, bringing Thorri and Goa, the Icelandic mid-winter
months. Plants in the north are resting now, except perhaps for
evergreens such as
Juniper.
Snow covers the ground and spring seems quite far away. However, it
is perhaps a good idea to remind us of the green season and more
southern places. This is the time to plan your vegetable or herb
gardening activities in summer, plan a visit to the local botanical
garden, prepare this summer´s tree planting at your summer cottage,
start a botanical club in your neighbourhood or book one of our
Botanical Daytours in Iceland.
Botany News aims at providing articles of general
botanical interest to readers from around the globe. You are
welcome to send us a line, e. g., a letter or brief article, related
to the general theme of this newsletter. If
you like this ezine/newsletter perhaps, you could send your friends
the link to
subscribe to the FREE online ezine, Botany News!
All
suggestions for improving this ezine and the Eco-Logy.com website
are welcome. Enjoy
reading
Botany News a growing ezine!
Growing by the hot springs
The geothermal areas in Iceland have unique
vegetation including plants that are restricted to warm soils. Many
geothermal sites also boast magnificient geological features.
Hence, it necessary to carefully manage geothermal areas,
preserving their special character. Recent development puts
substancial pressure on these environments as industry and expanding
construction press for more energy and heating.
Geothermal areas are of two major kinds so called
high-heat and low-heat areas, this difference further shapes the
geology and vegetation and dictates how geothermal areas may be
utilized. Always be careful when exploring geothermal areas, tread
carefully on the hot spring soil crust and enjoy watching the often
delicate plants growing on warm soils. Here you might discover the
pale blue flowers and shining, green leaves of Water Speedwell (Veronica
anagalis-aquatica), the Small Adder´s Tongue (Ophioglossum
azoricum) with thick, lanceolate leaves and green spikes,
and the fragrant pink-flowered
Hairy Thyme (Thymus praecox), that thrives on warm
and dry soil.
Warm ground is common in the high-heat geothermal
areas where the soil structure is favorable, e. g. gravel or porous
rock. While hot springs may be inconspicuous in the summer,
sometimes they are greener than the surrounding vegetation. In
winter, however, these hot springs melt the snow around them, and
are sometimes steaming hot. Living creature may exist even in
almost boiling water, these strange living creatures are ancient
forms of bacteria. Warm streams often flow from hot spring areas
and make the downstream areas greener. Greenhouse farming and fish
farming ponds in Iceland often benefit directly from the hot spring
areas. A visit to explore the flora of one geothermal spot is
included in the
Botanical Daytours in Iceland.
North woods – land of spruce and fir
The dark green carpet across Canada, Alaska, Siberia,
Russia and Scandinavia is the world’s vast boreal forest. In Canada
the Balsam Fir (Abies balsameae) dominates the spruce-fir
landscape in southeastern Canada and northeastern United States.
Balsam Fir has a unique arrowhead symmetry, while it seldom reaches
more than 20 m in height. The brittle, soft wood from this
coniferous tree is mostly used for pulping.
The sturdy
conifers
are well defended against winds and cold weather and make modest
demands upon the nutrient poor boreal soils. The conifers can
withstand winds, frost and snow and capture in on the short growing
season of the northern hemisphere. While Balsam Fir dominates the
North American boreal landscape, other conifers that are able to
withstand the adverse northern conditions include Norway Spruce (Picea
abies), Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), Siberian Fir (Abies
sibirica), and White Spruce (Picea glauca). Siberian Fir
is the most widespread of all firs, ranging across Russia, Siberia,
and China. It grows taller than its North American relative, the
Balsam Fir, reaching height of around 30 m.
Will food from plants save the small planet?
Cultivation of plants is needed as the main basis for
producing more food for a growing human population. Careful planting
and crop protection must be followed by the careful transport of the
product to the market. Research is often need to cultivate improved
varieties to provide more nutritious seeds, leaves and tubers.
