Researchers used a sediment core from a lake in California’s San Bernardino Mountains to track the effect of climate on vegetation, fire, and erosion between about 120,000 and 15,000 years ago.
soils
Posted inNews
Antarctic Ice Cores Might Be Older Than Dirt
Using cosmogenic nuclide dating, scientists determined a 10-meter core just below the surface to be over a million years old.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Repeating Famous Hillslope Experiment Provides New Insights
Repeating a famous hillslope experiment after 55 years shows that soil properties can change within several decades and highlights the importance of a leaky boundary for hillslope drainage.
Posted inNews
Minireservoirs Could Save Farmers with Sandy Soils
A recently revived subsurface water retention technology could conserve water and drastically increase crop yields in arid landscapes with sandy soils like sub-Saharan Africa.
Posted inScience Updates
Rating Fire Danger from the Ground Up
Soil moisture information could improve assessments of wildfire probabilities and fuel conditions, resulting in better fire danger ratings.
Posted inNews
A Dirty Truth: Humans Began Accelerating Soil Erosion 4,000 Years Ago
Recent research combining analysis of carbon dating, sediment accumulation rates, and pollen records from 632 lake beds worldwide finds deforestation tied to increased soil erosion.
Posted inNews
Looking for Prehistoric Pollen? Check the Floodplains
A new methodology calculates the soil properties most likely to preserve pollen.
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Peatlands Are Drying Out Across Europe
Peatlands are some of the world’s largest reservoirs of soil carbon, but new research finds that in Europe they are drying out, putting them at risk of turning from carbon sinks to carbon sources.
Posted inNews
Manure Happens: The Environmental Toll of Livestock Antibiotics
New findings suggest antibiotics in cow manure can alter soil microbial activity, with implications for soil fertility and carbon emissions.
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.