New England stone walls lie at the intersection of history, archaeology, ecology and geoscience, and deserve a science of their own

New England has thousands of miles of stone walls. A geoscientist explains why analyzing them scientifically is a solid step toward preserving them

Robert M. Thorson, Professor of Earth Science, University of Connecticut • conversation
Dec. 4, 2023 ~10 min

The world's boreal forests may be shrinking as climate change pushes them northward

How will Earth’s vast boreal forests look in a warmer world? Combining satellite-based research with fieldwork shows that the planet’s largest wilderness may be changing in unexpected ways.

Roman Dial, Professor of Biology and Mathematics, Alaska Pacific University • conversation
Nov. 3, 2023 ~11 min


Forests are vital to protect the climate, yet the world is falling far behind its targets

New research identifies what needs to be done to stop failing forests.

Mary Gagen, Professor of Physical Geography, Swansea University • conversation
Nov. 1, 2023 ~7 min

What 2,500 years of wildfire evidence and the extreme fire seasons of 1910 and 2020 tell us about the future of fire in the West

As the climate warms, devastating fires are increasingly likely. The 2020 fires pushed the Southern Rockies beyond the historical average. Is there hope for the Northern Rockies?

Philip Higuera, Professor of Fire Ecology, University of Montana • conversation
Oct. 17, 2023 ~10 min

What 2,500 years of wildfire evidence tells us about the future of fires in the West

As the climate warms, devastating fires are increasingly likely. The 2020 fires pushed the Southern Rockies beyond the historical average. Is there hope for the Northern Rockies?

Philip Higuera, Professor of Fire Ecology, University of Montana • conversation
Oct. 17, 2023 ~10 min

What the extreme fire seasons of 1910 and 2020 – and 2,500 years of forest history – tell us about the future of wildfires in the West

As the climate warms, devastating fires are increasingly likely. The 2020 fires pushed the Southern Rockies beyond the historical average. Is there hope for the Northern Rockies?

Philip Higuera, Professor of Fire Ecology, University of Montana • conversation
Oct. 17, 2023 ~10 min

The US is spending billions to reduce forest fire risks – we mapped the hot spots where treatment offers the biggest payoff for people and climate

Forest thinning and controlled burns take away fuel for fires, but the US can only treat so many acres. Which ones to choose?

Jamie Peeler, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Montana • conversation
Sept. 6, 2023 ~6 min

India was a tree planting laboratory for 200 years – here are the results

Plantations of exotic trees from the mid-19th century onwards devastated Indian ecosystems.

Dhanapal Govindarajulu, Postgraduate Researcher, Global Development Institute, University of Manchester • conversation
Aug. 10, 2023 ~8 min


Forests are breaking up in the tropics but coming together elsewhere – here's what it means for wildlife and the climate

Forest fragmentation is causing the deepest and darkest parts of the world’s forests to shrink.

Eleanor Warren-Thomas, Lecturer in Conservation and Forestry, Bangor University • conversation
Aug. 7, 2023 ~8 min

Human activities in Asia have reduced elephant habitat by nearly two-thirds since 1700, dividing what remains into ever-smaller patches

A new study looks back into history to assess human impacts on the range of Asian elephants and finds sharp decline starting several centuries ago.

Shermin de Silva, Assistant Professor of Ecology, Behavior and Evolution, University of California, San Diego • conversation
April 27, 2023 ~10 min

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