Rainforests News

January 21, 2026

Top Headlines

Microplastics Are Undermining the Ocean’s Power to Absorb Carbon

Jan. 17, 2026 Tiny plastic particles drifting through the oceans may be quietly weakening one of Earth’s most powerful climate defenses. New research suggests microplastics are disrupting marine life that helps oceans absorb carbon dioxide, while also releasing ...

Scientists Found the Soil Secret That Doubles Forest Regrowth

Jan. 15, 2026 New research shows tropical forests can recover twice as fast after deforestation when their soils contain enough nitrogen. Scientists followed forest regrowth across Central America for decades and found that nitrogen plays a decisive role in how ...

A 3,000-year High: Alaska’s Arctic Is Entering a Dangerous New Fire Era

Jan. 14, 2026 For thousands of years, wildfires on Alaska’s North Slope were rare. That changed sharply in the 20th century, when warming temperatures dried soils and fueled the spread of shrubs, setting the stage for intense fires. Peat cores and satellite ...

Wildfires Are Polluting the Air Far More Than Thought

Jan. 7, 2026 Scientists have discovered that wildfires release far more air-polluting gases than previously estimated. Many of these hidden emissions can transform into fine particles that are dangerous to breathe. The study shows wildfire pollution rivals ...

We Are Living in a Golden Age of Species Discovery

Dec. 24, 2025 The search for life on Earth is speeding up, not slowing down. Scientists are now identifying more than 16,000 new species each year, revealing far more biodiversity than expected across animals, plants, fungi, and beyond. Many species remain ...

The Western U.S. Tried to Stop Wildfires and It Backfired

Dec. 18, 2025 Much of the western U.S. is overdue for wildfire, with decades of suppression allowing fuel to build up across millions of hectares. Researchers estimate that 74% of the region is in a fire deficit, meaning far more land needs to burn to restore ...

Scientists Find Hidden Rainfall Pattern That Could Reshape Farming

Dec. 12, 2025 New research shows that crops are far more vulnerable when too much rainfall originates from land rather than the ocean. Land-sourced moisture leads to weaker, less reliable rainfall, heightening drought risk. The U.S. Midwest and East Africa are ...

The Deep Ocean Is Fixing Carbon in Ways No One Expected

Dec. 10, 2025 Researchers have uncovered surprising evidence that the deep ocean’s carbon-fixing engine works very differently than long assumed. While ammonia-oxidizing archaea were thought to dominate carbon fixation in the sunless depths, experiments show ...

The Five Great Forests That Keep North America’s Birds Alive

Nov. 22, 2025 Migratory birds that fill North American forests with spring songs depend on Central America’s Five Great Forests far more than most people realize. New research shows these tropical strongholds shelter enormous shares of species like Wood ...

New Report Reveals Major Risks in Turning Oceans Into Carbon Sinks

Nov. 20, 2025 Experts say the ocean could help absorb carbon dioxide, but today’s technologies are too uncertain to be scaled up safely. New findings released during COP30 highlight the risks of rushing into marine carbon removal without proper monitoring and ...

The Hidden Carbon Cost of ‘Green’ Bamboo Tissue

Nov. 3, 2025 Bamboo tissue paper, often marketed as an eco-friendly alternative, may not be as green as consumers think. Researchers at NC State University found that while bamboo fibers themselves are not more polluting than wood, China’s coal-dependent ...

Scientists Just Found a Surprising Twist in Earth’s Extinction Story

Oct. 27, 2025 Extinction rates are not spiraling upward as many believe, according to a large-scale study analyzing 500 years of data. Researchers found that species losses peaked about a century ago and have decreased since, with different drivers shaping past ...

Latest Headlines

updated 1:31pm EST

Scientists Warn Half the World’s Beaches Could Disappear

Nov. 27, 2025 Human development and climate-driven sea level rise are accelerating global beach erosion and undermining the natural processes that sustain coastal ecosystems. Studies reveal that urban activity on ...

