Forest ecosystems are complex, multiscale ecological systems dominated by tree communities and structured by vertical stratification (canopy, understory, forest floor) that regulate energy flow, biogeochemical cycles, and habitat availability. They integrate interactions among primary producers, heterotrophs, decomposers, and abiotic factors such as climate, soils, and hydrology, resulting in distinct successional dynamics and disturbance regimes (e.g., fire, windthrow, pest outbreaks). Forest ecosystems play central roles in carbon sequestration, nutrient cycling, and water regulation, exhibit high spatial heterogeneity and biodiversity, and are key model systems for studying resilience, feedbacks between vegetation and climate, and anthropogenic impacts such as fragmentation, land-use change, and altered disturbance frequencies.
In the middle of the old-growth forests of Congaree National Park in South Carolina, fireflies put on an otherworldly display every May. Thousands of male insects belonging to the species Photuris frontalis flash together ...
Ecology
Mar 13, 2026
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57
Urban parks are a vital component of urban ecosystems and provide distinctive habitats for soil microorganisms. Yet scientists have questioned whether—and how—the functional diversity and evolutionary potential of microbial ...
Ecology
Mar 13, 2026
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19
Mangrove forests protect tropical coasts from storms, store large amounts of carbon and provide vital habitats for plants and animals, serving, for example, as nurseries for fish and crabs. They also supply local communities ...
Ecology
Mar 12, 2026
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108
The adoption of management techniques that reduce the impact of timber harvesting can promote the recovery of tropical forests, such as the Amazon, and store carbon in the long term while maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem ...
Environment
Mar 12, 2026
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16
Forest damage in Europe caused by wildfires, storms and bark beetle outbreaks is projected to increase compared to recent decades under all analyzed climate scenarios, according to a new international study, published in ...
Earth Sciences
Mar 5, 2026
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83
A new study shows how climate and light conditions interaction affect the early growth in abarco, a highly valued tropical timber species, offering critical guidance for reforestation and sustainable forest management in ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 4, 2026
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12
If a tree falls in the forest, it can create an opening for more incoming light, and that makes a significant impact on the surrounding environment, according to new research. An international science team has used supercomputer ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 4, 2026
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12
Rural communities bordering the Tongass National Forest harvest more than 4.5 million pounds of wild food per year, including 100 different species that our public lands help support. Just how much food is this? An average ...
Ecology
Mar 4, 2026
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18
In 2019 and again in 2021, Penn State researchers in the Department of Geography walked a series of 1,000 square foot plots in California's Lassen Volcanic National Park. The goal was to see how the forest that's hands-off ...
Ecology
Mar 4, 2026
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14
For decades, scientists have relied on tree rings to estimate how long trees can live. But new research suggests that this widely used method may have been underestimating the lifespan of many flowering trees—sometimes by ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 3, 2026
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106
