How trees can be used to remove pollutants from environmentSeptember 18th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Researchers at North Carolina (NC) State University, US, are working to demonstrate that through a unique process, trees can be used to remove pollutants from the environment. Through a process called phytoremediation - literally a "green" technology - plants and trees remove pollutants from the environment or render them harmless.
Trees colonize new territories in response to higher temperaturesAugust 26th, 2009 LONDON - Reports indicate that trees around the world are colonizing new territories in response to higher temperatures, all thanks to global warming. From the US west coast to northern Siberia and south-east Asia, trees are growing at higher elevations, and at higher latitudes as the climate warms.
Farming does not reduce tree cover as much as thought earlierAugust 24th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Satellite imagery has revealed that there is significant tree cover in nearly half the farmed landscape worldwide, contrary to a belief that agriculture leads to massive deforestation. It reveals that on more than one 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.
Billions of beetles, wildfire spread imperil the northern forests of a warmer worldAugust 23rd, 2009 Beetles, wildfire: Double threat in warming worldHAINES JUNCTION, Yukon Territory — A veil of smoke settled over the forest in the shadow of the St. Elias Mountains, in a wilderness whose spruce trees stood tall and gray, a deathly gray even in the greenest heart of a Yukon summer.
Policeman calls White House meeting productive, says focus is on the futureJuly 31st, 2009 Policeman calls White House meeting productiveWASHINGTON — The police officer at the center of a national dispute over race and law enforcement says a much-anticipated meeting at the White House was productive and all parties are looking forward. Cambridge, Mass., police Sgt.
Police officer calls calls White House meeting with Gates productive, with parties looking forwardJuly 31st, 2009 Officer says meeting with Gates, Obama productiveWASHINGTON — The police officer at the center of a national dispute over race and law enforcement says a much-anticipated meeting at the White House was productive and all parties are looking forward. Cambridge, Mass., police Sgt.
Thread-like fungi may help high elevation pines growJuly 19th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A professor from Montana State University is searching for ways to use thread-like fungi, which grows in soils at high elevations, for restoring whitebark and limber pine forests in Canada. Cathy Cripps, who is working with resource managers and visitor relations staff from Waterton Lakes National Park (WLNP), is part of a project that aims to restore fire to the national park, reduce the impact of noxious weeds and restore disturbed sites to native vegetation, including whitebark and limber pine.
How plants use nitrogen to invade and take over native plantsJuly 7th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A research at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), US, gives important new information on how plants can change "nitrogen cycling" to gain nitrogen and how this allows plant species to invade and take over native plants. In the research, UNL biologist Johannes Knops has demonstrated how one invasive plant species replaces native species because of its ability to take up and hold on to nitrogen.
Local officials seek help dealing with threat of fires in beetle-ravaged forestsJune 16th, 2009 Beetle-ravaged forests prompt pleas for aidWASHINGTON — Officials from Rocky Mountain states urged Congress on Tuesday help them avert a potential catastrophe this summer as they grapple with millions of acres of beetle-ravaged pines that are prone to fire. Local government officials and forestry experts told the House Natural Resources Committee at a hearing Tuesday that small towns, ski resorts, water supplies and electricity transmission lines surrounded by dead or dying forests are at risk for wildfires.
Local officials to seek help dealing with threat of fires in beetle-ravaged forestsJune 16th, 2009 Officials to warn Congress of beetle threatWASHINGTON — Officials from Rocky Mountain states are urging Congress to help them avert a potential catastrophe this summer as they grapple with millions of acres of beetle-ravaged pines that are prone to fire. The House Natural Resources Committee has scheduled a hearing Tuesday to hear from government and forestry experts about the threat from the mountain pine beetle.
Introducing new hybrid of American chestnuts may mitigate climate changeJune 11th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study by researchers at the Purdue University, US, has shown that that introducing a new hybrid of the American chestnut tree would not only bring back the all-but-extinct species, but also put a dent in the amount of carbon in the Earth's atmosphere. Douglass Jacobs, an associate professor of forestry and natural resources, found that American chestnuts grow much faster and larger than other hardwood species, allowing them to sequester more carbon than other trees over the same period.
Chimps tend to remember the exact location of favourite fruit treesJune 9th, 2009 LONDON - Chimpanzees have an inherent spatial memory that makes them remember the exact location of all their favourite fruit trees, according to a study. In fact, primatologists have found that their spatial memory is so precise that they can find a single tree among more than 12,000 others within a patch of forest.
William Shatner slams reports of feud with new 'Star Trek' castApril 27th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Legendary 'Star Trek' actor William Shatner has slammed reports of an alleged feud with the cast of the latest movie in the franchise, insisting there's no bad blood. The ex Captain Kirk was reportedly upset when director J.J.
How fast climate warming could kill drought-stressed treesApril 14th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists have discovered in experiments that the widespread die-off of drought-stressed trees across the southwestern United States during future droughts will occur at least five times faster if climate warms by 4 degrees Celsius. The experiments were conducted at the University of Arizona's Biosphere 2.
Hawaii's coral bed is over 4,000 years old, say researchersMarch 26th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Hawaii's deep-sea corals are more than 4,000 years old, making them one of the oldest living organisms on earth, say researchers. The study, conducted by the researchers from the Texas A&M University, California University and the Australian National University, found that one of the coral species was about 4,265 years old.
Loading ...