Skunk cabbage is one of the first plants to sprout in the springtime in the Northern Hemisphere. The plant itself is 20?C (76?F) warmer than the surrounding air, and it melts the snow around itself so that the shoots can sprout upwards.
Back to Chernobyl
Back to Chernobyl Researchers working at the site of the Chernobyl
nuclear power plant have found that mulching is an effective way to
reduce the amount of radioactive uptake in plants grown in
contaminated areas. It appears to work through protecting the
plants' roots and leaves from radioactive particles carried by rain
and wind. However, mulching does not remove the radioactivity from
the soil.
Other research that is currently being carried out into removing
the radioactivity from the soil is using the cannabis plant as a
soil decontaminant. The plant absorbs the radioactivity, but it can
still be used for its fibers because when the plant is processed
the radioactivity remains in the rest of the plant, and not in the
fibers. 10 APRIL 1999, P. 7
Cool Articles
