By Sara Novak, Columbia, SC on 04.10.10 One of the fondest memories of my honeymoon was kayaking through the mangrove forests on the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica. The trees were mystical, something out of a fairy tale. That’s why I was more than a little saddened to learn that forests of this kind […]
By John Platt Traditional Ayurvedic medicine could face an uncertain future as 93 percent of the wild plants used in the practice are threatened with extinction due to overexploitation, the Times of India reports. The Botanical Survey of India recently prioritized 359 wild medicinal plant species and conducted an assessment throughout the country to determine […]
By Monica Konija, National Science Foundationlivescience.com – Sat Apr 3, 9:02 am ET Global warming is a hot topic, and it’s causing concern for scientists studying winter annuals in the Sonoran Desert. While desert winters have become warmer and drier over the years, climate changes have pushed the arrival of winter rains later in the […]
By David DeFranza on 04.1.10 When we think about pollutants moving their way up the food chain, we picture a process that begins with plants or plankton and gradually compounds until it reaches species at the top — like polar bears or humans. In the case of carnivorous plants, new research has shown, consuming toxic […]
By Bonnie Hulkower, New York, New York on 03.30.10 TreeHugger has reported in the past about the mysterious honeybee decline due to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). Without any discernible explanation, entire hives of honeybees have been abandoning their hives and dying. There are likely many reasons for CCD, including: parasites, viruses, bacteria, poor nutrition, […]
By Janet LarsenMarch 25, 2010 …With global average temperatures up 0.5 degrees Celsius since the 1970s, springtime warming is coming earlier across the earth’s temperate regions. A number of organisms have responded to the warming temperatures by altering the timing of key life-cycle events. The problem, however, is that not all species are adjusting at […]
Threat to native species from alien invaders is growing and posing one of the greatest threats to wildlife around the world, conservationists say By Press Associationwww.guardian.co.uk, Friday 22 January 2010 11.14 GMT Hundreds of invasive species – from rats to diseases – are posing one of the greatest threats to wildlife around the world, conservationists […]
ScienceDaily (Jan. 21, 2010) — An international research team has studied the distribution of plant species in mountainous environments. The study shows that mountain plant communities are not particularly resistant to invasion by exotic species. The scientists also warn that these may become more aggressive as global warming gets a grip. In 2005, scientists from […]
By Richard Black Environment correspondent, BBC News website The decline of honeybees seen in many countries may be caused by reduced plant diversity, research suggests. Bees fed pollen from a range of plants showed signs of having a healthier immune system than those eating pollen from a single type, scientists found. Writing in the journal […]
By Simon HancockBBC News, St Helena A botanist from Kew Gardens is fighting to save one of the rarest plant species in the world, the Bastard Gumwood tree. The last tree of this species is found on the tiny South Atlantic island of St Helena, and it is dying. To keep the Bastard Gumwood in […]
