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Categories: Environmental: Ecosystems, Geoscience: Landslides

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Could plants be the answer to the looming threat of microplastic pollution? Scientists found that if you add tannins (natural plant compounds that make your mouth pucker if you bite into an unripe fruit) to a layer of wood dust, you can create a filter that can trap virtually all microplastic particles present in water. While the experiment remains a lab set-up at this stage, the team is convinced that the solution can be scaled up easily and inexpensively.

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With Labor Day approaching, many people are preparing to go tubing and swimming at local streams and rivers. But do these delightful summertime activities have an impact on waterways? Now, the first holistic study of this question has found that recreation can alter the chemical and microbial fingerprint of streams, but the environmental and health ramifications are not yet known.

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Bats gather to feast as nocturnal insects fly through mountain passes in the Pyrenees each autumn, new research shows.

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In the waters off the Hawaiian Islands, rates of calcification were measured in the deepest coral colonies.

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Birds likely hold smart insights about coexisting in popular habitats -- especially as climate change looms. Scientists peel back layers of big data to tease out real-life answers.

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Tiny plastic particles can be found in the air over the oceans even far away from the coast. According to a new study, microplastics are not only carried by the wind, but also escape into the atmosphere from seawater. Researchers present data on the composition and sources of different types of plastic in the air over the North Atlantic and the origin of the particles.

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They're found on Mount Everest, in the deep seas, aboard the International Space Station and thousands of them have even crash landed and been spilled onto the moon. The microscopic water bear has a nearly unfathomable ability to survive in the most hostile environments.

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A researcher is creating the first model to plot on a map the coexistence of humans and bears in a national park in Italy. Designed as a tool to be used in practice, the model identifies measures and areas that are priorities for promoting human-bear coexistence. The model is being applied to the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise national parks, but can also be used for other regions and large carnivores.

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Dry lightning can still be disastrous even when conditions aren't so dry, a study has found. These cloud-to-ground strikes during little to no rainfall were previously thought to pose wildfire danger only if occurring with less than 2.5 mm of rain in a day (about 0.10 inches). A new study of lightning-ignited wildfires in the U.S. West found the strikes caused wildfires despite up to 7.7 mm (about 0.3 inches) of precipitation. While still a low amount of rain, the more accurate estimation could help responders detect fires earlier, especially those known as 'holdovers,' which can smolder for many days before exploding into full-blown wildfires.

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New findings have found that water use efficiency has stalled since 2001 which implies not as much CO2 was being taken in by plants and more water was consumed and that could have implications on carbon cycling, agricultural production and water resources.

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Using a novel method to detect microbial activity in biological soil crusts, or biocrusts, after they are wetted, a research team in a new study uncovered clues that will lead to a better understanding of the role microbes play in forming a living skin over many semi-arid ecosystems around the world. The tiny organisms -- and the microbiomes they create -- are threatened by climate change.

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A new study finds that past changes in atmospheric CO2 and corresponding shifts in climate and vegetation played a key role in determining when and where early human species interbred.

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Terrestrial carbon sinks can mitigate the greenhouse effect. Researchers pooled various data sources and found that European carbon storage takes place mainly in surface biomass in East Europe. However, changes of land use in particular have caused this carbon sink to decline.

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A study of 12 species of highly migratory fish predators -- including sharks, tuna, and billfish such as marlin and swordfish -- finds that most of them will encounter widespread losses of suitable habitat and redistribution from current habitats in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean (NWA) and the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) by 2100. These areas are among the fastest warming ocean regions and are projected to increase between 1-6°C (+1-10°F) by the end of the century, a sign of climate-driven changes in marine ecosystems.

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Dam constructions have flooded over 1.13 million acres of tribal land in the U.S., contributing to the historic and ongoing struggle against land dispossession for Indigenous peoples in the United States. New research has identified that a region of tribal land larger than the state of Rhode Island has been submerged by dams in the U.S. The findings raise concerns about the destruction of ecosystems, cultural heritage, and livelihoods.

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New research indicates that mitigating both local land and sea-based human impacts, especially in terms of pollutants and over-fishing, provides coral reef ecosystems with the best opportunity to persist under climate change. Along some highly populated areas on the shorelines of Hawai'i, wastewater pollution and urban runoff combine with fishing pressures to put immense stress on coral reefs.

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In-water monitoring shows hard coral cover across the Great Barrier Reef remains at similar levels to that recorded in 2022, with small decreases in the Northern, Central and Southern regions. AIMS' Annual Summary Report on Coral Reef Condition for 2022/23 found that while some reefs continued to recover, their increased hard coral cover was offset by coral loss on other reefs. Most reefs underwent little change in coral cover.

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As climate change progresses, rising temperatures may impact nitrogen runoff from land to lakes and streams more than projected increases in total and extreme precipitation for most of the continental United States, according to new research from a team of climate scientists.

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City life favors species that are adaptable and not too fussy about what they eat, among other characteristics. A worldwide consortium of scientists calls the resulting collection of traits an 'Urban Trait Syndrome.'

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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.