research proposal about plants

Methodology

Methodologies should present a new experimental or computational method, test or procedure. The main criteria for a Methodology paper is that it should (1) describe a significant advance on what has been previously available, (2) be of potential interest to a broad spectrum of plant research scientists and (3) that the methodology should be properly validated.

Plant Methods strongly encourages that all datasets on which the conclusions of the paper rely should be available to readers. We encourage authors to ensure that their datasets are either deposited in publicly available repositories (where available and appropriate) or presented in the main manuscript or additional supporting files whenever possible. Please see Springer Nature’s information on recommended repositories . Where a widely established research community expectation for data archiving in public repositories exists, submission to a community-endorsed, public repository is mandatory. A list of data where deposition is required, with the appropriate repositories, can be found on the Editorial Policies Page.

Suggesting Reviewers

You can include a list of up to four potential reviewers in your cover letter. Please do not suggest recent collaborators or colleagues within the same institution as yourselves. Please provide institutional email addresses where possible, or information which will help the Editor to verify the identity of the reviewer (for example an ORCID or Scopus ID). For more information on what to include, please see our supporting information guidelines.

Preparing your manuscript

The information below details the section headings that you should include in your manuscript and what information should be within each section.

Please note that your manuscript must include a 'Declarations' section including all of the subheadings (please see below for more information). 

The title page should:

• present a title that includes, if appropriate, the study design
• if a collaboration group should be listed as an author, please list the Group name as an author. If you would like the names of the individual members of the Group to be searchable through their individual PubMed records, please include this information in the “Acknowledgements” section in accordance with the instructions below
• Large Language Models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT , do not currently satisfy our authorship criteria . Notably an attribution of authorship carries with it accountability for the work, which cannot be effectively applied to LLMs. Use of an LLM should be properly documented in the Methods section (and if a Methods section is not available, in a suitable alternative part) of the manuscript
• indicate the corresponding author

The Abstract should not exceed 350 words. Please minimize the use of abbreviations and do not cite references in the abstract. The abstract must include the following separate sections:

• Background: the context and purpose of the study
• Results: the main findings
• Conclusions: a brief summary and potential implications

Three to ten keywords representing the main content of the article.

The Background section should explain the background to the study, its aims, a summary of the existing literature and why this study was necessary.

Methods 

The methods section should include:

• the aim, design and setting of the study
• the characteristics of participants or description of materials
• a clear description of all processes, interventions and comparisons. Generic names should generally be used. When proprietary brands are used in research, include the brand names in parentheses
• the type of statistical analysis used, including a power calculation if appropriate

This should include the findings of the study including, if appropriate, results of statistical analysis which must be included either in the text or as tables and figures.

For research articles this section should discuss the implications of the findings in context of existing research and highlight limitations of the study. For study protocols and methodology manuscripts this section should include a discussion of any practical or operational issues involved in performing the study and any issues not covered in other sections.

Conclusions

This should state clearly the main conclusions and provide an explanation of the importance and relevance of the study to the field.

List of abbreviations

If abbreviations are used in the text they should be defined in the text at first use, and a list of abbreviations can be provided.

Declarations

All manuscripts must contain the following sections under the heading 'Declarations':

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Consent for publication, availability of data and materials, competing interests, authors' contributions, acknowledgements.

• Authors' information (optional)

Please see below for details on the information to be included in these sections.

If any of the sections are not relevant to your manuscript, please include the heading and write 'Not applicable' for that section. 

Manuscripts reporting studies involving human participants, human data or human tissue must:

• include a statement on ethics approval and consent (even where the need for approval was waived)
• include the name of the ethics committee that approved the study and the committee’s reference number if appropriate

Studies involving animals must include a statement on ethics approval and for experimental studies involving client-owned animals, authors must also include a statement on informed consent from the client or owner.

See our editorial policies for more information.

If your manuscript does not report on or involve the use of any animal or human data or tissue, please state “Not applicable” in this section.

If your manuscript contains any individual person’s data in any form (including any individual details, images or videos), consent for publication must be obtained from that person, or in the case of children, their parent or legal guardian. All presentations of case reports must have consent for publication.

You can use your institutional consent form or our consent form if you prefer. You should not send the form to us on submission, but we may request to see a copy at any stage (including after publication).

See our editorial policies for more information on consent for publication.

If your manuscript does not contain data from any individual person, please state “Not applicable” in this section.

All manuscripts must include an ‘Availability of data and materials’ statement. Data availability statements should include information on where data supporting the results reported in the article can be found including, where applicable, hyperlinks to publicly archived datasets analysed or generated during the study. By data we mean the minimal dataset that would be necessary to interpret, replicate and build upon the findings reported in the article. We recognise it is not always possible to share research data publicly, for instance when individual privacy could be compromised, and in such instances data availability should still be stated in the manuscript along with any conditions for access.

Authors are also encouraged to preserve search strings on searchRxiv https://searchrxiv.org/ , an archive to support researchers to report, store and share their searches consistently and to enable them to review and re-use existing searches. searchRxiv enables researchers to obtain a digital object identifier (DOI) for their search, allowing it to be cited. 

Data availability statements can take one of the following forms (or a combination of more than one if required for multiple datasets):

• The datasets generated and/or analysed during the current study are available in the [NAME] repository, [PERSISTENT WEB LINK TO DATASETS]
• The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
• All data generated or analysed during this study are included in this published article [and its supplementary information files].
• The datasets generated and/or analysed during the current study are not publicly available due [REASON WHY DATA ARE NOT PUBLIC] but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
• Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.
• The data that support the findings of this study are available from [third party name] but restrictions apply to the availability of these data, which were used under license for the current study, and so are not publicly available. Data are however available from the authors upon reasonable request and with permission of [third party name].
• Not applicable. If your manuscript does not contain any data, please state 'Not applicable' in this section.

More examples of template data availability statements, which include examples of openly available and restricted access datasets, are available here .

BioMed Central strongly encourages the citation of any publicly available data on which the conclusions of the paper rely in the manuscript. Data citations should include a persistent identifier (such as a DOI) and should ideally be included in the reference list. Citations of datasets, when they appear in the reference list, should include the minimum information recommended by DataCite and follow journal style. Dataset identifiers including DOIs should be expressed as full URLs. For example:

Hao Z, AghaKouchak A, Nakhjiri N, Farahmand A. Global integrated drought monitoring and prediction system (GIDMaPS) data sets. figshare. 2014. http://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.853801

With the corresponding text in the Availability of data and materials statement:

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available in the [NAME] repository, [PERSISTENT WEB LINK TO DATASETS]. [Reference number]  

If you wish to co-submit a data note describing your data to be published in BMC Research Notes , you can do so by visiting our submission portal . Data notes support open data and help authors to comply with funder policies on data sharing. Co-published data notes will be linked to the research article the data support ( example ).

All financial and non-financial competing interests must be declared in this section.

See our editorial policies for a full explanation of competing interests. If you are unsure whether you or any of your co-authors have a competing interest please contact the editorial office.

Please use the authors initials to refer to each authors' competing interests in this section.

If you do not have any competing interests, please state "The authors declare that they have no competing interests" in this section.

All sources of funding for the research reported should be declared. If the funder has a specific role in the conceptualization, design, data collection, analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript, this should be declared.

The individual contributions of authors to the manuscript should be specified in this section. Guidance and criteria for authorship can be found in our editorial policies .

Please use initials to refer to each author's contribution in this section, for example: "FC analyzed and interpreted the patient data regarding the hematological disease and the transplant. RH performed the histological examination of the kidney, and was a major contributor in writing the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript."

Please acknowledge anyone who contributed towards the article who does not meet the criteria for authorship including anyone who provided professional writing services or materials.

Authors should obtain permission to acknowledge from all those mentioned in the Acknowledgements section.

See our editorial policies for a full explanation of acknowledgements and authorship criteria.

If you do not have anyone to acknowledge, please write "Not applicable" in this section.

Group authorship (for manuscripts involving a collaboration group): if you would like the names of the individual members of a collaboration Group to be searchable through their individual PubMed records, please ensure that the title of the collaboration Group is included on the title page and in the submission system and also include collaborating author names as the last paragraph of the “Acknowledgements” section. Please add authors in the format First Name, Middle initial(s) (optional), Last Name. You can add institution or country information for each author if you wish, but this should be consistent across all authors.

Please note that individual names may not be present in the PubMed record at the time a published article is initially included in PubMed as it takes PubMed additional time to code this information.

Authors' information

This section is optional.

You may choose to use this section to include any relevant information about the author(s) that may aid the reader's interpretation of the article, and understand the standpoint of the author(s). This may include details about the authors' qualifications, current positions they hold at institutions or societies, or any other relevant background information. Please refer to authors using their initials. Note this section should not be used to describe any competing interests.

Footnotes can be used to give additional information, which may include the citation of a reference included in the reference list. They should not consist solely of a reference citation, and they should never include the bibliographic details of a reference. They should also not contain any figures or tables.

Footnotes to the text are numbered consecutively; those to tables should be indicated by superscript lower-case letters (or asterisks for significance values and other statistical data). Footnotes to the title or the authors of the article are not given reference symbols.

Always use footnotes instead of endnotes.

Examples of the Vancouver reference style are shown below.

See our editorial policies for author guidance on good citation practice

Web links and URLs: All web links and URLs, including links to the authors' own websites, should be given a reference number and included in the reference list rather than within the text of the manuscript. They should be provided in full, including both the title of the site and the URL, as well as the date the site was accessed, in the following format: The Mouse Tumor Biology Database. http://tumor.informatics.jax.org/mtbwi/index.do . Accessed 20 May 2013. If an author or group of authors can clearly be associated with a web link, such as for weblogs, then they should be included in the reference.

