and have published findings ahead of print in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology. Our studies have unraveled the metabolism of the rather unexplored acetic acid bacteria in the complex fermentation environment says corresponding author Christoph Wittmann of Saarland University Saarbruecken Germanyin the study Wittmann
and his collaborators from the Nestle Research Centre Lausanne Switzerland simulated cocoa pulp fermentation in the laboratory.
Wittmann compares the process to viewing the flows of city traffic from the sky. We could see what they eat
In a study published recently in the Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists researchers from Arizona State university and Yale university have developed a first-of-its-kind interdisciplinary equation to estimate the current monetary value of natural resources such as fish stocks groundwater
Fenichel assistant professor at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. This approach to valuation is forward-looking and inherently interdisciplinary added Fenichel.
It accounts for the role of ecological dynamics in shaping the future direction of natural capital stocks
As humans we are not going to have zero impact on the environment but we want to make sure that the value of human physical and natural capital that we pass on to future generations is worth no less than
These are the findings of an experiment on almond trees conducted in California by the Freiburg ecologist Prof.
#The ugly truth about summer allergiesas if a runny nose and red eyes weren't enough to ruin your warm weather look summer allergies can gift you with even more than you've bargained for this year.
The study found that genetic characteristics (genotype) as well as environmental conditions--such as soil properties and local climate--can affect the micronutrient content of grain legumes.
The researchers measured micronutrient levels by a technique known as atomic absorption spectrometry. According to Warkentin In the case of selenium we found that environmental conditions are more important than genotype.
Warkentin notes A 100-gram (3 Â-ounce) serving of any one of the four grain legume crops studied provided a substantial portion of the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of iron zinc selenium magnesium
#How much fertilizer is too much for the climate? Helping farmers around the globe apply more-precise amounts of nitrogen-based fertilizer can help combat climate change.
In a new study published in this week's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Michigan State university researchers provide an improved prediction of nitrogen fertilizer's contribution to greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural fields.
Our specific motivation is to learn where to best target agricultural efforts to slow global warming said Phil Robertson director of MSU's Kellogg Biological Station Long-term Ecological Research Program and senior
However the study published in the on-line journal Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology also determined that lower oxygen levels in the water known as hypoxia
Such climate variables should be considered when using these pesticides in the coastal zone the study concluded.
if their ecosystem is suffering from local climate stressors like hypoxia and acidification said the study's lead author Marie Delorenzo Ph d. NOAA environmental physiology
and microbiology program lead with NOAA's Centers for Coastal Ocean Science. Hopefully these data will benefit both shellfish mariculture operations
and environmental resource agencies as they manage the use of mosquito control pesticides near their coastal ecosystems.
Clams and oysters are also important for the coastal ecosystem because they filter water improving water quality
which live in aquatic habitats that are also home to sensitive estuarine species This may pose a risk to coastal environments.
which compared the toxicity thresholds to concentrations expected in the environment the researchers calculated a low-level of risk to clams and oysters from application of these pesticides for mosquito control.
The researchers also tested the pesticides'toxicity under climate stress conditions. The more extreme climate conditions caused increased pesticide toxicity.
The study did not address the impacts of the pesticides on other shellfish such as shrimp or lobsters.
#Land quality, deforestation in Mato grosso, Brazilthe state of Mato grosso is the epicenter of an agricultural revolution in Brazil.
Much of the credit for slowing deforestation has been given to government policies and intervention including a moratorium on exporting soy grown on deforested land.
But new research from Brown University suggests something else may be helping slow deforestation: The inventory of forestland in Mato grosso that is ideal for conversion to agriculture is starting to dwindle.
The findings are published in the journal Environmental Research Letters. Mapping changes in land useover the last few years Spera
and incomes go up around the world in the next 50 years said Leah Vanwey a study co-author professor of sociology and deputy director of Brown's Institute for the Study of Environment and Society.
Maybe the land that we know isn't well-suited for agriculture anyway should be prioritized for protection from deforestation.
