The forests of the Amazon are an important carbon sink
(Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ) The world’s tropical forests store huge quantities of carbon in their biomass and thus constitute an important carbon sink. However, current estimates of the amount of carbon dioxide stored in tropical forests of the Amazon vary largely. Scientists at the UFZ have developed an approach that uses recent satellite data to provide much more precise estimates of the amount of biomass in tropical forests than in the past.
Santiago walking tour and why just transition important for addressing social crisis and ecological crisis
November 7: Today I did a 3 hour walking tour of Santiago with Marcela from Tour4Tips. They are only running walking tours in the morning due to the social protests. Many of the museums are closed due to workers being…
Scientist sheds light on complexity of biodiversity loss
Species richness — the number of different species in a given ecological community — is not the only, nor necessarily the best, way to measure biodiversity impacts on ecosystems.
Evidence of cross-species filovirus transmission from bats to humans
Virus spillover may be occurring between bats and humans in Nagaland, India, according to a new collaborative study. The study reaffirms the importance of virus surveillance at wildlife and human interfaces where the risk of virus spillover (transmission) may be highest.
Land restoration in Ethiopia pays off but climate change necessitates many strategies
(International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)) In the last decade, Ethiopia has invested more than US$1.2 billion annually in restoring landscapes in several regions of the country. Research led by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) takes stock of Ethiopia’s major restoration projects and investigates their impact on ecosystem services. Researchers say their work can help policymakers tailor future restoration actions to specific ecosystem needs.
Human activities boosted global soil erosion already 4,000 years ago
(Institut national de la recherche scientifique – INRS) Soil erosion reduces the productivity of ecosystems, it changes nutrient cycles and it thus directly impacts climate and society. An international team of researchers, including Professor Pierre Francus at the Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS), recorded temporal changes of soil erosion by analyzing sediment deposits in more than 600 lakes worldwide. They found that the accumulation of lake sediments increased significantly on a global scale around 4,000 years ago.
Transforming land use can make world carbon neutral by 2040: Study
Immediate measures on agriculture, forestry, wetlands and bioenergy can cut down a third of the emissions to keep temperatures below 1.5°C
What’s driving tropical deforestation? Scientists map 45 years of satellite images
(International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)) Tropical forests are under increasing pressure from human activity such as agriculture. However, in order to put effective conservation measures in place, local decision-makers must be able to precisely identify which areas of forest are most vulnerable. A new analysis method spearheaded by researchers from the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD), the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and the University of Rennes-2 could hold the key.
Birds are in trouble, but you can help them
Two-thirds of birds in North America are at risk due to warming temperatures and human impact on the planet. Just last month, a study published in the journal Science found that nearly 3 billion birds have disappeared on the continent…
Mediterranean is warming up faster than the rest of the planet, report warns – EL PAIS
Whether they like it or not, 500 million people from three continents are united by the same problem: climate change. The Mediterranean basin is one of the hot spots of this global crisis, and in some ways it is being…
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