Tree News

Publication date: 15 May 2026Source: Forest Ecology and Management, Volume 608Author(s): Jonatan Klaminder, Adam Klingberg, Philip Jerand

Publication date: 15 May 2026Source: Forest Ecology and Management, Volume 608Author(s): Hugo Larue, Jean-Pierre Tremblay, Martin Barrette

Publication date: 15 May 2026Source: Forest Ecology and Management, Volume 608Author(s): Anita Atrena, Monika Kolényová, Jeewani Mihirani Samarakoon, Mattias Edman, Fredrik Carlsson, Oskar Englund, Bengt Gunnar Jonsson

Publication date: 15 May 2026Source: Forest Ecology and Management, Volume 608Author(s): M. Trinidad Torres-García, Magnus Löf, Laurent Larrieu, Julia Schmucker, Björn Nordén, Adam Felton

Publication date: 15 May 2026Source: Forest Ecology and Management, Volume 608Author(s): Daisy Christiane Zambiazi, Alfredo Celso Fantini, Daniel Piotto, Alexandre Siminski, Alexander Christian Vibrans, Ilyas Siddique, Geferson Elias Piazza, Marielos Peña-Claros

Publication date: 15 May 2026Source: Forest Ecology and Management, Volume 608Author(s): Vitor L.A. Rodrigues, Carla F.O. Pacheco, André Vassoler, Tiago O. Ferreira, Angelo F. Bernardino

Publication date: 15 May 2026Source: Forest Ecology and Management, Volume 608Author(s): Craig Loehle, Jake Verschuyl

Publication date: 15 May 2026Source: Forest Ecology and Management, Volume 608Author(s): Sandra Awokunle Hollá, Vendula Brabcová, Alexandre Raimbault, Jörg Müller, Claus Bässler, Petr Baldrian

Publication date: 15 May 2026Source: Forest Ecology and Management, Volume 608Author(s): Lucas José Mendes, Jocimar Caiafa Milagre, Juliana Marchesan, Roberta Aparecida Fantinel, Álisson Pacheco Sperandei, Angélica de Andrade Lopes, Luciane Almeri Tabaldi, Rudiney Soares Pereira

Publication date: 15 May 2026Source: Forest Ecology and Management, Volume 608Author(s): Ruijuan Zhong, Dan Mo, Yinzhan Liu, Shuang Xiang, Shucun Sun

Publication date: 15 May 2026Source: Forest Ecology and Management, Volume 608Author(s): Arthur Lamounier Moura, Heather D. Alexander, John L. Willis, Zhaofei Fan, Michael J. Aspinwall

Publication date: 15 May 2026Source: Forest Ecology and Management, Volume 608Author(s): João Gabriel Zanon Paludeto, Gustavo Eduardo Marcatti, Regiane Abjaud Estopa, Jaroslav Klápště, João Carlos Bespalhok-Filho, Rafael Tassinari Resende

Publication date: 15 May 2026Source: Forest Ecology and Management, Volume 608Author(s): Alison Stevens, Stewart A.W. Diemont, Russell D. Briggs, Steve Harris

Publication date: 15 May 2026Source: Forest Ecology and Management, Volume 608Author(s): Junzhou Zhang, Yiping Zhang, Min Li, Junliang Xu, Tessa Mandra, Keyan Jiang, David Orwig, Neil Pederson

Publication date: 15 May 2026Source: Forest Ecology and Management, Volume 608Author(s): Huntley Brownell, Nick M. Merriman, Thomas Nord-Larsen

Publication date: 1 May 2026Source: Forest Ecology and Management, Volume 607Author(s): Rabia Amen, Emily White, Drew Williams, Joshua Granger, Courtney Siegert

Publication date: 1 May 2026Source: Forest Ecology and Management, Volume 607Author(s): J. Vivian, R.L. Chazdon, A.A. Catling, A. Shapcott, J. Herbohn, D.J. Lee

Publication date: 1 May 2026Source: Forest Ecology and Management, Volume 607Author(s): V. Zárate, I. Torge, L.F. Foletto, M.P. Tujague, I. Agostini, M.S. Di Bitetti

Publication date: 1 May 2026Source: Forest Ecology and Management, Volume 607Author(s): Andrés Bravo-Oviedo, Jorge Maestre-Villanueva, Belén Acuña-Miguez, Elena D. Concepción

Publication date: 1 May 2026Source: Forest Ecology and Management, Volume 607Author(s): Kailun Zou, Xianzhao Liu, Lushuang Gao, Lu Yang, Jianghuan Qin, Qigang Xu, Peng He

Publication date: 1 May 2026Source: Forest Ecology and Management, Volume 607Author(s): Xiaoyu Wang, Nan Wang, Xiangtao Zhu, Deliang Lu, Wangming Zhou, Shangbin Bai, Hua Chen

Publication date: 1 May 2026Source: Forest Ecology and Management, Volume 607Author(s): Shan Lu, Guangyong Li, Zhi-Hua Zhang, Shuailin Tian, Wende Tang, Jinsong Zhang, Yuqiang Sang, Sujuan Tian