Earth’s Climate Just Crossed a Line We Can’t Ignore

Oct. 13, 2025 Humanity has reached the first Earth system tipping point, the widespread death of warm-water coral reefs, marking the beginning of irreversible planetary shifts. As global temperatures move beyond ...

They’re Smaller Than Dust, but Crucial for Earth’s Climate

Oct. 10, 2025 Coccolithophores, tiny planktonic architects of Earth’s climate, capture carbon, produce oxygen, and leave behind geological records that chronicle our planet’s history. European scientists are ...

Record Amazon Fires Release More Carbon Than an Entire Country

Oct. 8, 2025 The Amazon has suffered its most destructive fire season in more than two decades, releasing a staggering 791 million tons of carbon dioxide—on par with Germany’s annual emissions. Scientists ...

Ocean Heatwaves Are Breaking Earth’s Hidden Climate Engine

Oct. 7, 2025 Marine heatwaves can jam the ocean’s natural carbon conveyor belt, preventing carbon from reaching the deep sea. Researchers studying two major heatwaves in the Gulf of Alaska found that plankton ...

Scientists Just Recreated a Wildfire That Made Its Own Weather

Oct. 2, 2025 In 2020, California’s Creek Fire became so intense that it generated its own thunderstorm, a phenomenon called a pyrocumulonimbus cloud. For years, scientists struggled to replicate these explosive ...

Strange New Hybrid Bird Spotted in Texas Backyard

Sep. 20, 2025 In Texas, biologists have documented an extraordinary bird — the natural hybrid offspring of a green jay and a blue jay. Once separated by millions of years of evolution and distinct ranges, the ...

DNA from Old Ants Reveals a Hidden Insect Apocalypse in Fiji

Sep. 20, 2025 Insects are essential for ecosystems, but mounting evidence suggests many populations are collapsing under modern pressures. A new study used cutting-edge genomic techniques on museum specimens to ...

Wildfire Smoke Could Kill 70,000 Americans a Year by 2050

Sep. 19, 2025 Wildfires are no longer a seasonal nuisance but a deadly, nationwide health crisis. Fueled by climate change, smoke is spreading farther and lingering longer, with new research warning of tens of ...

Soil Warming Experiments Challenge Assumptions About Climate Change

Sep. 17, 2025 Heating alone won’t drive soil microbes to release more carbon dioxide — they need added carbon and nutrients to thrive. This finding challenges assumptions about how climate warming influences ...

Scientists Just Found Hidden Parasitic Wasps Spreading Across the U. S.

Sep. 15, 2025 Researchers discovered two new parasitic wasp species living in the U.S., tracing their origins back to Europe and uncovering clues about how they spread. Their arrival raises fresh questions about ...

Maui’s Fires Drove a 67% Jump in Deaths. Most Went Uncounted

Aug. 25, 2025 Researchers uncovered that the Maui wildfires caused a spike in deaths far higher than reported, with hidden fatalities linked to fire, smoke, and lack of medical access. They warn that prevention ...

Scientists Uncover Wildfire Paradox That’s Putting 440 Million People in Danger

Aug. 31, 2025 A massive global study uncovered a striking paradox: even as total burned land has dropped by more than a quarter since 2002, human exposure to wildfires has skyrocketed. Africa accounts for a ...

The Surprising Reason Timber Plantations Explode Into Megafires

Aug. 21, 2025 Industrial forests, packed with evenly spaced trees, face nearly 50% higher odds of megafires than public lands. A lidar-powered study of California’s Sierra Nevada reveals how dense plantations ...

Protected Seas Help Kelp Forests Bounce Back from Heatwaves

Aug. 20, 2025 Kelp forests bounce back faster from marine heatwaves when shielded inside Marine Protected Areas. UCLA researchers found that fishing restrictions and predator protection strengthen ecosystem ...

This Is Where Tree Planting Has the Biggest Climate Impact

Aug. 21, 2025 Planting more trees can help cool the planet and reduce fire risk—but where they are planted matters. According to UC Riverside researchers, tropical regions provide the most powerful climate ...

