forests

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Deforestation Plummets Nearly a Third in Brazil's Amazon

It was the lowest level of destruction in the rainforest in 9 years

(Newser) - Forest loss in Brazil's Amazon dropped by 30.6% compared to the previous year, officials said Wednesday, the lowest level of destruction in nine years. In a 12-month span, the Amazon rainforest lost 2,428 square miles, roughly the size of the US state of Delaware, per the AP...

The World's Earliest Known Forest Has Been Found
'This Was a Pretty Weird Forest'
new study
Mar 7, 2024 5:45 PM CST

'This Was a Pretty Weird Forest'

Scientists say they've found the world's earliest forest

(Newser) - It's a "pretty weird forest"—but a record-setting one. Scientists say they've found the oldest known forest on Earth, taking the crown from a forest in New York's Catskills that had previously held the title. The BBC reports the fossilized forest, reported on in the...

Key Figure in the 'Plant Trees' Movement Has New Message

Ecologist Thomas Crowther says it's better to maintain existing forests than to plant new ones

(Newser) - At this month's environment COP28 summit, renowned ecologist Thomas Crowther addressed environmental officials from around the world and asked them to stop planting so many trees. Which is noteworthy given that Crowther himself is "at least partly" responsible for the worldwide push on that front in recent years,...

After Years of Research, Expert Advice: Burn California's Forests

Burning, thinning, or a combination of both found to make trees more resilient to wildfire, drought

(Newser) - The findings of a 20-year study on the health of California forests will come as no surprise to Native Americans, whose ancestors traditionally managed land through controlled fires . The study out of the University of California-Berkeley confirms that prescribed burning, the use of controlled fire to clear debris; restoration thinning,...

Bourbon Industry Has a Tree Problem
Bourbon Industry
Has a Tree Problem
Oct 29, 2023 7:30 AM CDT

Bourbon Industry Has a Tree Problem

The spirit must age in oak barrels, and the industry is set on saving the crucial tree

(Newser) - An imbalance of mature white oaks growing in US forests poses a long-term threat to the bourbon industry, which uses them to age the spirit in barrels. And brands like Makers Mark are taking action before it's too late. Modern Farmer explains the issue, which boils down to the...

California's Biggest Landowner Closes Forests to Public

Sierra Pacific Industries cites wildfire risk

(Newser) - Sierra Pacific Industries, the largest private landowner in America, says its forest lands in California will be closed to the public starting Friday. The company, which owns 2.33 million acres of land in California, Oregon, and Washington, normally allows the public to use land that isn't being actively...

'Ghost Forest' Problem Is Creeping Inland
'Ghost Forest' Problem
Is Creeping Inland
new study
Apr 8, 2021 2:11 PM CDT

'Ghost Forest' Problem Is Creeping Inland

Study finds that once-thriving forest in North Carolina is being decimated by saltwater

(Newser) - The issue of "ghost forests" is a familiar one to climate researchers. The term refers to how rising sea levels—or, more specifically, encroaching saltwater—kills trees along the coast, per Live Science . But a new study out of North Carolina suggests that "it's not just the...

It Killed the Dinosaurs, but Then It Gave Birth to Something Else

You can thank the Chicxulub impact for our modern rainforests: study

(Newser) - We owe a lot to the asteroid impact that killed the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. For one thing, it gave us the lush tropical rainforests that help keep our planet healthy. That's according to a first-of-its-kind study published Friday in Science that looks at the effects of the...

Study: China's Forests Have Been Underestimated

New forests are a major 'carbon sink'

(Newser) - China is the world's biggest polluter—but a massive tree-planting program has helped absorb more of its carbon dioxide emissions than researchers expected. In a new study in the journal Nature , researchers say that according to ground and satellite observations, the rapid afforestation of areas of northeast and southwest...

Company Says Its Drones Will Plant 1B Trees by 2028

Canadians say their tech can plant trees 10 times faster than humans

(Newser) - Drone projects don't get much more ambitious than the one envisioned by Flash Forest, which plans to plant a billion trees by 2028—helping save the planet in the process. The Canadian startup says its drones, which can identify the best planting sites before dropping specially designed seed pods,...

