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From www 'With a title taken from the 1940 Batsford book, this is nature writing for the modern reader. It is a book both for those that live in the country and those that don’t, but experience nature every day through brownfield edge lands, transport corridors, urban greenspace, industrialised agriculture and fragments of ancient countryside. Evans weaves historical, cultural and literary references into his writing, ranging from TS Eliot to Bridget Riley, from Hieronymus Bosch to Napoleon'. Publication date 4 October 2018 Pre-order now www.mavicnews.com's curator insight,19 December 2019, 23:13 Sign up to comment
From phys Wnt signaling is a well-known mode of cell-to-cell communication in multicellular biological organisms. It involves the secretion of small Wnt glycoproteins, by signaling cells, that bind to receptor proteins in the membrane of receiving cells. This signal modifies proteins on the inside of these receiving cells to make cells grow, divide or differentiate. No comment yet. Sign up to comment
From www Victim infected with <em>Naegleria fowleri</em>, which destroys brain tissue, probably after swimming in lake or pond... No comment yet. Sign up to comment
From www In a nutshell Oak trees are widely distributed across the globe, and thus provide an opportunity to investigate how climate drivers trigger leafing, flowering, and fruiting events across many ecosystems. Authors from the USA National Phenology Network and the University of California Santa Barbara used observations from Nature’s Notebook to examine how the phenology of two western North American oak species and two eastern and central North American oak species respond to variation in temperature, precipitation, latitude, longitude and elevation. The authors found that that for the western species in water-limited ecosystems, bud break and flowers occurred earlier and more intermittently throughout the growing season than oaks in the central and eastern US. These western oak trees also had longer duration of life cycle events than oak species in eastern and central temperate ecosystems. Also, western species appeared to be more influenced by geographic location independent of climatic variation, indicating there may be interactions with other factors, including local adaptation, driving their phenological activity. What is special about this study? While many studies have investigated the relationship between climatic drivers and phenology of plants in temperate areas, few studies have explored these drivers in water-limited ecosystems. In arid and semi-arid areas of western North America, seasonal moisture can play an important role in triggering the onset of life cycle events. The authors of this study include two species of oak from a water-limited system, and investigate the intermittent periods of activity as well as the duration of phenology of these species. Gaining an understanding of how species respond to climatic drivers requires a large dataset with information on many species and ecosystems. This study was possible due to the large amount of oak phenology information collected by Nature’s Notebook observers across the country. What does this mean for YOU? The way that species respond to certain climatic drivers, such as winter precipitation or spring minimum temperatures, can be used to predict how these species will be impacted by climate change. Shifts in oak phenology can alter flowering periods, which can impact fruit production, affecting seed dispersers and consumers. Acorns are important to a variety of wildlife, which could suffer from lack of food during critical periods. Oak trees may also face new exposure to leaf and seed predation that they previously escaped. All of these changes can disrupt oak-dominated ecosystems, threatening the diversity of species they contain. Citation: Gerst, K.L., Rossington, N.L., and Mazer, S.J. 2017. Phenological responsiveness to climate differs among four species of Quercus in North America. Journal of Ecology. doi: 10.1111/1365-2745.12774. No comment yet. Sign up to comment
From www Women of the Sandur Lambani tribe, many in their twilight years, who skilfully stitched together their lives – and livelihoods -- with the textile art that mad... No comment yet. Sign up to comment
From www Join a butterfly survey at Lorton Meadows. No comment yet. Sign up to comment
From artof4elements At Malta's National Animal Rights Day inspirational by Nataša Pantović Last Sunday, Malta held its National Animal Rights' Day. In Mosta's most amazing garden with an amphitheater directly facing a sun-set + some most beautiful people from Malta, Ma… No comment yet. Sign up to comment
From thegeckoproject Indonesian government support for biomass project raises questions over the consistency of its climate change policies... No comment yet. Sign up to comment
From protectthewild Yesterday Protect the Wild joined masked- and badger-suited members of the Oxford Badger Coalition and Oxfordshire Badger Group on the streets of Oxford. Under sunny skies and humid conditions (which made wearing a furry, cumbersome badger suit very hard work indeed so kudos to Betty and the rest! No comment yet. Sign up to comment
From www An environmental organization has urged world leaders to create a... No comment yet. Sign up to comment
From www The link between tree diversity and spider populations can help homeowners and other land managers better plan tree plantings to naturally mitigate the effects of climate change. No comment yet. Sign up to comment
From phys The presence of a second species of ramp, Allium burdickii—commonly known as narrow-leaved wild leek—has been documented in southwest Pennsylvania by a team of Penn State researchers in a new study. This plant species never before has been documented in the state, and the researchers suggest the... No comment yet. Sign up to comment
From phys As the next generation of giant, high-powered observatories begin to come online, a new study suggests that their instruments may offer scientists an unparalleled opportunity to discern what weather may be like on far-away exoplanets. No comment yet. Sign up to comment |
From www This country diary is dedicated to John Vidal, who died on Thursday 19 October. John was the finest environmental journalist of his time, a great Guardian figure, and a dear friend to us for nearly 50 years; this diary was written from John’s home patch; his magnificent enthusiasm for life is sadly missed. The Marches, Shropshire:A rainbow’s feet touch the earth beneath black vanilla clouds, one end at Wat’s Dyke, the other at the nearby hospital No comment yet. Sign up to comment
From www Depriving western old-growth forests of fire brought them to the brink. Now the fire they need also threatens them. To fix this, parks are returning to mechanical forestry methods. No comment yet. Sign up to comment
