Is there more to palm oil than deforestation?
Palm oil is the world's most produced and consumed vegetable oil and everyone knows that its production can damage the environment. But do consumers have the full picture? In fact, replacing palm oil with rapeseed oil would require a four to five-fol.....»»
Deforestation of Indigenous lands could prevent Brazil from achieving climate change mitigation targets
Indigenous lands in the Brazilian Amazon are under constant pressure, and deforestation of these areas has accelerated in recent years. Some of them, such as Apyterewa Indigenous Territory in Pará state, are particularly affected, endangering Brazil.....»»
Crowdsourcing campaign identifies drivers of tropical forest loss
Deforestation continues to be one of the greatest challenges in the fight against biodiversity loss and climate change. Countries all over the world have instituted protected areas, but there is still mounting human pressure on many of these areas. A.....»»
Financial crises reduce deforestation rates, finds new global research
For the first time it has been demonstrated that financial crises reduce deforestation rates—according to new Sussex research.....»»
Global carbon emissions from deforestation reveal surprisingly stable carbon dioxide uptake by land and oceans
Researchers have constructed a new time series for global carbon emissions from deforestation. The series is the missing link in terms of the improved understanding of the global carbon cycle, and it implies that the natural uptake of CO2 by the land.....»»
How a couple replanted an entire forest in Brazil
When Lélia Deluiz Wanick Salgado and her husband Sebastião Salgado purchased a cattle farm in Amazonia’s Atlantic Forest, the land was destroyed by deforestation. With over 2 million trees planted in under 30 years, the pair's inc.....»»
A new "truth" about the rainforest: How Bolsonaro"s supporters misuse satellite data
Satellite data have played an important role in efforts to monitor the rate of deforestation in the Amazon Basin for decades. But the way these data are used has changed under the government of President Jair Bolsonaro. His supporters are questioning.....»»
Restoring tropical peatlands supports bird diversity and does not affect livelihoods of oil palm farmers, study suggests
A new study has found that oil palm can be farmed more sustainably on peatlands by re-wetting the land—conserving both biodiversity and livelihoods......»»
Amazon nears climate "tipping point" faster than expected
Hammered by climate change and relentless deforestation, the Amazon rainforest is losing its capacity to recover and could irretrievably transition into savannah, with dire consequences for the region and the world, according to a study published Mon.....»»
Record deforestation in Brazilian Amazon in February
Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon set a new record for the month of February, according to official data released Friday, the latest sign of a surge in destruction under President Jair Bolsonaro......»»
Amazon Nears "Tipping Point" Where Rainforest Could Transform Into Savanna
If deforestation continues, the Amazon rainforest could reach a critical tipping point where most of it transforms into a dry savanna, a new study warns. Live Science reports: The study, published Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change, suggests.....»»
Millions of Palm-Sized, Flying Spiders Could Invade the East Coast
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Scientific American: New research, published in the journal Physiological Entomology, suggests that the palm-sized Joro spider, which swarmed North Georgia by the millions last September, has a special resilie.....»»
Amazon rainforest is losing its ability to recover from destruction
Satellite research finds that an irreversible "tipping point" could be approaching. Enlarge / Deforestation in the Amazon to create grazing for cattle. (credit: LeoFFreitas | Getty Images) The Amazon rainforest is losing its.....»»
Deforestation and climate change threaten Brazil"s new agricultural frontier
Deforestation for agribusiness expansion in Brazil, in conjunction with climate change, has worsened the already severe drought suffered in the last decade by the transition zone between the eastern Amazon and the Cerrado, the vast tropical savanna e.....»»
Build your own mini robot dog with this DIY kit on sale
TL;DR: As of March 3, this Petoi Bittle: Palm-Sized Robot Dog costs $299, which is 9% less than its regular price of $329.You may have seen those terrifying Boston Dynamic robot dogs. And while they’re certainly unsettling, you have to admit, t.....»»
High-resolution satellite datasets show doubling of gross tropical forest carbon loss worldwide over past two decades
A large, international team of researchers has found that carbon emissions due to deforestation in tropical areas have doubled over the past two decades. In their paper published in the journal Nature Sustainability, the group describes using high-re.....»»
What bird beaks say about tropical biodiversity
Areas of the globe where fruit-eating birds have wider beaks also have larger palm fruits, a new study shows. This sounds banal, but it provides new insights into tropical biodiversity and clues for solving species conservation, forest restoration an.....»»
Peace has led to more deforestation in Colombia
The consequences of peace and armed conflict for deforestation depend on the location, reports a new publication in Frontiers in Environmental Science. Using Colombia as a case study, this work presents one of the most comprehensive studies to date c.....»»
Brazil launches plan to expand mining in Amazon
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro launched a plan Monday to expand gold mining in the Amazon rainforest, drawing criticism from environmentalists for bolstering an industry accused of rampant deforestation, pollution and attacks on indigenous people.....»»
Greenhouse gas emission impact from peatland fires underestimated by 200–300 percent
Deforestation fires in Brazil and Indonesia accounted for 3 percent and 7 percent, respectively, of the planet's total greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in 2019 and 2020, finds a new study in Frontiers in Climate. Of that amount, fires in peatlands cont.....»»
Do forests lead to more or fewer clouds? It depends
Large-scale deforestation, forest restoration, forest fires, and droughts all have one thing in common: Most research on these topics focuses on forest ecosystems' impact on carbon storage and release. Other effects of forests are less often explored.....»»