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One of the major processes returning minerals to the soil is the loss of leaves, which decompose during the wet period of winter, releasing their contents to the soil.

A study from Germany reports a 75% decline in total insect numbers in protected areas during the past few decades.

One study of freshwater fish found no microplastics in specimens collected before 1950 and increasing concentrations since that time.  Plastic materials of varying size are found in the gut of seabirds worldwide, often in specimens that are not close to obvious human sources.

Worldwide, estuaries are in trouble. While some nutrient loading is good, too much leads to an overproduction of floating algae, which periodically sink to the bottom waters where they decompose consuming most or all the oxygen. The resulting condition, known as hypoxic, is lethal to shellfish and fishes in these waters.

Guggenheim Foundation Fellow and photographer Dornith Doherty gives a visual tour of her ongoing collaboration with biologists who manage the most comprehensive seed banks in the world

Ecologists are increasingly concerned about higher levels of nitrogen deposition from the deposition of air pollution. The nitrogen deposited from the atmosphere acts as a fertilizer, promoting the dominance of a few profligate species with low nutrient-uptake efficiency at the expense of species with higher nutrient-use efficiency and adapted to nutrient-poor soils.

For ecologists, productivity means plant growth in a given area—land or sea.  Plants in productive areas conduct a lot of photosynthesis, converting sunlight energy into new plant tissues.  Foresters like productive lands; it means more trees.

Invasive plants are not only a problem in New England. The golden hills of California harbor annual grasses native to the Mediterranean region that invaded North America more than 100 years ago.  Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) covers much of the inter-mountain west, where it has promoted the risk and extent of wildfires and the demise of pinyon woodlands. 

Several studies show increased survival of infants who are breast-fed versus formula-fed, and lots of scientific evidence supports the advantages of breast milk in increasing an infant’s growth, immune response, even I.Q.  Breast feeding for at least six months after birth is widely recommended.

Inasmuch as hybrid and all-electric vehicles have become more popular, it is worth asking if the energy used (and thus CO2 emitted) to make electric motors and lithium batteries is greater than that emitted during the production of gasoline engines for conventional vehicles, potentially discounting the advantages of electric vehicles in mitigating the potential for climate change.

Globally, air travel consumes around 500,000 metric tons of fuel each day and accounts for 5% of global CO2 emissions. That figure is not likely to decrease anytime soon by the substitution of new technology. Indeed, the percentage may rise as more people travel and as emissions from other activities decrease.

A conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Dan Egan exploring the perils facing the Great Lakes and ways we can restore and preserve them for generations to come.

What constitutes environmental justice seems inherently subjective, unlike a water quality standard that can be measured and monitored from field samples. For instance, what metric would tell us that an advocacy organization or government policy has made any improvements in environmental justice over time?

Woods Hole Research Center president Philip Duffy discusses new developments in science that underscore the urgency of prompt and effective action against climate change, and what role states and cities can do to achieve progress.

The emerald ash borer is a small invasive beetle that is killing ash trees throughout the eastern half of the US. It is the most destructive and costly forest insect to ever have invaded North America.

Removal of groundwaters that were recharged during the wetter Pleistocene epoch is a classic example of non-sustainable human behavior. Irrigation in the southern High Plains of Texas and New Mexico has dropped groundwater levels by as much as two feet per year and threatens the future of irrigated agriculture, mostly for cotton, in that region.

In addition to cost-effectiveness, the advantages of using land-based and off-shore wind farms to generate power are many, including no air pollution (unlike coal), no waste disposal (unlike nuclear power), no pipelines (unlike natural gas), and no greenhouse gases.