Ant diversity indicates restored grasslandswhen it comes to restoring grasslands ecologists may have another way to evaluate their progress--ants.
When it comes to native grasslands ants are ecosystem engineers. Ecological role of antsants play many ecological roles Winkler explained.
They aerate the soil cycle nutrients and play a role in plant defense and seed dispersal.
#New england lakes recovering rapidly from acid rainfor more than 40 years policy makers have been working to reduce acid rain a serious environmental problem that can devastate lakes streams
and animals that live in these ecosystems. Now new research funded by the NH Agricultural Experiment Station (NHAES) at the University of New hampshire College of Life sciences
Our data clearly demonstrate that cleaning up air pollution continues to have desired the effect of improving water quality for our region's lakes said NHAES researcher William Mcdowell professor of environmental science and director of the NH Water Resources Research center.
Jasmine Saros associate director of the Climate Change Institute at UMAINE and professor in UMAINE's School of Biology & Ecology;
Jeffrey Kahl then-director of environmental and energy strategies at James Sewall Company. Researchers analyzed data collected since 1991 at 31 sites in Maine New hampshire Vermont Massachusetts Rhode island and southern New york and 43 sites in the Adirondack mountains of New york. The results are presented in Decadal
Trends Reveal Recent Acceleration in the Rate of Recovery from Acidification in the Northeastern U s. in the journal Environmental science & Technology.
According to the U s. EPA acid rain refers to a mix of wet and dry materials from the atmosphere containing higher-than-normal amounts of nitric and sulfuric acids.
and other sources prevailing winds blow these compounds across state and national borders sometimes over hundreds of miles.
The Clean Air Interstate Rule issued in 2005 by the EPA sought to further reduce sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides by 70 percent.
and in the face of the changing climate and environment. All plants require nitrogen to thrive
which could lead to crops that are more resistant to disease and stresses such as environmental changes.
when he spoke at the DOE JGI's 7th Annual Genomics of Energy & Environment Meeting in March 2012.
#Saving trees in tropics could cut emissions by one-fifth, study showsreducing deforestation in the tropics would significantly cut the amount of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere--by as much as one-fifth--research shows.
In the first study of its kind scientists have calculated the amount of carbon absorbed by the world's tropical forests
if all human-related deforestation of the tropics were to stop the forests could absorb more carbon than at present equivalent to one-fifth of global emissions.
Researchers say carbon emissions from tropical forests will increase as the climate warms as rising temperatures accelerate the decay of dead plants
Their study published in Global Change Biology was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council. Professor John Grace of the University of Edinburgh's School of Geosciences who led the study said:
and new ways of thinking about and monitoring the effects of environmental stresses on the reproductive process.
In future such information may become increasingly important as we strive to breed superior crops that maintain yield in a changing climate.
Climate change leads to increased growing season and allows forests to store more carbon dioxideevery spring as the weather warms trees in forests up and down the east coast explode in a bright green display of life as leaves fill their branches
and every fall those same leaves provide one of nature's great color displays of vivid yellow orange and red.
Over the last two decades spurred by higher temperatures caused by climate change Harvard scientists say forests throughout the Eastern U s. have experienced earlier springs and later autumns than ever before.
The study is described in a June 1 paper published in Nature Climate Change. What we find in this paper is an increase in the growing season of forests in the eastern U s. due to recent climate change Keenan said.
This has been beneficial for forests in the past but we do not expect the response to continue unchecked in the future.
It must also be kept in mind that this positive effect of warming is but one amid a barrage of detrimental impacts of climate change on the Earth's ecosystems.
and Richardson warned that continued climate change could lead to more dramatic negative consequences in the future.
And climate change isn't just about warmer temperatures he continued. It's also about changes in precipitation patternsâ
Another important finding Richardson said is that the research identifies a significant source of error in existing computer models of how forest ecosystems work.
and how they simulate how forests will work under future climate scenarios. The real power of the findings
however may be in helping make the effects of climate change more tangible to the general public.
and weather and how those two are connected. The interesting thing about the findings is that we can watch climate change happen Keenan said.
