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Scientists Highlight Importance of Asynchrony in Stability of Ecosystems

Whether an animal or plant community remains stable despite external impacts does not depend on biological diversity alone: asynchrony across the species is also a crucial factor. The more the species in an ecosystem fluctuate in their evolution over time, the less they are likely to falter. As a result, diversity takes second place in terms of the factors to be considered in the context of ecosystem stability. A team of scientists spearheaded by the TU Munich and TU Darmstadt have published these findings in the journal “Nature Communications”.

15 Feb 2016

Researchers Discover Characteristic Traits of Trees for Survival in a Location

Life is not easy for the trees in a forest: To avoid being edged out by other trees, they must prevail in the struggle for resources. Ultimately, the successful trees are those whose traits are best suited to their location. An international team, which included researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry in Jena, has now discovered how three characteristic traits – wood density, maximum height and specific leaf area – decide which trees will emerge victorious in the competition between neighbouring individuals.

15 Feb 2016

New Yeast Strain Helps Reduce Cost of Biofuels Produced with Ionic Liquids

An assistant research specialist at the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) has designed a new strain of yeast that could improve the efficiency of making fuel from cellulosic biomass such as switchgrass.

15 Feb 2016

Study Highlights Urgent Need for More Aggressive Strategies to Reduce Air Pollution

New research shows that more than 5.5 million people die prematurely every year due to household and outdoor air pollution. More than half of deaths occur in two of the world’s fastest growing economies, China and India.

15 Feb 2016

AAAS Annual Meeting: Scientists to Present Research on Radioactive Waste Containment

The UK’s synchrotron science facility, Diamond Light Source, is a hub for renewable energy and energy recycling research, but less well known are its applications as a hub for nuclear research. Work in this area is transforming our energy future by making the nuclear fuel cycle safer, more efficient and more straightforward to use.

15 Feb 2016

Researchers Work on Development of Cost-Effective, Alternative Fuel Source

Loughborough University engineering experts are helping to improve lives in India by sharing essential knowledge of how to turn waste into clean energy.

12 Feb 2016

University of Arkansas Professor Participates in Ecological Farming Association Conference

Curt Rom, a University Professor of horticulture in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences at the University of Arkansas, was a featured speaker at an Ecological Farming Association conference last month.

12 Feb 2016

New Findings Reveal Major Northward Expansion of Marine Mammal Exposure to Toxins

Toxins from harmful algae are present in Alaskan marine food webs in high enough concentrations to be detected in marine mammals such as whales, walruses, sea lions, seals, porpoises and sea otters, according to new research from NOAA and its federal, state, local and academic partners.

12 Feb 2016

Study Results Highlight Complexity of Underground Carbon Sequestration

When carbon dioxide is stored underground in a process known as geological sequestration, it can find multiple escape pathways due to chemical reactions between carbon dioxide, water, rocks and cement from abandoned wells, according to Penn State researchers.

12 Feb 2016

Newly Developed Dynamic Model Focuses on Site Scale Conservation

Knowing how climate change may affect an entire region is only marginally useful to land managers trying to preserve the small white lady’s slipper, a once-abundant orchid that today is found in small “postage stamp” prairie fragments as little as 10 acres in size in Minnesota and another dozen states across the Midwest. Land managers need the details: how might a small fragment of orchid habitat change with climate change, and what climate adaptation strategies will be most effective in preserving remaining populations of small white lady’s slipper?

12 Feb 2016

Study Shows Increasing Water on Land Affects Rate of Sea Level Rise

New measurements from a NASA satellite have allowed researchers to identify and quantify, for the first time, how climate-driven increases of liquid water storage on land have affected the rate of sea level rise.

12 Feb 2016

LUT Study Reveals Impact of Global Warming on Water Quality of Himalayas

A new study by Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT) on the climate change and geochemical process of waters and lake sediments on the Tibetan Plateau show that global warming affects geochemical processes such as glacier melting, soil erosion and sediments release. This deteriorates water quality of rivers and lakes, thus significantly impacting the lives of 40 percent of the world's population living in the area.

11 Feb 2016

Carbon Stored Deep Under UK’s Grasslands Help Curb Climate Change

A nationwide survey by ecologists has revealed that over 2 billion US tons of carbon is stored deep under the UK’s grasslands, helping to curb climate change.

11 Feb 2016

Study Establishes Role of Plankton Networks in Removing Carbon from Atmosphere

The ocean’s power to rein in carbon and protect the environment is vast but not well-understood.

11 Feb 2016

Compounds Used in Lithium-Ion Batteries Harm Soil-Dwelling Bacteria

The growing popularity of battery-powered cars could help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but they are not entirely Earth friendly. Problems can creep in when these batteries are disposed of. Scientists, in a new study in ACS’ journal Chemistry of Materials, are reporting that compounds increasingly used in lithium-ion batteries are toxic to a type of soil-dwelling bacteria that plays an important environmental role.

11 Feb 2016