forest

The cute, fluffy panda may have had omnivorous ancestors

The astonishing diversity of carnivorans in the Late Miocene helps us understand their ecological roles.

Is your toilet paper flushing critical forests down the drain?

Many companies in the US are literally turning virgin forests into toilet paper.

There's 60% less forest on Earth for every human compared to over half a century ago

The drop is owed to rising human populations and shrinking forest surface.

California is losing its trees -- perhaps permanently -- as climate change is shifting its ecosystems

Trees are burning and grasslands are taking their place.

We can't "plant our way" out of the climate crisis, researchers argue

Instead of planting a lot of new trees, we should take care of the ones we already have.

The bedrock under forests also affects carbon storage

Geology and biology, caught in a chemical dance.

The urban forest of the future: how to turn our cities into Treetopias

We are and will continue to plant more street trees, urban groves and informal clusters of trees in our parks and green spaces. Treetopia has begun.

Researchers develop new tool to help regrow burned-down forests

We all need some help every now and then.

Humanity is making trees grow less and live shorter lives

Its a bad time to be a tree.

Cut down half the forest and the rest quickly follows suit

Deforestation for agriculture is the leading cause of man-made landscape shifts.

Cutting down trees and planting new ones is wrecking the soil

Continuously cutting down forests and planting new ones is deplenting the soils of crucial minerals, new analysis shows.

In 2019, Brazil cut down twice as much of the Amazon as it did in the previous year

All in all, some 563 square kilometers (217 square miles) of forest were cut down in November.

Even a little extra CO2 is triggering big changes in forests

Rising CO2 is altering how forests recycle water.

Trees and water: don’t underestimate the connection

Trees have extraordinary powers, especially when it comes to water. But such powers must be wielded with care.

Forest fires put the Amazon close to its tipping point

In two years, the rainforest could start becoming a savannah

What is happening in the Amazon? Key questions and answers

A cold view on a very hot issue.

Change diets to save the tropical forests, researchers say

If the consumption of meat and dairy doesn’t fall, at least one-quarter of the world’s tropical lands could disappear by the end of the century.

Fossil Friday: Oldest fossil forest discovered in Asia

The fossil forest, which is larger than Grand Central Station, is the earliest example of a forest in Asia.

Wildfires lock away a 'considerable amount of carbon' for centuries, or even millennia

I'll admit it -- I did not expect this.

Vikings cut down all of Iceland's forests -- the country is planting them anew

Since 2015, Iceland has planted around 1,000 hectares of forest (between three and four million trees).

The Earth has room for a trillion more trees -- which might be our best bet against climate change

A new study shows that there's still plenty of room for almost a billion hectares of forest.

The birth of forests helped drive two massive, ancient extinctions

They did not come in peace.

Old forests are better at dealing with climate change, study finds

Old age doesn't mean 'frail'.

World's biggest terrestrial carbon sinks are young forests

Equatorial rainforests are actually net emitters of carbon. Young forests in temperate regions are the best carbon sinks on land, new research suggests.

World's largest organism is being eaten away by wild animals

A clonal colony of Aspen stretching over 100 acres is being threatened -- and it's all on us again.

Using land displaced by biofuels to grow trees is much better for climate, say researchers

I like trees.

Curbing climate change: carbon storage is good, forests are oft-times better

If it ain't broken, don't replace it with a powerplant.

Grasslands could overtake forests as the most reliable carbon sink ecosystems

But this doesn't mean we should stop focusing on forests -- on the contrary.

Reforestation efforts bring back hundreds of species to China

Plant a tree and species will come back to thee.

The US lost roughly 1 in every 100 urban trees between 2009 and 2014

Which is a pity, because they save us a lot of money.

Old-growth forests offer safe haven to bird species struggling with climate change

They're really nice cool places for raising baby birds -- or fo rest!

Higher temperature and more CO2 is good for trees, but overall climate change will damage forests

It could start a self-reinforcing loop.

Juice company dumped orange peels in Costa Rican national park in the 90s -- it revived the forest

Orange is the new forest.

Video: watch how a beautiful forest changes during a year

Filmmaker Samuel Orr took 40,000 still images from his front window in a forest cabin to show how nature changes day by day.

Study found human habitation promoted forest growth in British Columbia over the past 13,000 years

These trees shellfishly used the First Nations' trash to grow.

