Feature Channels: Nature

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How can conifers that are used for example as Christmas trees keep their green needles over the boreal winter when most trees shed their leaves?

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The Earth’s soils contain more than three times the amount of carbon than is found in the atmosphere, but the processes that bind carbon in the soil are still not well understood.

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An international team of researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Zhejiang A & F University and the University of Eastern Finland have found that regardless of whether flowering or leaf unfolding occurred first in a species, the first event advanced more than the second over the last seven decades.

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A new study led by researchers in the Geography Department at Swansea University reveals the extreme scale of loss and fragmentation of tropical forests, which once covered much of the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan.

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Armstrong studied the microscopic communities living within the water samples to understand more about water quality and primary production.

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The research will help provide information on actions that could be taken to save the Mariana fruit bat, which faces extinction.

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What does it take to get some people to go outside and experience nature? For some urban dwellers, it took the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers say. The new study finds that 26% of people visiting parks during early months of the COVID-19 pandemic had rarely – or never – visited nature in the previous year. The study is one of the first to explore how COVID-19 has changed Americans’ relationship with nature. The research will appear in PLOS ONE journal.

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Study examines the positive effects of wetlands on water quality and the potential for using wetland restoration as a key strategy for improving water quality, particularly in the Mississippi River Basin and Gulf of Mexico regions

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One of the first studies on Americans' relationship with nature during COVID finds significant increases in outdoor activity, especially among women. Women were 1.7 (gardening) to 2.9 (walking) times more likely to report increasing their activity compared to men. In general, outdoor activities seeing the largest increases were: watching wildlife, gardening, photos or art in nature, relaxing alone outside, and walking.

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A PNNL-led study is noting a strategic approach is needed for advancing effective large-scale ecosystem restoration outcomes to maximize both ecological and economic benefits.

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Scientists from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Colorado State University used observations from the Lab’s eBird citizen-science program to estimate the seasonal species richness of nocturnally migrating passerines within 333 well surveyed urban areas in the contiguous U.S. “Richness” is defined as the number of different species in an area.

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UC San Diego-led research is providing new details about honey bees and their defenses against preying hornets. Using a common iPad, James Nieh and his colleagues conducted the first study that demonstrates that a contagious warning signal counters fake news in social insects.

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WCS will hold a media briefing to demonstrate a new groundbreaking, publicly available index that measures ecological integrity for all the world’s forests: the Forest Landscape Integrity Index.

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Monash University geologists have shed new light on the early history of the Earth through their discovery that continents were weak and prone to destruction in their infancy.

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A new report called Innovative Finance for Conservation: Roles for Ecologists and Practitioners, explores how private investment could boost conservation in a big way.

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There's been a huge bump in the number of people connecting with birds and nature as people stuck close to home during this past year, and the trend is continuing. The perfect gift for new—and veteran—birdwatchers is the gift of knowledge. There's so much to learn about birds! Below are holiday gift ideas that are meaningful and environmentally friendly—and your purchase supports the nonprofit conservation work at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

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It will come as no surprise to anyone living in Phoenix, Arizona, that 2020 has been a record-breaking year for high temperatures.

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Is the Amazon rainforest as sensitive to water stress as what the current models have been showing? Columbia Engineering researchers found that the models have been largely over-estimating water stress in tropical forests. While models show that increases in air dryness greatly diminish photosynthesis rates in certain regions of the Amazon rainforest, observational data results show the opposite: in certain very wet regions, the forests instead even increase photosynthesis rates in response to drier air.

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When food is scarce, monarch butterfly caterpillars go from peaceful feeders to aggressive fighters. The results look something like a combination of boxing and “bumper” cars. The less food, the more likely caterpillars were to try to head-butt each other out of the way to get their fill, lunging and knocking aside other caterpillars to ensure their own survival. And, they are most aggressive right before the final stages of their metamorphosis.

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A study published in Ecological Applications suggests that nature around one's home may help mitigate some of the negative mental health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Several years ago, faculty and students at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee began underwater mapping of the physical features and fish populations in the Milwaukee harbor. Their online visual tool is now guiding restoration efforts.

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Animals that migrate "live fast and die young", new research shows.

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In a study that gives new meaning to the term "rock bottom," seismic researchers have discovered the underside of a rocky slab of Earth's surface layer, or lithosphere, that has been pulled more than 400 miles beneath northeastern China by the process of tectonic subduction.

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New research into how catfish capture prey provides an unparalleled view of the internal mechanics of fish skulls and could inspire the design of new underwater robots.

