A comparison of conditions in the outback on either side of Australia’s dingo fence has revealed that extermination of these apex predators not only affects the abundance of other animals and plants, but also reduces the quality of the soil. The UNSW study indicates greater control of kangaroo numbers is needed across a third of …
Fire shapes biome distribution and community composition worldwide, and is extensively used as a management tool in flammable landscapes. There is growing concern, however, that fire could increase the vulnerability of native fauna to invasive predators. We developed a conceptual model of the ways in which fire could influence predator–prey dynamics. Using a before–after, control–impact …
According to a new study published in the journal Nature Climate Change late last month, sequestering carbon dioxide is only one of the crucial climate-regulating attributes inherent to the world’s forests. Trees are a crucial regulating factor in the cycle of water and heat exchange between Earth’s surface and atmosphere – and thus forests play …
“This is a case study that provides evidence to support complementarity in the use of space,” explained researcher Laura Williams. Feb. 28 (UPI) — Previous studies showed more diverse tree stands to be healthier and more productive than monoculture forests, but scientists didn’t know why. New research suggests tree diversity lends a forest adaptability, allowing …
Findings: Subsidized wood power plants actually emit more carbon than burning coal An important new report issued overnight in London has demolished the assumption that forest biomass should be considered a carbon-neutral source of energy. This has major implications for climate policy in Australia, where native forest biomass energy was controversially included into the Renewable …
Subsidies should end for many types of biomass, a new Chatham House report argues, because they are failing to help cut greenhouse gas emissions. The report adds that policymakers should tighten up accounting rules to ensure the full extent of biomass emissions are included. The analysis outlines how policies intended to boost the use of …
Using wood pellets to generate low-carbon electricity is a flawed policy that is speeding up not slowing down climate warming. That’s according to a new study which says wood is not carbon neutral and emissions from pellets are higher than coal. Subsidies for biomass should be immediately reviewed, the author says. But the industry rejected …
Countries in the EU, including the UK, are throwing away money by subsidising the burning of wood for energy, according to an independent report. While burning some forms of wood waste can indeed reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in practice the growing use of wood energy in the EU is increasing rather than reducing emissions, the …
New Zealand’s forests and other land areas may be absorbing up to 60% more carbon dioxide than has been calculated, with much of this uptake likely occurring in native forests, NIWA scientists have discovered. New research led by NIWA atmospheric scientists Drs Kay Steinkamp and Sara Mikaloff-Fletcher, indicates that New Zealand’s forests absorb much more …
Just because it’s been done before, doesn’t mean it should be done again. European colonisation brought logging into the Bellingen Shire and throughout Australia. It was the keystone for large-scale development providing both housing and an agricultural base. But more than 200 years later, a comprehensive review of 150 scientific papers on land-clearing and rainfall, conducted by Dailan …