Spring is earlier than it used to be and autumn is later. Everyone can understand that regardless of their predispositions regarding climate change.
Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Harvard university. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
#Climate change: Termites, fungi play more important role in decomposition than temperatureclimate change models could have a thing
Decomposition matters because the speed at which woody material are broken down strongly influences the retention of carbon in forest ecosystems
That makes the decomposition rate a key factor in detecting potential changes to the climate.
The group's findings appear in this week's edition of the journal Nature Climate Change.
The big surprise of this work was the realization that the impact of organisms surpassed climate as a control of decomposition across spatial scales said Joshua King a biologist at UCF
Understanding the ecology and biology of fungi and termites is a key to understanding how the rate of decomposition will vary from place to place.
They selected similar forest types hardwood deciduous forests to focus on major differences in climate across the regional gradient.
Most people would try to make sure everything was as standard as possible said Mark A. Bradford an assistant professor of terrestrial ecosystem ecology at the Yale School of Forestry
& Environmental Studies (F&es) and lead author of the study. We said'Well let's generate as much variation as possible.'
while climate explained only about one quarter contrary to the expectation that climate should be the predominant control.
We're reaching the wrong conclusion about the major controls on decomposition because of the way we've traditionally collected
That in turn will weaken the effectiveness of climate prediction. The team's recommendation: collect more data at local sites
because they could significantly improve the effectiveness of climate change projections. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by University of Central Florida.
experts arguedespite political proclamation of increased environmental focus experts argue that the European union's recent agricultural reforms are far too weak to have any positive impact on the continent's shrinking farmland biodiversity
Latest reforms of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) have been declared significantly greener by the Members of the European parliament following promises to make the environment
and climate change'core issues'for the new CAP. However leading conservation experts writing in the journal Science warn that after three years of CAP negotiations the environmental reforms are diluted
so they will be of no benefit to European wildlife and biodiversity will continue to decline across the continent.
and 80-90%of all the farmers in the EU could be exempt from having to abide by two of the three new environmental requirements.
Individual member states must use the flexibility offered by the reforms to design national plans for sustaining ecosystems say the experts.
The weak environmental reforms in the CAP put the fate of Europe's declining biodiversity at the hands of the individual member states said Dr Guy Pe'er lead author from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research
who collaborated with a range of experts from the Universities of Cambridge Kent Freiburg Hohenheim Bern Wageningen MTA Centre for Ecological Research Hungary;
and encourage member states to make responsible decisions rather than pretend that the reform allows meeting the EU's important ecological targets says Pe'er.
'establishing Ecological Focus Areas maintaining permanent grasslands and setting minimum requirements on number of crops grown to stop areas slipping into homogenous'monocultures'.
and over 48%of its agricultural areas from having to incorporate Ecological Focus Areas. 81%of arable farmers are now exempt from the crop diversity measure
ldi from the MTA Centre for Ecological Research Hungary. But there are new member states who were against agri-environment schemes
and some already decided to shift budgets away from Rural development into Direct Payment for farmers where the vast majority of farmers are exempt of any environmental requirements installed.
Without obligation from Brussels we may see no greening taking place. The EU Biodiversity target implicitly assumes that the biodiversity-related measures under the CAP are effective at protecting wildlife.
thriving wildlife beautiful landscapes clean water fertile soils land that contributes to a stable climate
These include maximising budgets to Agri-Environment Schemes and carefully defining what crops and management prescriptions qualify as Ecological Focus Areas.
They also list six recommendations for the EU to consider towards the next still-much-needed revision of the CAP.
and the EU as a whole to move towards sustainable agriculture securing biodiversity and vital ecosystem services for current and future generations.
