Standing dead trees—or snags—shelter animals, store carbon, and cycle nutrients. A long-term monitoring study found that lopping off a tree’s top branches is a good way to turn it into a snag within about 20 years.
Carolyn Wilke
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Young Salmon in British Columbia Are Getting Bigger
A rediscovered catalog of sockeye scales gave researchers access to century-old fish DNA.
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Fire Histories May Be Written on Grains of Sand
Tiny bits of quartz record the intensity of fires from hundreds or even thousands of years ago, potentially offering new ways to study historic fires and how heat affects soil.
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A Strong Quake (or Two) Rattled Puget Sound 1,100 Years Ago
Tree rings hint that two neighboring faults ruptured within 6 months of each other and suggest that the maximum magnitude of quakes around Puget Sound could exceed previous estimates.
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Ароматы в ледяном керне рассказывают о жизнедеятельности человека
В ледяном керне самой высокой горной вершины Европы содержатся источающие запах молекулы, свойства которых отражают экономические взлеты и падения Советского Союза.
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Las plantas construyen dunas pero pueden acelerar la erosión durante tormentas fuertes
Cuando las olas golpean las dunas con vegetación, se forman áreas anegadas frente a las plantas, lo que facilita que la arena sea arrastrada por la corriente más fácilmente. Sin embargo, las plantas aún son necesarias para formar las dunas en primera instancia.
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Plants Build Dunes but Can Speed Erosion During Severe Storms
When waves hit vegetated dunes, waterlogged areas form in front of plants, making for sand that’s easier to wash away. But you still need plants to form dunes in the first place.
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Yamina Pressler: Slowing Down, Appreciating Complexity, and Embracing Soil
The soil scientist draws inspiration from the earth beneath her feet.
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Mosses Play Key Roles in Ecosystems from Tropics to Tundra
A global survey of mosses growing on soil found that the somewhat underappreciated plants cover a vast area and perform tasks such as sequestering carbon.
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Ancient Victims of Vesuvius May Have Baked in a Cloud of Ash
Debate still swirls around what killed ancient Romans during the 79 CE eruption. A study of wood charred by the event suggests a brief, but searing, flow of volcanic gas and debris.