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Categories: Ecology: Trees, Energy: Nuclear
Published Forests face fierce threats from multiple industries, not just agricultural expansion
(via sciencedaily.com) Intact forests are important climate regulators and harbors of biodiversity, but they are rapidly disappearing. Agriculture is commonly considered to be the major culprit behind forest loss, but the authors of a new article show that agriculture isn't solely to blame. For forest loss associated with the 2014 world economy, over 60% was related to final consumption of non-agricultural products, such as minerals, metals and wood-related goods, and the authors argue that we must consider international trade markets when designing conservation strategies.
Published Collision risk and habitat loss: Wind turbines in forests impair threatened bat species
(via sciencedaily.com) In order to meet climate protection goals, renewable energies are booming -- often wind power. More than 30,000 turbines have already been installed on the German mainland so far, and the industry is currently scrambling to locate increasingly rare suitable sites. Thus, forests are coming into focus as potential sites. A scientific team has now demonstrated that wind turbines in forests impair endangered bat species: Common noctules (Nyctalus noctula), a species with a high risk of colliding with rotor blades, are attracted to forest wind turbines if these are located near their roosts. Far from roosts, common noctules avoid the turbines, essentially resulting in a loss of foraging space and thus habitat for this species.
Published Special drone collects environmental DNA from trees
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed a flying device that can land on tree branches to take samples. This opens up a new dimension for scientists previously reserved for for biodiversity researchers.
Published Our future climate depends partly on soil microbes -- but how are they affected by climate change?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The largest terrestrial carbon sink on Earth is the planet's soil. One of the big fears is that a warming planet will liberate significant portions of the soil's carbon, turning it into carbon dioxide (CO2) gas, and so further accelerate the pace of planetary warming. A key player in this story is the microbe, the predominant form of life on Earth, and which can either turn organic carbon -- the fallen leaves, rotting tree stumps, dead roots and other organic matter -- into soil, or release it into the atmosphere as CO2. Now, an international team of researchers has helped to untangle one of the knottiest questions involving soil microbes and climate change: what effect does a warming planet have on the microbes' carbon cycling?
Published Researchers gain deeper understanding of mechanism behind superconductors
(via sciencedaily.com) Physicists have once again gained a deeper understanding of the mechanism behind superconductors. This brings researchers one step closer to their goal of developing the foundations for a theory for superconductors that would allow current to flow without resistance and without energy loss. The researchers found that in superconducting copper-oxygen bonds, called cuprates, there must be a very specific charge distribution between the copper and the oxygen, even under pressure.
Published Climate change presents a mismatch for songbirds' breeding season
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Climate change presents a mismatch for some breeding songbirds, finds a new study using a decade of nestbox data.
Published Landscaping for drought: We're doing it wrong
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Despite recent, torrential rains, most of Southern California remains in a drought. Accordingly, many residents plant trees prized for drought tolerance, but a new study shows that these trees lose this tolerance once they're watered.
Published Forests recovering from logging act as a source of carbon
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Tropical forests recovering from logging are sources of carbon for years afterwards, contrary to previous assumptions, finds a new study.
Published New York City's greenery absorbs a surprising amount of its carbon emissions
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A study of vegetation across New York City and some densely populated adjoining areas has found that on many summer days, photosynthesis by trees and grasses absorbs all the carbon emissions produced by cars, trucks and buses, and then some. The surprising result, based on new hyper-local vegetation maps, points to the underappreciated importance of urban greenery in the carbon cycle.
Published Rwandan tree carbon stock mapped from above
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed accurate nation-wide mapping of the carbon content of trees based on aerial images.
Published UK woodlands could store almost twice as much carbon as previously estimated
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source UK forests could store almost double the amount of carbon than previous calculations suggest, with consequences for our understanding of carbon stocks and humanity's response to climate change, according to a new study.
Published Orangutan communication sheds light on human speech origins
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Research finds orangutans communicate using a complex repertoire of consonant-like calls, more so than African apes. Previous research has only linked the evolution of human language with the voiced-vowel sounds produced by non-human primates, despite human language being composed of vowel and consonant sounds. Orangutans' tree-dwelling nature means they use their mouth, lips and jaw as a 'fifth hand', unlike ground-dwelling African apes. Their sophisticated use of their mouths, mean orangutans communicate using a rich variety of consonant sounds.
Published Wood-eating clams use their feces to dominate their habitat
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers didn't know what to make of sunken pieces of wood that were so thoroughly chewed-up by clams that the wood crumbled in their hands. It turns out, the super-chewer wood-eating clams had a secret weapon for forcing out other species. The clams, who have special adaptations that let them survive in dirty, low-oxygen water, built chimneys out of their own feces, making the wood a 'crappy' home for any animal except them.
Published Mitigating corrosion by liquid tin could lead to better cooling in fusion reactors
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have clarified the chemical compatibility between high temperature liquid metal tin (Sn) and reduced activation ferritic martensitic, a candidate structural material for fusion reactors. This discovery has paved the way for the development of a liquid metal tin divertor, which is an advanced heat-removal component of fusion reactors. A device called a divertor is installed in the fusion reactors to maintain the purity of the plasma. For divertors, there has been demand for liquid metals that can withstand extremely large heat loads from high-temperature plasma.
Published Study examines feeding damage caused by spotted lanternflies on young maples
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Short-term, heavy feeding by adult spotted lanternflies on young maple trees inhibits photosynthesis, potentially impairing the tree's growth by up to 50 percent, according to a new study.
Published National Ignition Facility achieves fusion ignition
(via sciencedaily.com) The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and DOE's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has announced the achievement of fusion ignition at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) -- a major scientific breakthrough decades in the making. On Dec. 5, a team at LLNL's National Ignition Facility (NIF) conducted the first controlled fusion experiment in history to reach this milestone, also known as scientific energy breakeven, meaning it produced more energy from fusion than the laser energy used to drive it.
Published Findings for invasive insect's life cycle could aid management in southeast
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research findings could help scientists control the emerald ash borer, an invasive pest ravaging native ash trees in North America.
Published New branch on tree of life includes 'lions of the microbial world'
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source There's a new branch on the tree of life and it's made up of predators that nibble their prey to death. These microbial predators fall into two groups, one of which researchers have dubbed 'nibblerids' because they, well, nibble chunks off their prey using tooth-like structures. The other group, nebulids, eat their prey whole. And both comprise a new ancient branch on the tree of life called 'Provora,' according to a new article.
Published In the tropics, nitrogen-fixing trees take a hit from herbivores
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The ability of tropical forests to grow and store carbon is limited, in part, by herbivory. Insects and other animals prefer to feed on nitrogen-fixing trees, reducing the success of fixers and the nitrogen they provide. Experts now recommend accounting for herbivory constraints on nitrogen-fixing trees in climate models and projections of the tropical forest carbon sink.
Published Forest resilience linked with higher mortality risk in western US
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A forest's resilience, or ability to absorb environmental disturbances, has long been thought to be a boost for its odds of survival against the looming threat of climate change. But a new study suggests that for some Western U.S. forests, it's quite the opposite. The results of one of the first large-scale studies of its kind show that while high ecosystem resilience correlates with low mortality in eastern forests, it is linked to high mortality in western regions.