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Categories: Ecology: Trees, Environmental: Wildfires
Published Complex tree canopies help forests recover from moderate-severity disturbances



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.
Published Rare 3D fossils show that some early trees had forms unlike any you've ever seen



In the fossil record, trees typically are preserved with only their trunks. They don't usually include any leaves to show what their canopies and overall forms may have looked like. In a new study, researchers describe fossilized trees from New Brunswick, Canada with a surprising and unique three-dimensional crown shape.
Published Increased temperature difference between day and night can affect all life on earth



Researchers have discovered a change in what scientists already knew about global warming dynamics. It had been widely accepted since the 1950s that global temperature rises were not consistent throughout the day and night, with greater nighttime warming being observed. However, the recent study reveals a shift in dynamics: with greater daytime warming taking place since the 1990s. This shift means that the temperature difference between day and night is widening, potentially affecting all life on Earth.
Published Asparagus and orchids are more similar than you think



How is a beech leaf constructed? What determines the appearance of an asparagus? A new 'encyclopaedia' helps us learn more about the building blocks of plants. The encyclopaedia, probably the largest of its kind, could be used to improve targeted plant breeding efforts, to make them both more climate-resilient and more easily digestible.
Published Do tree-planting campaigns follow best practices for successful forest restoration?



New research reviewed publicly available information for 99 different organizations that coordinate large-scale tree-planting programs around the globe to see if these organizations seemed to be applying best practices for successful reforestation.
Published Back from the dead: Tropical tree fern repurposes its dead leaves



Plant biologists report that a species of tree fern found only in Panama reanimates its own dead leaf fronds, converting them into root structures that feed the mother plant. The fern, Cyathea rojasiana, reconfigures these 'zombie leaves,' reversing the flow of water to draw nutrients back into the plant.
Published Soap bark discovery offers a sustainability booster for the global vaccine market



A valuable molecule sourced from the soapbark tree and used as a key ingredient in vaccines, has been replicated in an alternative plant host for the first time, opening unprecedented opportunities for the vaccine industry.
Published Tiny ant species disrupts lion's hunting behavior



Data gathered through years of observation reveal an innocuous-seeming ant is disrupting an ecosystem in East Africa, illustrating the complex web of interactions among ants, trees, lions, zebras and buffaloes.
Published Diverse forests are best at standing up to storms



European forests with a greater diversity of tree species are more resilient to storms, according to new research.
Published The complexity of forests cannot be explained by simple mathematical rules, study finds



The way trees grow together do not resemble how branches grow on a single tree, scientists have discovered.
Published Study offers rare long-term analysis of techniques for creating standing dead trees for wildlife habitat



Ecologists have long known that standing dead trees, commonly referred to as snags, are an important habitat element for forest dwellers and act as a driver of biodiversity. They're so important that in some managed forests, snag creation is part of the conservation tool kit -- i.e., crews sometimes convert a percentage of live trees into dead ones through techniques ranging from sawing off their tops to wounding their trunks to injecting them with disease-causing fungi.
Published Discovering the physics behind 300-year-old firefighting methods



Inspired by a 1725 fire engine that pumped water at larger distances and higher speeds than previously possible, authors analyzed the pressure chamber's Windkessel effect to capture the physics behind this widely used, enduring technology. They compared the initial state of the chamber, the rate at which bucket brigades could pour water in (volumetric inflow), the length of time pressure builds, and the effects on output flow rate. Next, the authors plan to examine the physiological Windkessel involved in the heart-aorta system.
Published A new perspective on the temperature inside tropical forests



New worldwide maps of temperatures inside tropical forests show that global warming affect different way in different parts of the forests. Undergrowth level temperature of the tropical forests can be even 4 degrees less than average temperature of the area.
Published Office air conditioning can reduce the risk of harm from wildfire smoke



Air conditioning doesn't just cool the air -- it can also reduce the risk of harm from wildfire smoke, new research suggests.
Published Student discovers 200-million-year-old flying reptile



Gliding winged-reptiles were amongst the ancient crocodile residents of the Mendip Hills in Somerset, England, researchers at the have revealed.
Published Climate change threatens global forest carbon sequestration, study finds



Climate change is causing Western U.S. forests to be less effective carbon sinks, even as it boosts the productivity of forests in the Eastern U.S., according to new research.
Published Scientists name the most common tropical tree species



Researchers have found almost identical patterns of tree diversity across the world's tropical forests. The study of over one million trees across 1,568 locations found that just 2.2% of tree species make up 50% of the total number of trees in tropical forests across Africa, the Amazon, and Southeast Asia. Each continent consists of the same proportion of a few common species and many rare species.
Published Preventing the destruction of Eucalyptus forest plantations: Naturally occurring pathogenic fungi to control the Eucalyptus snout beetle



Scientists have found naturally occurring pathogenic fungi infecting the Eucalyptus snout beetle in Eucalyptus forest plantations, and characterized them to develop a bio-pesticide for controlling the beetle.
Published Targeted household cleaning can reduce toxic chemicals post-wildfire



Wildfires create compounds called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are formed in the combustion process at high temperatures. These compounds are highly toxic. New research examined how long harmful chemicals found in wildfire smoke can persist and the most effective ways to remove them with everyday household cleaners.
Published Western Cascades landscapes in Oregon historically burned more often than previously thought



Forests on the west slope of Oregon's Cascade Range experienced fire much more often between 1500 and 1895 than had been previously thought.