Forest News

November 20, 2024

Top Headlines

Mixed Forests Reduce the Risk of Forest Damage in a Warmer Climate

Nov. 20, 2024 — Forests with few tree species pose considerably higher risk of being damaged and especially vulnerable is the introduced lodgepole ...

Diverse Diets of Civets in Borneo Rainforest Allow Them to Live in Same Geographical Area

Nov. 20, 2024 — Typically, closely related animal species have difficulty coexisting because they are competing for similar resources. Despite eating the same figs, binturong, small-toothed palm, masked palm, and ...

Climate Change Threatens Rare Temperate Rainforests

Nov. 12, 2024 — Up to two thirds of the world's temperate rainforests could fall victim to climate change by the year 2100 according to a new ...

Tree Islands Restore Nature in Oil Palm Plantations

Nov. 18, 2024 — Southeast Asia's tropical forests are renowned for their biodiversity, but at the same time face significant threats from the expansion of oil palm plantations. With global demand for palm oil rising, the urgency for effective restoration strategies ...

Latest Headlines

updated 11:23pm EST

Redefining Net Zero Will Not Stop Global Warming

Nov. 18, 2024 — An international group of authors who developed the science behind net zero demonstrate that relying on 'natural carbon sinks' like forests and oceans to offset ongoing CO2 emissions from fossil fuel ...

Rainforest Protection Reduces the Number of Respiratory Diseases

Nov. 15, 2024 — Rainforest protection is not only good for biodiversity and the climate -- it also noticeably improves the health of humans who live in the corresponding regions. Researchers show that measures to ...

Diverse and Diverging Demands on Forests in Germany

Nov. 14, 2024 — Forests provide biodiversity, ecosystem functions, income and much more. How can these diverse and seemingly diverging demands be met? An international research team addressed this question by ...

More Evidence That Europe's Ancient Landscapes Were Open Woodlands: Oak, Hazel and Yew Were Abundant

Nov. 12, 2024 — A new study finds that the disturbance-demanding plant species oak, hazel and yew were abundant in Europe's forests before modern humans arrived, ...

'Drowning' Mangrove Forests in Maldives Signal Global Coastal Threat

Nov. 12, 2024 — Researchers have found evidence that mangrove forests -- which protect tropical and subtropical coastlines -- are drowning in the Maldives. Their finding indicate that rising sea level and a climate ...

Facing the Wind: How Trees Behave Across Various Forest Settings and Weather Events

Nov. 12, 2024 — A recent study on Cryptomeria japonica plots shows that trees dissipate wind energy by switching between two swaying behaviors at specific wind ...

First Amber Find on the Antarctic Continent

Nov. 12, 2024 — Roughly 90 million years ago, climatic conditions in Antarctica were suitable for resin-producing trees. Researchers have now made the southernmost discovery of amber in the ...

Nanoparticle Bursts Over the Amazon Rainforest

Nov. 8, 2024 — Atmospheric aerosol particles are essential for the formation of clouds and precipitation, thereby influencing the Earth's energy budget, water cycle, and climate. However, the origin of aerosol ...

Planting Trees in the Arctic Could Make Global Warming Worse, Not Better, Say Scientists

Nov. 7, 2024 — Tree planting has been widely touted as a cost-effective way of reducing global warming, due to trees' ability to store large quantities of carbon ...

How Gophers Brought Mount St. Helens Back to Life in One Day

Nov. 6, 2024 — When Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980, lava incinerated anything living for miles around. As an experiment, scientists dropped gophers onto parts of the scorched mountain for only 24 hours. The ...

Satellite Imagery May Help Protect Coastal Forests from Climate Change

Nov. 4, 2024 — A new study details how climate change transforms coastal wetlands in North Carolina from forest to marshland or even open water, and how satellite imagery may help better direct conservation efforts ...

Small Reductions to Meat Production in Wealthier Countries May Help Fight Climate Change, New Analysis Concludes

Nov. 4, 2024 — Scientists and environmental activists have consistently called for drastic reductions in meat production as a way to reduce emissions and, in doing so, combat climate change. However, a new analysis ...

Indigenous Cultural Burning Has Protected Australia's Landscape for Millennia, Study Finds

Nov. 1, 2024 — Ancient cultural burning practices carried out by Indigenous Australians limited fuel availability and prevented high intensity fires in southeastern Australia for thousands of years, according to ...

