https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200903133025.htm

"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," says senior author Neal Stewart Jr., a professor of plant sciences at the University of Tennessee. "This led us to look into plants as indicators of human decomposition, which could lead to faster, and possibly safer body recovery."

Research into the relationship between plants and human decomposition will take place on the University of Tennessee's "body farm." Officially known as the Anthropology Research Facility, this is where scientists examine the process of human body decay under different conditions. There, investigators will assess how "cadaver decomposition islands" -- the zone immediately surrounding humans remains -- change the nutrient concentrations of the soil, and how those changes manifest in the nearby plants.