Example reference style:

Article within a journal

Smith JJ. The world of science. Am J Sci. 1999;36:234-5.

Article within a journal (no page numbers)

Rohrmann S, Overvad K, Bueno-de-Mesquita HB, Jakobsen MU, Egeberg R, Tjønneland A, et al. Meat consumption and mortality - results from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition. BMC Medicine. 2013;11:63.

Article within a journal by DOI

Slifka MK, Whitton JL. Clinical implications of dysregulated cytokine production. Dig J Mol Med. 2000; doi:10.1007/s801090000086.

Article within a journal supplement

Frumin AM, Nussbaum J, Esposito M. Functional asplenia: demonstration of splenic activity by bone marrow scan. Blood 1979;59 Suppl 1:26-32.

Book chapter, or an article within a book

Wyllie AH, Kerr JFR, Currie AR. Cell death: the significance of apoptosis. In: Bourne GH, Danielli JF, Jeon KW, editors. International review of cytology. London: Academic; 1980. p. 251-306.

OnlineFirst chapter in a series (without a volume designation but with a DOI)

Saito Y, Hyuga H. Rate equation approaches to amplification of enantiomeric excess and chiral symmetry breaking. Top Curr Chem. 2007. doi:10.1007/128_2006_108.

Complete book, authored

Blenkinsopp A, Paxton P. Symptoms in the pharmacy: a guide to the management of common illness. 3rd ed. Oxford: Blackwell Science; 1998.

Online document

Doe J. Title of subordinate document. In: The dictionary of substances and their effects. Royal Society of Chemistry. 1999. http://www.rsc.org/dose/title of subordinate document. Accessed 15 Jan 1999.

Online database

Healthwise Knowledgebase. US Pharmacopeia, Rockville. 1998. http://www.healthwise.org. Accessed 21 Sept 1998.

Supplementary material/private homepage

Doe J. Title of supplementary material. 2000. http://www.privatehomepage.com. Accessed 22 Feb 2000.

University site

Doe, J: Title of preprint. http://www.uni-heidelberg.de/mydata.html (1999). Accessed 25 Dec 1999.

Doe, J: Trivial HTTP, RFC2169. ftp://ftp.isi.edu/in-notes/rfc2169.txt (1999). Accessed 12 Nov 1999.

Organization site

ISSN International Centre: The ISSN register. http://www.issn.org (2006). Accessed 20 Feb 2007.

Dataset with persistent identifier

Zheng L-Y, Guo X-S, He B, Sun L-J, Peng Y, Dong S-S, et al. Genome data from sweet and grain sorghum (Sorghum bicolor). GigaScience Database. 2011. http://dx.doi.org/10.5524/100012 .

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Comments by Contributing Author - Alan B. Griffith

• Challenges to Anticipate and Solve
• Lab Description
• Questions for Further Thought and Other Discussion Questions
• Assessment of Student Learning Outcomes
• Evaluation of this Experiment
• Translating the Activity to Other Scales

Challenges to Anticipate and Solve:

• equipment availability: Students want to collect all kinds of data from this experimental plot. Much of it involves abiotic variables. The challenge is to come up with equipment to allow this data collection and to get students to collect data for which you have equipment. My strategy for this is both short and long term. In the short term, I require students to think about why they wish to collect any given data. This often leads them to realize they do not need that data. If they still feel they need this data and we do not have the equipment, I simply tell them that. If this data is important for the research they are proposing, I suggest they include this data collection as an experiment in their proposal. In the long run, I will purchase useful equipment that is not yet available in my department.        A variety of equipment is easy to make, acquire, or purchase inexpensively. Equipment for quadrat, point, and line transect sampling of vegetation is easy to obtain or build. For example, 1 m 2 quadrats can be built with 4 lengths of PVC pipe and 4-90 o PVC corners. Larger quadrats for sampling larger scales (e.g. trees and shrubs) can be constructed with 4 stakes and string. Soil test kits for estimation of soil nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and pH are readily available from many sources (e.g. Hach, LaMotte, and local garden suppliers) and not expensive. Simple methods to visualize and estimate stomata density are found in Grant and Vatnick 2004 (TIEE Vol 1 - tiee.ecoed.net/v1/experiments/stomata/stomata.html) . Although large scale destructive sampling is not appropriate in our experimental plot, students could selectively sample plants to develop allometric estimates of plant biomass (see Griffith and Forseth 2003)        Students interested in ecophysiology may be out of luck due to the cost of equipment. Light meters and sensors for photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) are available from about $500 to $1000. Be sure to purchase a sensor that measure in units that can be related to photosynthesis (e.g. µmol · m -2 · s -1 ). Portable photosynthesis, gas exchange, and water relations measurement equipment like the LiCor 6400 costs about $10,000. Leaf area meters may cost from $2500 to $5000, but leaf area can be estimated using leaf sketches on graph paper.
• formulating questions: Many students struggle with formulating specific questions for their proposals. Students must propose questions with specific measurable dependent and independent variables. The challenge of the instructor is to provide support in this difficult and many times first time task, but not to tell students what questions to ask. I ask students what their dependent and independent variables are and if they are measurable. I also stress that there should be some relationship among their questions to create an integrated research proposal. It is this relationship among research questions that creates a broader context for the proposed research. In developing their research agenda, students may work from the specific questions to the broader conceptual questions or they may work from the broad concepts to the specific questions. I do not yet know which direction is preferable pedagogically.        To date for my course, the ecological questions addressed by my student groups have generally concerned spatial and temporal patterns in plant population and community ecology. The broad concepts covered include mutualism and potential mechanisms of that mutualism, life history differences among grasses and forbs, seed germination strategies, competition and specific limiting factors leading to competition, environmental correlates of species diversity, and root competition.        Here are 4 sets of questions showing a range of ecological concepts addressed. The broad concepts covered include mutualism and potential mechanisms of that mutualism, life history differences among grasses and forbs, seed germination strategies, competition and specific limiting factors leading to competition, environmental correlates of species diversity, and root competition. Although all of these hypotheses deal with spatial ecology, students should be able to address hypotheses / questions about changes in time, if they have an historical dataset of plant abundance and distribution from the experimental plot.     a) Does Amaranthus sp. have a mutualistic relationship with Digitaria sp.? Does Digitaria sp. grow taller when growing close to Amaranthus sp.? Does Amaranthus sp. decrease wind speeds around its stems? Does Digitaria sp. grow more densely when growing close to Amaranthus sp.?     b) Do grasses germinate earlier in the summer than plants with broad leaves and short stature (i.e. forbs)? Do forbs germinate better under low light conditions than thin leaved, tall plants (grasses)? Do forbs increase stem length more quickly in low light conditions than in high light conditions? For grasses that germinate in open canopies, does high light intensity increase phytochrome activity in the seeds?     c) Does Oxalis sp. (wood sorrel) grow in lower abundance when growing in the presence of other plant species than when growing in the presence of other Oxalis sp. plants? Does Oxalis sp. grow in lower abundance when growing in low light levels? Does Oxalis sp. have lower stomatal apertures to increase CO 2 uptake in low light levels? Does Oxalis sp. grow in lower abundance when growing in low soil nitrogen levels?     d) Does species richness increase with increased incident light levels? Does species richness increase with increased soil moisture levels? Does total biomass of plants increase when fibrous root plants and tap root plants grow together, as compared to when fibrous root plants grow with fibrous root plants or tap root plants grow with tap root plants? Do fibrous root plants uptake soil nitrogen from more shallow soil depths than tap root plants?
• experimental plot: While my experimental plot was off campus, this may or may not be a challenge for some departments. Some schools do not provide transportation resources. In this case, any appropriately sized plot of vegetated land on campus will do for motivation. For example, the faculty of Cedar Crest College, Allentown, PA maintain a research plot on campus which is a small piece of land that has not been mown for many years. The faculty have kept a time series of data from ongoing sampling of the plot. Alternatively, most grassy lawns are not monocultures and so contain considerable diversity. This surprising amount of diversity leads to interesting questions. For example, given the strict and routine management of lawns, how do we explain the distribution and abundance of plant species on these lawns?
• working in groups: At the University of Mary Washington there is an explicit honor code that reads, in short, as follows, “I hereby declare, upon my word of honor, that I have neither given nor received unauthorized help on this work.” Students raise many questions about what work can be done as a group and what must be produced individually. The instructor needs to be clear from the onset about these group vs. individual issues. I will give two examples of the differences between group and individual work. First, data from the experimental garden (e.g. plant abundance, plant distribution, maps of rare plants, soil moistures, and soil textures) has been collected by different groups in the class. This is simply an efficient way of collecting data useful to the whole class. For example, if there are 6 groups in the class, the experimental garden can be split into six smaller sections for each group to sample plant abundance. This data must, in turn, be shared among all six groups. Once the data is shared each individual should have a copy of all data collected by each group for their use. Each individual should create appropriate data presentations and write titles and captions for the presentations. It may be difficult or impossible to verify that each student has created his/her own graphs and tables. I would say though that you can expect significant differences among the titles and captions of graphs and tables when you assess their data presentations. Second, annotated bibliographies are assessed individually, but they emerge from the work of the group. I believe it is sensible and efficient for the members of a group to share their literature search efforts. This shared effort has several purposes. Students will have different levels of experience with literature searches. Thus, the group can work together and learn from each other. At UMW, the whole class works in our “Science Literacy Center,” a dedicated computer room in the science building. Each student can do literature searches at his/her own computer and work side-by-side with peers. The group can also share ideas about the appropriateness of papers as they find them. I have also allowed students to share the task of typing and formatting references. The task of writing reference annotations after reading papers is an individual task.        In addition, group work invariably leads to personality conflicts in one or two groups. To a certain extent, I believe students should be encouraged to work out these conflicts among themselves. These people will likely work in teams during their careers and will run into the same kinds of conflicts in the future.        Another group issue that may arise is whether or not all members of the group contribute equally. This is a difficult matter to track and I have not yet developed consistent measures to evaluate this equity issue. First, keep your eyes and ears open. As you work with and ask questions of research groups, note who answers questions and who does not. Challenge quiet students to respond to your questions as you interact with groups. You may have to explicitly ask more verbal students to remain silent. Ask individuals in a group about any tension you sense among members of the group. Second, carefully compare individual assignments among the individuals of each research group. Assignments like the annotated bibliography are sufficiently complex that there should be little similarity among individuals in a group. Third, ask students about their group’s dynamics and division of labor. Have they shared resources while gathering references for their research? Has each member contributed equitably to the organization and creation of oral presentations? The discussion on Formative Evaluation in the Teaching Section of this website provides some guidance on how to ask students to evaluate their performance and their peers’ performance in the group.
• in-class and out-of-class time commitment: The experiment schedule as presented in the class syllabus (see syllabus_fall2003.doc, 36kb ) does not use laboratory class time as efficiently as is possible. The experiment is currently designed to have a significant amount of in-class time devoted to work such as library research, oral presentation development, and peer reviews of proposals. This decreases the amount of time that one might expect from students out of class. As I refine the details of this experiment, some of this in-class time will be reorganized. When I move some of this in-class work to out-of-class work, I anticipate inserting short term exercises during laboratory class time to supplement lecture concepts, computer modeling exercises, and / or discussions of research articles.

