Variations in the soil and stone beneath it are the biggest factor behind which trees grow where in the rainforests of the Congo basin, a new study has found.

Space & Earth - Environment

Nov 06, 2012 not rated yet 1 |

Brazil's Salto Morato Nature Preserve is a haven for scientists studying the dwindling Atlantic rainforest, an area less renowned than the Amazon forest but just as biologically diverse and equally threatened ...

Biology - Ecology

Nov 03, 2012 5 / 5 (1) 0

(Phys.org)—Some high mountain meadows in the Pacific Northwest are declining rapidly due to climate change, a study suggests, as reduced snowpacks, longer growing seasons and other factors allow trees to ...

Space & Earth - Environment

Nov 02, 2012 3.4 / 5 (5) 3 |

(Phys.org)—A new analysis led by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., has estimated how much the growth of plants worldwide is limited by the amount of nutrients available in their soil. ...

Space & Earth - Environment

Nov 02, 2012 2.7 / 5 (7) 1 |

(Phys.org)—Using dogwood trees, scientists are gaining a better understanding of the role photosynthesis and respiration play in the atmospheric carbon dioxide cycle. Their findings will aid computer modelers ...

Space & Earth - Environment

Nov 01, 2012 5 / 5 (2) 0

The old adage "you can't see the forest for the trees" might mean more to Dr. Sorin Popescu than most people.

Space & Earth - Environment

Nov 01, 2012 3 / 5 (2) 0

Concerned about habitat changes due to logging and rapid development, Universiti Teknologi MARA researchers recently conducted a study on the diversity of the important Hymenoptera group, which includes bees, ...

Biology - Ecology

Nov 01, 2012 not rated yet 0

Australia's giant eucalyptus trees are the tallest flowering plants on earth, yet their unique relationship with fire makes them a huge puzzle for ecologists. Now the first global assessment of these giants, published in ...

Biology - Plants & Animals

Oct 31, 2012 5 / 5 (1) 0

– Predation by otters keeps urchin populations in check, allowing kelp—a favorite food of urchins—to flourish. But what if otters were harvested to near extinction for their fur? The resulting overabundance ...

Space & Earth - Environment

Oct 31, 2012 5 / 5 (1) 0

Seven beetle species new to science have been discovered by a young University of Alberta researcher just starting out in her career.

Biology - Ecology

Oct 25, 2012 not rated yet 0

(Phys.org)—Fertilizing one's lawn is considered a necessary practice, as is with most agricultural crops. But how many people know about fertilizing a commercial forest, and how that might affect the environment ...

Space & Earth - Environment

Oct 23, 2012 5 / 5 (1) 0 |

(Phys.org)—A scat-sniffing dog by the name of Pinkerton may be the best friend ever for a small, highly elusive group of endangered monkey and gibbon species now scrambling for survival in the vanishing ...

Biology - Plants & Animals

Oct 22, 2012 not rated yet 0

U.S. Forest Service and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) scientists have found that rising levels of ozone, a greenhouse gas, may amplify the impacts of higher temperatures and reduce streamflow from forests to rivers, ...

Space & Earth - Earth Sciences

Oct 18, 2012 not rated yet 1

An environmental group said Wednesday that a vast swath of Madagascar's unique palm tree species was threatened with extinction. Their dying out would harm the livelihoods of local people as well as endanger several animal ...

Biology - Ecology

Oct 17, 2012 4.5 / 5 (2) 0

(Phys.org)—In newscasts after intense wind and ice storms, damaged trees stand out: snapped limbs, uprooted trunks, entire forests blown nearly flat.

Biology - Ecology

Oct 17, 2012 3 / 5 (2) 0