Forest
hideA forest is an area with a high density of trees. There are many definitions of a forest, based on the various criteria. These plant communities presently cover approximately 9.4% of the Earth's surface (or 30% of total land area) in many different regions and function as habitats for organisms, hydrologic flow modulators, and soil conservers, constituting one of the most important aspects of the Earth's biosphere. Although a forest is classified primarily by trees a forest ecosystem is defined intrinsically with additional species such as fungi. A woodland, with more open space between trees, is ecologically distinct from a forest.
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News tagged with forest
Study finds logging effects vary based on a forest's history, climate
Dec 02, 2009 |
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A Smoky Mountain forest's woodland herb population has shown that climate may play a role in how forest understories recover from logging, according to Purdue University research.
New chameleon species discovered in East Africa (w/ Podcast)
Nov 23, 2009 |
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A new species of chameleon has been discovered in Tanzania by a team of scientists.
California's Ancient Kelp Forest
Nov 10, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The kelp forests off southern California are considered to be some of the most diverse and productive ecosystems on the planet, yet a new study indicates that today's kelp beds are less extensive and lush ...
Like humans, ants use bacteria to make their gardens grow
Nov 19, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Leaf-cutter ants, which cultivate fungus for food, have many remarkable qualities.
Time of day matters to thirsty trees, researcher discovers
Nov 23, 2009 |
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The time of day matters to forest trees dealing with drought, according to a new paper produced by a research team led by Professor Malcolm Campbell, University of Toronto Scarborough's vice-principal for research and colleagues ...
NASA Aircraft Flies Calif. Wildfire Post-Burn Mission
Nov 25, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's remotely piloted Predator B aircraft, named Ikhana, recently conducted post-burn assessments of two Southern California wildfire sites, the Piute Fire in Kern County and the Station Fire in the Angeles ...
Timber harvest impacts amphibians differently during life stages
Nov 03, 2009 |
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Frogs are croaking in clear-cut forests, but not exactly in their traditional manner. University of Missouri researchers found that removing all of the trees from a section of the forest had a negative effect ...
Reducing greenhouse gases may not be enough to slow climate change
Nov 11, 2009 |
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Georgia Tech City and Regional Planning Professor Brian Stone publishes a paper in the December edition of Environmental Science and Technology that suggests policymakers need to address the influence of global deforestation ...
Central Africa's tropical Congo Basin was arid, treeless in Late Jurassic
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Nov 10, 2009 |
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The Congo Basin -- with its massive, lush tropical rain forest -- was far different 150 million to 200 million years ago. At that time Africa and South America were part of the single continent Gondwana. The Congo Basin was ...
Researchers hail innovative plan to save rainforest, reduce greenhouse gas emissions
Nov 05, 2009 |
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An innovative proposal by the Ecuadorian government to protect an untouched, oil rich region of Amazon rainforest is a precedent-setting and potentially economically viable approach, says a team of environmental researchers ...
Researcher finds forest birds 'commuting' to attract mates
Nov 06, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- An ecologist at the University of Rhode Island studying habitat use by a forest-dwelling game bird found that the birds unexpectedly exhibited what he described as "the bar scene phenomenon" ...
Cautious conservation: How to ensure that slowing global warming will protect biodiversity
Nov 16, 2009 |
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While it is clear that massive destruction of tropical rainforests poses a serious threat to the incredibly rich biodiversity found on Earth, other hazards are not so explicit. An international group of prominent scientists ...
New research provides insights into potential ecological costs and cobenefits of REDD
Nov 16, 2009 |
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A new paper just published in Global Change Biology examines the potential of a REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) mechanism to provoke ecological damage and/or promote ecological cobenefits. Such a ...
Coral reefs inspire rare consensus -- just save them
Nov 05, 2009 |
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One of the first set of studies to examine what tourists and recreation enthusiasts actually think about coral reef ecosystems suggests they are a rare exception to controversies over human use versus environmental ...
