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Categories: Ecology: General, Energy: Fossil Fuels

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Researchers propose a framework for integrating online digital data into biodiversity monitoring.

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New research reveals the scale of inappropriate reforestation projects across Africa. A new study reveals that an area the size of France is threatened by forest restoration initiatives, such as the AFR100 initiative (African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative), due to inappropriate restoration in the form of tree-planting.

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A new model bridges the rules of life at the individual scale and the ecosystem level, which could open new avenues of exploration in ecology, global change biology, and ultimately ecosystem management.

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Researchers have completed one of the most extensive river resilience studies, examining how river ecosystems recover following floods. They developed a novel modeling approach that used data from oxygen sensors placed in rivers to estimate daily growth in aquatic plants and algae. The researchers then modeled the algal and plant biomass in 143 rivers across the contiguous U.S. to quantify what magnitude of flooding disturbs the biomass and how long the rivers take to recover from floods. Increased understanding of rivers' resiliency is important to maintaining healthy rivers, as human actions can affect flood regimes and change the conditions in rivers for other aquatic life that may rely on algae and plants as a food source.

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Corals searching for food in the cold and dark waters of the deep sea are building higher and higher mountains to get closer to the source of their food. But in doing so, they may find themselves trapped when the climate changes.

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Global warming may be interacting with regional rainfall and deforestation to accelerate forest loss in the Amazon, pushing it towards partial or total collapse. New research has identified the potential thresholds of these stressors, showing where their combined effects could produce a 'tipping point' -- in which the forest is so fragile that just a small disturbance could cause an abrupt shift in the state of the ecosystem.

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The Joro spider was first spotted stateside around 2013 and has since been spotted across Georgia and the Southeast. New research has found more clues as to why the spider has been so successful in its spread. The study found the invasive orb-weaving spider is surprisingly tolerant of the vibrations and noise common in urban landscapes. In this new study, researchers examined how Joro spiders can live next to busy roads, which are notably stressful environments for many animals.

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Researchers find deforestation accounts for about 10 percent of global human-made mercury emissions. While it cannot be the only solution, they suggest reforestation could increase global mercury uptake by about 5 percent.

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Analysis reveals imported earthworm species have colonized large swaths of North America, and represent a largely overlooked threat to native ecosystems. The researchers warn of the need to better understand and manage the invaders in our midst.

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Cutting-edge research converted waste carbon dioxide into a potential precursor for chemicals and carbon-free fuel.

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When it comes to making fuel from plants, the first step has always been the hardest -- breaking down the plant matter. A new study finds that introducing a simple, renewable chemical to the pretreatment step can finally make next-generation biofuel production both cost-effective and carbon neutral.

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Researchers report that Japan's policy of banning the sale of new gas vehicles by 2035 may be insufficient to reduce the country's CO2 emissions. The team's analysis showed that to effectively reach their climate goals, Japan must also implement policies that extend vehicle lifetime, implement more renewable energy into its energy sector, and decarbonize the manufacturing process of vehicles.

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New research reveals that denser, and more sheltered, kelp forests can withstand serious stressors amid warming ocean temperatures.

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Extreme events wipe out entire forests, dramatically eliminating complex ecosystems as well as local communities. Researchers have become quite familiar with such attention-grabbing events over the years. They know less, however, about the more common moderate-severity disturbances, such as relatively small fires, ice storms, and outbreaks of pests or pathogens.

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In hydrogen fuel cells, electrolyte membranes frequently undergo deformation and develop cracks during operation. A research team has recently introduced a fatigue-resistant polymer electrolyte membrane for hydrogen fuel cells, employing an interpenetrating network of Nafion (a plastic electrolyte) and perfluoropolyether (a rubbery polymer). This innovation will not only improve fuel cell vehicles but also promises advancements in diverse technologies beyond transportation, spanning applications from drones to desalination filters and backup power sources.

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An experiment spanning more than two decades has found that removal of apex predators from an ecosystem can create lasting changes that are not reversed after they return -- at least, not for a very long time. The study challenges the commonly held belief that the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park restored an ecosystem degraded by their absence.

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Switching to ammonia as a marine fuel, with the goal of decarbonization, can instead create entirely new problems. This is shown in a study where researchers carried out life cycle analyses for batteries and for three electrofuels including ammonia. Eutrophication and acidification are some of the environmental problems that can be traced to the use of ammonia -- as well as emissions of laughing gas, which is a very potent greenhouse gas.

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New research sheds light on tiny plankton, which measure less than 0.02mm in diameter but can make up more than 70% of the plankton biomass found in the ocean.

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The proverb "necessity is the mother of invention" has been used to describe the source from which our cultural evolution springs. After all, need in times of scarcity has forced humans to continually invent new technologies that have driven the remarkable cumulative culture of our species. But an invention only becomes cultural if it is learned and spread by many individuals. In other words, the invention must be socially transmitted. But what are the forces that drive social transmission?

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Fake news works for wallabies and elephants. Herbivores can cause substantial damage to crops or endangered or protected plants, with traditional methods to deter foraging lethal, expensive or ineffective. Biologists are now using aromas from plants naturally repellent with remarkable success to deter the animals.