Publication date: 1 May 2026Source: Forest Ecology and Management, Volume 607Author(s): Kozma Naka, Santosh K. Ojha, Luben D. Dimov

Publication date: 1 May 2026Source: Forest Ecology and Management, Volume 607Author(s): Nawa Raj Pokhrel, Joseph Dahlen, Thomas L. Eberhardt, Kamal J.K. Gandhi, Brittany F. Barnes

Publication date: 1 May 2026Source: Forest Ecology and Management, Volume 607Author(s): Ricardo S. Ceia, Pedro B. Lopes, Nuno Faria, Luís P. da Silva

Publication date: Available online 13 February 2026Source: Forest Ecology and ManagementAuthor(s): Robert R. Parmenter, Tyler J. Obermeit, Benjamin P. Stout, Sarah M. Hall, Orrin B. Myers, David C. Lightfoot

My father, Alan Burgess, who has died aged 88, was a well-respected artist and art teacher, latterly at East Herts College, where he taught for nearly 30 years.In 1957 Alan was selected for Young Contemporaries (now New Contemporaries), a show for emerging artists. His early abstract work changed to paintings of trees and landscapes after a move to Roydon, Essex, in the late 1960s. Continue reading…

Tree removal services abound, but they aren’t the first people you should call with most tree problems. As long as your tree is still standing, start by talking with an arborist who specializes in the …

Charlie Thacker from Penzance is making prints of the trees’ rings to mark their significance.

The world’s forests are changing silently, and scientists are warning about the loss of key tree species and lack of biodiversity.

Forests are often called the “lungs of the Earth,” as if they single-handedly supply the air humans breathe. In reality, NASA and other agencies find that the ocean, driven by microscopic plankton, …

Cardiff: It steals light, it discourages growth at its base, and it blocks what was once a panoramic view. How do I make peace with it?It goes against the grain for me to hate a plant, but I’ve been resenting a certain Leyland cypress for a long time. Planted by a neighbour in the 1970s to give the house we overlook privacy, it now blocks part of our panoramic view over Cardiff. When we moved in 12 years ago, I was able to lie down in bed and see only sky. In that time the solitary tree has grown four metres and now looms over my sleep. Crows, robins, pigeons and green woodpeckers use it as a lookout over the city. Magpies have attempted (unsuccessfully) to build a nest in it. Polite requests to the owner have been ignored.Hesperotropsis leylandii is an accidental hybrid of Cupressus macrocarpa and Callitropsis nootkatensis. First noticed in 1888 in Leighton Hall near Welshpool, it was exploited commercially as a cheap, fast-growing screen. Leylandii hedges are light-stealers, tolerant of pollution and notorious for discouraging growth around their base. They often generate disputes between neighbours (including one murder). One person was convicted of criminal damage for urinating on an offending plant. So far I have resisted this, and another suggestion that I knock copper nails into its trunk. Continue reading…

Tree has never been granted preservation order to protect it under law and prevent it from being cut downThe future of the original Bramley apple tree, which is responsible for one of the world’s most popular cooking apples, is at risk now that the site where it grows has been put up for sale, campaigners have warned.The tree is situated in the back garden of a row of cottages in Southwell, Nottinghamshire, which has been owned by Nottingham Trent University since 2018 and has been used as student accommodation. Continue reading…

Willow Grove, Pa. — Scott M. Asplundh, former chairman and CEO of Asplundh Tree Expert, LLC, and a respected leader in the tree care industry, died Jan. 22 from complications of ALS. He was 68. A third-generation leader of one of the most influential companies in utility vegetation management, Scott dedicated more than four decades […] The post Scott M. Asplundh, Industry Leader and Champion of Safety, Dies at 68 appeared first on Tree Care Industry Magazine.

Number of males at RSPB Abernethy rises to 30, after ‘huge amount of work’ by conservationists in Highlands forestsAfter decades of decline, there are signs of hope for the capercaillie, one of Britain’s most endangered birds.Populations of the charismatic grouse, which in the UK is found only in the Caledonian pine forests of the Scottish Highlands, have increased by 50%, from 20 males in 2020 to 30 in 2025 at RSPB Abernethy. Continue reading…

That commitment has since evolved into the Low-Carbon Development Strategy 2030 (LCDS-30), which expands beyond forests to encompass biodiversity and marine life. Under this strategy, Guyana aims to …

Long before agriculture, humans were transforming Europe’s wild landscapes. Advanced simulations show that hunting and fire use by Neanderthals and Mesolithic hunter-gatherers reshaped forests and grasslands in measurable ways. By reducing populations of giant herbivores, people indirectly altered how dense vegetation became. The findings challenge the idea that prehistoric Europe was an untouched natural world.

A research team from Memorial University’s geography department is hoping to fan out across the province this summer to study plant and forest regeneration in areas affected by last year’s wildfires.

The ice that fell during last month’s storm was unsparing: It decimated magnolias, oaks and other species in wealthy suburban enclaves, rural communities and urban parks.

Crews on the Plumas National Forest are using prescribed burns and fuel breaks to reduce wildfire risk and prepare for future fires. This will help firefighters safely engage future wildfires and reduce fire severity. Learn more.

