Farming does not reduce tree cover as much as thought earlier

September 16th, 2009 NEW DELHI - A Chinese man was hospitalised after he was stung by more than a hundred bees while chopping a tree last week. The incident took place in Changjiang, Hainan province, reports the China Daily.

September 14th, 2009 CHANDIGARH - In a bid to make Punjab more green, the state forest department Monday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) to initiate a widespread tree plantation drive. "During our tenure of last two-and-a-half year in Punjab, we have increased the area under tree cover to around six per cent from a meagre three-and-a-half per cent.

September 2nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - To help reduce pollution level and increase the green cover in the capital, the Delhi government Wednesday announced it will develop nine new city forests by the year end. "The development of these forests will help in reducing pollution level as well as increasing green cover in Delhi.

August 26th, 2009 White House Christmas tree will be fir from W.Va.CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A Fraser fir from West Virginia will be the Christmas tree displayed inside the White House this year.

August 25th, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new research, scientists have said that a type of acacia tree with an unusual growth habit, which is unlike virtually all other trees, holds particular promise for farmers in Africa as a free source of nitrogen for their soils that could last generations. With its nitrogen-fixing qualities, the tall, long-lived acacia tree, Faidherbia albida could limit the use of fertilizers; provide fodder for livestock, wood for construction and fuel wood, and medicine through its bark, as well as windbreaks and erosion control to farmers across sub-Saharan Africa.

August 24th, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new study, scientists have used detailed satellite imagery to demonstrate that almost half of all farmed landscapes worldwide include significant tree cover, which implies that trees are a vital part of agricultural production. The study, by scientists from the World Agroforestry Centre, reveals that on more than 1 billion hectares, which make up 46 percent of the world's farmlands and are home to more than half a billion people, tree cover exceeds 10 percent.

August 21st, 2009 WASHINGTON - A NASA scientist has made what is believed to be the first full assessment of the African continent's mangrove forests. Environmental scientist Lola Fatoyinbo of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) developed and employed a method that can be used across the continent, overcoming expensive, ad hoc, and inconsistent modes of ground-based measurement.

August 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists have analyzed seven different climate models to come to the conclusion that human-induced land cover changes (LCCs), such as the clearing of forests for farming, can affect climate. To study the regional and global effects of LCC, A.

August 5th, 2009 LUCKNOW - In a novel way to promote environmental awareness on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan, a Lucknow zoo Wednesday asked its visitors to tie a rakhi around a tree and take an oath to protect the green cover in their vicinity. As many as 1,001 colourful rakhis were put on display at the entrance to the zoo, from where the visitors had to select one and tie it around a tree on the premises of the zoological gardens.

August 4th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Two homeless Chinese men are reported to have been living on a tree for several months, after they were kicked out from their previous resting place. Urban management officers had kicked the two men in the Baoan district of Shenzhen, Guangdong province, out of a train tunnel, where they had been sleeping, reports the China Daily.

July 31st, 2009 NEW DELHI - A hen in Guangdong province in China, which flies to a tree every morning to lay eggs, has left all villagers intrigued. Cai Guichong, the owner of the bird, climbs the tree every morning to fetch the eggs, the China Daily reports.

June 10th, 2009 Storm knocks over tree at White HouseWASHINGTON — Strong winds have knocked down a tree on the White House's North Lawn. The tree appeared to have been snapped off near its base during a storm Tuesday afternoon.

June 9th, 2009 Bronx movement takes root: No trees, pleaseNEW YORK — What's not to like about a tree? Apparently plenty, if you live one New York City neighborhood. The New York Daily News says some residents in the Bronx are fuming over the city's plans to plant trees on their block.

June 4th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new report released by the Worldwatch Institute has said that agriculture could become a big part of the solution to global warming. According to a report in Environmental News Network (ENN), innovations in food production and land use that are ready to be put to work could reduce greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to roughly 25 percent of global fossil fuel emissions and be managed to reduce carbon already in the atmosphere as well.

May 20th, 2009 LONDON - A yew tree, whose canopy is said to be as big as the size of London's Royal Albert Hall, has entered the record books as the widest tree in the UK. The tree, which was discovered in the grounds of Shugborough Hall, Staffordshire, and which has engulfed a National Trust garden, is 50 metres wider than its nearest rival, and has a crown circumference of 175.5 metres.