Scientists Stumble On World's Oldest Forest
Scientists Stumble On
World's Oldest Forest
new study
Dec 21, 2019 4:30 PM CST

Scientists Stumble On World's Oldest Forest

Scientists find ancient trees just north of Manhattan

(Newser) - Earth's three trillion trees do a lot for us—make life possible, really—but how did they ever get started? Well, look no further than New York state. Scientists say they've found the world's oldest known forest in an abandoned quarry a couple hours north of Manhattan,...

Finnish Leader: No Idea Where Trump Got His 'Raking' Idea

Finland's president says he didn't mention it during chat on forest management

(Newser) - Finland's president isn't sure where President Trump got the idea that raking is part of his country's routine for managing its substantial forests. Trump told reporters Saturday while visiting the ruins of the northern California town where a fire killed at least 76 people that wildfires weren'...

Trump's Answer to Calif. Fires: I May Yank Federal Funds

President blames state's 'gross mismanagement' of forests for wildfires

(Newser) - As the wildfires ravaging California continue to wreak havoc , President Trump has weighed in from across the world—and he's blaming California, per Reuters . In an early Saturday post from Paris, where he's attending events to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I,...

Brothers Who Cleared 1.4K Trees Face $450K Fine

Michigan township says they needed permission; brothers say it's 'misguided overreach'

(Newser) - An attorney for two brothers calls it "misguided overreach," but a Michigan township says it's a necessary move to keep local trees in place. All that Gary and Matt Percy know is they're now facing a possible fine of more than $450,000 after they cleared...

Canada Makes a 'Globally Significant' Conservation Move

Protected boreal forest will cover 26K square miles in Alberta, Canada

(Newser) - Canada will soon be home to the largest protected boreal, or coniferous, forest on the planet. On Tuesday, the Alberta government announced a plan for the creation of three new provincial parks bordering on Wood Buffalo National Park, as well as the creation of a fourth park to the south....

The Poaching of the World's Ancient Trees
Poachers'
New Target: 
Ancient Trees
longform
Jun 4, 2017 3:30 PM CDT

Poachers' New Target: Ancient Trees

This natural resource is centuries in the making, and the black market is thriving

(Newser) - When Colin Hepburn, member of the activist group Wilderness Committee, was walking through the woods in May of 2012 in Canada’s Carmanah Walbran Provincial Park, he came across the remains of an 800-year-old cedar tree. It had stood at almost 200 feet, and it was gone, cut off at...

Newly Discovered Forests Could Cover 60% of Australia

Researchers say world's dryland forests had been seriously under-reported

(Newser) - Scientists have discovered 467 million hectares of unreported forest—about three-fifths the size of Australia—scattered around the globe, the Conversation reports. The discovery increases the known global forest cover by about 9%. The study—published Friday in Science —focused on "drylands," areas that lose more water...

Mystery of the 'Crooked Forest' Puzzles, Decades Later
Mystery of the
'Crooked Forest'
Puzzles, Decades Later
in case you missed it
Apr 2, 2017 4:25 PM CDT

Mystery of the 'Crooked Forest' Puzzles, Decades Later

Was it witchcraft or warfare?

(Newser) - The trunks all bend toward the ground in the same direction, extending three to nine feet, before curving upward and stretching toward the sky, taking the shape of an upside-down question mark. But almost a century after the 400 pine trees were planted in what is now known as Poland'...

7% of Trees in Colo. Forests Are Dead
7% of Trees in
Colo. Forests
Are Dead
Feb 16, 2017 12:29 PM CST

7% of Trees in Colo. Forests Are Dead

That's terrible news for those fighting wildfires

(Newser) - Colorado's beetle-infested forests are peppered with an estimated 834 million standing dead trees that threaten to worsen wildfires and degrade vital water supplies that flow from mountains, officials say. Roughly one in every 14, or about 7%, standing trees in the state's forests is dead, with the total...

Humans Taking a Toll on 100 World Heritage Sites
Humans Taking a Toll on
100 World Heritage Sites
NEW STUDY
Jan 31, 2017 3:42 PM CST

Humans Taking a Toll on 100 World Heritage Sites

New study raises alarm on degradation

(Newser) - Almost half of all natural world heritage sites are slowly being degraded, and experts have a clear suspect: humans. A study based on the Human Footprint Index—which evaluates agriculture, infrastructure, population density, and other factors—identifies more than 100 of 229 sites that are suffering from human activities, reports...

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