______________________________________________________________

Comments On the Lab Description:

Comments On Questions for Further Thought:

Comments On the Assessment of Student Learning Outcomes:

Comments On the Evaluation of the Lab Activity:

Comments On Translating the Activity to Other Institutional Scales:

23 Ideas for Science Experiments Using Plants

ThoughtCo / Hilary Allison

• Cell Biology
• Weather & Climate
• B.A., Biology, Emory University
• A.S., Nursing, Chattahoochee Technical College

Plants are tremendously crucial to life on earth. They are the foundation of food chains in almost every ecosystem. Plants also play a significant role in the environment by influencing climate and producing life-giving oxygen. Plant project studies allow us to learn about plant biology and potential usage for plants in other fields such as medicine, agriculture, and biotechnology. The following plant project ideas provide suggestions for topics that can be explored through experimentation.

Plant Project Ideas

• Do magnetic fields affect plant growth?
• Do different colors of light affect the direction of plant growth?
• Do sounds (music, noise, etc.) affect plant growth?
• Do different colors of light affect the rate of photosynthesis ?
• What are the effects of acid rain on plant growth?
• Do household detergents affect plant growth?
• Can plants conduct electricity?
• Does cigarette smoke affect plant growth?
• Does soil temperature affect root growth?
• Does caffeine affect plant growth?
• Does water salinity affect plant growth?
• Does artificial gravity affect seed germination?
• Does freezing affect seed germination?
• Does burned soil affect seed germination?
• Does seed size affect plant height?
• Does fruit size affect the number of seeds in the fruit?
• Do vitamins or fertilizers promote plant growth?
• Do fertilizers extend plant life during a drought?
• Does leaf size affect plant transpiration rates?
• Can plant spices inhibit bacterial growth ?
• Do different types of artificial light affect plant growth?
• Does soil pH affect plant growth?
• Do carnivorous plants prefer certain insects?
• 8th Grade Science Fair Project Ideas
• Plant and Soil Chemistry Science Projects
• High School Science Fair Projects
• Middle School Science Fair Project Ideas
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• Environmental Science Fair Projects
• Elementary School Science Fair Projects
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• Magnetism Science Fair Projects
• 11th Grade Science Fair Projects
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• Science Fair Project Ideas
• 4th Grade Science Fair Projects
• Caffeine Science Fair Projects
• Science Fair Experiment Ideas: Food and Cooking Chemistry

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13 new horticulture research projects you need to know about.

Phytophthora species are well-known and recurrent pathogens of ornamental greenhouses and nurseries in the U.S.

The Horticultural Research Institute (HRI), the foundation of AmericanHort , has announced the portfolio of research projects receiving 2022 funding. Projects reflect HRI’s research priority areas of quantifying plant benefits, creating innovative solutions, gathering consumer insights, and producing practical and actionable solutions. HRI is providing a total of $417,039 in financial support this year.

“Now celebrating its 60th year, HRI is more relevant to the success of the horticultural industry than ever before,” says Alan Jones ( Manor View Farm , Monkton, MD), HRI President. “The projects selected for 2022 funding represent a diverse selection of research topics showcasing ‘The Power of Plants.’ To date, HRI has supported $9.5 million in research grants and scholarships and looks forward to expanded funding as the endowment continues to grow.”

The Horticultural Research Institute’s mission is to direct, fund, promote, and communicate horticulture research. Supporting research that challenges current methods and bridges the divide between businesses and the consumer is exactly how HRI helps build prosperous businesses, advance the green industry, and fulfill its core vision.

“HRI supports projects where the outcomes impact the bottom line for industry businesses,” says Jennifer Gray, HRI administrator. “The projects selected for funding encourage innovative solutions, provide practical application, and will garner valuable information companies can use to grow their businesses.”

Here’s a closer look at the projects receiving 2022 funding.

Quantifying Plant Benefits

Measuring the Benefits of Plants: Improved Cardiovascular Health and Well-being from Visual Exposure to Plants (J. Hollander, Tufts University): New research findings and tools in biometrics have advanced this field drastically and offer significant opportunities to better quantify the benefits of plants. These new tools dramatically improve understanding of how the unconscious human mind responds to plants and what that means for cardiovascular health and wellbeing. These technologies give us the means to compare horticultural elements in ways that were not possible before bringing complex data to bear to quantify the benefits of plants.

Creating Innovative Solutions

• Creation of Emerald Ash Borer-Resistant “Lingering Ash” Cultivars for Restoration of Ash as Landscape and Street Trees (S. Merkle, University of Georgia): North American ash species are under threat of destruction by the emerald ash borer (EAB; Agrilus planipennis ), an exotic wood-boring beetle that has destroyed millions of ash trees. “Lingering ash” trees are individual ash trees that have been identified as potentially EAB-resistant by their persistence in populations where EAB-induced mortality exceeds 99%. Clonally propagating these lingering ash trees or selected progeny from them would allow clonal testing of potential EAB-resistant genotypes to confirm genetic-based resistance and the development of elite EAB-resistant ash cultivars for production by the nursery industry and planting by landowners and municipalities as landscape and street trees.
• Stimulating Adventitious Root Formation in Recalcitrant Woody Plants with Agrobacterium rhizogenes (H. Liang, Clemson University): Some woody plant species are notoriously difficult to form adventitious roots. This project aims to examine the rooting stimulation effect of Agrobacterium rhizogenes, a soil-borne gram-negative bacterium that induces hairy roots in dicotyledonous plants, on cuttings of American chestnut ( Castanea dentata ), and yellow-flowering camellias. The project objectives are to evaluate the effect of A. rhizogenes on promoting rooting and identify optimal strains and reveal the physiological and biochemical responses during adventitious root formation induced by A. rhizogenes.
• Tulipalins: A Natural Fungicide for Greenhouse Hydrangeas from a Tulip Bulb Waste Stream (T. Gianfagna, Rutgers-The State University of New Jersey): Tulip bulbs from cut flower production are considered a substantial waste-stream product. Tulip bulbs have been found to contain tulipalin lactones, which have anti-fungal properties, especially against Botrytis cinerea . Botrytis is a soilborne fungus that affects greenhouse-grown hydrangeas at several stages of production by damaging the flowers and the leaves. We think that a possible way to control Botrytis would be by using a natural anti-fungal spray or compost containing tulipalin.

Gathering Consumer Insights

• Enhancing Marketplace Acceptance of Native Plants (A. Rihn, University of Tennessee): Traditionally, retailers have not had highly effective marketing of a wide variety of native plants and educating their customers about which plants are native in their region. Some retailers may perceive that consumer may be unaware of the many benefits that native plants provide or that consumers are not interested in environmental benefits. The goal of this project is to take the first step to enhance the marketing of native plants by assessing consumer demand, profiling consumers by their values and native plant acceptance, and identify consumer preferences for native plants to ultimately increase eco-conscious plantings in landscapes that improve environmental health and biodiversity.
• Images of People or Plants: Which Sells More Plants? (B. Behe, Michigan State University; J. Mundel, Arizona State University): A majority of signage in both independent retail garden centers and home improvement centers show images of plants, not people. This is due largely to a desire to show consumers what the mature plant will look like. However, a theory called image congruency states that people identify strongly with products used by people who look like they feel. The objective is to identify which helps sell more plants: images of people congruent with the observer holding a plant, or an image of the plant itself.

