ecosystem

interesting

What is an ecosystem? An ecosystem is made up of animals, plants and bacteria as well as the physical and chemical environment they live in. The...

In this activity, students explore ethical issues related to farming and environmental pollution. They learn about the science involved and the range of perspectives among stakeholders....

In this activity, students demonstrate how substances are dissolved and transported by water through the soil. By the end of this activity, students should be able...

In this activity, students learn about soil quality and soil properties by conducting a visual soil assessment (VSA). The activity involves digging up a 20 cm...

In this activity, students observe the colour inside the root nodules of clover (or other legume) to see if they are fixing nitrogen. By the end...

Position: Senior scientist, Land and Environment group, AgResearch, Invermay, Mosgiel. Field: Soil scientist. Dr Ross Monaghan is a senior scientist for the Land and Environment Group...

Positions: Professor – Lincoln University, Principal Scientist – AgResearch, Chief Scientist – National Science Challenge: Our Land and Water. Field: Soil and water quality. Professor Richard...

Position: Stakeholder Relationship Manager for Māori Agribusiness, (formerly Scientist), AgResearch. Field: Environmental science (soil) Dr Selai Letica’s interest is in soil nitrogen cycling in agriculture. She...

Hub's writer, Nelville Gardner, talks about our pollination resources. One of the scientists featured in the articles on pollination, Dave Kelly of the University of Canterbury,...

Just as we have essential needs for our growth, plants also have essential needs for their survival. These include: sunlight air water nutrients appropriate temperature. As...

Farming is a way of life in New Zealand. Farms cover about half of the country’s land and are important to our economy. Agriculture has shaped...

Phosphorus is a chemical element found on Earth in numerous compound forms, such as the phosphate ion (PO43-), located in water, soil and sediments. The quantities...

Nitrogen is the most abundant element in our planet’s atmosphere. Approximately 78% of the atmosphere is made up of nitrogen gas (N2). Nitrogen is a crucially...

Biogeochemistry is a big word. Biogeochemistry also covers an enormous field of study. It is a systems science – a way of looking at how the...

New Zealand has a wide variety of landscapes. A day’s sightseeing journey might include volcanic plateaus, rolling hills, river basins and coastal lands. It is easy...

Antarctica is not just a land of ice and snow – it is the coldest, driest climate on earth. When we say the word ‘desert’, we...

The Antarctic ecosystem is unique in that the food chains are very short and often based on the availability of krill, which is vital for all...

Antarctica is the coldest, driest, windiest and highest continent on Earth. What makes the frozen continent so valuable to scientists and vulnerable to human contact? Every...

In this activity, students read about pollination using a three-level reading guide and use their ability to locate information to interpret the scientific information. Students apply...

Dr Ross Monaghan, Dr Selai Letica, Professor Richard McDowell and other scientists from AgResearch at Invermay are researching how to reduce excessive levels of nutrients in...

Dr Richard McDowell from AgResearch at Invermay is concerned about phosphorus being lost from the soil and causing water pollution via eutrophication. Phosphorus – necessary in...

An online search of the word ‘scientist’ produces about 127 million results. Interestingly, the same search for images yields variations of a single representation – you...

Dr Selai Letica from AgResearch at Invermay is concerned about the nitrous oxide emissions that contribute to greenhouse gases. Nitrous oxide Greenhouse gases warm the atmosphere...