News tagged with land management

Not just for the birds: Man-made noise has ripple effects on plants, too

A growing body of research shows that birds and other animals change their behavior in response to manmade noise, such as the din of traffic or the hum of machinery. But human clamor doesn't just affect animals. ...

Biology / Ecology

created Mar 20, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 4 | with audio podcast

Farm 'weeds' have crucial role in sustainable agriculture

Plants often regarded as common weeds such as thistles, buttercups and clover could be critical in safe guarding fragile food webs on UK farms according to Researchers funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research ...

Biology / Ecology

created Feb 23, 2012 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (4) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Overgrazed grasslands tied to locust outbreaks

While residents of the United States and much of Europe think of locust plagues as biblical references, locust swarms still have devastating effects on agriculture today, especially in developing countries ...

Biology / Ecology

created Jan 26, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

U.S. announces desert 'solar energy zones'

The Obama administration on Thursday announced its plan for solar energy development, directing large-scale industrial projects to 285,000 acres of desert in the Western U.S. while opening 20 million acres of the Mojave for ...

Technology / Energy & Green Tech

created Oct 28, 2011 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (12) | comments 9

Deforestation reduces rainfall in Africa

Deforestation in the rainforests of West Africa reduces rainfall over the rest of the forest, according to new University of Leeds research published in Geophysical Research Letters.

Space & Earth / Environment

created Sep 19, 2011 | popularity 4 / 5 (8) | comments 8 | with audio podcast

Climate change allows invasive weed to outcompete local species

Yellow starthistle already causes millions of dollars in damage to pastures in western states each year, and as climate changes, land managers can expect the problem with that weed and others to escalate.

Biology / Ecology

created May 31, 2011 | popularity 2.8 / 5 (5) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Exotic timber plantations found to use more than twice the water of native forests

Ecologists have discovered that timber plantations in Hawaii use more than twice the amount of water to grow as native forests use. Especially for island ecosystems, these findings suggest that land management ...

Biology / Ecology

created Sep 15, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

A quarter of the world's population depends on degrading land

A new study published in the journal Soil Use and Management attempts for the first time to measure the extent and severity of land degradation across the globe and concludes that 24% of the land area is degrading - ofte ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created Mar 20, 2009 | popularity 3.5 / 5 (4) | comments 0

New shrimp-like species found in New Mexico cave

Scientists have discovered a new tiny shrimp-like species in a gypsum cave in southeastern New Mexico, only a few dozen miles from the famous caves at Carlsbad Caverns National Park.

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Apr 17, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1

Obama plan for spotted owl targets rival bird

(AP) -- To save the imperiled spotted owl, the Obama administration is moving forward with a controversial plan to shoot barred owls, a rival bird that has shoved its smaller cousin aside.

Biology / Ecology

created Feb 28, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 4

Problems cast shadows of doubt on solar project

One of California's showcase solar energy projects, under construction in the desert east of Los Angeles, is being threatened by a deadly outbreak of distemper among kit foxes and the discovery of a prehistoric human settlement ...

Technology / Energy & Green Tech

created Feb 16, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 3

Black Friday provides bushfire answers

Clearing vegetation close to houses is the best way to reduce impacts of severe bushfires, according to a team of scientists from Australia and the USA who examined house loss after as a result of Black Saturday, when a series ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created Jan 18, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Rare bettongs return to mainland

The rare eastern bettong (Bettongia gaimardi) has returned to the Australian mainland, after an absence of over 80 years.

Biology / Ecology

created Nov 03, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Officials say beaver teeth are 7 million years old

(AP) -- The Bureau of Land Management says a fossil found by employees on federal land represents the earliest record of living beavers in North America.

Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils

created Sep 19, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

War on willows

Willows are major environmental weeds of riverbank habitats across much of south-eastern Australia. They obstruct water flow, increase water temperature, change water chemistry and can displace native riverine ...

Biology / Ecology

created Jul 29, 2011 | popularity 3 / 5 (2) | comments 0