Scientists Just Found a Hidden Factor Behind Earth’s Methane Surge

Aug. 17, 2025 Roughly two-thirds of all atmospheric methane, a potent greenhouse gas, comes from methanogens. Tracking down which methanogens in which environment produce methane with a specific isotope signature ...

Ancient Predators and Giant Amphibians Found in African Fossil Treasure Trove

Aug. 13, 2025 Over 15 years of fossil excavations in Tanzania and Zambia have revealed a vivid portrait of life before Earth s most devastating mass extinction 252 million years ago. Led by the University of ...

The Hidden Climate Battle Between Forests and the Ocean

Aug. 2, 2025 Between 2003 and 2021, Earth saw a net boost in photosynthesis, mainly thanks to land plants thriving in warming, wetter conditions—especially in temperate and high-latitude regions. Meanwhile, ...

This Genetic Breakthrough Could Help Thousands of Species Cheat Extinction

July 21, 2025 Gene editing may hold the key to rescuing endangered species—not just by preserving them, but by restoring their lost genetic diversity using DNA from museum specimens and related species. ...

Drones Reveal 41,000-Turtle Nesting Mega-Site Hidden in the Amazon

July 29, 2025 A team at the University of Florida used drones and smart modeling to accurately count over 41,000 endangered turtles nesting along the Amazon’s Guaporé River—revealing the world’s largest ...

These Dogs Are Trained to Sniff out an Invasive Insect—and They're Shockingly Good at It

July 17, 2025 Dogs trained by everyday pet owners are proving to be surprisingly powerful allies in the fight against the invasive spotted lanternfly. In a groundbreaking study, citizen scientists taught their ...

They Fled the Flames—now Jaguars Rule a Wetland Refuge

July 16, 2025 After devastating wildfires scorched the Brazilian Pantanal, an unexpected phenomenon unfolded—more jaguars began arriving at a remote wetland already known for having the densest jaguar population ...

No Training Needed: How Humans Instinctively Read Nature’s Signals

July 10, 2025 People can intuitively sense how biodiverse a forest is just by looking at photos or listening to sounds, and their gut feelings surprisingly line up with what scientists ...

Honey Bees Remove 80% of Pollen—leaving Native Bees With Nothing

July 7, 2025 Feral honey bees, once celebrated for their agricultural value, are now threatening native ecosystems in Southern California by monopolizing pollen sources and overwhelming native pollinators. A new ...

Climate Is Changing Fast—and Forests Are 200 Years Behind

July 4, 2025 Forests aren’t keeping up with today’s climate chaos. While temperatures soar within decades, tree populations take 100 to 200 years to shift in response. A sweeping new analysis of ancient ...

When Rainforests Died, the Planet Caught Fire: New Clues from Earth’s Greatest Extinction

July 3, 2025 When Siberian volcanoes kicked off the Great Dying, the real climate villain turned out to be the rainforests themselves: once they collapsed, Earth’s biggest carbon sponge vanished, CO₂ ...

Rainforest Deaths Are Surging and Scientists Just Found the Shocking Cause

July 3, 2025 Tropical trees are dying faster than ever, and it's not just heat or drought to blame. Scientists have uncovered a surprising culprit: ordinary thunderstorms. These quick, fierce storms, powered ...

Tiny Creatures, Massive Impact: How Zooplankton Store 65 Million Tonnes of Carbon Annually

June 27, 2025 Zooplankton like copepods aren’t just fish food—they’re carbon-hauling powerhouses. By diving deep into the ocean each winter, they’re secretly stashing 65 million tonnes of carbon far below ...

Fighting Fire With Fire: How Prescribed Burns Reduce Wildfire Damage and Pollution

June 30, 2025 Wildfires are becoming more intense and dangerous, but a new Stanford-led study offers hope: prescribed burns—intentionally set, controlled fires—can significantly lessen their impact. By ...