From www The Steller (or northern) sea lion is the largest member of the family Otariidae, the “eared seals,” which includes all sea lions and fur seals.Steller sea lions are named for Georg Wilhelm Steller, the German surgeon and naturalist on the Be... No comment yet. Sign up to comment
From www Florence Williams joins us to discuss her latest book, "The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier and More Creative," ... No comment yet. Sign up to comment
From greenlearning GreenLearning has put together a list of books we’ve read or have on our to-read lists that touch on the environment and are written by Black authors. No comment yet. Sign up to comment
From www Developers tout hydrogen as a clean energy source; Navajo opponents say it is another way outsiders will profit by harming their environment and health. By� � Jerry Redfern �... No comment yet. Sign up to comment
From medicalxpress Sometimes in science, answers come serendipitously, where researchers aren't expecting to find them. That's what happened to Cristian Apetrei, Ivona Pandrea and their colleagues during a recent study on human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV. No comment yet. Sign up to comment
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From www Exciting news! Bhutan’s wild tiger population has increased 27% since the first systematic survey in 2015 according to the National Tiger Survey Report 2021–2022 launched today. No comment yet. Sign up to comment
From www Save Our Soils: Finding ways to stop erosion FAO hosts global symposium to catalyze efforts to reduce depletion of a non-renewable resource 15 May, 2019, Rome - Wind, rain and industrial farming techniques accelerates soil erosion and can be mitigated before the world faces calamitous losses in terms of agricultural yields and critical ecosystem functions. "The negative impacts of soil erosion are ever more evident and the need to work jointly ever more urgent," FAO Deputy Director-General, Climate and Natural Resources, Maria Helena Semedo, said today while opening a three-day symposium focusing on enhancing how the world measures and manages soil erosion as well as its economic costs."We have solutions," she said. "Preventing soil erosion through education, advocacy and concrete actions in the field are the best way to maintain healthy soils and help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals."Today the equivalent of one soccer pitch of soil is eroded every five seconds, and the planet is on a path that could lead to the degradation of more than 90 percent of all the Earth's soils by 2050, Semedo said. Erosion, triggered by intensive agriculture, tillage, mono-cropping, overgrazing, urban sprawl, deforestation and industrial and mining activities, all contribute to accelerating soil erosion, which can result in crop yield losses of up to 50 percent, she added. As organic carbon particles are the most vulnerable to being washed or blown away, erosion also reduces soil's potential to help mitigate and adapt to climate change, triggering a "vicious cycle" in which extreme weather events and soil erosion reinforce each other, Semedo said. The Global Symposium on Soil Erosion is co-organized by FAO, the Global Soil Partnership, the Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification and a joint programme run by FAO with the International Atomic Energy Association to develop uses for nuclear techniques for food and agriculture. Amid 20 sessions and more than 100 presentations, speakers include scientists, academic experts, farmers, government officials and even an astronaut describing soil erosion from space. The greatest challengeFAO launched Soil erosion: the greatest challenge for sustainable soil management, at the symposium. The 100-page book, with Dan Pennock, professor at Canada's University of Saskatchewan as its lead author, takes stock of the current state of knowledge regarding soil erosion. More research has been published on the topic in the past three years than in the entire 20th century.While knowledge of how soil erosion occurs and how to control it is firmly established, more research is needed on how to measure soil loss rates and budget for measures to reduce them - remain under debate. Indeed, there is disagreement over whether erosion turns soil into a source or sink for carbon emissions, as well as rival formulas to assess the relationship between the size of raindrop splashes and the likelihood that they detach soil particles and remove them from the landscape. Still, evidence is clear that soil erosion rates on conventionally ploughed agricultural land or intensively grazed pasturelands are notably greater than erosion under native vegetation - and much higher than soil formation rates - implying that we are depleting a non-renewable resource. Vegetation cover - including shrubs, trees, resistant grasses, cover crops and stubble -can reduce wind erosion by more than 80 percent and also enhance water absorption capacity, mitigating soil compaction and impeding the creation of rills and gulleys that impede agricultural work. Reduced or no-till practices are also effective, especially in drier regions. For many farmers, erosion-control measures take a long time to bear fruit. Indeed, terracing, a capital-intensive and highly effective approach practiced for thousands of years, today is prone to failure due to poor management and design as well as abandonment, which is widespread in almost all regions where they are found, making natural solutions a logical tool for soil governance.At the same time, many of erosion's impacts occur far from the source, as demonstrated by agrochemical runoff that can pollute and eutrophize water sources downstream, which further raises the importance of considering soil erosion control as an issue warranting tangible public support.Among the planned outcomes of the symposium are the identification of "global hotspots" warranting priority actions in soil management, a data base on the best erosion control practices, and more consensus on how to carry out cost-benefit analyses of prospective interventions to prevent, remediate and mitigate soil erosion. Erosion in Tanzania. Share this page No comment yet. Sign up to comment
From phys Nearly 100 Italian scientists wrote an open letter to the media Thursday, urging better reporting of the causes and solutions to climate change so steps can be taken to avert crisis. No comment yet. Sign up to comment
From phys Some organisms, such as tardigrades, rotifers, and nematodes, can survive harsh conditions by entering a dormant state known as "cryptobiosis."... No comment yet. Sign up to comment
From hightimes Cocaine production is surging in the South American country. No comment yet. Sign up to comment |
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