Crews on the Plumas National Forest are using prescribed burns and fuel breaks to reduce wildfire risk and prepare for future fires. This will help firefighters safely engage future wildfires and reduce fire severity. Learn more.

National forests and grasslands provide plenty for the American public, from recreation opportunities to resources like drinking water, minerals, gas, oil and timber. Forests across the country are also ramping up production of another common good—electricity. The Hat Creek Bioenergy Facility, located in Burney, California, began Commercial Operations in late June and converts biomass from surrounding forests into electricity for the local grid. The facility hosted its ribbon-cutting ceremony Nov. 10 to celebrate the commissioning and successful first months of operations. (Forest Service video Andrew Avitt)

Forest Service firefighter James Lico, and Julia Sidman, a forestry program manager for the Butte County Resource Conservation District talk about the work that’s needed to restore areas devastated by wildfire and how that work can also lower future wildfire risk. Learn More: https://www.fs.usda.gov/about-agency/features/post-wildfire-restoration-2018-camp-fire-area-plumas-national-forest (Forest Service video by Andrew Avitt)

Phosphorus is essential for plant growth and ecosystem productivity. In many natural forests, plants rely on soil microbes to release bioavailable phosphorus from organic matter. The PhoD gene, which …

Wildfires that left 23 people dead were made about three times more likely by global heating, researchers sayThe climate crisis inflamed deadly wildfires that left 23 people dead in Chile and devastated forests in Argentina that host some of the world’s oldest trees, scientists have found.The hot, dry and windy conditions that enabled the fires to blaze across huge areas in January were made about three times more likely by global heating, researchers from the World Weather Attribution (WWA) consortium found. Continue reading…

There’s little to no reason to not like Andrew Mudge’s “The Arborist” in the beginning. You’ve got a traumatized mother-son duo trying to recover from a great …

Kincraig, Badenoch: The Loch Insh Old Kirk is a compelling place, and yet, like the copious wildlife here, it is on the edge of existenceThe snow has retreated to the tops of the Cairngorms and the last fragments of ice are crumbling at the edges of Loch Insh. In a muddy landscape, an old white church rises on a knoll on the northern shore. The simple stone building with its bell tower and arched windows dates to 1792, though the site was established by early monks from Iona, probably as far back as the seventh century. Indeed, some sources claim this as the site of longest continuous Christian worship in Scotland.Those early monks would have built a stone cell here as a dwelling and a base for evangelising. A later chapel was dedicated to St Adamnan – the ninth abbot of Iona and Columba’s biographer – and a rough granite font remains from that time. The monks rang a bell to announce worship and the kirk still holds a bronze bell dating to AD900, one of only five left in Scotland. Resonant with legends, the bell was believed to have the power of healing and was once stolen and carried to Scone Palace – but it flew home, tolling the chapel’s name all the way over the Drumochter Pass. Continue reading…

A freshman seminar encourages students to behave differently in the world and feel more passionately about biodiversity.

We humans have long viewed ourselves as the pinnacle of evolution. People label other species as “primitive” or “ancient” and use terms like “higher” and “lower” animals.

After suffering a devastating loss, grief-stricken arborist Ellie and her son Wyatt are hired by mysterious recluse Arthur Randolph to fell the trees in part of his vast, remote estate. As Wyatt …

The boreal forest—the world’s largest terrestrial biome—is warming faster than any other forest type. To understand the changing dynamics of boreal forests, Min Feng and colleagues analyzed the biome from 1985 to 2020, leveraging the longest and highest-resolution satellite record of calibrated tree cover to date. The study, published in Biogeosciences with four co-authors from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, confirms a northward shift in boreal forest cover over the past four decades.

The Olympic Games may only last two weeks, but the preparation behind those moments takes years. Across the United States, National Forest lands support a majority of the country’s ski terrain. These places serve as year-round training grounds for athletes in a wide range of winter sports, while also remaining open to the public. Athletes don’t just pass through these landscapes, they live in the surrounding communities, train alongside visitors from around the world and build their Olympic dreams in the same places families hike, ski and explore. The Forest Service plays a quiet but essential role providing the foundation that supports recreation and opportunity, long before medals are ever awarded. They are where Olympians are made.

Sydney communities may be missing out on crucial tree planting projects intended to combat urban heat, leaving western and eastern parts of Greater Sydney with less protection from extreme heat, a University of Sydney-led study has revealed. In a surprising finding, the researchers found that while Greater Sydney’s total tree canopy increased by 4.2% from 1.514 billion square meters to 1.578 billion square meters between 2016 and 2022, this growth was not evenly distributed.

The boreal forest—the world’s largest terrestrial biome—is warming faster than any other forest type. To understand the changing dynamics of boreal forests, Min Feng and colleagues analyzed the biome …

Forests around the world are quietly transforming, and not for the better. A massive global analysis of more than 31,000 tree species reveals that forests are becoming more uniform, increasingly dominated by fast-growing “sprinter” trees, while slow-growing, long-lived species are disappearing. These slower species act as the backbone of forest ecosystems, storing carbon, stabilizing environments, and supporting rich webs of life—especially in tropical regions where biodiversity is highest.

