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.
The soil in high-elevation, cooler, drier tropical forests in the Colombian Andes stores more carbon from fires than lower, warmer regions, new research shows.
Earth Sciences
Jul 25, 2025
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Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have analyzed 96 years of forest census data to better understand ecological changes and inform management practices.
Plants & Animals
Jul 24, 2025
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25
Researchers have conducted the world's biggest ever bird survey, recording 971 different species living in forests and cattle pastures across the South American country of Colombia. This represents almost 10% of the world's ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 22, 2025
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146
Afro-descendant peoples in four Amazon countries show remarkable achievements in environmental stewardship, according to new research from Conservation International, published in Nature Communications Earth and Environment.
Plants & Animals
Jul 22, 2025
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69
An international study led by the University of Liège proposes a new map of the potential for natural vegetation on Earth, far beyond forests. By incorporating the role of fire and herbivores, researchers are paving the way ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 18, 2025
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124
A new study from Colorado State University, Western Colorado University and the U.S. Forest Service found evidence that stands of aspen trees could resist wildfires by slowing a fire's advance or changing its course.
Ecology
Jul 16, 2025
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18
Forests, grasslands, and other natural areas around the world have access to about a quarter less nitrogen than previously estimated, according to a new study published in Nature.
Ecology
Jul 16, 2025
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41
Oak trees change their fine roots and "energize" soil microbes by supplying them with a cocktail of small organic compounds, all to supplement the trees' supply of essential nutrients when exposed to higher levels of carbon ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 14, 2025
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64
When sunlight hits clouds or other atmospheric particles, it scatters and becomes diffuse light. Unlike direct sunlight, diffuse light can reach deeper into shaded plant canopies, where plants have dense, layered leaves. ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 14, 2025
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21
Even-aged forest management is geared towards timber production with ecosystem health as a lesser consideration. This creates a dichotomy where forests are treated either as plantations or reserves. Uneven-aged management ...