Producing Practical And Actionable Solutions

• Improved Irrigation Efficiency Through Modeling and Spatial Distribution Analysis (P. Bartley, Auburn University): Improper irrigation management in container production can seriously affect crop productivity and cause issues such as overuse of water resources and nutrient losses to surrounding water bodies. The overall goal of this research is to evaluate and optimize irrigation parameters for specialty crop producers using soilless container cultivation. The results are intended to aid researchers and producers in characterizing irrigation efficiency and dynamic root substrate interactions in order to improve the sustainability of container cultivation of specialty crops.
• Improving Water Management in Pine Bark Substrates via Pore Size Characterization and Infiltration Testing (R. Stewart, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University): Containerized nurseries require proper management of water within individual pots to minimize shrinkage or crop loss and to ensure environmental and economic sustainability. It is commonly assumed that soilless substrates are able to receive water through their surface at an infinite rate (in/hr), and that their capacity to retain water remains the same throughout production. In this project, researchers seek to better understand and characterize water infiltration and storage processes in pine bark substrates composed of three different size fractions.
• Management Options for Jumping Worms in Private & Commercial Landscapes and Natural Areas (E. Buchholz, University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum): Jumping worms are a growing concern within the horticultural community throughout the eastern half of the U.S. Amynthas spp. have been shown to have a significant impact in the losses of leaf litter and nutrient levels in surface soils. There are no practical methods of control or removal. This research will focus on determining which methods and products can offer a solution.
• Periodical Cicada: Study of Potential Controls for the Tennessee Nursery Industry (D. Airhart, Tennessee Technological University): The goal of this research project is preventing or controlling periodical cicada oviposition damage associated with nursery tree crops. To accomplish this goal, two major priorities will be addressed: 1) evaluation of some new or typical insecticide treatments to manage periodical cicada adults to identify more effective management options; and 2) assessment of nursery tree damages by periodical cicada adults (Brood X, 2021) by oviposition, now starting in eastern Tennessee.
• Preliminary Study on the Parasitoid Complex of the Box Tree Moth in Asia for a Classical Biological Control Program in North America (M. Kenis, CAB): The objective of the project will be to initiate the research and foreign exploration needed to implement a classical biological control program for box tree moth through the introduction of parasitoids from the region of origin to North America for permanent establishment and control. This first stage will consist in surveys and collections of parasitoids in East Asia and in the establishment of parasitoid cultures at the quarantine laboratory of CABI in Switzerland. After the establishment of cultures and initiation of efficacy and host specificity studies at the CABI quarantine, work in subsequent years will focus on sending the most promising candidate BTM parasitoids to the USDA-APHIS quarantine laboratory in Buzzard’s Bay, Massachusetts to evaluate possible impacts on non-target species to support an application for a U.S. release permit.
• Preventing Disease Outbreaks in Ornamental Nurseries: Determining Most Effective Diagnostics Tools and Developing a Rapid Diagnostics Test for Phytophthora Species Infecting Ornamental Crops (J. Del Castillo, University of California Davis): Phytophthora species are well-known and recurrent pathogens of ornamental greenhouses and nurseries in the U.S. The development of faster and more specific diagnostics tool is imperative to determine in a timely fashion if plants are infested with Phytophthora and consequently prevent pathogen spread. The objectives of this project are to: 1) Compare and determine the efficacy of the currently available diagnostics tools to diagnose several Phytophthora species, and 2) Develop a rapid and more specific Phytophthora genus and species-specific detection tool that can be implemented in the field.
• Soil Microbiomes for Plant Health: Exploring Microbes in the Soil for Candidates That Protect Plants Against Root Rot Disease Caused by Phytophthora cinnamomic (J. Burns, Case Western Reserve University): Between 20% to 40% of crop productivity worldwide is lost to plant diseases every year, and plant diseases cost the global economy around $220 billion/year. While chemical control of many plant diseases is possible, pathogens often evolve and become resistant to these measures. Biocontrol using soil microbial species, or the soil microbiome, has great potential in agriculture and horticulture to reduce our reliance on chemical control, enhance plant health, and maintain global food security. The goal of this research is to characterize this complex community, which is essential to the future development of probiotic products that might enhance plant health.

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100+ Botany Research Topics [Updated 2024]

Botany, the scientific study of plants, holds the key to understanding the intricate and fascinating world of flora that surrounds us. As we delve into the realm of botany research, we uncover a vast array of botany research topics that not only contribute specifically to our scientific knowledge but also play an important role in addressing real-world challenges. 

In this blog, we will embark on a journey through the rich landscape of botany research, exploring various captivating topics that researchers are delving into.

How to Select Botany Research Topics?

Table of Contents

Selecting an appropriate and engaging botany research topic is a crucial step in the research process. Whether you are a student working on a thesis, a scientist planning a research project, or someone passionate about exploring the wonders of plant biology, the right choice of topic can significantly impact the success and enjoyment of your research. 

Here are some guidelines on how to select botany research topics:

• Identify Your Interests:
• Start by reflecting on your own personal interests within the field of botany. Consider the aspects of plant biology that fascinate you the most. 
• Whether it’s plant physiology, taxonomy, ecology, genetics, or any other subfield, choosing a topic aligned with your interests can make the research process more enjoyable.
• Review Literature:
• Conduct a thorough review and it will be of existing literature in botany. Explore recent research articles, journals, and books to identify gaps in knowledge, emerging trends, and areas where further investigation is needed. 
• This can help you find inspiration and identify potential research questions.
• Consider Relevance:
• Assess the relevance of your chosen topic to the current state of botany and its applications. Consider how your research could contribute to addressing real-world challenges, advancing scientific knowledge, or informing practical solutions. 
• Relevant research topics often garner more attention and support.
• Evaluate Feasibility:
• Evaluate all possible feasibility of your chosen topic in terms of available resources, time constraints, and research capabilities. 
• Consider the accessibility of study sites, the availability of equipment and materials, and the level of expertise required. A feasible research topic is one that aligns with your resources and constraints.
• Collaborate and Seek Guidance:
• Discuss your ideas with mentors, professors, or colleagues in the field. 
• Collaborative discussions can provide valuable insights, help refine your research questions, and guide you toward topics that align with current research priorities.
• Explore Emerging Technologies:
• Consider incorporating emerging technologies and methodologies in your research. This not only adds a contemporary dimension to your study but also opens up new possibilities for exploration. 
• Technologies like CRISPR-Cas9, high-throughput sequencing, and remote sensing have revolutionized botany research.
• Think Interdisciplinary:
• Botany often intersects with various other disciplines, such as ecology, genetics, molecular biology, environmental science, and more. 
• Consider interdisciplinary approaches to your research, as this can lead to innovative and comprehensive insights.
• Address Global Challenges:
• Botany research can play a crucial role in addressing global challenges like climate change, food security, and biodiversity loss. 
• Choosing a topic that contributes to solving or mitigating these challenges adds societal relevance to your work.
• Explore Local Flora:
• If applicable, explore the flora of your local region. Investigating plant species native to your area can have practical implications for local conservation, biodiversity studies, and environmental management.
• Stay Inquisitive and Open-Minded:
• Keep an open mind and stay curious. Scientific research often involves unexpected discoveries, and being open to exploration can lead to novel and exciting findings. 
• Be willing to adapt your research questions based on your findings and new insights.

100+ Botany Research Topics For All Students

Plant physiology.

• The Role of Plant Hormones in Growth and Development
• Mechanisms of Photosynthesis: A Comprehensive Study
• Impact of Environmental Stress on Plant Physiology
• Water Use Efficiency in Plants: Regulation and Adaptation
• Nutrient Uptake and Transport in Plants
• Signaling Pathways in Plant Defense Mechanisms
• Regulation of Flowering Time in Plants
• Physiological Responses of Plants to Climate Change
• Role of Mycorrhizal Associations in Plant Nutrition
• Stress Tolerance Mechanisms in Halophytic Plants

Plant Taxonomy

• Phylogenetic Analysis of a Plant Family: Case Study
• Integrating Molecular Systematics in Plant Taxonomy
• Plant DNA Barcoding for Species Identification
• Revision of a Plant Genus: Taxonomic Challenges
• Cryptic Species in Plant Taxonomy: Detection and Implications
• Floristic Diversity in a Specific Geographic Region
• Evolutionary Trends in Angiosperms
• Ethnobotanical Contributions to Plant Taxonomy
• Application of GIS in Plant Taxonomy
• Conservation Status Assessment of Endangered Plant Species

Plant Ecology

• Ecosystem Services Provided by Plants
• Dynamics of Plant-Animal Interactions in a Habitat
• Impact of Invasive Plant Species on Native Flora
• Plant Community Composition Along Environmental Gradients
• Ecological Consequences of Plant-Pollinator Decline
• Microbial Interactions in the Rhizosphere
• Plant Responses to Fire: Adaptation and Recovery
• Climate Change Effects on Plant Phenology
• Restoration Ecology: Reintroducing Native Plants
• Plant-Soil Feedbacks and Ecosystem Stability

Plant Pathology

• Molecular Mechanisms of Plant-Pathogen Interactions
• Emerging Plant Diseases: Causes and Consequences
• Integrated Disease Management in Agriculture
• Fungal Pathogens: Diversity and Control Strategies
• Plant Immunity and Defense Mechanisms
• Resistance Breeding Against Viral Pathogens
• Bacterial Diseases in Crop Plants: Diagnosis and Management
• Impact of Climate Change on Plant Pathogen Dynamics
• Biocontrol Agents for Plant Disease Management
• Genetic Basis of Host Susceptibility to Plant Pathogens

Ethnobotany

• Traditional Medicinal Plants: Documentation and Validation
• Cultural Significance of Plants in Indigenous Communities
• Ethnobotanical Survey of a Specific Region
• Sustainable Harvesting Practices of Medicinal Plants
• Traditional Plant Use in Rituals and Ceremonies
• Plant-Based Foods in Indigenous Diets
• Ethnopharmacological Studies on Antimicrobial Plants
• Conservation of Ethnobotanical Knowledge
• Ethnobotanical Contributions to Modern Medicine
• Indigenous Perspectives on Plant Conservation

Genetic and Molecular Biology

• CRISPR-Cas9 Applications in Plant Genome Editing
• Epigenetics in Plant Development and Stress Response
• Functional Genomics of Plant Responses to Abiotic Stress
• Genetic Diversity in Crop Plants and its Conservation
• Genetic Mapping and Marker-Assisted Selection in Plant Breeding
• Genome Sequencing of Non-Model Plant Species
• RNA Interference in Plant Gene Regulation
• Comparative Genomics of Plant Evolution
• Genetic Basis of Plant Adaptation to Extreme Environments
• Plant Epigenome Editing: Methods and Applications

