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Healthy soils produce the majority of our food supply, buffer extreme weather, and safeguard water resources. Yet we are losing fertile soil much faster than it can be replaced.

Talk: The terrestrial carbon sink currently sequesters a third of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, thereby exerting a pivotal control on atmospheric CO2 concentration. However, the terrestrial carbon sink requires nutrients such as nitrogen to fuel carbon sequestration.

Is old growth a forest that has never been cut?   That definition is not perfect because it would classify some areas mostly with small trees as old forests, if these areas were burned or subject to hurricane-force winds in their past.

EPA administrator Scott Pruitt is proposing to censor some forms of science that have been used to formulate regulations for environmental protection. Specifically, the new rules would exclude the use of science that is not fully open, reproducible, and available for scholarly inquiry. The rules would therefore exclude long-term studies that use human volunteers in matters such as the toxic effects of air pollution. The individuals submit ancillary information about themselves and other data pertinent to air pollution studies. Known as covariates, this data is typically held in confidence—a condition essential to personal privacy and the ability to recruit volunteer subjects.

In recent years, with the advent of molecular biology, ecologists are using quantitative measures of genetic differences to recognize species.  Armed with standards that define how many gene differences would categorize a species, individuals can be gathered from disparate habitats and analyzed for differences in DNA. 

The expansion of urban tree canopy is a commonly proposed nature-based solution to combat the negative impacts of climate change and urbanization

Discover why ice storms may be on the rise in the northeastern U.S. and how they impact forest ecosystems in this lecture by Forest Service ecologist Lindsey Rustad.

Ticks are extremely resilient even when temperatures vary wildly, according to scientists who are working to better understand the spread of Lyme disease.

This week, smoke from Canadian wildfires made its way south into the Northeastern US, causing unprecedented declines in air quality. Sunlight was dimmed, haze reduced visibility, and the air quality index fell to unhealthy levels for millions of people.

95% of our food comes from our soil ecosystem. Soils are responsible for filtering and cleaning most of our water, they keep us healthy and they're a huge carbon store that is often under appreciated

Freshwater ecologist Emma Rosi-Marshall explores how pharmaceutical drugs and personal care products are polluting our nation's rivers and streams—with consequences for sensitive aquatic life and drinking water supplies.

Vector-borne diseases (VBD) are a growing threat to urban communities. Increasing rates of local transmission within cities emphasizes the growing need for comprehensive understanding of the interacting social and ecological processes that are shaping the changing landscape of VBD risk.

Depending on other species, such as pollinators or root fungi, could make some species less likely to survive on oceanic islands.  

Ecologist Jerry Jenkins has been documenting the flora and fauna of the Northern Forest for the past 45 years. This visually-rich lecture distills his findings, with a focus on inspiring conservation and informing environmental education.

A new conservation agreement at Follensby Pond is based in part on the research of Cary scientist Chris Solomon. 
 

Ecologist Nalini Nadkarni explores the world of the forest canopy and how everyone–from preachers to prison inmates–can contribute to the scientific enterprise.

Three factors contribute to sea level rise: more water in the oceans, the expansion of existing water, and changes in the height of the coastal lands. All have been occurring in coastal North Carolina, and should be informing the legislature’s decision-making regarding land development.

Coastal wetlands—salt marshes and mangrove forests—are in jeopardy from sea level rise. These critical ecosystems support fisheries and for gathering areas for migrating waterfowl. They are also major areas of carbon storage; a loss of these carbon “sinks” means a faster rise of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

During the blackout, concentrations of sulfur dioxide and nitric oxide wee 34 and 20 percent lower, respectively, than under normal operating conditions. Concentrations of ozone were also lower.