Plants could help detect human remains in dense forest areas because of the way vegetation behaves around decomposing bodies, researchers hope.
This is because chemical changes in the ecosystems around human remains, referred to by researchers as "cadaver decomposition islands," alters the soil and surrounding plant roots and leafs.
The research will be conducted at the university's Anthropology Research Facility, known as the "body farm," where scientists examine the process of human body decay under different conditions and how it impacts nearby plants. "In smaller, open landscapes foot patrols could be effective to find someone missing, but in more forested or treacherous parts of the world like the Amazon, that's not going to be possible at all," said senior author Neal Stewart Jr, a professor of plant sciences at the University of Tennessee, in a statement. "This led us to look into plants as indicators of human decomposition, which could lead to faster, and possibly safer body recovery.
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