Global climate change brings increases in precipitation extremes, from severe drought to heavy rainfall events, both expected to become more prevalent through the 21st century. Powerful weather events already impact human environments, with intense fires and flooding, and greatly transform natural ecosystems.
New research into the causes of the devastating global biodiversity crisis has found that the conversion of natural forests and grasslands to intensive agriculture and livestock is the biggest cause
Over the last two centuries, human actions have resulted in rising temperatures, a massive carbon imbalance, and tremendous biodiversity loss. However, there are cases in which human stewardship seems to help remediate this damage. Researchers examined tropical forests across Asia, Africa and the Americas and found that the forests located on protected Indigenous lands were the healthiest, highest functioning, most diverse, and most ecologically resilient.
How lightning travels from the sky to the ground inspired the concept behind a new algorithmic approach to digitally separate individual trees from their forests in automatic forest mapping.
A study shows that urban forests tend to group similar tree species together and rely heavily on introduced species, which may decrease resilience and reduce their benefits for people and animals.
Scientists have estimated the conservation status of nearly 1,900 palm species using artificial intelligence, and found more than 1,000 may be at risk of extinction.
Researchers have identified a new reason to protect mangrove forests: they’ve been quietly keeping carbon out of Earth’s atmosphere for the past 5,000 years.
Conifers are dominant tree species in boreal forests, but they are susceptible to attack by bark beetles.
A new study in Costa Rica reveals that restoring relatively narrow strips of riverfront forests could substantially improve regional water quality and carbon storage. The analysis, shows that such buffers tend to be most beneficial in steep, erosion-prone, and intensively fertilized landscapes – a finding that could inform similar efforts in other countries.
A team of environmental scientists has written a follow-up paper to their study published last year that warned that approximately one-third of tree species around the world are in danger of extinction. In this new paper, the group explains why the loss of so many tree species is so devastating and why attempts should be made to reverse such extinctions.