Forests around the world are quietly transforming, and not for the better. A massive global analysis of more than 31,000 tree species reveals that forests are becoming more uniform, increasingly dominated by fast-growing “sprinter” trees, while slow-growing, long-lived species are disappearing. These slower species act as the backbone of forest ecosystems, storing carbon, stabilizing environments, and supporting rich webs of life—especially in tropical regions where biodiversity is highest.

Cullernose Point, Northumberland: These cliffs are always thrilling, but today is a riot of sound and damp air as we take the coastal pathThe sea is still raging after yesterday’s storm, waves the highest that I’ve seen here, more ocean than North Sea. The grey-green water, full of churned up sand, is frothing and erupting against dark rocks, bursting with the force of geysers as it collides with the land.Here at Cullernose Point, the dolerite cliffs of the Whin Sill thrust a giant wedge as they taper into the sea. It’s dramatic at all times, but today is especially thrilling, the sound all enveloping, the wind cutting, the air damp with spume. Continue reading…

A newly discovered deep-sea creature has become an unlikely Internet star. After appearing in a popular YouTube video, a rare chiton found nearly three miles beneath the ocean surface sparked a global naming effort, drawing more than 8,000 suggestions from people around the world. Scientists ultimately chose the name Ferreiraella populi, meaning “of the people,” honoring the public that helped bring it into the scientific record.

Access to trees and greenspaces is consistently low across English cities, according to a new study led by the University of Leeds. Researchers used a recognized three-part framework for measuring tree and greenspace access in urban neighborhoods in Leeds, Bradford, Wakefield, York, Manchester, Stoke-on-Trent and Plymouth, and found that at best, only 2% of buildings in any city region met all three components of the rule.

Eucalyptus trees, laden with flammable oils, could spread into Portugal’s south-central region by 2060 if changing climate conditions make the area more hospitable to their growth, creating wildfire hotspots that would evade detection by conventional prevention approaches.

Believed to be 113, she spent decades building an environmental legacy in India, inspired by her grief at being unable to conceive children.

The path to the Olympics doesn’t always begin in a training facility. For Shannon Dunn-Downing, it began on public lands in the mountains of Colorado. No memberships. No lifts. Just space, snow and determination. Today, those same public lands continue to shape athletes, families and communities across the country. Public lands create opportunity. It is where Olympians are made. 🏔️🏂 #2026WinterOlympics #PublicLands #WhereOlympiansAreMade #OlympicJourney #Snowboarding #ForestService #OutdoorRecreation

Around 14 hours before a partial solar eclipse passed over the Dolomites in Northern Italy, a group of spruce trees showed a sudden, synchronized increase in electrical activity. Previous research by Alessandro Chiolerio and others claimed that the trees were anticipating and preparing for the impending solar eclipse.

For Olympic medalist Shannon Dunn-Downing, the road to the podium didn’t begin in a private club or elite training facility. It began on public lands in the mountains of Colorado. Growing up in Steamboat Springs, she learned to snowboard by hiking for turns, exploring the backcountry and spending her days outdoors. Those early experiences didn’t require a membership, they required access, snow and the determination to keep showing up. Across the country, public lands continue to support athletes, families and communities. They are places where people learn, train, connect and dream, often on the same slopes that host World Cup races and Olympic hopefuls. While the Olympic Games last only two weeks every four years, the training happens year-round, in places that remain open to the public. Public lands transform open space into opportunity. They are, quite literally, where Olympians are made. Read More: https://www.fs.usda.gov/about-agency/features/where-olympians-are-made (Forest Service Video by Travis Weger)

Recreate a centuries-old technique from the far east with moss, soil, twine, bonsai compost – and a little patienceI’ve lived in the same corner of London for the best part of 15 years, and increasingly the pavements and parks are layered like onion skins, holding memories of my youth that I don’t realise are there until I return. This week I took my newborn daughter to Peckham in south-east London, to meet a friend in a cafe I’d never heard of. When I turned up, I realised it used to be a regular haunt of mine, and suddenly I was both a tired woman in her late 30s with two kids, and also 22, unemployed and making the most of happy hour.I bring this up because of what was on the table: a kokedama. If you’re unfamiliar, the word translates to “moss ball”. A decade ago, I saw them hanging outside the doorways of houses in deserted, snow-covered mountain villages in Japan, holding the tremulous fronds of overwintering ferns. The technique dates back centuries, a side-product of the art of bonsai that has become popular in its own right. Kokedama are a lot easier to create at home than bonsai trees: plants’ rootballs are removed from their pots and packed tightly with dense moss, before being bound with the string that can be used to hang them up with. Continue reading…

How far back does the rich history of Italian olives and oil stretch? My new research, published in the American Journal of Archaeology, synthesizing and reevaluating existing archaeological evidence, suggests olive trees have been exploited for more than 6,000 years. The first Italian olive oil was produced perhaps 4,000 years ago.