Plant Anatomy and Morphology

• Comparative Anatomy of C3 and C4 Plants
• Xylem and Phloem Development in Plants
• Leaf Anatomy and Adaptations to Photosynthesis
• Morphological Diversity in Plant Reproductive Structures
• Evolution of Floral Symmetry in Angiosperms
• Root Architecture and its Functional Significance
• Stem Cell Dynamics in Plant Meristems
• Comparative Morphology of Succulent Plants
• Tissue Regeneration in Plants: Mechanisms and Applications
• Wood Anatomy and Tree-Ring Analysis in Dendrochronology

Climate Change and Plant Responses

• Impact of Global Warming on Alpine Plant Communities
• Plant Responses to Elevated CO2 Levels
• Drought Tolerance Mechanisms in Plants
• Shifts in Plant Phenology Due to Climate Change
• Climate-Induced Changes in Plant-Pollinator Interactions
• Carbon Sequestration Potential of Forest Ecosystems
• Ocean Acidification Effects on Seagrass Physiology
• Plant Responses to Increased Frequency of Extreme Events
• Alpine Plant Adaptations to Harsh Environments
• Climate-Driven Changes in Plant Distribution and Biogeography

Emerging Technologies in Botany Research

• Application of Machine Learning in Plant Phenotyping
• Nanotechnology in Plant Science: Current Status and Future Prospects
• Metagenomics in Studying Plant Microbiomes
• Remote Sensing for Monitoring Plant Health
• High-Throughput Sequencing in Plant Genomics
• CRISPR-Based Gene Drives for Ecological Restoration
• Advances in Plant Imaging Techniques
• Synthetic Biology Approaches in Plant Engineering
• Augmented Reality Applications in Plant Biology Education
• Digital Herbariums: Integrating Technology in Plant Taxonomy

Misc Botany Research Topics

• Metabolic Pathways in Plant Secondary Metabolism: Regulation and Significance
• Population Genomics of Endangered Plant Species: Implications for Conservation
• Impact of Soil Microbes on Plant Health and Productivity
• Evolutionary Dynamics of Plant-Pathogen Coevolution: Insights from Molecular Data
• Application of CRISPR-Based Gene Editing for Improving Crop Traits
• Phytochemical Profiling of Medicinal Plants for Drug Discovery
• Investigating the Role of Epigenetic Modifications in Plant Stress Responses
• Role of Plant Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in Ecological Interactions
• Biotic and Abiotic Factors Influencing Plant Microbiome Composition
• Molecular Basis of Plant-Microbe Symbiosis: Lessons from Nitrogen-Fixing Associations

How to Make Botany Research Successful?

Conducting successful botany research involves a combination of careful planning, effective execution, and thoughtful analysis. Whether you are a student, a researcher, or someone conducting independent studies, here are key tips to ensure the success of your botany research:

• Establish Clear Objectives: Clearly articulate the goals and objectives of your research. What specific inquiries do you intend to address? A well-defined research focus serves as a guiding framework, ensuring your efforts remain purposeful and on course.
• Conduct an In-Depth Literature Review: Immerse yourself in the existing body of literature within your field of study. Identify gaps, discern trends, and pinpoint areas where your research could contribute significantly. A thorough literature review lays a robust groundwork for shaping your research design.
• Choose an Appropriate Research Topic: Select a research topic that resonates with your interests, aligns with your expertise, and addresses the current needs of the scientific community. Ensure that the chosen topic is not only feasible but also harbors the potential for impactful outcomes.
• Develop a Sound Research Plan: Create a detailed research plan outlining the methodologies, timelines, and resources required. A well-structured plan helps in efficient execution and minimizes the risk of unforeseen challenges.
• Utilize Cutting-Edge Technologies: Stay updated with the latest technologies and methodologies in botany research. Incorporate advanced tools such as high-throughput sequencing, CRISPR-Cas9 , and remote sensing to enhance the precision and efficiency of your research.
• Collaborate and Seek Guidance: Collaborate with experts in the field, seek mentorship, and engage in discussions with colleagues. Networking and collaboration can provide valuable insights, guidance, and potential avenues for collaboration.
• Ensure Ethical Considerations: Adhere to ethical guidelines and standards in your research. Obtain necessary approvals for human subjects, follow ethical practices in plant experimentation, and ensure the responsible use of emerging technologies.
• Implement Robust Experimental Design: Design experiments with attention to detail, ensuring that they are replicable and provide statistically significant results. Address potential confounding variables and incorporate controls to enhance the reliability of your findings.
• Collect and Analyze Data Thoughtfully: Implement systematic data collection methods. Use appropriate statistical analyses to interpret your results and draw meaningful conclusions. Transparent and well-documented data analysis enhances the credibility of your research.
• Regularly Review and Adapt: Periodically review your progress and be open to adapting your research plan based on emerging findings. Flexibility and responsiveness to unexpected results contribute to a dynamic and successful research process.
• Communicate Your Research Effectively: Share your findings through publications, presentations, and other relevant channels. Effective communication of your research results contributes to the broader scientific community and enhances the impact of your work.
• Foster a Collaborative Research Environment: Encourage collaboration within your research team. A collaborative environment fosters creativity, diverse perspectives, and a collective effort towards achieving research goals.
• Contribute to Sustainable Practices: If your research involves fieldwork or plant collection, adhere to sustainable practices. Consider the impact on local ecosystems and strive to minimize any negative consequences.
• Stay Resilient: Research can have its challenges, setbacks, and unforeseen obstacles. Stay resilient, remain focused on your goals, and view challenges as opportunities for growth and learning.
• Celebrate Achievements and Learn from Failures: Acknowledge and celebrate your achievements, no matter how small. Learn from any setbacks or failures and use them as lessons to refine and improve your research approach.

In the vast and diverse field of botany research, scientists are continually unraveling the mysteries of the plant kingdom. From the intricate processes of photosynthesis to the challenges posed by emerging plant diseases and the potential of cutting-edge technologies, botany research is a dynamic and ever-evolving field. 

As we delve deeper into the green secrets of the plant world, our understanding grows, offering not only scientific insights but also solutions to address pressing global challenges such as food security, biodiversity loss, and climate change. 

The exploration of botany research topics is a journey of discovery, paving the way for a sustainable and harmonious coexistence with the plant life that sustains our planet.

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Plant breeding is the production of plants by selective mating or hybridization. It is the traditional mechanism for producing new varieties of plants for horticulture and agriculture.

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• Miaomiao Li
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News and Comment

Down-to-earth drought resistance.

Drought is a serious threat to global food security. In upstream research, crop drought-tolerant traits are often studied under extreme drought conditions, which can seem irrelevant in the eyes of breeders.

Exploitation of the microbiome for crop breeding

Rhizosphere microbiomes are shaped by both the environment and the host. A recent study of the maize microbiome reveals how plants recruit a specific microbiome to alleviate abiotic stress, and provides clues for precision microbiome engineering in agriculture.

• Jiayong Shen
• Mingxing Wang

Spatially manipulating brassinosteroids for clustered growth

Haploids fast-track hybrid plant breeding

Two studies report the use of paternal haploids to enable one-step transfer of cytoplasmic male sterility in maize and broccoli, which resolves a key technical bottleneck in hybrid crop breeding.

• Ravi Maruthachalam

Integrative and inclusive genomics to promote the use of underutilised crops

Underutilised crops or orphan crops are important for diversifying our food systems towards food and nutrition security. Here, the authors discuss how the development of underutilised crop genomic resource should align with their breeding and capacity building strategies, and leverage advances made in major crops.

• Oluwaseyi Shorinola
• Mark A. Chapman

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Worldwide Research Trends on Medicinal Plants

Esther salmerón-manzano.

1 Faculty of Law, Universidad Internacional de La Rioja (UNIR), 26006 Logroño, Spain; [email protected]

Jose Antonio Garrido-Cardenas

2 Department of Biology and Geology, University of Almeria, ceiA3, 04120 Almeria, Spain; se.lau@anedracj

Francisco Manzano-Agugliaro

3 Department of Engineering, University of Almeria, ceiA3, 04120 Almeria, Spain

The use of medicinal plants has been done since ancient times and may even be considered the origin of modern medicine. Compounds of plant origin have been and still are an important source of compounds for drugs. In this study a bibliometric study of all the works indexed in the Scopus database until 2019 has been carried out, analyzing more than 100,000 publications. On the one hand, the main countries, institutions and authors researching this topic have been identified, as well as their evolution over time. On the other hand, the links between the authors, the countries and the topics under research have been analyzed through the detection of communities. The last two periods, from 2009 to 2014 and from 2015 to 2019, have been examined in terms of research topics. It has been observed that the areas of study or clusters have been reduced, those of the last period being those engaged in unclassified drug, traditional medicine, cancer, in vivo study—antidiabetic activity, and animals—anti-inflammatory activity. In summary, it has been observed that the trend in global research is focused more on the search for new medicines or active compounds rather than on the cultivation or domestication of plant species with this demonstrated potential.

1. Introduction

Ten percent of all vascular plants are used as medicinal plants [ 1 ], and there are estimated to be between 350,000 [ 2 ] and almost half a million [ 3 ] species of them. Since ancient times, plants have been used in medicine and are still used today [ 4 ]. In the beginning, the trial and error method was used to treat illnesses or even simply to feel better, and in this way, to distinguish useful plants with beneficial effects [ 5 ]. The use of these plants has been gradually refined over the generations, and this has become known in many contexts as traditional medicine. The official definition of traditional medicine can be considered as “the sum total of the knowledge, skills and practices based on the theories, beliefs and experiences indigenous to different cultures, whether explicable or not, used in the maintenance of health, as well as in the prevention, diagnosis, improvement or treatment of physical and mental illnesses” [ 6 ].

