Plants in forest emit aspirin chemical; discovery may help agriculture
Date: 25.9.2008
Plants in a forest respond to **stress** by producing significant amounts of a **chemical form of aspirin**, scientists have discovered. The finding, by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), opens up new avenues of research into the behavior of plants and their impacts on air quality, and it also has the potential to give farmers an early warning signal about crops that are failing.
The discovery raises the possibility that farmers, forest managers, and others may eventually be able to start **monitoring** plants for early signs of a **disease**, an **insect infestation**, or other types of stress. At present, they often do not know if an ecosystem is unhealthy until there are visible indicators, such as dead leaves.
"The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research":[ http://www.ucar.edu/news/releases/2008/plants.jsp]
