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Categories: Ecology: Trees, Offbeat: Earth and Climate

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New research links chemical changes in seawater to volcanic activity and changes.

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Heliconius butterflies are capable of spatial learning, scientists have discovered. The results provide the first experimental evidence of spatial learning in any butterfly or moth species.

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Ecologists examined the distribution patterns of canopy soils, and their soil properties, across Costa Rican forests. The researchers suggest canopy soil may store more carbon than previously thought. Consideration of the time needed for reforestation of system with tree canopies should include the time needed for canopy mat regrowth.

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Tropical forests can harbor hundreds of species of trees in one square mile. Researchers reveal key factors in the spatial distribution of adult trees.

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Engineers have created a 'supercapacitor' made of ancient, abundant materials, that can store large amounts of energy. Made of just cement, water, and carbon black (which resembles powdered charcoal), the device could form the basis for inexpensive systems that store intermittently renewable energy, such as solar or wind energy.

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Earth is rapidly warming and scientists are developing a variety of approaches to reduce the effects of climate change. An astronomer has proposed a novel approach -- a solar shield to reduce the amount of sunlight hitting Earth, combined with a tethered, captured asteroid as a counterweight. Engineering studies using this approach could start now to create a workable design that could mitigate climate change within decades.

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Major government and private funding is being invested in planting trees as a powerful tool to fight climate change. But new research shows a troubling bottleneck that could threaten these efforts: U.S. tree nurseries don't grow close to enough trees--nor have the species diversity needed--to meet ambitious planting and restoration goals.

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Ancient pathogens that escape from melting permafrost have real potential to damage microbial communities and might potentially threaten human health, according to a new study.

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A hot bath is a place to relax. For scientists, it is also where molecules or tiny building blocks meet to form materials. Researchers take it to the next level and use the energy of swimming bacteria to forge materials. A recent study shows us how this works and the potential sustainability benefits that may arise from this innovative approach.

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The link between tree diversity and spider populations can help homeowners and other land managers better plan tree plantings to naturally mitigate the effects of climate change.

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Egg 'signatures' will allow drongos to identify cuckoo 'forgeries' almost every time, study finds. African cuckoos may have met their match with the fork-tailed drongo, which scientists predict can detect and reject cuckoo eggs from their nest on almost every occasion, despite them on average looking almost identical to drongo eggs.

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Scientists found that fires in America's dry conifer forests are burning hotter and killing more trees today than in previous centuries. The main culprit? Paradoxically, a lack of fires.

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An exquisitely preserved fossil forest from Japan provides missing links and helps reconstruct a whole Eurasia plant from the late Miocene epoch.

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Plant geneticists have identified a mutation in a gene that causes the 'weeping' architecture -- branches growing downwards -- in apple trees, a finding that could improve orchard fruit production.

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Fertilizer restrictions along Florida's 156-mile-long Indian River Lagoon were intended to reduce nutrient inputs from urban and agricultural land uses. The hope was that water quality would improve by reducing the nitrogen load. While these restrictions were well-intended, a study finds fertilizer use is not the root cause of the lagoon's environmental issues. It's sewage. For decades, fertilizer use was implicated for about 71 percent of the lagoon's environmental impairments. In fact, current estimates show 79 percent of nitrogen loading is from septic systems; 21 percent is from residential fertilizer use.

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Researchers use CRISPR techniques to modify lignin levels in poplar trees.

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Scientists have shown it's possible to grow fungi in thin sheets that could be used for fire-retardant cladding or even a new kind of fungal fashion.

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Scientists have created a global database of pollination data for almost 3000 orchid species.

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America's forests have a tough time in store for them. Climate change is increasing temperatures and decreasing moisture levels across the country, not a winning combination for trees.

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A study has identified genes involved in development of stone cells -- rigid cells that can block a nibbling insect from eating budding branches of the Sitka spruce evergreen tree. The insect's attack has stunted the growth of these forest giants.