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Categories: Ecology: Trees, Energy: Alternative Fuels

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Experts predict 'catastrophic ecosystem collapse' of UK forests within the next 50 years if action not taken. Other threats to UK forests include competition with society for water, viral diseases, and extreme weather affecting forest management.

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Researchers are creating a database that harmonizes the recording of disturbances caused by insects and diseases in forests in 8 European countries by combining remote sensing, satellite images and field data.

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Researchers have discovered several factors that affect field mouse behavior using seeds from dwarf bamboo plants, a plant that flowers once in a century. Their findings not only suggest the previously underappreciated role of mice in the forest ecosystem, but also show that they store small sasa seeds for later use. These challenge a previously held model of mouse behavior.  

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Researchers have developed a monolithically integrated photo battery using organic materials. The photo battery achieves an unprecedented high discharge potential of 3.6 volts. The system is capable of powering miniature devices.

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Using global satellite data, a research team has mapped the tree cover of the world's protected areas. The study shows that regions with abundant large herbivores in many settings have a more variable tree cover, which is expected to benefit biodiversity overall.

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Researchers studied how young trees respond to a hotter, drier climate. Their findings can help shape forest management policy and our understanding of how landscapes will change.

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Researchers report that 53% of European freestanding homes could have supplied all their own energy needs in 2020 using only local rooftop solar radiation, and this technical feasibility could increase to 75% in 2050. The study shows that there is no economic advantage for individual households to be fully self-sufficient under current or future conditions, though in some cases the costs are on par with remaining on-grid. The researchers estimate that self-sufficiency will be economically feasible for 5% (two million) of Europe's 41 million freestanding single-family homes in 2050, if households are willing to pay up to 50% more than the cost of remaining fully grid dependent.

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At the interface of water and air, light can, in certain conditions, bring about evaporation without the need for heat, according to a new study.

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A new database contains the results of exposure experiments on solar reflectors conducted over more than four decades. The publicly available Solar Mirror Materials Database (SMMD) will contain information from thousands of solar mirror samples from more than a hundred suppliers that have been subjected to outdoor tests and laboratory environments.

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Formic acid, which can be produced electrochemically from carbon dioxide, is a promising energy carrier. A research team has now developed a fast-charging hybrid battery system that combines the electrochemical generation of formic acid as an energy carrier with a microbial fuel cell. This novel, fast-charging biohybrid battery system can be used to monitor the toxicity of drinking water, just one of many potential future applications.

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Researchers developed an efficient process that can convert carbon dioxide into formate, a nonflammable liquid or solid material that can be used like hydrogen or methanol to power a fuel cell and generate electricity.

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To quickly and accurately characterize prospective materials for use in solar energy, researchers built an automated system to perform laboratory experiments and used machine learning to help analyze the data they recorded. Their goal is to identify semiconductor materials for use in photovoltaic solar energy, which are highly efficient and have low toxicity.

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There are high hopes for hydrogen as the key to the energy transition. A specific enzyme group found in algae and in bacteria can produce molecular hydrogen simply by catalyzing protons and electrons. However, the enzyme group is so sensitive to oxygen that commercial use of the hydrogen produced by this process as a green energy source is not yet possible. Researchers have now increased the oxygen stability of a hydrogen-producing enzyme by genetically generated channel blockages.

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Large geomagnetic storms disrupt radio signals and GPS. Now, researchers have identified the previous underestimated role of the ionosphere, a region of Earth's upper atmosphere that contains a high concentration of ions and free electrons, in determining how such storms develop. Understanding the interactions that cause large geomagnetic storms is important because they can disrupt radio signals and GPS. Their findings may help predict storms with the greatest potential consequences.

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Using a new 3D printing technique, researchers have developed special ceramic structures for a solar reactor. Initial experimental testing show that these structures can boost the production yield of solar fuels.

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According to a new study, surface treatment and moisture affect the antibacterial properties of wood. Based on the findings, treated wood should be increasingly used as surface material.

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Researchers have developed a new hydrogen energy carrier material capable storing hydrogen energy efficiently and potentially more cheaply. Each molecule can store one electron from hydrogen at room temperature, store it for up the three months, and can be its own catalyst to extract said electron. Moreover, as the compound is made primarily of nickel, its cost is relatively low.

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Through satellite imaging a new AI driven mapping of biomass and CO2 storage shows that a huge number of trees are overlooked in Europe's urban, rural, and agricultural areas. Across Europe, researchers have discovered a billion tons of hidden biomass.

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Next-generation solar materials are cheaper and more sustainable to produce than traditional silicon solar cells, but hurdles remain in making the devices durable enough to withstand real-world conditions. A new technique could simplify the development of efficient and stable perovskite solar cells, named for their unique crystalline structure that excels at absorbing visible light.

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Using satellite images, researchers found that fires in North America's boreal forest may be changing the environment in ways that researchers didn't previously anticipate.