ONE of the most enjoyable things about science is seeing a preconceived idea turned on its head, especially if the new finding has important consequences. This week saw just such a result in an area we thought we knew all about: the gases released by plants.
Vegetation, it seems, releases methane – not just when it rots, but under normal conditions. And it’s no small amount either – between 10 and 30 per cent of all the methane pumped into the atmosphere. One reason why we may have missed this “minor detail” is that we know of no physiological reason…
