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Articles on Trees

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The beaver lives at the intersection of the aquatic and forest environments, so its presence increases interactions between these two ecosystems. (Shutterstock)

Beavers are the undiscovered engineers of the boreal forest

Beavers are an important ecosystem engineer in the boreal forest and researchers are demystifying their secrets.
In North America, log driving is thought to have stopped by the end of the 20th century, with the exception of British Columbia, where it is still practised on a small scale. (Shutterstock)

What log driving can teach us about forests, past and present

Logging over the past two centuries has had a major impact on Québec’s forests. The traces it has left will guide the adoption of sustainable forest management techniques.
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

Forest fires: North America’s boreal forests are burning a lot, but less than 150 years ago

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.
Eventually weather, pests and disease will take their toll, but the story doesn’t end there. Emanuel David / 500px via Getty Images

How do trees die?

Even in death, a tree helps others live.
Native wildflowers, such as these Dutchman’s breeches (Dicentra cucullaria) that bloom early in spring are losing access to sunlight as trees leaf out earlier. Katja Schulz/Flickr

Climate change threatens spring wildflowers by speeding up the time when trees leaf out above them

Many beloved wildflowers bloom in early spring, while trees are still bare and the flowers have access to sunlight. Climate change is throwing trees and wildflowers out of sync.
An old-growth tree that was cut in Alaska’s Tongass National Forest. Salwan Georges/The Washington Post via Getty Images

The Biden administration has called for protecting mature US forests to slow climate change, but it’s still allowing them to be logged

Protecting old and mature trees is the simplest and least expensive way to pull carbon out of the atmosphere – but proposed logging projects threaten mature stands across the US.
Hotter-burning fires and a warming climate make it harder for seedlings to survive. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The West’s iconic forests are increasingly struggling to recover from wildfires – altering how fires burn could boost their chances

Over 50 fire ecologists across the Western U.S. took an unprecedented look at how forests in thousands of locations are recovering from fire in a changing climate. The results were alarming.
Green spaces provide benefits for people and nature. Photo by Ida Breed, GRIP Research team

Parks versus people? Challenges facing the South African capital’s greening efforts

South Africa needs to integrate urban green spaces as part of valuable infrastructure and provide framework for their sustainability.
Amsterdam, Netherlands. Planting trees in urban areas can reduce the impacts of urban heat islands. Dutch_Photos/Shutterstock

Planting more trees could reduce premature heat-related deaths in European cities by a third – new research

In 2015, 6,700 premature deaths were caused by urban heat – this can be reduced by a third by planting more trees.

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