Land use and land cover (LULC) is a core integrative topic in environmental and geographic research that distinguishes between the biophysical state of the Earth’s surface (land cover) and the human purposes or activities applied to that surface (land use). Scientifically, LULC analysis relies heavily on remote sensing, GIS, and classification schemes (e.g., distinguishing forest, cropland, urban, wetlands) to quantify spatial patterns and temporal dynamics. It is central to studying ecosystem processes, carbon and water cycles, biodiversity, and anthropogenic impacts, and underpins models of climate change, land degradation, habitat fragmentation, and sustainable spatial planning.
Charting a better future will require redressing the problems of the past. That's one reason many countries have begun to return dispossessed land to Indigenous peoples. The goal of Indigenous land restitution is to empower ...
Environment
Aug 13, 2026
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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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Agriculture covers more than 40% of Earth's habitable land and plays a central role in both climate change and biodiversity loss. Yet the impact of agriculture is far from evenly distributed across space.
Ecology
Aug 6, 2026
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27
Boreal forests and peatlands are shaped by hydrological changes caused by both human activity and natural processes. In a recent study carried out in the Evo area in southern Finland, researchers examined how forestry drainage ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 6, 2026
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10
As trees disappear from urban neighborhoods, lives may be lost with them. In a new study, Northwestern University scientists tracked death rates and fluctuations in tree canopy cover across an 11-year period in Chicago. They ...
Environment
Aug 5, 2026
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41
Nearly two centuries of maize-based agriculture in the U.S. Midwest has halved soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks compared with tallgrass prairies native to the region. Replacing annual maize/soy cropping with perennial bioenergy ...
Agriculture
Aug 4, 2026
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10
Artificial light at night (ALAN) can cause plants to open their buds and sprout leaves earlier in the spring. ALAN can also cause trees to delay changing the color of their leaves in the fall. These changes can ripple through ...
Environment
Aug 4, 2026
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"An island of biodiversity in a sea of monoculture": This is how a recent study characterized the Pimentel Barbosa Indigenous Territory (TIPB), located in the northeastern part of Mato Grosso state in Brazil's Central-West ...
Environment
Aug 2, 2026
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13
Drylands soils are being degraded by human activities and climate change, threatening the thin living layers covering their surface, called biocrusts, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Composed of cyanobacteria, lichens, ...
Ecology
Jul 30, 2026
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4
As biodiversity declines and many of the UK's most important habitats become smaller and more fragmented, conservation organizations need accurate, up-to-date maps to protect wildlife and restore nature. However, creating ...
Ecology
Jul 30, 2026
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