Information archive — science
Gardening and landscaping, no matter what the goal, utilizes science. The more familiar you are with some basic science, particularly biology, the more effective you will be as a gardener.
One of the very wonderful things about science is that it is fluid. It changes and evolves as scientists, their tools, and their resources improve. It is no different with horticulture and soil. We learn new things all the time. There is a truly exciting amount of new knowledge about soil in the past 10–15 years because scientists were curious, and new instruments became available to see what had not been seen previously. Scientists continually test the status quo, and that is good for everyone.
It has been said that if you have a gardening book about any of the scientific (objective) aspects of gardening (as opposed to design which subjective), you should occasionally look at the publishing date. If it is more than 10 years old, then do some research to see if there is a more current book on the topic. If you can find peer-reviewed information out of a university or their extension service, so much the better.
Science is good, and it can be fun. Smart gardeners utilize good science.
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Bird Citizen Science
Bird Citizen Science — The Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
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Birds: The Great Backyard Bird Count
Birds: The Great Backyard Bird Count — Audubon, The Cornell Lab, Bird Studies Canada.
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How Plants Work: The Science Behind the Amazing Things Plants Do
How Plants Work: The Science Behind the Amazing Things Plants Do — by Linda Chalker-Scott. A great science book for gardeners.
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Science Literacy for the Citizen Scientist
Science Literacy for the Citizen Scientist
— WSU Extension.The basics of understanding the scientific method so that a person can distinguish between pseudoscience and real science. The scientific method is a huge help in troubleshooting what is going wrong (or right) in your garden.
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The Garden Professors
A Facebook page run by a collection of professors from a range of plant science disciplines from a range of universities. It is a Facebook group where you can get science-based answers to gardening questions.
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Wildlife Citizen Science
National Wildlife Federation. Information and resources specifically about ecosystems and wildlife habitat. Scroll down the page for lots of ways to get involved in observing, counting, and protecting the habitat in your back yard or neighborhood.
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Xerces Citizen Science
Xerces Citizen Science — Xerces Society.
Related resources: Wildlife Management | Soil / Compost / Mulch