The above story is provided based on materials by Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research-UFZ. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
During an expedition in southern Saskatchewan Canada the team discovered the first fossil-record evidence of forest fire ecology--the regrowth of plants after a fire--revealing a snapshot of the ecology on earth just before the mass extinction of the dinosaurs.
The researchers also found evidence that the region's climate was much warmer and wetter than it is today.
The abundant plant fossils also allowed us for the first time to estimate climate conditions for the closing period of the dinosaurs in southwestern Canada
and provides one more clue to reveal what the ecology was like just before they went extinct says Larsson who is also an Associate professor at the Redpath Museum.
The team's finding of ancient ecological recovery from a forest fire will help broaden scientists'understanding of biodiversity immediately before the mass extinction of dinosaurs.
We won't be able to fully understand the extinction dynamics until we understand what normal ecological processes were going on in the background. says Larsson.
#Report highlights successful efforts to stem deforestation in 17 countriesprograms and policies to reduce tropical deforestation
and the global warming emissions resulting from deforestation are seeing broad success in 17 countries across four continents according to a new report from the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).
The report Deforestation Success Stories: Tropical Nations Where Forest Protection and Reforestation Policies Have worked highlights successes in reducing deforestation
and restoring forests while supporting economic development in 17 cases across Africa Latin america and South and Southeast asia.
While some countries highlighted in the report including Brazil are known for their forest efforts other countries including Mexico El salvador
In the 1990s deforestation consumed 16 million hectares of forest a year and accounted for about 17 percent of all climate emissions.
By the early 2000s deforestation was down 19 percent to 13 million hectares. Currently deforestation is responsible for about 10 percent of climate emissions globally.
Successfully reducing deforestation is essential as forests are home to a wide range of plants and animals and vital to the livelihoods of indigenous communities.
When forests are cleared-for palm oil plantations agriculture or livestock--we lose vital resources put animals at risk of extinction
and release massive quantities of carbon dioxide stored in the trees and soils said report author Doug Boucher director of UCS's Tropical forest and Climate Initiative.
What's surprising about today's report is the number of countries that are effectively protecting their tropical forests
There's no one right way to stop deforestation but rather a smorgasbord of options. The successful reductions result from a variety of policy options including policies
and programs directly targeted at deforestation policies not implemented as planned but that still worked policy reforms that relieved pressure on forests
As early as 2002 the Brazilian government reduced deforestation by establishing forest protected areas and later companies agreed to moratoriums on buying soy
While these deforestation programs and policies proved effective Brazil took additional action through the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation plus pro-forest activities (REDD+)program in cooperation with Norway.
REDD+offers financial incentives provided by developed countries to developing countries for reducing deforestation. Today 80 percent of original Amazonian forest is still standing due to forest protections moratoriums
and the REDD+program Brazil is lauded most notably for their deforestation reductions but the report found numerous example of successfully saving forests in unexpected locations said Boucher.
Mexico has been working to protect their forests from deforestation since the 1990s but additional success came from the Payment for Environmental Services program
which aimed to transition payments for environmental services such as clean water and carbon mitigation into services paid for by markets.
While economists recommended that the limited budget for this program be allocated among to the most efficient service providers the money ultimately went to rural communities
but still prevented deforestation because participants invested in protecting forests even when not required to do so.
Guyana's case is unusual in that its deforestation rate is nearly zero and forest policies are focused on preventing deforestation entirely.
Like Brazil Guyana formed a partnership with Norway through the REDD+program. But Guyana's program focuses on promoting economic growth while still keeping deforestation low.
In Central africa forest management plans were adopted in the 1990s and over time these plans have grown to cover a large portion of the region's forests.
The report shows that economic development is hindered not by reductions in deforestation. For example the soy and beef industry in Brazil thrived
despite moratoria preventing deforestation Vietnam expanded agricultural production and forest area simultaneously and Costa rica's well protected forests attract millions of ecotourists each year.
Policymakers should also increase funding for payments for ecosystem services and practice strong enforcement. Further forest management policies should combine environmental policy with socioeconomic development as well as establish moratoriums to increase effectiveness.