If you’ve watched a giraffe browsing in the tree canopy, a white rhino meandering across open grassland, or a warthog shuffling around on its knees in South Africa’s Kalahari desert, you know what they eat: leaves, grass, shoots, and roots. With every mouthful, they swallow something less obvious—soil.

Video of Ilana Abrahamson (Fire Effects Information System Supervisory Ecologist) describing the purpose of the Fire Effects Information System, how managers can use it, and what is new and upcoming with the tool.

Melting ice from West Antarctica once delivered huge amounts of iron to the Southern Ocean, but algae growth did not increase as expected. Researchers found the iron was in a form that marine life could not easily use. This means more melting ice does not automatically boost carbon absorption. In the future, Antarctic ice loss could actually reduce the ocean’s ability to slow climate change.

Having a certified professional on hand could save your trees from getting sick, costing you thousands.

Continued heavy pruning is not sustainable, undermines the trees’ health, and increases the risk of failure that could cause damage or injury; therefore, the lindens must be removed’ …

An ice storm will bring a city like Nashville to its knees.

B.C.’s forestry sector needs to undergo major structural changes to survive, according to a new report released today that steps from the NDP government’s partnership with the BC Greens.

If you’ve ever been for a walk in the forest or poked around your local park, you’re probably familiar with seeing mushrooms popping up as the weather turns cooler. But you’re not the only one.

New research led by a University of Oregon ecologist suggests that fire was historically more frequent in the Douglas fir forests of the western Oregon Cascade Range than previously believed.

The final report from the Provincial Forestry Advisory Council says trust has been eroded by inconsistent forest data controlled largely by industry and government. It calls for a transparent forest …

Inadequate food supplies and collapsing rainforests must be recognised as national security threats – not pigeonholed as green issuesEcosystems and national security used not to be mentioned in the same breath all that often – unless environmental campaigners were doing the talking. For years, climate and nature experts have struggled to get across the message that species extinctions, dead rivers and deforestation are an existential threat to people as well as animals and plants. As George Monbiot wrote last week, the publication of a government report thought to have been authored by intelligence chiefs, about the threats to the UK’s national security from biodiversity collapse, should be viewed as a step forward. The risks have become too extreme to be ignored.The document is a national security assessment, not a scientific report. The data that it relies on comes from other sources. But the warnings that it contains about the UK’s heavy dependence on food and fertiliser imports, and the probable consequences of nature depletion, must be heeded. Originally due to be published in the autumn, the review appears to have had some sections removed. An earlier version is reported to have included warnings about the risks of “eco-terrorism” and the growing likelihood of war between China, India and Pakistan due to competition over a shrinking water supply from the Himalayas. Continue reading…

A new study finds that Canada could remove at least five times its annual carbon emissions with strategic planting of more than six million trees along the northern edge of the boreal forest. The paper, “Substantial carbon removal capacity of Taiga reforestation and afforestation at Canada’s boreal edge,” appears in Communications Earth & Environment.

An international team has discovered the earliest known hand-held wooden tools used by humans. A study jointly led by Professor Katerina Harvati from the Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment at the University of Tübingen and Dr. Annemieke Milks at the University of Reading describes discoveries from the Marathousa 1 site, in Greece’s central Peloponnese, dating back 430,000 years.

Old Indian poems and folk songs are revealing a surprising truth about the land. Scientists found that descriptions of thorny trees and open grasslands in texts written as far back as the 1200s closely match today’s savannas in western India. This suggests these landscapes are ancient and natural—not ruined forests. The discovery could reshape how conservation and tree-planting efforts are planned.

University campuses are often places of learning and discovery, but rarely do researchers find a new species living right on their doorstep. However, that is exactly what happened when a research team from Kyushu University discovered a new species of ladybird beetle, Parastethorus pinicola, on a pine tree at Kyushu University’s Hakozaki Satellite.

Hurstpierpoint, West Sussex: Look out for the alders – they’re remarkable trees and one of our first to come to life as winter recedesA few wet weeks have left the ground here sodden, making walking a challenge. It doesn’t help that my wellies have sprung a leak. On the rainiest days, I find my range reduced to a few splashy circuits of the village fields, the nearby Downs receding into hanging cloud.Nevertheless, there are signs of drier times to come. Today, my eye is drawn by a line of alders (Alnus glutinosa) that marks the course of a stream. Their graceful silhouettes are bathed in a distinctive maroon haze. Up close, the cause resolves into delicate clarity: purple catkins dangling in bunches from the tip of each twig. Formed at the end of last summer, they have recently begun to lengthen and unclench, coaxed by warming days. Soon (and well before the tree’s round leaves unfurl), they will split open, revealing hundreds of vivid yellow stamens: tiny, lantern guides through the murk and mire of late winter. Continue reading…

In “The Oak and the Larch,” Sophie Pinkham examines a vast history and culture through the branches of its ancient trees.

In “The Oak and the Larch,” Sophie Pinkham examines a vast history and culture through the branches of its ancient trees.

