Wetland ecosystems are transitional habitats between terrestrial and aquatic systems that are characterized by periodic or permanent inundation, hydric soils, and vegetation adapted to water-saturated conditions. They encompass diverse types such as marshes, swamps, bogs, and fens, each defined by hydrological regime, nutrient status, and dominant plant functional groups. Wetlands exhibit high biogeochemical activity, particularly in carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycling, driven by redox gradients and microbial processes under anoxic or fluctuating oxygen conditions. They support high biodiversity, act as sinks or sources of greenhouse gases (e.g., CO₂, CH₄, N₂O), regulate hydrology via water storage and attenuation, and are focal systems in research on ecosystem services, climate feedbacks, and landscape connectivity.
Salmon are becoming river "ghosts" as brutal droughts and violent floods cause unprecedented losses on their treacherous journey to the Pacific Ocean, scientists say. A study led by the University of Essex; NOAA Fisheries; ...
Plants & Animals
May 3, 2026
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It's a common misconception that rainforests are the lungs of Earth. Our oceans produce most of the oxygen we consume and are more effective at storing carbon.
Earth Sciences
Apr 30, 2026
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Push a metal corer into a peatland and you pull up something remarkable: a dark, dense, sponge-like material made of partly decomposed plants. This peat is rich in carbon. In some places, that peat has been building up for ...
Environment
Apr 28, 2026
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Researchers including a number from the University of Exeter, have identified the most urgent unanswered questions about peatlands, providing a global roadmap to guide future science and policy for one of the planet's most ...
Earth Sciences
Apr 28, 2026
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A University of Alberta study has whittled down climate-related reasons beavers are emerging earlier onto the ice from their lodges in the spring—a shift that helps them store more winter food but could also lead to more ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 28, 2026
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The Center for Coastal Climate Resilience (CCCR) at the University of California, Santa Cruz, has partnered with The Nature Conservancy to develop a new tool for funding wetland conservation and restoration projects through ...
Environment
Apr 27, 2026
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Lakes are often described as "hotspots" in the global carbon cycle, yet quantifying their "breath"—the exchange of carbon dioxide (CO2) between water and the atmosphere—has long been notoriously difficult due to extreme variability ...
Earth Sciences
Apr 22, 2026
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Scientists from UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the Centro para la Biodiversidad Marina y la Conservación in Mexico have developed a tool that identifies mangrove patches facing the greatest risk of ...
Earth Sciences
Apr 16, 2026
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Research published in Nature Water found that widespread application of the common farm fertilizer, urea, severely degrades water quality in the Canadian Prairies. Researchers at the University of Manitoba and the University ...
Ecology
Apr 15, 2026
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44
Beavers (Castor canadensis) are widely recognized as ecosystem engineers, building dams that reshape water flow and alter the physical structure of rivers and streams.
Environment
Apr 14, 2026
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