A first-of-its-kind study combining paleoecology and archeology indicates that the New England landscape was not actively managed with fire prior to European arrival.
forests
Posted inFeatures
The Future of the Carbon Cycle in a Changing Climate
Surface and space-based observations, field experiments, and models all contribute to our evolving understanding of the ways that Earth’s many systems absorb and release carbon.
Posted inNews
Forests Respond to Volcanic Emissions
Researchers propose using volcanoes to study forests and forests to study volcanoes.
Posted inNews
Hurricanes Hit Puerto Rico’s Mangroves Harder Than Florida’s
The scale and pattern of damage to the Puerto Rican forests suggest a complex interplay between wind, land, and sea.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Satellite Measurements of Stratospheric Forest Fire Smoke
Intense boreal forest fires in August 2017 caused smoke plumes that reached record levels in the stratosphere; satellite measurements show that the effects rivaled a moderate volcanic eruption.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
How Forest Structure Influences the Water Cycle
New research looks at how changes in the arrangement of trees and canopy thickness influence the transport of water from the land surface to the atmosphere.
Posted inNews
Resilient Peatlands Keep Carbon Bogged Down
Boreal peatlands contain some of the world’s largest reservoirs of soil carbon, and new research suggests some peatlands may hold on to that carbon even as the climate changes.
Posted inNews
Foretelling Forest Death from Above
A satellite-based early-warning signal may spot the start of a forest’s decline and give forest managers more time to save its life.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Tropical Forests May Have More Canopy Than Previously Thought
A rare attempt to directly estimate leaf area in a tropical African broadleaved forest suggests that there may be more tree foliage than previously estimated.
Posted inNews
Congo Rain Forest Endures a Longer Dry Season
The forest’s dry season has been starting earlier and ending later for decades, making parts of it vulnerable to incursions by drought-resistant ecosystems.