When temperatures drop suddenly, trapped water can freeze and expand, splitting trunks with a gunshot-like soundDuring the recent cold spell in the northern US, meteorologists issued warnings about exploding trees.A tree’s first line of defence against freezing is its bark, which provides efficient insulation. In cold conditions, trees also enter a form of hibernation, with changes at a cellular level: cells dehydrate, harden and shrink, increasing their sugar concentration. This is the botanical equivalent of adding antifreeze, helping to prevent the formation of ice crystals. Continue reading…

Old trees are learning new tricks with the advent of composite materials. A “green composite” made from biodegradable polymers and the waste bark of the Yakushima Jisugi tree was developed by a research team at Tohoku University. When assessing the material, they found that simply testing its mechanical strength—in this case, its tensile strength or ability to resist pulling—could reliably predict the biodegradation process.

Scientists have long relied on tree rings to learn about ancient solar storms—rare bursts of high-energy particles from the sun that can disrupt satellites, power grids, and communication systems across the planet. When these particles hit Earth’s atmosphere, they create a radioactive form of carbon that trees absorb and store in their wood.

In the drylands of Benin, West Africa, livestock farming is under growing pressure. These vast, hot landscapes cover roughly 70% of the country’s land area. Their sparse pastures and scattered trees sustain around six million grazing animals, including 2.5 million cattle, one million sheep and 2.4 million goats which walk with herders over long distances in search of food and water.

Trees play a central role in life on Earth. They store CO₂, provide habitats for animals, fungi, and insects, stabilize soils, regulate water cycles, and supply resources that humans rely on—from timber and food to recreation and shade on a hot day.

For thousands of years, one tree species defined the cultural and ecological identity of what is now the American South: the longleaf pine. The forest once stretched across 92 million acres from Virginia to Texas, but about 5% of that original forest remains. It was one of North America’s richest ecosystems, and it nearly disappeared.

Within the next few decades, intensifying heat waves could expose a significant share of Europe’s cattle to dangerous levels of heat stress. New research maps where and how millions of animals may be affected by mid-century.

Funding cuts, conspiracy theories and ‘powder keg’ pine plantations have seen January’s forest fires tear through Chubut in southern Argentina Lucas Chiappe had known for a long time that the fire was coming. For decades, the environmentalist had warned that replacing native trees in the Andes mountain range with highly flammable foreign pine was a recipe for disaster.In early January, flames raced down the Pirque hill and edged closer to his home in the Patagonian town of Epuyén, Argentina, where he had lived since the 1970s. Thirty people with six motor pumps fought for hours, hoses stretched for kilometres, but “there was no way”. Continue reading…

Unraveling the mysteries of how biological organisms function begins with understanding the molecular interactions within and across large cell populations. A revolutionary new tool, developed at the University of Michigan, acts as a sort of tape recorder produced and maintained by the cell itself, enabling scientists to rewind back in time and view interactions on a large scale and over long periods of time.

Global leaders have committed to halting and reversing the ongoing degradation of nature within the next few decades. But with tight public budgets, governments around the world are looking toward nature markets as one way to attract more private investment into nature.

There is no justification to delay political action, say Dr Mike Barrett and Dr Steven R Smith, while Olivia Blake MP says the breakdown of nature is not a side issue that can be buriedThe government’s delay in publishing its national security assessment on biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse – which was finally issued last week, more than three months later than planned – is inexcusable, not least because much of the content is already out of date (Biodiversity collapse threatens UK security, intelligence chiefs warn, 20 January).The latest global tipping points report, published by Exeter University in October, revealed that we have already reached the first of many Earth system tipping points – the widespread dieback of warm-water coral reefs – which will cause catastrophic harm without urgent action. The irreversible melting of polar ice sheets, the collapse of key ocean currents and the dieback of the Amazon rainforest are next in line, with devastating risks for people and nature. Continue reading…

The U.S. Forest Service unveiled landmark achievements in fiscal year 2025, setting new records across wildfire response, reforestation, timber production and infrastructure advancements. The agency’s accomplishments strengthened the health, resilience and productivity of our national forests and grasslands, fueled economic growth, expanded rural connectivity nationwide, and provided benefits used by all Americans.

The Wilderness Society lodges complaint with consumer watchdog over hardware and garden chain’s sale of timber sourced from NSW Forestry CorporationFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastOne of Australia’s biggest environment groups has accused Bunnings of “greenwashing” its timber, claiming it may have sold products illegally logged by the New South Wales forestry agency.The Wilderness Society (TWS) has asked the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to investigate the hardware and garden chain because it could be selling unlawfully logged timber, despite Bunnings’ policies and websites promoting responsible sourcing. Continue reading…

At the United Nations Climate Change Conference in 2015, countries around the world committed to striving towards net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by the middle of the 21st century. But achieving this goal is difficult, even for countries boasting extensive forests that could, in principle, act as important carbon sinks if deforestation were halted.

After analyzing 40 years of tree records across the Andes and Amazon, researchers found that climate change is reshaping tropical forests in uneven ways. Some regions are steadily losing tree species, especially where conditions are hotter and drier, while others are seeing gains. Rainfall patterns turned out to be just as important as rising temperatures.

