Forests
Climate change will transform US forests – study
‘Cyberforest’ models show subtropical species could take hold in the Pacific northwest, while drought hits trees in the northeast
No need to destroy forests to feed growing population – study
Models show saving trees and expanding food supply are compatible, particularly if people avoid meat
Land rights crucial to save tropical forests – UNDP
Researchers highlight importance of carbon-sucking forests alongside New York climate deal signing ceremony
Humans have turned soil into a ‘global warming machine’
NEWS: Emissions from cattle, fertilisers, manure and agriculture mean terrestrial biosphere is actually accelerating climate change
UN envoy warns of environmental activist murder ‘epidemic’
NEWS: Expert on indigenous rights demands consumers boycott ‘blood-tainted’ products from land grabs amid weak state response
Tanzania’s forests at risk as foreign aid dries up
NEWS: Norway’s bankrolling of REDD+ scheme has ended, leaving trees under threat from logging, mining and farmland expansion, warn NGOs
US forests struggle as drought and climate change bite
NEWS: The speed at which the climate is changing is outstripping forests’ ability to adapt to drier, hotter conditions across vast swathes of the US and Canada
Will Brazil new climate ‘sheriffs’ get Paris pledges on track?
COMMENT: A reshuffle in the environment ministry could spur vital progress on the country’s climate objectives, but big barriers lie ahead
Alarm as DR Congo considers opening rainforest to loggers
NEWS: NGOs warn Kinshasa proposal threatens world’s second largest tropical forest, undermining climate commitments
100 ‘fire-free villages’ take on Indonesia’s haze hazard
NEWS: After 2015’s devastating fire season, local authorities in South Sumatra are determined to end slash-and-burn and restore peatland
Southeast Asian crops suffer as rains fail
NEWS: Unusual weather patterns in recent years have caused drought and severely damaged crops in what are some of the world’s most fertile areas
Climate-linked bushfire warning as Tasmania’s ancient forests blaze
NEWS: Global warming is raising the fire threat across southern Australia, says Climate Institute, as 1,000-year old trees burn
Cleared rainforest bounces back faster than thought – study
NEWS: Recovering forests’ uptake of carbon dioxide outstrips pristine jungle and could play a bigger role in countering climate change
EU-funded deforestation clampdown in Africa ‘flawed’
NEWS: Expanding protected areas in DR Congo and Liberia could blow donors’ budgets, displace hundreds of thousands of people and fuel conflict, says NGO
Did Spain’s US conquest trigger a ‘little ice age’?
NEWS: Missionaries caused Native American populations to crash in 1600s, prompting regrowth of carbon-sucking forests, researchers find
Why killing Amazon monkeys is like burning $14 trillion
NEWS: Over-hunting of large mammals for bush meat is degrading forests worth trillions on carbon markets, study finds
Countries move to stop illicit Asian rosewood trade
NEWS: Senegal, Mexico call for protections at conservation summit to limit exports of lucrative hardwood used in luxury furniture
Brazil inflames forest fires with pro-deforestation laws
NEWS: New laws under consideration will likely spark more tree-cutting − despite serious drought already contributing to a big increase in vast destructive fires
UK tree-planting push could offset farming footprint – study
NEWS: Country could cut emissions by converting arable land to absorb more carbon dioxide, but risks displacing climate impact of food production overseas
Drought is killing millions of trees in California
NEWS: California’s drought has already imperilled many of its trees, and within 80 years climate change could destroy the evergreen forests of the entire US southwest