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A new study by researchers at the University of Georgia suggests ecotourism’s altruistic attractions may be overshadowed by another benefit: photos for social media.

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FAU’s Art of Science photo contest is designed to engage and educate the public in the unique study, scholarship and creative activities taking place in all of the University’s labs, out in the fields and across all of its disciplines.

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Forest restoration, a form of reforestation, is viewed as an important approach to addressing the climate crisis and maintaining rainforests and their biodiversity.

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If you’ve ever seen a seagull snatch some fries or felt their beady eyes on your sandwich in the park, you'd be right to suspect they know exactly when to strike to increase their chances of getting a human snack. A new study by the University of Bristol is the most in-depth look to date at the foraging behaviours of urban gulls and how they’ve adapted to patterns of human activity in a city.

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Southern small-leaved oak forests are the habitats with a higher level of spider endemism in the Iberian Peninsula, according to an article published in the journal Biodiversity and Conservation.

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Before the journey, many birds molt their bright feathers, replacing them with a more subdued palette. Watching this molt led scientists to wonder how feather color changes relate to the migrations many birds undertake twice each year.

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The climate seems to be getting warmer. This could be bad news for species that depend on stable and abundant access to food at certain times of the year.

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A collaborative research project with scientists from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF), and Syracuse University will identify options for more effectively managing water resources in semi-arid areas impacted by climate change. The project is funded with a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant for nearly $550,000.

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Gentoo penguins should be reclassified as four separate species, say scientists at the Milner Centre for Evolution at the University of Bath, after analysing the genetic and physical differences between populations around the southern hemisphere.

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University of New Hampshire has found that by the end of the century the vernal window, sometimes referred to as mud season in northeastern North America, could be two to four weeks longer and 59% of the area may not see any accumulating snow which means significantly less melting snow that could be detrimental to key spring conditions in rivers and surrounding ecosystems.

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The fabled Silk Road is responsible for one of our favorite and most valuable fruits: the domesticated apple. Cornell University researchers have now assembled complete reference genomes and pan-genomes for the apple and its two main wild progenitors.

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A rare study shows how one of Georgia’s barrier islands provides a safe haven for gopher tortoises and gives researchers at the University of Georgia evidence to prove species relocation is an effective conservation tool.

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Ocean acidification is no longer a sombre forecast for the Great Barrier Reef but a present-day reality, a new study reveals.

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While decades of monitoring and regulatory efforts have paid little attention to Lake Michigan's tiny tributaries, new research shows that they play an outsized role in feeding algae blooms and impacting coastal waters.

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A “safety net” made up of multiple ambitious and interlinked goals is needed to tackle nature’s alarming decline, according to an international team of researchers analyzing the new goals for biodiversity being drafted by the UN’s Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

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According to an international team of researchers, a ‘safety net’ made up of multiple, interlinked and ambitious goals is needed to tackle nature’s alarming decline.

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If you think that the Sahara is covered only by golden dunes and scorched rocks, you aren't alone.

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It was raining iguanas on a sunny morning. Biologist James Stroud’s phone started buzzing early on Jan. 22. A friend who was bicycling to work past the white sands and palm tree edges of Key Biscayne, an island town south of Miami, sent Stroud a picture of a 2-foot-long lizard splayed out on its back. With its feet in the air, the iguana took up most of the sidewalk.

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CoverCress, Inc., announced a new collaboration with the Salk Institute to improve plant yield, soil health and soil organic carbon storage in cover crops via cutting-edge technologies developed by the Salk’s Harnessing Plants Initiative (HPI).

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A new University of Washington and NOAA Fisheries study found that sea lions have the largest negative effect on early-arriving endangered Chinook salmon in the lower Columbia River. The results of this study will publish Oct. 18 in the Journal of Applied Ecology.

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Restoration efforts can potentially be 13 times more cost-effective when it takes place in the highest priority locations, according to a new landmark study.

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The Healthy Crops team, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, have used gene editing tools to develop new varieties of disease-resistant rice that regulators in the United States and Colombia have determined are equivalent to what could be accomplished with conventional breeding.

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To mitigate heat in light of climate change, city planners are replacing artificial surfaces with vegetation cover. In water-limited regions, they have to balance the benefit of cooler temperatures with conserving water. A University of Utah study found that mixed landscapes are the best way to mitigate the heat island effect in semi-arid regions.

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As climate warming stokes longer fire seasons and more severe fires in the North American boreal forest, being able to calculate how much carbon each fire burns grows more urgent.