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Categories: Chemistry: Thermodynamics, Ecology: General
Published To help dry forests, fire needs to be just the right intensity, and happen more than once
(via sciencedaily.com) Research into the ability of a wildfire to improve the health of a forest uncovered a Goldilocks effect -- unless a blaze falls in a narrow severity range, neither too hot nor too cold, it isn't very good at helping forest landscapes return to their historical, more fire-tolerant conditions.
Published New 'camera' with shutter speed of 1 trillionth of a second sees through dynamic disorder of atoms
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have developed a new 'camera' that sees the local disorder in materials. Its key feature is a variable shutter speed: because the disordered atomic clusters are moving, when the team used a slow shutter, the dynamic disorder blurred out, but when they used a fast shutter, they could see it. The method uses neutrons to measure atomic positions with a shutter speed of around one picosecond, a trillion times faster than normal camera shutters.
Published Plant roots fuel tropical soil animal communities
(via sciencedaily.com) A research team has shed new light on the importance of plant roots for below-ground life, particularly in the tropics. Millions of small creatures toiling in a single hectare of soil including earthworms, springtails, mites, insects, and other arthropods are crucial for decomposition and soil health. For a long time, it was believed that leaf litter is the primary resource for these animals. However, this recent study is the first to provide proof that resources derived from plant roots drive soil animal communities in the tropics.
Published Phone-based measurements provide fast, accurate information about the health of forests
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have developed an algorithm that uses computer vision techniques to accurately measure trees almost five times faster than traditional, manual methods.
Published Researchers propose a simple, inexpensive approach to fabricating carbon nanotube wiring on plastic films
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have developed an inexpensive method for fabricating multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) on a plastic film. The proposed method is simple, can be applied under ambient conditions, reuses MWNTs, and produces flexible wires of tunable resistances without requiring additional steps. It eliminates several drawbacks of current fabrication methods, making it useful for large-scale manufacturing of carbon wiring for flexible all-carbon devices.
Published Deforestation in the tropics linked to a reduction in rainfall
(via sciencedaily.com) Deforestation is resulting in reduced rainfall across large parts of the tropics, according to new research. People living in tropical forest communities have often complained that the climate gets hotter and drier once trees are cleared but until now, scientists have not been able to identify a clear link between the loss of tree cover and a decline in rainfall.
Published Flower power: The role of ants in forest regeneration
(via sciencedaily.com) Ants play a key role in forest regeneration, according to a new article.
Published Australia's rarest bird of prey disappearing at alarming rate
(via sciencedaily.com) Australia's rarest bird of prey -- the red goshawk -- is facing extinction, with Cape York Peninsula now the only place in Queensland known to support breeding populations.
Published New method creates material that could create the next generation of solar cells
(via sciencedaily.com) Perovskites, a family of materials with unique electric properties, show promise for use in a variety fields, including next-generation solar cells. A team of scientists has now created a new process to fabricate large perovskite devices that is more cost- and time-effective than previously possible and that they said may accelerate future materials discovery.
Published New study reveals biodiversity loss drove ecological collapse after the 'Great Dying'
(via sciencedaily.com) By exploring the stability and collapse of marine ecosystems during the Permian-Triassic mass extinction, researchers gain insights into modern biodiversity crisis.
Published Urban ponds require attention to ensure biodiversity
(via sciencedaily.com) New research suggests aquatic plants can be utilized as a tool to enhance the co-existence between aquatic invertebrates and their fish predators in urban ponds.
Published Neutrons reveal key to extraordinary heat transport
(via sciencedaily.com) Warming a crystal of the mineral fresnoite, scientists discovered that excitations called phasons carried heat three times farther and faster than phonons, the excitations that usually carry heat through a material.
Published Physicists give the first law of thermodynamics a makeover
(via sciencedaily.com) Physicists at West Virginia University have made a breakthrough on an age-old limitation of the first law of thermodynamics.
Published Clever orchard design for more nuts
(via sciencedaily.com) To reduce biodiversity loss in agricultural landscapes, more sustainable and environmentally friendly agricultural practices are needed. A research team has investigated how ecosystem services such as pollination could be improved in macadamia plantations. The scientists showed that a certain design of plantations -- for instance, how the rows of trees are arranged, the varieties, and the integration of semi-natural habitats in and around the plantations -- can increase the pollination performance of bees.
Published Study offers details on using electric fields to tune thermal properties of ferroelectric materials
(via sciencedaily.com) New research sheds light on how electric fields can be used to alter the thermal properties of ferroelectric materials, allowing engineers to manipulate the flow of heat through the materials. Ferroelectric materials are used in a wide variety of applications, from ultrasound devices to memory storage technologies.
Published A fifth of California's Sierra Nevada conifer forests are stranded in habitats that have grown too warm for them
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers created maps showing where warmer weather has left trees in conditions that don't suit them, making them more prone to being replaced by other species. The findings could help inform long-term wildfire and ecosystem management in these 'zombie forests.'
Published Rising river temperatures hold important clues about climate and other human impacts
(via sciencedaily.com) An improved global understanding of river temperature could provide an important barometer for climate change and other human activities.
Published Climate 'spiral' threatens land carbon stores
(via sciencedaily.com) The world's forests are losing their ability to absorb carbon due to increasingly 'unstable' conditions caused by humans, a landmark study has found.
Published New research reveals 12 ways aquaculture can benefit the environment
(via sciencedaily.com) Aquaculture, or the farming of aquatic plants and animals, contributes to biodiversity and habitat loss in freshwater and marine ecosystems globally, but when used wisely, it can also be part of the solution, new research shows.
Published Researcher discovers threshold that triggers drought response in forests
(via sciencedaily.com) Missouri is home to an array of natural resources, with forests among the state's most valuable ecosystems. As warmer temperatures fueled by climate change affect ecosystems globally, forests are under stress to adapt to these changes and ensure their survival in a warmer world. Researchers now introduce the 'ecosystem wilting point' concept, which explains how whole forests respond to drought.