Showing 20 articles starting at article 461

< Previous 20 articles        Next 20 articles >

Categories: Archaeology: General, Ecology: Trees

Return to the site home page

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Woody climbing plants, known as lianas, are more likely to infest smaller trees in Malaysian forests and therefore stop them growing to their full potential, which may have implications for climate change.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

The island of Madagascar -- one of the last large land masses colonized by humans - -sits about 250 miles (400 kilometers) off the coast of East Africa. While it's still regarded as a place of unique biodiversity, Madagascar long ago lost all its large-bodied vertebrates, including giant lemurs, elephant birds, turtles, and hippopotami. A human genetic study now links these losses in time with the first major expansion of humans on the island, around 1,000 years ago.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A recent experiment provides evidence of a bark beetle species' agricultural capability. The fruit-tree pinhole borer can suppress the growth of weed fungi and promote food fungi.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Using DNA from two ancient humans unearthed in two different archaeological sites in northeast Brazil, researchers have unraveled the deep demographic history of South America at the regional level with some surprising results. Not only do they provide new genetic evidence supporting existing archaeological data of the north-to-south migration toward South America, they also have discovered migrations in the opposite direction along the Atlantic coast -- for the first time. Among the key findings, they also have discovered evidence of Neanderthal ancestry within the genomes of ancient individuals from South America.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

The use of ancient DNA, including samples of human remains around 45,000 years old, has shed light on a previously unknown aspect of human evolution.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists conducted a 7-year study on seedling recruitment and mortality in a national park in Chiang Mai, in northern Thailand. During the study period, an extremely strong El Niño event occurred, leading to a stronger and longer drought than normal. Seasonally dry tropical forests (SDTFs), which experience an annual dry season, are considered drought-tolerant. Nevertheless, the study found that seedling mortality increased in SDTFs when severe and prolonged drought occurred.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have developed a method for the direct observation of fine roots, which control the uptake of nutrients and water by trees. This provides a valuable addition to the existing knowledge of carbon and nutrient cycling in the forest floor, leading to further understanding of the carbon cycle from the view point of initial carbon input into the soil and aiding forest management and soil conservation.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Plastic sheets coated with an Eu3+ film that converts UV light to red light were able to accelerate growth of vegetal plants and trees.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study has shed new light on a mysterious, unpredictable and potentially devastating kind of astrophysical event.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Danes shuttle nearly a million tons of garden waste from their gardens every year. But we would be doing the climate a great service if we just left it alone, according to the new calculations. At the same time, leaves and other garden waste are a boon for backyard biodiversity and soil.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers reconstructed the geomagnetic fields recorded in 21 archaeological destruction layers throughout Israel and used the data to develop a reliable new scientific tool for archaeological dating. The new tool enables the verification of Old Testament accounts of the Egyptian, Aramean, Assyrian, and Babylonian military campaigns against the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

The first genetic data from Palaeolithic human individuals in the UK -- the oldest human DNA obtained from the British Isles so far -- indicates the presence of two distinct groups that migrated to Britain at the end of the last ice age, according to new research. Published today in Nature Ecology and Evolution, the new study by UCL Institute of Archaeology, the Natural History Museum and the Francis Crick Institute researchers reveals for the first time that the recolonisation of Britain consisted of at least two groups with distinct origins and cultures.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers found thousands of seedlings growing after recent fires in Montana, especially at sites with cooler, damper conditions -- often found in the shade of the dead trees and upper canopy, as well as on the north side of mountains with higher elevations and more undergrowth. Researchers found fewer seedlings at sites with less shade and drier, hotter conditions.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Research has shown that the Skaftö wreck had probably taken on cargo in Gdansk in Poland and was heading towards Belgium when it foundered in the Lysekil archipelago around 1440. Modern methods of analysis of the cargo are now providing completely new answers about the way trade was conducted in the Middle Ages.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study on early human migration shows that semi-arid and desert zones of Central Asia may have served as key areas for the dispersal of hominins into Eurasia during the Middle Pleistocene. Central Asia is positioned at a crossroads linking several zones important to hominin dispersal during this period, however much evidence from this region lacks context for dating and climate conditions, making it difficult to understand these dynamics.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers argue that they have found evidence of the use of baby carriers 10,000 years ago at the Arma Veirana site in Liguria, Italy.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

In medieval Norway, high status individuals tended to be taller and to have stronger bones, possibly as a result of a favorable lifestyle, according to a new study.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Ancient trees -- those that are many hundreds, or even thousands, of years old -- play a vital role in biodiversity and ecosystem preservation by providing stability, strength, and protection to at-risk environments. A team of ecologists highlight the importance of preserving these monumental organisms and present a project initiative to ensure their protection and longevity.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have managed to sequence multiple individuals from a remote Neanderthal community in Siberia. Among these thirteen individuals, the researchers identified multiple related individuals -- among these a father and his teenage daughter. The researchers were also able to use the thirteen genomes to provide a glimpse into the social organization of a Neanderthal community. They appear to have been a small group of close relatives, consisting of ten to twenty members, and communities were primarily connected through female migration.

     (via sciencedaily.com) 

An analysis of obsidian artifacts excavated during the 1960s at two prominent archaeological sites in southwestern Iran suggests that the networks Neolithic people formed in the region as they developed agriculture are larger and more complex than previously believed. The study has applied state-of-the-art analytical tools to a collection of 2,100 obsidian artifacts.