Landmark 20-Year Study of Climate Change Impact on Permafrost Forests

Oct. 31, 2024 — A research team conducted perhaps the first long-term observation of CO2 budget in a permafrost forest. During the 20 years from 2003-2022, the team uncovered intriguing findings in the interior of ...

Study Shows Natural Regrowth of Tropical Forests Has Immense Potential to Address Environmental Concerns

Oct. 30, 2024 — A new study finds that up to 215 million hectares of land (an area larger than Mexico) in humid tropical regions around the world has the potential to naturally regrow. That much forest could store ...

Climate Scientist Identifying Water Requirements for Climate Mitigation Through Ecosystem Restoration

Oct. 25, 2024 — Worldwide, deforestation and farming practices are responsible for the degradation of vital ecosystems. While there is a significant amount of interest in climate mitigation by restoring those ...

Human Actions Likely Cause Insect Color Change

Oct. 24, 2024 — New Zealand's native stoneflies have changed colour in response to human-driven environmental changes, new research shows. The study provides arguably the world's most clear-cut case of ...

Plant CO2 Uptake Rises by Nearly One Third in New Global Estimates

Oct. 21, 2024 — Plants the world over are absorbing about 31% more carbon dioxide than previously thought, according to a new assessment. The research is expected to improve Earth system simulations that scientists ...

Global Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Forest Fires Increase by 60 Percent

Oct. 17, 2024 — A major new study reveals that carbon dioxide emissions from forest fires have surged by 60 percent globally since 2001, and almost tripled in some of the most climate-sensitive northern boreal ...

New Temperatures in Two Thirds of Key Tropical Forest

Oct. 15, 2024 — Two thirds of Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) in tropical forests are experiencing new temperature conditions as our climate changes, research ...

Modern Mass Extinction in an Ecuadorean Cloud Forest Found to Be a Mirage

Oct. 15, 2024 — An international team of botanists finds no proof of extinctions in Centinela, but abundant evidence that Centinela's flora lives on in the scattered remaining fragments of coastal ...

Tube Sock-Like Skunk Covers More Ground Than Deer, Impacted by Winter Weather, Study Finds

Oct. 15, 2024 — A study in the Cascade Range in Oregon of a tiny, elusive skunk found the animal can cover more ground than deer and is sensitive to climate change, particularly severe winter ...

Declines in Plant Resilience Threaten Carbon Storage in the Arctic

Oct. 10, 2024 — Rapid warming has impacted the northern ecosystem so significantly that scientists are concerned the region's vegetation is losing the ability to recover from climate shocks, suggests a new ...

Forest Loss Forces Langur Species to Interbreed

Sep. 27, 2024 — Research shows a threatening development for two endangered primate species in Bangladesh: Phayre's langurs (Trachypithecus phayrei) and capped langurs (Trachypithecus pileatus). In mixed groups ...

European Green Deal: A Double-Edged Sword for Global Emissions

Sep. 20, 2024 — The European Green Deal will bring the emission of greenhouse gases in the European Union down, but at the same time causes a more than a twofold increase in emissions outside its ...

How Gaps in the Canopy of a Floodplain Influence Microclimate and Soil Biological Activity

Sep. 16, 2024 — Canopy gaps in a mixed floodplain forest have a direct effect on forest soil temperature and moisture, but only have a minor impact on soil biological ...

Ozone Pollution Reduces Tropical Forest Growth

Sep. 12, 2024 — Ozone gas is reducing the growth of tropical forests -- leaving an estimated 290 million tons of carbon uncaptured each year, new research ...

Global Timber Supply Threatened as Climate Change Pushes Cropland Northwards

Aug. 29, 2024 — Climate change will move and reduce the land suitable for growing food and timber, putting the production of these two vital resources into direct competition, a new study has ...

Study Finds Salamanders Are Surprisingly Abundant in Northeastern Forests

Aug. 26, 2024 — Two recent amphibian-focused studies shed light on the ecological importance of red-backed salamanders, while confirming that proactive measures would prevent costly impacts from a wildlife disease ...

A Leaky Sink: Carbon Emissions from Forest Soil Will Likely Grow With Rising Temperatures

Aug. 23, 2024 — The soils of northern forests are key reservoirs that help keep the carbon dioxide that trees inhale and use for photosynthesis from making it back into the ...