By Greg AllenJanuary 19, 2011 Florida is a national leader in orange and grapefruit production. But in the past few years, landowners have given up on more than 100,000 acres of citrus groves, which have become a threat to producers of the state’s signature crop. The abandoned groves are breeding grounds for pests and diseases. […]
By Alok Jha, science correspondent, www.guardian.co.uk Monday 3 January 2011 20.02 GMT The abundance of four common species of bumblebee in the US has dropped by 96% in just the past few decades, according to the most comprehensive national census of the insects. Scientists said the alarming decline, which could have devastating implications for the […]
Drop in 17 species’ populations indicates a catastrophic loss of flower-rich meadows in many European countries Once there were swarms of butterflies in our skies By Patrick Barkham, www.guardian.co.uk Thursday 9 December 2010 16.57 GMT Butterflies that flourish on grassland across Europe are in steep decline, indicating a catastrophic loss of flower-rich meadows in many […]
By Alistair Lyon, Special Correspondent; editing by Janet LawrenceFARAYA, Lebanon | Sun Nov 14, 2010 9:02am EST (Reuters) – Lebanon’s ski resorts have survived civil war but now face an insidious threat from climate change expected to cut snow cover by 40 percent by 2040. The effects of global warming are still a low priority […]
By Louise Gray, Environment Correspondent27 Oct 2010 Butterflies and bees are declining because of the loss of wild flowers in the countryside, according to a major Government report. A team of researcher from the Centre for Hydrology and Ecology (CEH) monitored 500 plots of ‘semiwild’ land across the UK between 1990 and 2007 on the […]
By Mark Kinver Science and environment reporter, BBC News 22 October 2010 Last updated at 05:53 ET Future warming could have “profound implications” for the stability of freshwater ecosystems, a study warns. Researchers said warmer water affected the distribution and size of plankton – tiny organisms that form the basis of food chains in aquatic […]
ScienceDaily (Oct. 11, 2010) — The soils in large areas of the Southern Hemisphere, including major portions of Australia, Africa and South America, have been drying up in the past decade, a group of researchers conclude in the first major study to ever examine “evapotranspiration” on a global basis. Most climate models have suggested that […]
ScienceDaily (Oct. 6, 2010) — A study by a USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station scientist shows the numbers of nonnative Chinese tallowtree in Louisiana, Mississippi and east Texas grew by about 370 percent over a 16-year period. The spread of the invasive plant may create problems for plants and wildlife along the Gulf coast. […]
Flooding that caused destruction elsewhere, brings joy and hope to those at the bottom of the Indus river By Declan Walsh in Keti Bunder, www.guardian.co.uk Tuesday 5 October 2010 09.43 BST Ali Hussain’s sun-beaten face cracked into a broad smile, revealing a set of ferociously rotten, red-stained teeth corroded by years of chewing tobacco and […]
The future of Britain’s conker crop is at risk from an “alien invader” that is attacking horse chestnut trees across the country. New research has found that the leaf miner moth, which weakens trees by making them shed their leaves early, is spreading faster than feared and has now hit as far west as Cornwall […]
