Rainwater harvesting: environmentally beneficial for the UK?

Rainwater harvesting (RWH) feels right from a long-term sustainability perspective. Short-cutting the hydrological cycle seems to make logical sense from an environmental stance, and the technique is being driven into new buildings in the United Kingdom (UK) through building rating systems which are in turn pushed by government policy. However, little work has been done to assess its environmental credentials from a whole life perspective. Controversially, those studies that have been done have found that RWH systems tend to have greater environmental impacts than mains supply infrastructure. This work seeks to investigate the latest studies, and provide a way forward in the debate

Climate change impacts on banana yields around the world

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Nature Research via the DOI in this r4ecordData availability: All data used are publicly available and open access. All banana production data sources are listed in Supplementary Table 1. All climatic and topographic data sources are listed in the Methods.Nutritional diversity is a key element of food security1,2,3. However, research on the effects of climate change on food security has, thus far, focused on the main food grains4,5,6,7,8, while the responses of other crops, particularly those that play an important role in the developing world, are poorly understood. Bananas are a staple food and a major export commodity for many tropical nations9. Here, we show that for 27 countries—accounting for 86% of global dessert banana production—a changing climate since 1961 has increased annual yields by an average of 1.37 t ha−1. Past gains have been largely ubiquitous across the countries assessed and African producers will continue to see yield increases in the future. However, global yield gains could be dampened or disappear, reducing to 0.59 t ha−1 and 0.19 t ha−1 by 2050 under the climate scenarios for Representative Concentration Pathways 4.5 and 8.5, respectively, driven by declining yields in the largest producers and exporters. By quantifying climate-driven and technology-driven influences on yield, we also identify countries at risk from climate change and those capable of mitigating its effects or capitalizing on its benefits.Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)European Union Horizon 202

Flower palate ultrastructure of the carnivorous plant Genlisea hispidula Stapf with remarks on the structure and function of the palate in the subgenus Genlisea (Lentibulariaceae)

In the genus Genlisea as well as in its sister genus Utricularia, the palate probably plays a key role in providing the colour, mechanical and olfactory stimuli to attract insect pollinators and to guide them to the generative structures and the nectary spur. However, information about the micro-morphology of the palate of Genlisea is scarce. This study aims to examine the structure of the palate in Genlisea hispidula in detail as well as the palate from other five species from the subgenus Genlisea. In particular, its aim is to ascertain whether these palates function as an area for the osmophores in the flower or whether they produce nectar. We showed that the palate in all of the species that were examined was the glandular type and that it had capitate, glandular trichomes, which had a similar general architecture across the species that were examined. No nectar secretion was observed on the palates. The ultrastructure of the palate trichomes showed that the palate glandular trichomes most probably function as scent glands that produce an olfactory stimulus for flower pollinators

Biogeographical patterns and speciation of the genus Pinguicula (Lentibulariaceae) inferred by phylogenetic analyses

Earlier phylogenetic studies in the genus Pinguicua (Lentibulariaceae) suggested that the species within a geographical region was rather monophyletic, although the sampling was limited or was restricted to specific regions. Those results conflicted with the floral morphology-based classification, which has been widely accepted to date. In the current study, one nuclear ribosomal DNA (internal transcribed spacer; ITS) and two regions of chloroplast DNA (matK and rpl32-trnL), from up to ca. 80% of the taxa in the genus Pinguicula, covering all three subgenera, were sequenced to demonstrate the inconsistency and explore a possible evolutionary history of the genus. Some incongruence was observed between nuclear and chloroplast topologies and the results from each of the three DNA analyses conflicted with the morphology-based subgeneric divisions. Both the ITS tree and network, however, corresponded with the biogeographical patterns of the genus supported by life-forms (winter rosette or hibernaculum formation) and basic chromosome numbers (haploidy). The dormant strategy evolved in a specific geographical region is a phylogenetic constraint and a synapomorphic characteristic within a lineage. Therefore, the results denied the idea that the Mexican group, morphologically divided into the three subgenera, independently acquired winter rosette formations. Topological incongruence among the trees or reticulations, indicated by parallel edges in phylogenetic networks, implied that some taxa originated by introgressive hybridisation. Although there are exceptions, species within the same geographical region arose from a common ancestor. Therefore, the classification by the floral characteristics is rather unreliable. The results obtained from this study suggest that evolution within the genus Pinguicula has involved; 1) ancient expansions to geographical regions with gene flow and subsequent vicariance with genetic drift, 2) acquirement of a common dormant strategy within a specific lineage to adapt a local climate (i.e., synapomorphic characteristic), 3) recent speciation in a short time span linked to introgressive hybridisation or multiplying the ploidy level (i.e., divergence), and 4) parallel evolution in floral traits among lineages found in different geographical regions (i.e., convergence). As such, the floral morphology masks and obscures the phylogenetic relationships among species in the genus