Alcohol tolerance may have saved our ancestors from extinction
The ability to process alcohol may have saved humanity's ancestors from extinction, a new book suggests.
Evolution
Dec 05, 2019
2
465
News tagged with forest floor
In hunted rainforests, termites lose their dominance
A tiny termite might see an elephant's foot as its biggest threat. But when elephants and other large herbivores are lost to hunting, the termite's troubles are just beginning.
Ecology
Dec 02, 2019
0
3
Freshwater lakes already emit a quarter of global carbon—and climate change could double that
Lakes and ponds are the final resting place for many of the Earth's plants. Rivers collect much of the planet's dead organic matter, transporting it to rest in calmer waters.
Environment
Nov 19, 2019
1
20
US owl-killing experiment raises thorny questions
As he stood amid the thick old-growth forests in the coastal range of Oregon, Dave Wiens was nervous. Before he trained to shoot his first barred owl, he had never fired a gun.
Ecology
Oct 15, 2019
0
19
US West struggles to hit goals of fighting fire with fire
The thick scent of smoke hung in the midday air when a trail along the Kings River opened up to an ominous scene: flames in the trees and thick gray smoke shrouding canyon walls.
Environment
Aug 12, 2019
0
13
A whopping 'squawkzilla': Meet 'Hercules'—the giant parrot that dwarfs its modern cousins
Australasian palaeontologists have discovered the world's largest parrot, standing up to 1m tall with a massive beak able to crack most food sources.
Archaeology & Fossils
Aug 06, 2019
2
487
A tree stump that should be dead is still alive; here's why
Within a shrouded New Zealand forest, a tree stump keeps itself alive by holding onto the roots of its neighboring trees, exchanging water and resources through the grafted root system. New research, publishing July 25 in ...
Environment
Jul 25, 2019
8
2324
Resilience of Yellowstone's forests tested by unprecedented fire
In August 2016, areas of Yellowstone National Park that burned in 1988 burned again. Shortly after, in October 2016, ecologist Monica Turner and her team of graduate students visited the park to begin to assess the landscape.
Earth Sciences
May 20, 2019
4
147
Researchers blown away by hurricane simulation
Nearly 30 years ago, Harvard Forest scientists began a unique, long-running experiment on a 2-acre forest tract using a long steel cable, a winch, and a heavy-duty logging vehicle called a skidder.
Earth Sciences
Mar 27, 2019
0
7
As climate continues to warm, study finds several barriers to northward tree migration
Extensive land development, invasive species and too many deer may make it difficult for tree migration to keep pace with climate change in the Northeast, according to newly published research.
Ecology
Mar 15, 2019
0
22
