Deforestation is the large-scale, often permanent removal of forest cover, typically through logging, burning, or land conversion for agriculture, infrastructure, or resource extraction, resulting in the reduction or fragmentation of forest ecosystems. As a research topic, it encompasses quantifying forest loss using remote sensing and geospatial analysis, assessing impacts on carbon stocks, greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity, hydrological cycles, and soil integrity, and examining social-ecological drivers such as governance, commodity markets, and land-use policies. Deforestation studies also investigate feedbacks to climate systems, resilience thresholds, and the effectiveness of interventions including protected areas, certification schemes, and zero-deforestation supply-chain commitments.
Toiling around the clock, haggard Indonesian firefighters on the island of Borneo cannot keep up with the blazes devouring landscapes and shrouding communities in a cloying haze.
Environment
Sep 7, 2026
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11
Twice already this week, Indonesian volunteer firefighter Kristoforus Sinyong worked throughout the night fighting some of the blazes that have consumed swaths of the island of Borneo.
Environment
Sep 4, 2026
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14
We share our planet with millions of plants and animals. This variety of life is known as biodiversity, a term encompassing everything from microscopic genes to entire ecosystems, such as deserts and vibrant coral reefs.
Ecology
Aug 27, 2026
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20
When I first arrived in Peru's Allpahuayo-Mishana National Reserve in 2005, a local youth surprised me with an offer to sell me a live owl, despite the fact that we were in a protected area where commercial hunting was prohibited. ...
As nations race to restore ecosystems and curb climate change, research has shown that letting nature do the work is a cost-effective, viable solution. A study from the University of Queensland and the University of Newcastle ...
Environment
Aug 20, 2026
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98
Dense evergreen plantations in Canada's boreal forest absorb so much winter sunlight that the resulting surface warming can offset 6% to 20% of the climate benefit they are credited with. Canada's current carbon accounting ...
Earth Sciences
Aug 20, 2026
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When a destroyed section of the Amazon rainforest begins to recover, nature deploys only a few tree species that can withstand poor soil conditions and blazing sun and grow rapidly, a Brazilian study has shown.
Ecology
Aug 18, 2026
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13
ETH researchers have used a sustainability program for cocoa cultivation in Côte d'Ivoire to demonstrate that, in one in four cases, data was manipulated to meet the program's requirements. If the auditor were aware of the ...
Agriculture
Aug 13, 2026
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12
Peatland fires in Indonesia pose a major threat to habitats, wildlife and people. That risk is exacerbated by the country's periodic El Niño warming phases, which bring prolonged drought.
Environment
Aug 12, 2026
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14
Nearly 30 years ago, a simple question sent University of Washington researchers into the Puget Sound lowlands to look for birds. With Seattle's population swelling and housing developments pushing into once-forested suburbs, ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 11, 2026
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