Climate modelling that best accounts for the processes that sustain plant life predicts plants could absorb up to 20% more CO₂ than the simplest version predicted.
Autumn is arriving later in the year – climate change is probably to blame.
The fossil deposits at the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles have well-preserved remains of many prehistoric animals that got stuck in natural asphalt seeps over the past 60,000 years.
Cullen Townsend, courtesy of NHMLAC
Emily Lindsey, University of California, Los Angeles; Lisa N. Martinez, University of California, Los Angeles e Regan E. Dunn, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
New findings from the La Brea Tar Pits in southern California suggest human-caused wildfires in the region, along with a warming climate, led to the loss of most of the area’s large mammals.
Lake surrounding a mining site in Northern Québec.
(Maxime Thomas)
Maxime Thomas, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT); Hugo Asselin, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT); Mebarek Lamara, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT) e Nicole Fenton, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT)
Human activities can affect plants and have consequences for the human populations that consume them.
Satellite image of a forest fire in July 2021 in northern Saskatchewan (Wapawekka Hills). The image covers an area of about 56 kilometres in width and is based on Copernicus Sentinel data.
(Pierre Markuse), CC BY 2.0
Victor Danneyrolles, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC); Raphaël Chavardès, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT) e Yves Bergeron, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT)
North America’s boreal forests have been burning a lot, probably more and more over the past 60 years. Yet the long-term trend indicates that they are burning less than they were 150 years ago.
The evolutionary loss of body hair made it easier for human ancestors to hunt in the heat.
Marco Anson
Africa’s large mammal heritage has formed a deep cultural legacy for all of humankind.
The round goby is an invasive fish that has become established in the St. Lawrence River over the past two decades, following its introduction into the Great Lakes.
(Cristina Charette)
Wetlands can help limit the spread of the voracious round goby, an invasive species that has infiltrated the Great Lakes and has become widespread in the St. Lawrence River.
A street fan provides relief on a hot summer day in New York City.
Stephen Chernin/Getty Images
Extreme heat waves are putting lives in danger, with some of the hottest urban neighborhoods 10 degrees hotter or more than their wealthier neighbors. Often, these are communities of color.
One year following the 2019/20 fires, this forest has been slow to recover.
Rachael Nolan
Many plants are really good at withstanding bushfires, but the combination of drought, heatwaves and pest insects under climate change may push them to the brink.
New research shows nature started its long road to recovery in 2020 – especially in NSW and Victoria. But overall conditions across large swathes of the country remain poor.
Greening cities have a huge impact. The trees go beyond just lowering temperatures. They help decrease the demand for indoor cooling like air-conditioners saving money.
A ‘thinned’ landscape, which provides far from ideal habitat for many species.
Extreme weather will affect people and animals, as well as whole ecosystems. Research using satellites shows that ecosystems worldwide are vulnerable to collapse.
The urban landscape is complex and ever-changing in cities such as Perth, but digital aerial photography can now monitor even the smallest changes.
Wikimedia Commons
Constant, complex changes in cities and mine sites are hard to monitor. Drawing on digital aerial photography, it’s now possible to track land-use and vegetation changes in areas as small as 10-20cm.