It is a fact that all civilizations have developed this form of medicine [ 7 ] based on the plants in their own habitat [ 8 ]. There are even authors who claim that this transmitted knowledge is the origin of medicine and pharmacy. Even today, hundreds of higher plants are cultivated worldwide to obtain useful substances in medicine and pharmacy [ 9 ]. The therapeutic properties of plants gave rise to medicinal drugs made from certain plants with these benefits [ 10 ].

Until the 18th century, the therapeutic properties of many plants, their effect on the human organism and their method of treatment were known, but the active compound was unknown [ 11 ]. As an example, the Canon of Medicine written by the Persian physician and scientist Avicenna (Ibn Sina) was used until the 18th century [ 12 ].

The origin of modern science, especially in the Renaissance, in particular chemical analysis, and the associated instrumentation such as the microscope, was what made it possible to isolate the active principles of medical plants [ 13 ]. Since then, these active principles have been obtained synthetically in the laboratory to produce the medicines later [ 14 ]. The use of medicines was gradually expanded. Until today, the direct use of medicinal plants is apparently displaced in modern medicine [ 15 ]. Today’s medicine needs the industry producing pharmaceutical medicines, which are largely based on the active principles of plants, and therefore, these are used as raw materials in many cases [ 16 ]. Yet, today, the underdeveloped world does not have access to this modern medicine of synthetic origin, and therefore, large areas of the world continue to use traditional medicine based on the direct use of medicinal plants due to their low cost [ 17 ].

However, it should be noted that the possible trend to return to this type of traditional medicine may have two major drawbacks. The first is the use of medicinal plants without sanitary control, without thinking about the possible harmful aspects for health [ 18 ]. Although many plants do not have side effects like the aromatic plants used in infusions: chamomile, rosemary, mint, or thyme; however, others may have dangerous active principles. To cite an example, Bitter melon ( Momordica charantia L. ) used to cure fever and in cases of malaria [ 19 ], its green seeds are very toxic as they can cause a sharp drop in blood sugar and induce a patient’s coma (hypoglycemic coma) [ 20 ]; this is due to the fact that the components of bitter melon extract appear to have structural similarities to animal insulin [ 21 ]. Secondly, there has been a proliferation of products giving rise to false perspectives, as they are not sufficiently researched [ 22 ].

Examining the specialized literature of reviews and bibliometric studies on medicinal plants, three types of studies are found: those focused on a geographical area, those focused on a specific plant or family, and those focused on some type of medical interest activity. Regarding the studies of geographical areas, for example, there are the studies of Africa. Specifically, in South Africa, the plants that are marketed [ 23 ], as these plants of medical interest have been promoted [ 24 ], or for the treatment of specific diseases such as Alzheimer’s [ 25 ]. In Central Africa, the studies of Cameroon are remarkable, where for general bibliometric studies of its scientific output, the topic of medicinal plants stands out as one of the most important in this country [ 26 ]. Or those of Ghana, regarding frequent diseases in this country such as malaria, HIV/AIDS, hypertension, tuberculosis, or bleeding disorders [ 27 ]. Other countries that have conducted a bibliometric study of their medicinal plants have been Cuba [ 28 ] and China [ 29 ].

The other direction of the bibliometric studies mentioned, those that focus on specific plants, are those of: Artemisia annua L. [ 30 ], Aloe vera [ 31 ], Panax ginseng [ 32 ], Punica grantum L. [ 33 ], Apocynum cannabinum [ 34 ], or Andrographis paniculata [ 35 ]. The third line of the bibliometric research on medicinal plants deals with some kind of specific activity; there are studies for example for the activities of: antibacterial or antifungal [ 36 ], antioxidant [ 37 ], and anticancer [ 38 , 39 , 40 ].

As a common feature of the bibliometric studies published so far, none of them has a worldwide perspective. Furthermore, they are generally based on Web of Science and some of them on other more specific databases such as CAB Abstracts or PlantMedCUBA, but no work based on Scopus has been observed. Therefore, this paper aims to study what types of scientific advances are being developed around medicinal plants, what research trends are being carried out, and by which countries and research institutions. To this purpose, it is proposed to carry out a bibliometric analysis of all the scientific publications on this topic.

2. Materials and Methods

The data analyzed in this work have been obtained through a query in the Scopus database, which has been successfully used in a large number of bibliometric studies [ 41 ]. Due to the large amount of results, it was necessary to use the Scopus API to download the data, whose methodology has been developed in previous works [ 42 , 43 ]. In this study, the query used was: (TITLE-ABS-KEY(“medic* plant*”)). An outline of the methodology used is shown in Figure 1 . The analysis of the scientific communities, both in terms of keywords and the relationship between authors or between countries was done with the SW VosViewer [ 44 ].

Methodology.

3.1. Global Evolution Trend

From 1960 to 2019, more than 110,000 studies related to medicinal plants have been published. Figure 2 shows the trend in research in this field. Overall, it can be said that there was a continuous increase from 1960 to 2001, with just over 1300 published studies. From here, the trend increases faster until 2011, when it reaches a maximum of just over 6200 publications. After this period, publications stabilize at just over 5000 per year. These three periods identified are highlighted in Figure 2 .

Worldwide temporal evolution of medical plants publications.

3.2. Global Subject Category

If the results are analyzed according to the categories in which they have been published (see Figure 3 ), according to the Scopus database, it can be seen that most of them have been carried out in the Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics category with 27.1 % of the total. Other categories with significant relative relevance have been: Medicine (23.8%), Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology (16.7%), Agricultural and Biological Sciences (11%), Chemistry (8.7%), Immunology and Microbiology (2.5%), Environmental Science (2.1%), and Chemical Engineering (1.5%). All other categories are below 1%, such as: Nursing, Multidisciplinary, or Engineering.

Medicinal plants publications by scientific categories indexed in Scopus.

3.3. Distribution of Publications by Countries

If the results obtained are analyzed by country, a total of 159 countries have published on this topic. Figure 4 shows the countries that have published on the subject and the intensity with which they published has been shown. It is observed that China and India stand out over the rest of the countries with more than 10,000 publications, perhaps influenced by traditional medicine, although their most cited works are related to antioxidant activity, both for China [ 45 ], and for India [ 46 , 47 ], and in this last country also antidiabetic potential [ 4 ]. The third place is the USA followed by Brazil, both with more than 5000 publications. The most frequently cited publications from these countries focus on antioxidant activity [ 48 ], and antimicrobial activity [ 49 ] for the USA and anti-inflammatory activity for Brazil [ 50 , 51 ].

Worldwide research on medical plants.

As mentioned, the list of countries is very long, but those with more than 2000 publications are included: Japan, South Korea, Germany, Iran, United Kingdom, Pakistan, Italy, and France. If the overall results obtained are analyzed in their evolution by years, for this list of countries with more than 2000 publications, Figure 5 is obtained. From this point onwards, three groups of countries can be identified.

Temporal evolution on medical plants publications for Top 12 countries.

The first group is the leaders of this research, China and India, with between 800 and 1100 publications per year. China led the research from 1996 to 2010, and from this year to 2016, the leader was India, after which it returned to China. The second group of five countries is formed in order in the last year of the study: Iran, Brazil, USA, South Korea and Pakistan. This group of countries has a sustained growth over time, with a rate of publications between 200 and 400 per year. It should be noted that Brazil led the third place for a decade, from 2007 to 2016, since then that position is for Iran. The third group of five countries is made up of: Japan, Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, and France. They are keeping the publications around 100 a year, with an upward trend, but at a very slight rate.

If the analysis of the publications by country is made according to the categories in which they publish, Figure 6 is obtained, which shows the relative effort between the different themes or categories is shown. At first look, it might seem that they have a similar distribution. However, in relative terms the category of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics is led by Brazil with 35% of its own publications followed by India with 33%. For the Medicine category, in relative terms it is led by China with 29 %, followed by Germany with 27 %. The category of Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology always takes second or third place for this ranking of countries, standing out especially for Japan and South Korea with 23% and for France with 22%. The fourth category for many countries is Agricultural and Biological Sciences, with Pakistan standing out with 20%, followed by Italy with 16%. The category of Chemistry occupies the fourth category for countries such as Japan with 20% or Iran with 14%. The other categories: Chemical Engineering, Immunology and Microbiology, Environmental Science, Multidisciplinary, or Engineering, are below 5 % in all countries.

Distribution by scientific categories according to countries.

According to these results, it can be seen the relative lack of relevance of the category of Agricultural and Biological Sciences for medicinal plants, compared to the categories of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics, Medicine, or Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology.

3.4. Institutions (Affiliations)

So far, the distribution by country has been seen, but the research is done in specific research centers (institution or affiliations as are indexed in Scopus) and therefore, it is important to study them. Table 1 shows the 25 institutions with more than 400 publications, of which 13 are from China (including the first 7), 3 from Brazil, 2 from South Korea, and now with 1: Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iran, Mexico, Cameroon, France, and Malaysia.

Top 25 affiliations and main keywords.

If the three main keywords of these affiliations are analyzed, it can be seen that there are no great differences, and in fact, they are often the same: Unclassified Drug, Drug Isolation, Drug Structure, Chemistry, Controlled Study, Isolation And Purification, Chemistry, and Plant Extract. They only call attention to “Drugs, Chinese Herbal” which appears in two affiliations: China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, and Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, which of course is a very specific issue in this country.

