environmental science research for everyone
It’s easy to advocate for the value of beautiful landscapes. But what about when the plants are brown all summer? Here, a student-led team uses carbon calculations to demonstrate the importance of California Sage Scrub conservation on a global level.
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A new long-term study shows that switching to no-till practices may help restore cropland soils to pre-disturbance conditions, letting farmers join the fight against climate change.
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Source Article: Samantha K. Chapman, Matthew A. Hayes, Brendan Kelly, and J. Adam Langley. 2019. Exploring the oxygen sensitivity of
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Salt marshes are full of crustacean inhabitants. In particular, fiddler crabs and purple marsh crabs of New England modify these coastal ecosystems by burrowing beneath the waterlogged soils, chewing up plants, and increasing nutrient exchange rates. But it is uncertain to what extent each species contributes to the modification of a salt marsh. Research by Alexandria Moore found the presence of crabs had a significant effect on multiple aspects of salt marsh health and that the herbivore, purple marsh crab, modifies salt marsh ecosystems beyond eating plants.
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A 65 meter tall mangrove. Imagine that. A tree growing in saltwater that is 20 stories tall. Considering the only mangroves I have seen look like shrubs, I couldn’t believe that some mangroves could reach such heights. But then I saw some photos on Twitter and talked with a scientist who is using new technology to estimate the enormous amount of carbon stored by these beastly coastal trees. Mind Blown.
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We know that forests can have a big local impact, but can they also have an impact on the climate on the other side of the continent? With climate change becoming a growing threat to our forests, a team of scientists looks to investigate what cross-continental connections exist between our forests and what they could mean for our future climate.
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Pickens, C. N., Sloey, T. M. and Hester, M. (2018) Influence of salt marsh canopy on black mangrove(Avicennia germinans) survival
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Article Information: Kittredge, H.A., Cannone, T., Funk, J., and Chapman, S.K. (2018) Soil respiration and extracellular enzyme production respond differently across
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Seaweed farming is the fastest growing sector of food production and provides healthy, nutritious sea vegetables. Farming seaweed can also have positive benefits by decreasing wave action, taking up carbon dioxide, and locally reducing the effects of ocean acidification. Spatial planning, market analyses, and infrastructure development are needed to facilitate the expansion of seaweed aquaculture.
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Soils play an important role in the global carbon cycle because they can absorb carbon from and emit carbon into the atmosphere. Currently, agricultural soils are not home to very large carbon pools. Recent research investigated the effects of adding carbonized crop residue to soils in agricultural environments in the hopes of finding ways to increase the amount of carbon retained by these soils.
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