Biodiversity conservation

Topic description and stories

Life on Earth is at risk from an unprecedented rate of environmental change that threatens the natural resources on which we depend.

Sparing or sharing? Protecting wild species may require growing more food on less land

02 Sep 2011

Separating land for nature and land for crops may be the best way to meet increased food demand with the least impact on wild species.

Food security: your questions answered

31 Aug 2011

Over the past month, the University of Cambridge has been profiling research that addresses one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century – how...

Farming and the fate of wild nature

19 Jul 2011

As the drive to increase food production gathers pace, conservation scientists suggest that reconciling food security with protecting biodiversity...

In soil we trust

14 Jul 2011

Far from being merely ‘dirt’, soil plays a fundamental role in food production, water availability and biodiversity. A new research programme aims to...

Birds of a feather display only a fraction of possible colours

23 Jun 2011

Research reveals plumages exhibit less than a third of possible colours birds can see.

Bags of charcoal lined on the road into Dar es Salaam. This charcoal was produced in the forest and woodlands outside of Dar. Charcoal is the main source of cooking fuel in urban areas across sub-Saharan Africa.

Scientists calculate the true cost of saving rainforest and improving food security

31 May 2011

Current plans to mitigate deforestation could adversely affect rural poor.

Image shows a variety of cuckoo finches each adapted to mimic a different host species or colour morph

Biological arms races in birds

13 Apr 2011

New research reveals how biological arms races between cuckoos and host birds can escalate into a competition between the host evolving new, unique...

Forests and global change

28 Mar 2011

The future of forests in a changing world will be debated at an international conference in Cambridge this week.

Insects hold atomic clues about the type of habitats in which they live

14 Mar 2011

Researchers discover an ‘atmospheric imprint’ in insects, revealing where they are most likely to survive should climate change alter their ecosystem...