Tree

We all know that trees help clean the air in cities, but which trees do so best? According to new research conducted in Sweden, a mixture of deciduous and coniferous trees will give you the most bang for your buck.

If you want to know which animals are present in a given location, a good way of finding out is to look for their cast-off DNA. A new drone is designed to help scientists do so, by autonomously sticking itself to tree branches.

Breeding plants can give them new beneficial traits, but trees have a frustratingly long reproductive cycle. Now, scientists at the University of Georgia have used CRISPR gene-editing to make poplar trees flower within months rather than a decade.

Trees can provide scientists with a way to look back into the past. Now, researchers have used tree-ring data to determine that a massive drought could have spurred incursions by Hunnic hordes into the eastern Roman Empire in the 430-450s CE.

The way animals disperse seeds throughout landscapes is known to be an important element in promoting growth of forested areas, and a new study over an extended timeframe has shed valuable new light on this process.

Tree rings can preserve a snapshot of the Earth throughout the tree's life. Now Australian scientists analyzing these records have found evidence of huge radiation storms that periodically bathe the planet – and their origin remains a mystery.

Fascinating new research from atmospheric scientists at Penn State University has found during thunderstorms, electrical discharges on tree leaves can generate significant volumes of chemicals that may affect the air quality in surrounding forests.

It has long been known that plants can help mitigate air pollution in urban environments. New research reinforces such findings, showing that "tredges" planted around schoolyards can help protect children from traffic-derived airborne particles.

High-profile British firm Heatherwick Studio has created a large tree-covered sculpture for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebration. The art installation hosts a total of 350 trees, which are arranged into the shape of a single large tree.

Looking at big, mature trees, you may not think that their trunks sway much in the wind. They do to a certain extent, however … enough so that electronic measurement of the swaying motion can be used to monitor their growth cycles.

Wood is becoming an increasingly popular building material, but the timber is harvested mainly just from the long, straight trunks of trees. Aiming to reduce waste, an MIT team has developed a method of also using a tree's load-bearing junctions.

Stefano Boeri Architetti's Easyhome Huanggang Vertical Forest City Complex in central China includes two residential towers covered in thousands of trees and plants. The firm claims that the greenery absorbs significant amounts of CO2 from the air.