Increased heat and drought stunt tropical trees, a major carbon sink
For a long time, ecologists assumed tree rings to be absent in tropical trees because of a lack of temperature and rain fluctuations in the trees’ environment. But in recent decades, the formation of growth rings has been proven for hundreds of tropical tree species, which are sensitive to drought and usually experience at least […]
We need more women in forestry: ‘Who wouldn’t want to work with trees?’
By Hannah Wagner We have an exciting announcement to make! Right now, there are more women leading state forestry agencies than ever before. Thirteen female state foresters out of a total of 59 might not seem like a triumph, but it is. The forestry sector has historically been a male-dominated profession, and even today, fewer than 20% of foresters in […]
Why does fire not kill some bacteria and fungi? – Forest research and supply
Scientists have discovered microbes that live in the soil of wildfires. When all else fails, some fungi and bacteria do not know how to reproduce, but a new project aims to change that. Pet Homia, co-investigator, co-investigator and former student of Kobe Lu, plowing the ground at the Holy Fire. (Sydney Glasman / UCR) […]
India: Frequent heat waves a reminder of climate change impacts
Climate scientists warn that South Asia is likely to experience more extreme weather brought on by heat waves in the coming decades. In March, wide swathes of northern India experienced more than dozen heat waves.
Can you have a greener period?
Single-use sanitary products are highly polluting. DW looks at the eco-friendly alternatives, like menstrual cups and period underwear, to see how they fare.
New global nature pact hangs in balance as ‘world burns’
About 195 countries are set to finalise a deal this year to halt human damage to plants, animals and ecosystems KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Despite being two years behind schedule due to the pandemic, talks between governments aimed at brokering a new global pact to protect nature made little concrete progress […]
COP26: Pivotal Progress Made on Sustainable Forest Management and Conservation
UN Climate Change News, 10 November 2021 – The sustainable management and conservation of the world’s forests has been significantly boosted at COP26 with financial pledges, technical progress and a declaration by World Leaders and other stakeholders on ‘Forests and Land Use’. Realising that action is needed now to preserve forests’ crucial role in contributing to resilience-building, emission […]
UN Scales up Climate Action to Protect Forests
UN Climate Change News, 21 March 2022 – Today’s International Day of Forests under the theme “Forests and sustainable production and consumption,” is an opportunity to highlight the significant role of forests in the context of climate change. Forests globally are under immense pressure. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) 6th Assessment Report […]
Forests help reduce global warming in more ways than one There’s more to the effect than the capture of carbon dioxide alone
When it comes to cooling the planet, forests have more than one trick up their trees. Tropical forests help cool the average global temperature by more than 1 degree Celsius, a new study finds. The effect stems largely from forests’ capacity to capture and store atmospheric carbon (SN: 11/18/21). But around one-third of that tropical […]
New Space-Based Weather Instruments Start Gathering Data
In Brief: Innovative mini instruments on the International Space Station have produced their first maps of global humidity and ocean winds. After being installed on the International Space Station, two small instruments designed and built at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California were powered up Jan. 7 and began collecting data on Earth’s ocean […]