News by Subject Agriculture

The identification of natural carbon sinks and understanding how they work is critical if humans are to mitigate global climate change. Tropical coastal wetlands are considered important but, so far, there is little data to show the benefits. This study, led by the University of Göttingen showed that mangrove ecosystems need to be conserved and restored as part of the battle against rising carbon levels in the atmosphere. The research was published in Global Change Biology.

Environmental scientists are always in search of new tools that can better characterize the Earth's surface. In a new study published in Scientific Reports, a group of researchers in the US and Japan reported that Himawari-8, a new-generation geostationary satellite, was able to acquire cloud-free observations every 4 days and capture the seasonal changes of vegetation more accurately than before.

First study to examine the environmental effects of floral foam finds the plastic material, which breaks into tiny pieces, can be eaten by a range of freshwater and marine animals and affect their health.

California could triple the population of endangered southern sea otters by repopulating San Francisco Bay.

The impact of climate change on the world's oceans is becoming increasingly known but new research suggests current computer models could be omitting a crucial piece of evidence when it comes to assessing the scale of ocean dead zones.

Scientists in Connecticut were conducting experiments testing various methods to grow healthier Fraser trees when they accidentally discovered a new species of Phytophthora. They collected the diseased plants, isolated and grew the pathogen on artificial media, then inoculated it into healthy plants before re-isolating it to prove its pathogenicity.

Researchers have identified forests in the western United States that should be preserved for their potential to mitigate climate change through carbon sequestration, as well as to enhance biodiversity.