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.
As large floods occur more frequently worldwide, many wonder what led to such devastating events. Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities, improper land management and forest removal increase flood frequencies and ...
Environment
Apr 9, 2026
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A global study by the University of Basel, Switzerland, reveals a surprising picture: While 42% of treelines worldwide are shifting upslope, 25% are retreating. This seemingly contradictory trend involves more than just warming. ...
Earth Sciences
Apr 9, 2026
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154
A new study reveals that most fatal landslides occur in human-transformed environments. Conducted by an international team of researchers from the University of Vienna, Ankara University, Istanbul Technical University, Bursa ...
Earth Sciences
Apr 8, 2026
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A new study has found that public parks in underserved areas of Los Angeles can reach dangerously high temperatures, in some cases hot enough to cause pain or burns, because of the materials used to build them. The differences ...
Environment
Apr 8, 2026
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12
Global efforts to limit climate change require deep cuts to carbon emissions. However, global emissions are still growing. Currently, we emit roughly 42 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide from fossil fuel use and land ...
Environment
Apr 7, 2026
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It's a well-established fact that forests and water are deeply connected. For decades, paired-watershed experiments—a scientific method for evaluating land-use impacts on water quantity or quality—have shown that when we ...
Environment
Apr 4, 2026
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Imagine a dump truck dropping 13 tons of dirt into the waters of Brush Creek, a waterway that feeds northwest Arkansas' primary drinking water source, Beaver Lake. That's how much soil and sediment researchers measured going ...
Environment
Apr 3, 2026
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A United Nations-backed framework for protecting tropical forests could allow governments to collect income from carbon credits without advancing forest conservation. The weakness lies in how the program calculates baselines, ...
Environment
Apr 2, 2026
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Natura 2000 is regarded as a milestone in nature conservation: this network of around 27,000 protected areas across the EU is designed to preserve wild plant and animal species and their habitats. It is the world's largest ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 1, 2026
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7
The Syrian civil war, which began in 2011, caused widespread population displacement and infrastructure damage. However, it has also led to an unintended environmental effect with notable changes in the country's landscape, ...
