News by Subject Biology

By analysing 138 experiments, researchers have mapped the potential of today's plants and trees to store extra carbon by the end of the century.

Deforestation in Colombia has been linked to armed conflict and forests' proximity to coca crops, the plant from which cocaine is derived. A University of Queensland-led study found that conflict between illegal groups and the governmental military forces, proximity to coca plantations, mining concessions, oil wells and roads were all associated with increased deforestation.

Forests in the eastern United States that are structurally complex -- meaning the arrangement of vegetation is highly varied -- sequester more carbon, according to a new study led by researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University. The study demonstrates for the first time that a forest's structural complexity is a better predictor of carbon sequestration potential than tree species diversity. The discovery may hold implications for the mitigation of climate change.

Largescale 'disturbances', including fires, harvesting, windstorms and insect outbreaks, which kill large patches of forest, are responsible for more than a tenth of tree death worldwide, according to new research at the University of Birmingham.

How much carbon dioxide can tropical rainforests absorb? Investigations by an international team of researchers with significant involvement from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) indicate that the absorption capacity is severely limited by the phosphorus content of the soil.