Beans are good examples of food consumed by man. These legumes
provide a significant amount of much needed protein for humanity,
while most other plants provide less protein.
Cereals
also differ in their protein content, some providing more protein
than others.
Where ever plants are grown to supply food on a large
scale, the plants must be suited to the stresses of the particular
environment as well as seasonal changes. The improvement of plant
product quality, such as protein content and of yield must go hand
in hand for optimal production. Nowadays, many breeders are trying
to increase the ability of plants to fix more nitrogen. This may be
achieved though various strategies of plant breeding and could
reduce the requirement for farmers to use artificial fertilizers for
their fields.
The goal of plant breeding is to select plants with
desired characteristic and make seeds and other plant material
available to farmers, growers and planters to use on a large scale.
The genetics behind plant breeding are, however, often complicated
and even with the help of modern genetic engineering require
extensive testing for a better crop plant material to be supplied
to farmers.
While the most arable land around the world continues
to supply most of the food needed for humanity, people in many
countries still need to rely heavily on food crops produced in their
own countries. Cultivating food crops in the expanding semi-arid
and arid regions of the world remains one of the greatest challenges
facing humanity.
A special announcement to Icelandic readers:
- Tilkynning!
Sendið okkur bréf og greinar
um gróður til birtingar í næsta hefti Gróðurfrétta (Botany News),
þið getið líka skoðað
fyrri hefti
á netinu. Þá er mögulegt að hafa tengla á ykkar vefsíður í
blómakassa (flower box) fréttabréfisins eða á
tenglasíðunni.
Miðlið af ykkar eigin fróðleik til lesenda Gróðurfrétta um efni eins
og jurtir og tré, ræktun plantna og plöntuskoðun. Þá má senda okkur
tilkynningar og greinar um fjölbreytt efni tengt náttúru landsins,
ferðalögum og garðyrkju. Sendið okkur endilega myndefni til
birtingar frá síðastliðnu sumri af garðinum ykkar eða blómunum sem
þið skoðuð síðastliðið sumar.
Fyrir þau ykkar sem hafið áhuga á náttúrlegum
jurtavörum til gjafa má skoða á
sölusíðu Þundar,
te og jurtavörur frá Þund henta vel í gjafapakkann! Ekki er úr vegi
að hjúfra sig á góðum stað, kannski við arin eða frammi í eldhúsi
með bolla af heilsutei frá Þund! Vinsæla
Bláa teið
og Yerba mate heilsuteið fást núna og hægt er að
panta þessi te og aðra vöru frá Þund og fá sendinguna í
póstkröfu.
The flower box
Botany News welcomes letters and links from persons
working on all aspects of botany, ecology and biology. We welcome
input from persons working for botany, biodiversity and plant
conservation around the world. Please, feel free to suggest new
links to interesting botanical sites for the next Flower Box
section.
The wintertime is an increasingly popular time to
visit Iceland and explore the winter sky, the northern lights (Aurora
Borealis), ski slopes and hills, and the thriving cultural life.
Many, however, prefer to visit Iceland sometime between late April
and late October. The summer is the best time to participate in
nature tours such as the
Botanical Tours in Iceland offered by Thund.
Readers located in Iceland are reminded to check out
Thund's sales page
for fresh herbal and black teas and other products.
Why not send us a line or a more formal
article. Short items on botany, horticulture and the many uses of
plants are popular topics. Or send us a review on recent
developments in your area of interest and upcoming botanical
events. The articles/announcements need be no longer than 100-300
words. If needed or requested editing can be made of the language.
We accept articles in Icelandic, English and Spanish, and will
supply the editing required. However, articles that do not fit the
profile or purpose of Botany News are not published. When included
your article is still yours and you keep the full copyright.
Submit your Botany News article or announcement!
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Best wishes,
Soffia Arnthorsdottir
BOTANY NEWS
is published by Thund, Reykjavik, Iceland.
Contact us
February 3, 2008 -- Botany News, Issue #010 |