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.
Temperate rainforests are among the rarest habitats on Earth, supporting unique biodiversity and providing vital benefits from climate regulation and natural flood management to supporting human well-being.
Ecology
Nov 19, 2025
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Human influence across centuries continues to define biodiversity and carbon storage in the world's largest rainforest, according to a new international study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ...
Ecology
Nov 18, 2025
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A two-decade-long experiment in the Sierra Nevada found that regular prescribed burns promote carbon sequestration in live trees and plants, maintaining forests' long-term ability to store carbon while also reducing wildfire ...
Ecology
Nov 17, 2025
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Researchers from the Institute of Applied Ecology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have conducted an ecosystem-wide assessment of enhanced rock weathering (ERW) in forest plantations. Led by Dr. Kang Ronghua, the ...
Ecology
Nov 13, 2025
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Droughts are having a major impact on Europe's forests—and climate change could make them even more frequent—but diversity helps.
Ecology
Nov 13, 2025
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Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has dubbed COP30 the forest COP. Taking place in Belém, a large urban center in the Amazon, this choice signals a welcome shift from the capital cities of petro-states to the ...
Environment
Nov 13, 2025
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Climate change is extending the growing season in European forests, but this effect will not be sufficient to offset the negative impacts of increasing drought stress. An international research team led by Jan Tumajer from ...
Plants & Animals
Nov 13, 2025
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California's coastal redwoods have stood for centuries, weathering a changing climate, logging, and time itself. But in an era of hotter, more frequent wildfires, their future resilience depends on how we care for them, according ...
Ecology
Nov 10, 2025
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A new study reveals that the impact humans are having on the Amazon rainforest is so profound it is even changing the evolutionary history and functionality of the forests.
Evolution
Nov 10, 2025
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Planting trees is not enough. Although forest restoration efforts in the Atlantic Forest are advancing on a large scale, they are still unable to fully integrate replanted areas into the mosaic of native fragments. This is ...
Ecology
Nov 6, 2025
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