Rare chalk grassland takes 50 years to recover from military use
...erpool identified 82 sites from which they sampled vegetation and soil. They found that, while neutral (mesotrop...cover. The long-lasting damage is due not only to vegetation being destroyed by tanks and shelling but also by soil compaction. According to Hirst: "Large milita...Space measurements of carbon offer clearer view of Earth's climate future
...rth Observation data on areas including forest and vegetation cover, fires, especially the amount of vegetation burned, biomass, humidity and land and sea photosynthesis can sharpen the accuracy of terrestrial ca...York scientists warn of dramatic impact of climate change on Africa
...g that dramatic changes may soon occur in Africa's vegetation in response to global warming. They believe the effect may be on a similar scale to the climatic disruption in the last Ice Age and the African forest decline 2,500 years ago. Scientists in the University's Environment Department studied the likely i...Marshes tell story of medieval drought, little ice age, and European settlers near NYC
...striking increases in both charcoal, a sign of dry vegetation and fires, and pollen from pine and hickory trees....le Ice Age from the early 1400s to late 1800s, the vegetation changed again to plants that favored cooler and wetter climates. The core records revealed increases...Scientists map the world for nature conservation
...entral innovation here is the breakdown of data by vegetation zone. Tropical rainforests are, unsurprisingly, sh...the first time where, within each of the different vegetation zones, plant biodiversity is highest," says Professor Wilhelm Barthlott, founder of the working grou...PNAS highlights for the week of May 9 - 13
...g current land use patterns with Earth's pre-human vegetation cover, Line Gordon and colleagues estimated global vapor flow changes due to deforestation and irrigation, since the start of human-induced land use change. The researchers estimated global water vapor flow from land at 67,000 km3/year. Deforestation...As world warms, vegetation changes may influence extreme weather
...- A Purdue University climatologist has found that vegetation can significantly affect extreme weather, a discov...requency and severity in a region depending on how vegetation responds to global warming. This is believed to be the first study to indicate that as vegetation re...A decade after launch, ERS-2's mission continues
...il moisture, an important parameter for predicting vegetation development." ERS-2's future The spacecraft has been a key link in a chain of European and international missions to provide long-term observation of key environmental variables. The mission's well-defined products and services are playing an im...Taking the piste out of Alpine vegetation
...red. "Machine grading constitutes the most drastic vegetation disturbance on ski pistes. It should be avoided wh...hey also measured the impact of artificial snow on vegetation and found that this causes changes in species composition, with snowbed and late-flowering species i...Putting ecology back into river restoration
...odification project should minimise loss of native vegetation during river reconstruction, and should avoid the fish spawning season for construction work," Palmer explains. The final criteria is ecological assessment. According to Palmer: "It is critical that the broad restoration community, including funding ...Water research initiatives at UW-Madison
...er zones on state waterways. Buffers are strips of vegetation near rivers and streams that help remove sediment and pollutants from runoff before it enters the stream. The initiative's key question: Amid thousands of miles of state waterways, how does Wisconsin use limited resources to place buffers where they ...New Zealand forest giant prevents landslides
...lides. For this he studied the landscape, soil and vegetation dynamics in the Waitakere Ranges Regional Park in New Zealand. The model can be used to predict the locations where landslides will occur and researchers can also use it to calculate how rainfall affects the soil. Waitakere Ranges Waitakere Range...Satellite maps will ease plight of endangered mountain gorillas
...could be clearly monitored, as could the impact on vegetation of volcanic activity. Combining the GIS layers provided by BEGo with GPS data collected in the field, gaps in existing anti-poacher patrol coverage could be identified and redressed, and the migration of gorilla groups could be followed across natio...Introduced foxes transformed vegetation on Aleutian Islands from lush grasslands to tundra
...through entire island ecosystems, transforming the vegetation from lush grasslands to scrubby, low-growing tundr...viously colonized by foxes, and in some places the vegetation has begun to look lusher. But it is likely to take decades for the ecosystems to fully recover from ...NASA study finds soot may be changing the Arctic environment
...from South Asia, one-third from burning biomass or vegetation around the world, and the remainder from Russia, Europe and North America. South Asia is estimated to have the largest industrial soot emissions in the world, and the meteorology in that region readily lofts pollution into the upper atmosphere where...Self-organization and vegetation collapse in salt marsh ecosystems
...e to for instance a storm, may induce a cascade of vegetation collapse and severe erosion on the cliff edge, lea...sh destruction. Seawards of this cliff new pioneer vegetation can develop, leading to rejuvenation of the salt marsh. The study shows that on short timescales, n...NASA research to aid federal invasive species council efforts
...s Terra satellite provides daily information about vegetation conditions. Statistical models applied by USGS, with NASA's assistance, convert MODIS and other data sources into predictive maps of plant species distribution. The USGS is incorporating NASA's research capabilities to improve the national response t...Experimental radar provides 3-D forest view
...ase of Envisat. In just a few days between images, vegetation growth in forested areas can be so great to prevent InSAR coherence: the two scenes have changed too much for interferometry to work. One simple but costly solution that was raised was to launch constellations of satellites to minimise revisit times...First view of a world without fire
The natural vegetation covering the globe looks like it does because of t...n that a potent force overrides climate in shaping vegetation fire. Much of the world is covered by vegetation that seems out of place, for example in Mediterran...Arid Australian interior linked to landscape burning by ancient humans
...ell as the sensitivity of the monsoon to different vegetation and soil types. A climate model simulating a fore...e modern desert scrub," he said. "In the process, vegetation feedbacks promoting the penetration of monsoon moisture into the continental interior would have bee...