Forests and trees play a major role on water cycles and cooler temperatures, contributing to food security and climate change adaptation. In recent decades, the climate change discourse has looked at forests and trees mostly as carbon stocks and carbon sinks, but now scientists are calling for more attention on the relation between trees and water in climate change.

The global conversation on trees, forests and climate needs to be turned on its head, say scientists, because the direct effects of trees on climate through rainfall and cooling may be more important than their well-studied capacity of storing carbon.

Scientists suggest that the global conversation on trees, forests and climate needs to be turned on its head: the direct effects of trees on climate through rainfall and cooling may be more important than their well-studied capacity of storing carbon. A new publication and a symposium try to shed new light on the debate.

The research paper Trees, forests and water: Cool insights for a hot world compiles older knowledge and new research findings pointing at the important effects of trees on helping to retain water on the ground and to produce cooling moisture, which in turn have a positive impact on food security and climate change adaptation. Read more

Trees and other plants, from towering redwoods to diminutive daisies, are nature’s hydraulic pumps. They are constantly pulling water up from their roots to the topmost leaves, and pumping sugars produced by their leaves back down to the roots. This constant stream of nutrients is shuttled through a system of tissues called xylem and phloem, which are packed together in woody, parallel conduits.

Engineers have designed a microfluidic device they call a “tree-on-a-chip,” which mimics the pumping mechanism of trees and plants.

Now engineers at MIT and their collaborators have designed a microfluidic device they call a “tree-on-a-chip,” which mimics the pumping mechanism of trees and plants. Like its natural counterparts, the chip operates passively, requiring no moving parts or external pumps. It is able to pump water and sugars through the chip at a steady flow rate for several days. The results are published this week in Nature Plants. Read more

San Francisco-based startup Nebia recently produced a prototype shower that it says offers a better, more immersive showering experience. The Nebia Shower is also claimed to reduce water use by up to 70 percent, compared to a typical household shower.

According to Nebia, the average person in the US uses around 20 gallons (75 l) of water during a shower, but with its shower, this would be reduced to just six gallons (22 l). Indeed, the firm reckons the money saved on water would ensure the shower pays for itself within two years in an average US home. Read more

The company hoping to do away with the idea of sending something off to a lab for analysis has introduced the second of four planned sensor chips for its hand-held chemical analyzer. The AquaDx chip will work with the MyDx portable analyzer to test for the presence of toxic chemicals or elements in water.

The water-testing chip follows the CannaDx chip meant to determine the potency and detailed chemical analysis of cannabis, which was the first chip released for MyDx. The company says chips to test air and organic produce are currently in beta and will also be released in the coming months. Read more

“We’re using tomorrow’s water to meet today’s food demand,” warned Sandra Postel, National Geographic Freshwater Fellow, helping to provoke a meaningful discussion on water as it relates to food at the Aspen Environmental Forum. Agriculture was a central theme as it consumes a disproportionate share of global water resources.

Jon Foley from the University of Minnesota painted a picture of our inefficiency. “One liter of water is needed to irrigate one calorie food, but that changes by factor of 100 for the most inefficient practices.” It is clear that water efficiency improvements for agriculture must play a large role. Read more