Trees trade carbon through their roots, using symbiotic fungi networks

A forest's trees capture carbon not only for themselves, but also engage in an active "trade" of sorts with their neighbors, a new study found. University of Basel botanists found that this process, conducted by symbiotic fungi in the forest's soil, takes place even among trees of different species.

The 380-million-years old ancient forest discovered near the Arctic Pole

Some 400 million years ago, during what's called the late Devonian period, the planet went through a dramatic shift in climate. Over just a few million years, the CO2 levels in the atmosphere dropped 15-fold. Partially or mostly responsible for this phenomenal climate change event were the very first forests which evolved and started claiming the Earth. Until then, plants were less specialized and smaller. We know little of these troublesome times, but we're learning along the way. The discovery of an ancient 380 million years forest in Norway will definitely help in this endeavor.

Amazing 'Treescraper' Designs from Around the World

Showcased are some of the most amazing designs that mimic nature closely: man-made, but defined by their allegiance to nature.

Devastating photos of the world's deforestation

Recently, we wrote an article about the biggest tree census ever conducted, and the results were pretty grim. Sure, there are some 3 trillion trees on Earth, but the bad news is that there used to be almost twice as many – before humans chipped in. Humanity has cut down 46% of the planet’s trees, […]

The Heaviest Living Organism in the World

What is the heaviest living creature in the world? It’s not an elephant or a blue whale, the heaviest organism is actually an Aspen. Pando, as it is called, is a clonal colony of a single male quaking aspen; basically, it looks like more trees, but it’s actually just one living creature with one massive underground […]

10,000 year old underwater forest discovered

Divers off the coast of Norfolk have discovered a submerged prehistoric forest, hidden underwater for 10,000 years. The forest was part of Doggerland – a land area which connected Germany and Great Britain up to 8000 years ago. This is a forgotten part of Europe, hidden under 200 meters of water. Divers discovered it after […]

Forests become more efficient in response to rising CO2 levels

For years scientists have hypothesized that a rise in CO2 levels will cause the world’s forests to use water more efficiently, however only recently was this theory proven after Harvard University researchers performed the most complex study of the sort to date. The team of researchers led by research Trevor Keenan and Andrew Richardson actually found the the world’s […]

Earliest forest from the dawn of woody plants revealed

Last week we reported about a 300 million year old fossilized forest which was discovered underneath a coal mine in China. A highly remarkable find by all means, fact confirmed by the overwhelming response the story gathered from your part, the reader. If you found that interesting, wait until you learn about the oldest fossilized […]

300 million year old fossilized forest discovered under coal mine in China

There’s some good coming off China’s extensive coal exploitation (the nation holds the top place for most pollutant emissions resulting from burning coal), as recent mining activities around Wuda in Inner Mongolia, China, has uncovered an almost perfectly preserved 298 million year-old forest. The forest, which also features intact trees with leaves, branches, trunk and […]

Milan's Vertical Forest Towers

Bosco Verticale is an ambitious eco project in Milan, designed by architect Stefano Boeri, which tries to blend two discrepant mediums, urban and nature, into one harmonic whole. The project is comprised of two towers with giant cantilevered staggered balconies that permit fairly big trees to be accommodate, since there is a minimum of two storeys over […]

The cost of a green forest economy: $40 billion

Acording to a report released by the UN on Sunday, a transition to a low carbon, green and ressource efficient economy requires an annual investment of $40 billion anually, which amounts for only 0.034 per cent of global GDP. If the measures included in the report are adopted, the investment would “halve deforestation rates by […]

Ethiopia's forest area triples

Ethiopian authorities announced that thanks to large-scale reforestation campaigns the forest cover of their country has tripled since 2000. The African country has suffered from severe droughts in the past, and their solution to this problem turned out to be just great. “Ethiopia was able to increase its forest coverage to nine percent now from […]

Money in the Earth's Bank: Preservation of Canada's Boreal Forest

Whether we want to accept it or not, mankind has caused significant (to say the leased) damage to the amount of forests and habitats around the world. That’s why it’s so important for people, especially those in leading positions to take standing positions in protecting and increasing the area of forests around the world. It’s […]

Mexican mangroves 'vital for fishing industry'

A few days ago, I wrote about the damage that a well intended, but wrongly conducted mangrove restoration could cause; the article itself was focusing on the Philippines. It is time to underline (again) the importance that they have on ecosystems which rely on them way more than you would probably guess.Just a few days […]