It’s easy to pin scientific credit on a person. He or she usually has a name on the key publication, but how do you credit a place? Science is a human activity, so is it just the humans that matter or are there things were place contributes as much as people? While I was kicking [...]

General Perspective During the 20th Century national, regional and international gene banks established major collections for most crops to ensure the conservation of plant genetic resources. However, the use of this crop genetic endowment remains limited due to the lack of systematic research to provide a comprehensive framework for the efficient identification and introgression of [...]

CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora – apparently, also known as the Washington Convention) is a treaty whose aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten the survival of the species in the wild. Enacted in 1975, it offers [...]

The production system of cut-rose (Rosa × hybrida) involves a complex combination of plant material, management practice and environment. Using XL programming, Buck-Sorlin et al. present a 3-D structural–functional model for the system that allows the creation of a wide range of initial structures thanks to simple interactive rules for pruning, cutting and bending. The model [...]

TIME has recently published 100 greatest places in the world. The book is a collection of sites that, the editors argue, have had the biggest impact on world history. It’s excellent blog material because hardly anyone has read it (including me), any list will be personal and omit something someone feels is important and, following [...]

The productivity and stability of grazed grassland rely on dynamic interactions between the sward and the animal. Combes et al. record 3-D canopy structures of swards of white clover (Trifolium repens) using an electromagnetic digitizer and adapted software, and synthesize virtual canopies in order to calculate bite mass of grazing animals and to determine effects on [...]

Functional–structural tree models can be used not only for biomass and crown architecture modelling, but also for wood properties. Using L-system language, Fernández et al.  develop a model based on plant allometry and environmental signals so that a harmonic growth can be achieved, and by using monthly steps detailed three-dimensional information for crown and wood characteristics [...]