Wild American chestnut trees, deemed “functionally extinct” decades ago, may already be quietly mounting an unexpected comeback in the northern forests of the US. Thousands of naturally thriving, wild trees in Maine contradict decades of assumptions about the species’ extinction—and how genetic engineering is the only solution. When an accidental importation of an Asian fungus The post Once Wiped Out by Blight, Thousands of American Chestnut Trees are Thriving on Biologist’s Land in Maine appeared first on Good News Network.

Ancient pine trees growing in the Iberian mountains of eastern Spain have quietly recorded more than five centuries of Mediterranean weather. Now, by reading the annual growth rings preserved in their wood, scientists have uncovered a striking message: today’s storms and droughts are becoming more intense and more frequent than almost anything the region has experienced since the early 1500s.

Environmental charity to prioritise water capture and storage as it urges gardeners to prepare for ‘new normal’The Royal Horticultural Society has unveiled emergency plans to protect its gardens from major water shortages in the future.The environmental charity, which owns and operates five renowned public gardens in England, said on Saturday it will invest in more water-capture and water-management projects in 2026 after severe droughts last year. Continue reading…

Prof Terry Gifford found his country diary about a kelo tree profoundly healingWho needs a nature cure when you realise what just reading a Paul Evans column can do for you (Country diary, 22 January)? He begins in poetry and moves through observation, science, Finnish, Anglo-Saxon, conservation and the biblical to the “beyond death” and emotional reassurance for the time of our most delicate vulnerabilities. “The Shropshire miniaturist”, as he was once called, is a post-pastoral shaman who takes us into an awareness of life-in-death that is profoundly healing.It makes me want to go out and find a “dead” tree in order to “respect the standing dead” with a deepened understanding.Prof Terry GiffordWookey, Somerset Continue reading…

New research published in Nature Ecology and Evolution reveals significant recent shifts in tree diversity among the tropical forests of the Andes and Amazon, driven by global change.

Grays, Essex: I visit an unassuming gorge where a wealth of ice age fossils was once found, telling us about Britain’s megafauna – and NeanderthalsYou wouldn’t know the Lion Pit was there. This overgrown gorge exists quietly, without the sensation its name implies, below a housing estate, by Lakeside shopping centre and within earshot of the M25, wedged on all sides as tightly as the newbuilds that line its cliffs. This is industrial West Thurrock, far south Essex, where the wild marshes that still thrive on the Blackwater Estuary, where I live in the north-east of the county, have long since disappeared.As I arrive, a fox strolls up the road, urbanely cool. It darts over the edge and into the gorge. I follow it. Descend into the pit, and you’re down in deep time. Ice age time, to be precise, because this location has produced some of the most important archaeological finds of Britain’s Palaeolithic past. Continue reading…

While the weight of freezing rain, ice and snow can damage branches, there is another kind of injury that comes with the extreme cold, experts say.

The diversity of water strider species apparently developed as early as the Cretaceous period, much earlier than previously thought. SNSB researchers have succeeded in clarifying the phylogenetic history of this insect family, with molecular analyses providing comprehensive insights into their relationships and evolution. Their study has now been published in the journal Systematic Entomology.

The Marches, Shropshire: Without its bark, this Scots pine’s life cycle has slowed, allowing it to stand tall in death for hundreds of years“The clown passeth by thee and heedeth thee not, / But thou’rt a warm source of reflection for me” wrote John Clare in To a Dead Tree. This clown has passeth an old dead tree in Attingham Park – at Atcham, near Shrewsbury – many times without much heedeth, but today, warmed by bright sunlight after weeks of cold weather, it is certainly a source of reflection.Clare saw his own mortality in a dead tree, but this one speaks of a beyond-death experience. A tall, leafless, largely branchless, barkless, wraith-pale pole stands near ancient oaks, some of which also have bare “dead” trunks and boughs and are beautiful in their starkness. This vision of a ruin may be a Scots pine, perhaps more than 300 years old, and it’s been dead for many of them. A standing dead tree such as this is called a kelo tree, using a Finnish word for dead standing timber that has come into common usage. Continue reading…

Dreaming of harvesting peaches, plums, apples or figs from your own backyard? Growing delicious homegrown fruit starts with planting your tree correctly—and at the right time of year.

Watch our January 2026 webinar designed to support Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT) applications. This webinar shares the differences between the three CSHT non-stackable supplements and where they can be used. The 3 supplements are: CWS2: Manage and restore plantations on ancient woodland sites (PAWS) supplement – https://www.gov.uk/find-funding-for-land-or-farms/cws2-manage-and-restore-plantations-on-ancient-woodland-sites-paws-supplement CWS8: Manage native woodland including ancient semi-natural woodland supplement – https://www.gov.uk/find-funding-for-land-or-farms/cws8-manage-native-woodland-including-ancient-semi-natural-woodlands-asnw-supplement CWS5: Improve woodland resilience supplement – https://www.gov.uk/find-funding-for-land-or-farms/cws5-improve-woodland-resilience-supplement

