Białowieża Forest in Eastern Poland is one of the last remaining primeval forests in Europe. For the time being. In 2017, the Polish government had 100,000 more trees logged than previously, despite the fact that large areas of the Natural World Heritage site are under strict protection. They did this under the pretense of preventing the bark beetle from spreading further. The motor saws are quiet now after protests from environmental activists, Europe-wide criticism in the media and concerns by the European Commission. The case has been handed to the European Court and the minister of the environment was sacked.

Internationally recognized plant scientist Leon Kochian, Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) in Food Systems and Security at the University of Saskatchewan, has been granted $800,000 by Innovation Saskatchewan to equip a new research laboratory that will improve crop productivity and resiliency.

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and UC Berkeley have discovered that as plants develop they craft their root microbiome, favoring microbes that consume very specific metabolites. Their study could help scientists identify ways to enhance the soil microbiome for improved carbon storage and plant productivity.

Driving from Medan, Indonesia’s third-largest city, to Lake Toba, the world’s largest volcanic lake in the central highlands of Sumatra, the extent of the country’s deforestation becomes numbingly clear. For hours, a visitor passes plantation after plantation — here palm oil, there paper pulp — all the way to a small, protected forest ring around the lake.

It’s long been known that sharks help nourish coral reefs, but exactly to what extent has never been scientifically mapped out — until now.

Forest experts need to interact more with farming and mining businesses, agriculture and finance ministries in order to accelerate the use of scientific tools to restore global forests.

New research led by IIASA researcher Narasimha Rao has shown how it might be possible to reduce micronutrient deficiencies in India in an affordable way whilst also reducing greenhouse gas emissions. 

Some of the fishing methods used in today’s small-scale fisheries are causing more damage to coral reefs than ever, a new UBC study has found.

The world drinks a lot of wine, and that means a lot of grapes are consumed every year. But not every part of the grape ends up in the bottle. Seeds, stalks and skins — roughly a quarter of the grapes —- are typically discarded in landfills as waste. But now, researchers say they have found some useful commercial applications, such as prolonging the shelf life of fatty foods, for these wine leftovers.

Nature is rife with symbiotic relationships, some of which take place out of sight, like the rich underground exchange of nutrients that occurs between trees and soil fungi.