Topic description and stories

Emerald Swamp, Tasmania

Study uncovers earliest evidence of humans using fire to shape the landscape of Tasmania

15 Nov 2024

Some of the first human beings to arrive in Tasmania, over 41,000 years ago, used fire to shape and manage the landscape, about 2,000 years earlier...

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Emerald Lake, Yukon

Planting trees in the Arctic could make global warming worse, not better, say scientists

07 Nov 2024

Tree planting has been widely touted as a cost-effective way of reducing global warming, due to trees’ ability to store large quantities of carbon...

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Timber/farming contrast in the USA

Global timber supply threatened as climate change pushes cropland northwards

29 Aug 2024

Climate change will move and reduce the land suitable for growing food and timber, putting the production of these 2 vital resources into direct...

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AI takes flight to revolutionise forest monitoring

26 Jul 2024

Cambridge researchers are harnessing artificial intelligence to improve how forests are monitored. Associate Professor Dr Emily Lines and Research...

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Illustration of Calamophyton trees

Earth’s earliest forest revealed in Somerset fossils

07 Mar 2024

The oldest fossilised forest known on Earth – dating from 390 million years ago – has been found in the high sandstone cliffs along the Devon and...

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Pile of yew trunks at the edge of an agricultural field

The Fens of eastern England once held vast woodlands

24 Nov 2023

The Fens of eastern England, a low-lying, extremely flat landscape dominated by agricultural fields, was once a vast woodland filled with huge yew...

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Woodland

Experts predict ‘catastrophic ecosystem collapse’ of UK forests within the next 50 years if action not taken

08 Nov 2023

Other threats to UK forests include competition with society for water, viral diseases, and extreme weather affecting forest management.

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A young child drinks from a water tap

Foresters bring Cambridge 'water curriculum' to Indian Himalayas

29 Jun 2023

Foresters across the mountainous northeastern Indian state of Nagaland will help roll out a unique programme of environmental education, co-developed...

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Treetops seen from a low angle

Phone-based measurements provide fast, accurate information about the health of forests

07 Mar 2023

Researchers have developed an algorithm that uses computer vision techniques to accurately measure trees almost five times faster than traditional...

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Deforestation

New report assesses global anti-deforestation measures

04 May 2022

Comprehensive scientific report shows progress and effects on climate, nature and people.

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European summer droughts since 2015 unprecedented in past two millennia

15 Mar 2021

Recent summer droughts in Europe are far more severe than anything in the past 2,100 years, according to a new study.

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Women in STEM: Flora Donald

19 Dec 2019

Flora Donald is a PhD candidate who splits her time between the Department of Plant Sciences and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. Here, she...

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