Felling of 500-year-old oak has provoked fury from public and Enfield council, which leases land to Mitchells & ButlersThe restaurant chain Toby Carvery is facing eviction from one of its sites after taking a chainsaw to an ancient oak tree without the permission of its council landlord.The partial felling last April of the 500-year-old oak on the edge of a Toby Carvery car park in Whitewebbs Park, Enfield, provoked widespread public dismay and fury from Enfield council, which leases the land to the restaurant’s owners Mitchells & Butlers Retail (M&B). Continue reading…

Actor says it is ‘more important than ever’ to safeguard city’s parks as report finds more than 50 are at riskDame Judi Dench has called for greater protections for London’s parks and green spaces, as research finds more than 50 of the city’s parks are at risk from development.The Oscar-winning actor has long loved trees, and in 2017 fronted a BBC documentary about her love for them. She plants a tree every time a close friend or relative dies, including for her late husband, Michael Williams, who died in 2001, and the actor Natasha Richardson, who was killed in a skiing accident in 2009, and one for her brother Jeffery Dench, who died in 2014. Continue reading…

Increasing heat and drought are putting our forests under stress. Researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) have used drone imagery to investigate how native tree species are responding to climate change. This measurement method opens up new possibilities for monitoring forests over large areas and documenting species-specific strategies for coping with drought.

Native trees, such as oaks, have long held a special place in our culture and countryside. Now, researchers have shown that these trees are also important to woodland birds and their offspring.

“The world moves on… But for us, time is frozen in its tracks.” Dark Sky Films has revealed their official trailer for the indie horror film titled The Arborist, formerly known as The Wound Wood …

Bamboo shoots may be far more than a crunchy side dish. A comprehensive review found they can help control blood sugar, support heart and gut health, and reduce inflammation and oxidative stress. Laboratory and human studies also suggest bamboo may promote beneficial gut bacteria and reduce toxic compounds in cooked foods. However, bamboo must be pre-boiled to avoid natural toxins.

Reliable predictions of how the Earth’s climate will respond as atmospheric carbon dioxide levels increase are based on climate models. These models, in turn, are based on data from past geological times in which the CO2 content in the Earth’s atmosphere changed in a similar way to today and the near future. The data originate from measurable indicators (proxies), the interpretation of which is used to reconstruct the climate of the past.

Victoria has just suffered some of its worst bushfires since the Black Summer fires of 2019–20. Over 400,000 hectares are estimated to have burnt so far, an area more than five times larger than Singapore.

Studying tree rings helped scientists pinpoint when Mount Rainier last sent a lahar down its steep slopes, which could help planners anticipate future mudflows.

New research shows tropical forests can recover twice as fast after deforestation when their soils contain enough nitrogen. Scientists followed forest regrowth across Central America for decades and found that nitrogen plays a decisive role in how quickly trees return. Faster regrowth also means more carbon captured from the atmosphere. The study points to smarter reforestation strategies that work with nature rather than relying on fertilizers.

New research shows tropical forests can recover twice as fast after deforestation when their soils contain enough nitrogen. Scientists followed forest regrowth across Central America for decades and found that nitrogen plays a decisive role in how quickly trees return. Faster regrowth also means more carbon captured from the atmosphere. The study points to smarter reforestation strategies that work with nature rather than relying on fertilizers.

This year’s recipient of the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement talks about “punk science,” microbial economics and thinking like a mycorrhizal fungus.

For thousands of years, wildfires on Alaska’s North Slope were rare. That changed sharply in the 20th century, when warming temperatures dried soils and fueled the spread of shrubs, setting the stage for intense fires. Peat cores and satellite data reveal that fire activity since the 1950s has reached record levels. The findings suggest the Arctic is entering a new, more dangerous fire era.

On September 28, 2024, Hurricane Helene made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane. The intensity and size of this storm created an immense swath of damage across, destroying vast portions of the Virginia Creeper Trail. 446 days later, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, USDA Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz, joined other dignitaries to break ground in Damascus, Virginia,, for a project to repair trails, bridges, and roads destroyed during the storm. (USDA Forest Service Video by Preston Keres)

One year later, we haven’t really begun to reckon with the real meaning of the Los Angeles fires.

Understanding the structure, chemistry, and strength of wood is a complex puzzle with real-world impacts. At the USDA Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory, scientists combine a century of expertise with the latest technology to discover innovative ways to use forest resources while maintaining the health of America’s forests.

Wood preservation research at the USDA Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory is conducted in different regions of the United States to better understand how termites and fungi impact wood decay under differing environmental stressors. Ranging from decades-long field tests to military packaging research, this work ensures that everyday wood products are safe and durable.

Can a tree ring solve a murder? From assisting with criminal cases and mid-air collisions to identifying wood species to combat illegal logging, the wood anatomy and forensic research done at the USDA Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory draws upon one of the largest and oldest collections of wood and plant species from around the world.

What happens to small diameter waste wood from forests? Research at the USDA Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory is finding new and innovative ways to transform these materials into nanocellulose products. From strengthening cement to extending shelf life of food, the Lab is turning forest byproducts into high-performance materials of tomorrow.

Fire testing is expensive and complex, which is why industry leaders look to the Forest Service for expertise. The Fire Lab at the USDA Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory conducts research that influences building codes and furthers fire science knowledge to ensure safety of buildings that include wood components.