3.5. Authors

The main authors researching this topic are shown in Table 2 , which are those with more than 100 publications on this topic. It is observed that they are authors with a significantly high h-index. On the other hand, it is noteworthy that the first two are not from China or India, which as we have seen were the most productive countries, and also had the most relevant institutions in this area. The lead author is from South Africa, J. Van Staden, and the second from Bangladesh, M. Rahmatullah. The author with the highest h-index is from Germany, T. Efferth.

Main authors in medicinal plants.

If the network of collaboration between authors with more than 40 documents is established, Figure 7 is obtained. Here, there are 33 clusters, where the most important is the red one with 195 authors, where the central author is Huang, L.Q. The second more abundant cluster is the green one, composed of 69 authors. In this cluster, there is no central author, but instead, a collaboration between prominent authors such as Kim, J.S., Lee, K.R. or Park, J.S. The third cluster, in blue, is composed of 64 authors, led by the authors M.I. Choudhary and M. Ahmad.

A collaborative network of authors with more than 40 publications on medicinal plants.

The fourth cluster, of yellow color is composed of 63 authors, the central authors are Y. Li and H-D. Sun. The fifth cluster, in purple, is also composed of 51 authors, the central author is W. Villegas. It should be noted that this cluster is not linked to the whole network, so they must research very specific topics in their field. The sixth cluster is composed of 48 authors and is cyan colored, the central author is Rahmatullah, M. The cluster of the main author of Table 2 , Van Staden, J., is composed of 23 authors, and would be number 17 in order of importance by number of authors, is light brown, and is located next to that of W. Vilegas but without any apparent connection.

3.6. Keywords

3.6.1. global perspective.

The central aspect of bibliometric studies is to study the keywords in the publications and, through the relationships between them, to establish the clusters or scientific communities in which the different topics associated with a field of study can be grouped together. If keywords are extracted from the total number of publications, an overview can be made of the most used keywords in relation to the subject of medicinal plants (see Figure 8 ). As expected, the search terms are the main ones, but then, there are two indexing terms, Human and Nonhuman, and then Unclassified Drug and Plant Extract.

Cloudword of keywords in medical plants publications.

If the keywords are analyzed by country, and we do not take into account the search terms, the results are obtained in Table 3 , where the four main keywords of the main countries that research this topic are shown. It can be seen that the terms: Unclassified Drug, Plant Extract, and Controlled Study, are the ones that dominate without a doubt.

Main keywords by country.

3.6.2. Keywords Related to Plants

If this keyword analysis is done by parts of the plant (see Table 4 ), which shows which parts of the plant have been most investigated. It should be noted that the number of documents is less than the sum of the individual keywords, since a publication contains more than one keyword. It has been obtained that the parts of the plant most studied in order of importance have been the value expressed in relative terms: Leaf-Leaves (33%), Root-Roots (22%), Seed (12%), Stem (10%), Fruit (10%), Bark (7%), and Flower (6%). The table also shows which plant families have been most used for the study of that part of the plant.

Main keywords related to plant parts and plant families studied.

To give an idea of the most studied plant families, see Table 5 . Although the first two are the same family, it has been left separately to indicate the indexing preferences of the two main affiliations that study them. This is also the situation with Compositae that correspond to the family of Asteraceae. This table lists for each plant family the main institution working on its study. However, it is curious that even if a country is a leader in certain studies related to plant families, most often it is found that the institution leading the issue is not from the country leading the study on that plant family. This helps to establish a certain amount of global leadership on the side of the institutions.

Plant families and Institutions.

3.7. Clusters

The analysis of the clusters formed by the keywords allows the classification of the different groups into which the research trends are grouped. A first analysis has been made with the documents published between 2009 and 2019 and in two periods, from 2009 to 2014 and from 2015 to 2019. Figure 9 shows the clusters obtained for the period 2009 to 2014, showing seven clusters, which can be distinguished by color, and in Table 6 its main keywords have been collected.

Network of keywords in medical plants publications: Clusters between 2009–2014.

Main keywords used by the communities detected in the topic in the period 2009–2014.

The first of these clusters, in red (1-1), is linked to traditional medicine. This is reflected in the main keywords associated with this cluster: phytotherapy, herbaceous agent, traditional medicine, ethnobotany. Within this cluster, the most cited publications are related to the antioxidant function of plants. This includes the prevention of hyperglycemia hypertension [ 52 ], and the prevention of cancer. Of the latter, studies suggest that a reduced risk of cancer is associated with high consumption of vegetables and fruits [ 53 ]. Another topic frequently addressed is the antidiabetic properties, as some plants have hypoglycemic properties [ 34 ]. It should be remembered that diabetes mellitus is one of the common metabolic disorders, acquiring around 2.8% of the world’s population and is expected to double by 2025 [ 54 ].

The second cluster, in green (1-2), appears to be the central cluster, and is related to drugs—chemistry. The main keywords are: drug isolation, drug structure, chemistry, drug determination, and molecular structure. Here, the most cited publications are the search for new drugs [ 55 ] or in natural antimicrobials for food preservation [ 56 ].

The third cluster, in purple (1-3), is focused on in vivo study through studies with laboratory animals, as shown by keywords such as mouse and mice. As it is known that in vivo drug trials are initiated in laboratory animals such as mice, in general studies focused on anti-inflammatory effect [ 57 , 58 ].

The fourth cluster, in yellow (1-4), is engaged in the search for drugs. The main keywords in this regard are unclassified drug and drug screening. Within this cluster, the studies of flavonoids stand out [ 59 ]. Flavonoids have been shown to be antioxidant, free radical scavenger, coronary heart disease prevention, hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory and anticancer, while some flavonoids show possible antiviral activities [ 60 ].

The fifth cluster, in blue (1-5), is focused on the effectiveness of some drugs, and their experimentation on animals. Some of the most cited publications of this cluster over this period are those focused on genus Scutellaria [ 61 ], Epimedium ( Berberidaceae ) [ 62 ] and Vernonia ( Asteraceae ) [ 63 ].

The sixth cluster, in cyan (1-6), is aimed at the effect of extraction solvent/technique on the antioxidant activity. One of the most cited publications in this regard studies the effects on barks of Azadirachta indica , Acacia nilotica , Eugenia jambolana , Terminalia arjuna , leaves and roots of Moringa oleifera , fruit of Ficus religiosa , and leaves of Aloe barbadensis [ 64 ]. Regarding neuroprotection, some publications are the related to genus Peucedanum [ 65 ] or Bacopa monnieri [ 66 ]. This cluster is among the clusters of traditional medicine (1-1) and drug efficacy (1-5).

Finally, the seventh orange cluster (1-7) is of small relative importance within this cluster analysis and is focused on malaria. As it is known, malaria is one of the most lethal diseases in the world every year [ 67 ]. Malaria causes nearly half a million deaths and was estimated at over 200 million cases, 90 per cent of which occurred in African countries [ 68 ]. Of the Plasmodium species affecting humans, Plasmodium falciparum causes the most deaths, although Plasmodium vivax is the most widely spread except in sub-Saharan Africa [ 69 ]. On the other hand, this cluster cites Plasmodium berghei , which mainly affects mice, and is often used as a model for testing medicines or vaccines [ 70 ].

The second period under study, from 2015 to 2019, is shown in Figure 10 , where five clusters have been identified, Table 7 , as opposed to the previous period which was seven. Now, there is no cluster focusing on malaria. In Figure 10 , the colors of the cluster have been unified with those of Figure 9 , when the clusters have the same topic as in the previous period.

Network of keywords in medical plants publications: Clusters between 2015–2019.

Main keywords used by the communities detected in the topic in the period 2015–2019.

The first cluster in order of importance (2-1), the red one in Figure 10 , can be seen to be that of unclassified drug, which has gone from fourth place (1-4) to first in this last period. In this period, research works include one on the therapeutic potential of spirooxindoles as antiviral agents [ 71 ], or the antimicrobial peptides from plants [ 72 ].

The second cluster of this last period (2-2), the one in green in Figure 10 , is the one assigned to traditional medicine, which has now moved up to second place (1-1) in decreasing order of significance. It seems that this cluster of traditional medicine is now the merging with the drug efficacy cluster of the previous period (1-4). This cluster includes research such as oxidative stress and Parkinson’s disease [ 73 ].

The cluster from the previous period that was devoted to animals-in vivo study (1-3), we assume is now divided into three new clusters. The first of these would be the third cluster (2-3), blue in Figure 10 , which can be considered to be dedicated to cancer. One of the works in this cluster is “Anticancer activity of silver nanoparticles from Panax ginseng fresh leaves in human cancer cells” [ 74 ]. Then, the other two are committed to in vivo studies or with animals. The first one seems to be more engaged in vivo study at antidiabetic activity [ 75 , 76 ], would be the cyan-colored cluster 4 (2-4). The other cluster (2-5) involved in testing anti-inflammatory activity, with plants such as Curcumin [ 77 ], Rosmarinus officinalis [ 78 ], would be the purple cluster in Figure 10 .

3.8. Collaboration Network of Countries

Figure 11 shows the collaborative network between countries doing research on medicinal plants. Table 8 lists the countries of each cluster identified and the main country of each cluster. The countries that are most central to this network of collaboration between countries are India, Iran, Indonesia, and the USA. The largest cluster is led by Brazil, which is also not restricted to its own geographical area as it has strong collaborative links with European countries as well as with neighboring countries such as Argentina. The second cluster led by South Africa also presents the same features as the previous one, some collaborations with nearby countries, Tanzania, Congo, or Sudan, but also with European countries such as France, Belgium, or the Netherlands.

Countries network collaboration.

Countries collaboration in the period 2009–2019.

