Silicon in the soil–plant continuum: Intricate feedback mechanisms within ecosystems

O Katz, D Puppe, D Kaczorek, NB Prakash, J Schaller - Plants, 2021 - mdpi.com
Plants' ability to take up silicon from the soil, accumulate it within their tissues and then
reincorporate it into the soil through litter creates an intricate network of feedback …

Inorganics in sugarcane bagasse and straw and their impacts for bioenergy and biorefining: A review

DR Negrão, A Grandis, MS Buckeridge… - … and Sustainable Energy …, 2021 - Elsevier
Sugarcane is the base of a successful agroindustrial system in several tropical and
subtropical regions of the world. This industry is evolving towards diversification of its …

On the verge of domestication: Early use of C4 plants in the Horn of Africa

A Ruiz-Giralt, L Nixon-Darcus… - Proceedings of the …, 2023 - National Acad Sciences
The earliest evidence of agriculture in the Horn of Africa dates to the Pre-Aksumite period
(ca. 1600 BCE). Domesticated C3 cereals are considered to have been introduced from the …

Earliest curry in Southeast Asia and the global spice trade 2000 years ago

W Wang, KTK Nguyen, C Zhao, H Hung - Science Advances, 2023 - science.org
The global spice trade has played an essential role in world history. However, because of
poor preservation conditions, archaeobotanical remains of spices have been limited in …

Oldest evidence of abundant C4 grasses and habitat heterogeneity in eastern Africa

DJ Peppe, SM Cote, AL Deino, DL Fox, JD Kingston… - Science, 2023 - science.org
The assembly of Africa's iconic C4 grassland ecosystems is central to evolutionary
interpretations of many mammal lineages, including hominins. C4 grasses are thought to …

Outstanding questions on the beneficial role of silicon in crop plants

SM Shivaraj, R Mandlik, JA Bhat, G Raturi… - Plant and Cell …, 2022 - academic.oup.com
Silicon (Si) is widely accepted as a beneficial element for plants. Despite the substantial
progress made in understanding Si transport mechanisms and modes of action in plants …

Environmental influences on human innovation and behavioural diversity in southern Africa 92–80 thousand years ago

A Mackay, SJ Armitage, EM Niespolo… - Nature Ecology & …, 2022 - nature.com
Abstract Africa's Middle Stone Age preserves sporadic evidence for novel behaviours
among early modern humans, prompting a range of questions about the influence of social …

The evolution of hominoid locomotor versatility: Evidence from Moroto, a 21 Ma site in Uganda

LM MacLatchy, SM Cote, AL Deino, RM Kityo… - Science, 2023 - science.org
Living hominoids are distinguished by upright torsos and versatile locomotion. It is
hypothesized that these features evolved for feeding on fruit from terminal branches in …

Earliest evidence of primate captivity and translocation supports gift diplomacy between Teotihuacan and the Maya

N Sugiyama, S Sugiyama, C Cagnato… - Proceedings of the …, 2022 - National Acad Sciences
A multimethod archaeometry study (zooarchaeological, isotopic, ancient DNA,
paleobotanical, and radiocarbon dating) of a spider monkey sacrificed in the ceremonial …

Fire and grass-bedding construction 200 thousand years ago at Border Cave, South Africa

L Wadley, I Esteban, P de La Peña, M Wojcieszak… - Science, 2020 - science.org
Early plant use is seldom described in the archaeological record because of poor
preservation. We report the discovery of grass bedding used to create comfortable areas for …