Rainforests could get too hot for photosynthesis
Leaves in tropical forests across South America to Southeast Asia are reaching temperatures so high that they could cease to perform photosynthesis, warns a new study.
When boreal forests burn again and again
Increasingly severe and frequent wildfires, exacerbated by rising temperatures and drought due to climate change, are transforming Canada’s boreal forest ecosystem.
Tropical lakes are carbon super sinks
Amazonian lakes have been found to sequester carbon dioxide (CO2) at a rate 39% higher than the rainforest itself, according to a 2022 study by researchers from multiple countries. These lakes store 113.5 grams of carbon per square meter per year in their sediment, compared to the rainforest’s average of 81.72 grams per square meter …
Canadian forest tipping point
Canada’s 2023 wildfires have emitted around 1.5 billion tonnes of CO2, triple the annual emissions from burning fossil fuels in the country and surpassing the emissions of 100 nations combined. This year’s wildfires contribute to a multi-decade surge of CO2 emissions from Canada’s “managed” forests. After 2001, Canada’s forests emitted more CO2 than they absorbed, …
Amazon summit
The Brazil Amazon Summit ended with leaders and ministers from eight Amazon nations signing a declaration to protect tropical rainforests and counter climate change. Despite criticism for lacking clear goals, the declaration balances economic growth with preventing irreversible Amazon damage.
EU deforestation rules for food producers
Major agriculture producers, including Brazil, are pushing back against new European Union (EU) regulations that require proof of crops being grown on non-deforested land, citing increased food production costs.
Carbon dioxide triggers explosive volcanoes
Geoscientists have long thought that water – along with shallow magma stored in Earth’s crust – causes volcanoes to erupt. New research shows that gaseous carbon dioxide can trigger explosive eruptions.
Successfully managing forests from belowground
Half of biodiversity in forests lives belowground. These organisms are tiny but their importance to the ecosystem is enormous. In one teaspoon of forest soil there are thousands of species and billions of individual organisms.
Drones to monitor Rainforest health
A team of researchers from Switzerland are using drones to monitor the health of the rainforest. The project has reached the finals of the global XPRIZE Rainforest competition which encourages the development of technology to measure and monitor the rainforest ecosystem.
NASA Satellite to help fight Amazon deforestation
The American space agency NASA has offered its satellite technology to Brazil to help monitor and identify destruction in the Amazon rainforest.