The third cluster is led by India and has very strong collaboration with Iran, but it could also be considered as the central country in the whole international collaboration network. The cooperation with European countries comprises mainly Eastern countries like Poland, Serbia, or Croatia.

The fourth cluster, led by Germany and Pakistan, includes Middle Eastern countries such as Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates, which are quite related to the cluster led by China. The fifth cluster seems to have a geographical consideration within Asia by including countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Australia. The sixth cluster includes very technologically advanced countries such as USA, UK, Japan, Canada, or South Korea. The seventh cluster is very small in the number of countries. It is made up of very different countries like some in Africa: Cameroon and Kenya; some of Europe as Denmark, and some from Asia like Nepal. In this sense, most of the research linked to African countries in general and to Cameroon particularly is linked to the most frequent parasitic diseases [ 79 ], such as African trypanosomiasis [ 80 ], diarrhea [ 81 ] or tuberculosis [ 82 ]. Finally, the China cluster is made up of nearby areas of influence such as Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau, or Taiwan.

4. Conclusions

The use of plants as a source of research in the search for active compounds for medicine has been proven to have a significant scientific output. An analysis of the scientific literature indexed in the Scopus database concerning medicinal plants clearly shows that in the last 20 years, progress has been rapid, with a peak in 2010. From this year onwards, publications have stabilized at just over 5000 per year.

The research of products derived from the plants shows great collaboration between the countries of the first world and the countries with a traditional use of these plants from Asia, Africa or Latin America, all this to produce new medicines with scientific tests of safety and effectiveness. Within the analysis of the different clusters of collaboration between countries, there are four from Asia, led by China, India, Indonesia and Pakistan; two from Africa, led by South Africa and Cameroon, and then one from Latin America, led by Brazil and another from North America, led by the USA. It has been proven that there is no cluster of European countries, but that they generally collaborate with countries with which they have a commercial relationship. The research of medicinal plants in Africa is greatly underdeveloped, in contrast with China and India. In fact, there is no African country among the countries that published the most in this field. Among the first 25 institutions there is only one that belongs to the African continent. From this top 25, 13 are from China (including the first 7), 3 from Brazil, 2 from South Korea, and 1 of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iran, Mexico, Cameroon, France, and Malaysia.

The most widely used search terms by the main institutions researching in this field are Unclassified Drug, Plant Extract, and Controlled Study. From the study of the keywords in the period from 2009 to 2014, seven clusters have been found, those dedicated to: Traditional medicine, Drug determination, Animals-in vivo study, Unclassified drug, Drug efficacy, Effect of extraction solvent, and Malaria. Subsequently, from the period 2015 to 2019, the clusters are reduced to five, and those focused on: Unclassified drug, Traditional medicine, Cancer, In vivo study—antidiabetic activity, and Animals—anti-inflammatory activity.

This is proven by the fact that of the total number of publications analyzed, more than 100,000, only 11% are in the Agricultural and Biological Sciences category, while more than 50% are grouped in the Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics category and Medicine. This study highlights the scarce research from the agronomic perspective regarding domestication, production or genetic or biotechnological research on breeding of medicinal plants.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank to the CIAIMBITAL (University of Almeria, CeiA3) for its support.

Author Contributions

E.S.-M., J.A.G.-C. and F.M.-A. conceived the research, designed the search, and wrote the manuscript. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

This research received no external funding.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Study brings scientists a step closer to successfully growing plants in space

New, highly stretchable sensors can monitor and transmit plant growth information without human intervention, report University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers in the journal Device.

The polymer sensors are resilient to humidity and temperature, can stretch over 400 percent while remaining attached to a plant as it grows and send a wireless signal to a remote monitoring location, said  chemical and biomolecular engineering  professor Ying Diao, who led the study with  plant biology  professor and department head Andrew Leakey.

The study details some of the early results of a NASA grant  awarded to Diao  to investigate how wearable printed electronics will be used to make farming possible in space.

“This work is motivated by the needs of astronauts to grow vegetables sustainably while they are on long missions,” she said.

Diao’s team approached this project using an Earth-based laboratory to create a highly dependable, stretchable electronic device – and its development did not come easily, she said.

Biden’s EPA Considers Strengthening Its Proposed Power Plant Rule

Key takeaways.

EPA’s proposed power plant rule requires existing coal power and new coal and gas power to use commercially nonexistent technology to capture and store carbon dioxide or switch to hydrogen.

Officials are now considering making the final rule apply to new large gas plants that operate more than 40 percent of the time, rather than those that operate 50 percent of the time as the proposal had envisioned.

The change could affect the majority of new gas plants built in the United States and severely affect electric grid operations.

EPA dropped an earlier proposal forcing existing gas plants to also convert due to criticism by utilities that grid reliability would be severely hindered, but will revisit it after the election.

Residential electricity prices have increased 27 percent since Biden has taken office and they are expected to rise more due to his policies.

President Biden on the campaign trailed vowed to kill the fossil fuel industry—an industry that is the backbone of the U.S. economy and the American way of life. As such, the Biden administration has been active in setting regulations and executive orders that are anti-oil, natural gas and coal since Biden’s first day in office. EPA’s proposed power plant rule is harmful enough already because it requires technologies that are not yet commercially available nor economic to be added to existing coal plants and new coal and gas plants in order to keep them operational. But now Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is considering significantly strengthening that rule before its finalization–a critical part of President Biden ’s climate agenda.

In May 2023, the EPA  issued a proposed rule  that called for drastically reducing greenhouse gas emissions from three categories of power plants: existing coal plants, existing gas plants and new gas plants. But in February, the agency said the final rule  would no longer cover existing gas plants , delaying it to a later rule, because utilities indicated that including existing gas plants would severely hinder electric reliability on an already struggling grid. The new rule for existing gas plants is expected after the election in November. But now, EPA officials are considering strengthening the requirements for new gas plants for the final rule. Specifically, officials are considering making the final rule apply to new large gas plants that operate more than 40 percent of the time , rather than those that operate 50 percent of the time as the proposal had envisioned. The change could affect the majority of new gas plants built in the United States and severely affect electric grid operations.

Utility companies are planning for a large amount of construction of natural gas plants to meet new power demand fueled by data centers, AI, and Biden’s “electrification of everything” plans. There is a need to build reliable and affordable natural gas plants as many coal plants are being forced to shut down since they are being operated less and cannot recover their costs as wind and solar units are dispatched before them and as environmental groups continue to attack them in court. For example, the owner of the last two coal plants in New England announced that the facilities will close by 2025 and 2028 as part of a settlement with environmental groups. The Merrimack and Schiller stations, both in New Hampshire, are expected to be converted to solar facilities and expensive battery systems that can store excess electricity generated from solar panels and expensive offshore wind turbines in the Atlantic Ocean.

The Edison Electric Institute has warned that ambitious EPA rules against the power industry could delay the construction of gas plants and undermine the reliability of the electric grid. The draft final power plant rule is currently under interagency review with the Office of Management and Budget.

The Power Plant Rule Requires Non-Existent Technology

Last May, the  EPA proposed regulations  that would force power companies to install carbon capture equipment (CCS) that siphons the carbon dioxide from a plant’s smokestack before it reaches the atmosphere or use hydrogen as a fuel for both existing and new gas-fired power plants. Since neither technology is economically available today, it is expected that there would be massive plant closures that would put the reliability of the U.S. electric grid in further jeopardy. The Edison Electric Institute  identified significant challenges  for existing natural gas generation in EPA’s original proposed rule.

The original proposal marks the first time the federal government restricted  carbon dioxide emissions  from  existing  power plants, which produce about  30 percent  of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions, second to the transportation sector, as well as future electric plants. Almost all coal plants — along with large, frequently used gas-fired plants — would have had to  cut or capture nearly all their carbon dioxide emissions by 2038 . Plants that could not meet the new standards would be forced to shutter. Due to competition from natural gas plants and onerous regulations, no new coal plants have been constructed in the United States in more than a decade and dozens of coal-fired plants have closed in recent years. The National Mining Association  warned of “an onslaught” of government regulation  “designed to shut down the coal fleet prematurely″ when the EPA proposal was announced last year.

Coal, Natural Gas and Nuclear Are the Backbone of the U.S. Electric System

Coal provided just over  16 percent  of U.S. electricity in 2023, down from  45 percent  in 2010, and natural gas provided  43 percent  of U.S. electricity in 2023. The two generators along with nuclear power, supplying 19 percent , are the major U.S. power facilities that keep the electric grid operating reliably with “dispatchable” on-demand power. The remainder of electricity generation comes from renewables such as hydropower, wind, and solar. The latter two technologies are intermittent and weather-driven and only produce power when the sun is shining, and the wind is blowing. They therefore must be backed up with dispatchable (or, “on-demand”) sources that can fill in during times when they are not available or by very expensive batteries that can store excess power from solar and wind generators when the sun is shing and the wind is blowing.

Biden’s EPA is doing its best to ensure that no new coal and very few natural gas plants get built in the United States by its power plant rule to be finalized in April. It is now considering making the final rule apply to new large gas plants that operate more than 40 percent of the time, rather than those that operate 50 percent of the time as the proposal had envisioned. The change could affect the majority of new gas plants built in the United States and severely affect electric grid operations. The rule will jeopardize the reliability of the U.S. electric power grid as more intermittent and weather-driven wind and solar power units are added to the grid and as more electrification takes place through Biden’s push for electric vehicles and electric heating technologies. Unless the Biden administration changes its policies, Americans can expect brownouts and blackouts and higher electric prices in the future as the back-up to wind and solar power are very expensive batteries. Since Biden has taken office, residential electricity prices have risen 27 percent and they are expected to rise more due to his policies.

natural gas

The Absurdity of the Electric Vehicle Transition

Biden’s bullet train folly.

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