Ultimately the report show that every euro dollar peso rupee dong and African franc invested in these programs
http://www. ucsusa. org/global warming/solutions/stop-deforestation/deforestation-success-stories. htmlstory Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Union of Concerned Scientists.
#Drones give farmers an eye in the sky to check on crop progressthis growing season crop researchers at the University of Illinois are experimenting with the use of drones--unmanned aerial vehicles--on the university's South Farms.
and wine--may decrease an individual's risk of dental erosion and cavities. â#¢Consuming fewer sugar-sweetened beverages such as soft drinks sports drinks energy drinks and fruit drinks may also decrease a person's risk of dental erosion
and cavities. â#¢Seeking guidance from registered dietitian nutritionists about healthy food choices and regular oral health care can help improve nutritional and oral health status. The paper is online at:
#Environmental one-two punch imperils Amazonian forestsone of the world's longest-running ecological studies has revealed that Amazonian forests are being altered by multiple environmental threats--creating even greater perils for the world's largest rainforest.
but also by global-scale changes such as rising carbon dioxide and climate change. In some cases different drivers reinforce one another increasing their impacts on forests.
A big implication is that it's going to be harder to predict future changes to ecosystems
if they're being affected by several environmental drivers said Lovejoy. The researchers expect such changes to increase in the future.
Thermal imaging uncovered the koalas'cool plan confirming that they choose to hug trees that can be more than 5â°C cooler than the air during hot weather.
Researchers observed the behavior of 30 koalas during hot weather at French Island Victoria. Co-author Andrew Krockenberger from James Cook University in Cairns in far northeast Australia says heat wave events can hit koala populations hard.
We know that about a quarter of the koalas in one population in New south wales died during a heat wave in 2009 Professor Krockenberger said.
Understanding the types of factors that can make some populations more resilient is important. Koalas also pant
Co-author Dr Michael Kearney said the findings were important as climate change is bringing about more extreme weather.
Cool tree trunks are likely to be an important microhabitat during hot weather for other tree dwelling species including primates leopards birds and invertebrates.
when assessing habitat suitability under current and future climate scenarios. Professor Krockenberger's research includes some of Australia's warmest koalas--the population on Magnetic Island in the country's tropical northeast.
These findings underscore the importance of trees to koalas especially in the context of climate extremes he said.
Recently three NGOS--Birdlife Europe European Environment Bureau and Transport and Environment--contracted EFI along with the International Institute for Sustainability Analysis and Strategy (IINAS) and Joanneum Research to conduct a study
In this case meeting climate and energy targets would be the main driver. The negative environmental effects of intensified use of forest resources would be weighed against
and considered less important than the negative effects of continued reliance on fossil fuels. This mobilization would see a potential availability of 880 million m3 of woody biomass by 2020.
The low mobilization assumed much stricter environmental constraints on forest biomass removal such as prohibition of stump removal no fertilizer use to replace nutrients lost
The study published in the Journal of Animal Ecology shows that tree bumblebees have rapidly spread
The project is part of the Insect Pollinators Initiative jointly funded by the Biotechnology and Biological sciences Research Council Defra the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) the Scottish government and the Wellcome Trust under the auspices of the Living
with Environmental Change (LWEC) partnership. This research involving academics from Newcastle and Durham Universities and the Food and Environment Research Agency was funded by the UK's innovation agency the Technology Strategy Board.
During the study the bees were exposed to varying concentrations of the spider/snowdrop bio-pesticide over a period of seven days.
The above story is provided based on materials by University of Illinois College of Agricultural Consumer and Environmental sciences (ACES.
and some biological corridors have been designed to restore ecosystem functionality. How is originated biodiversity? The causes of the origin and maintenance of extant biodiversity in the Neotropics--an area of high biodiversity value--have been discussed for decades.
and more recent evolutionary processes whereas Pleistocene climate changes had a minor influence in generating present-day diversity
which inhabits soil ecosystems. Land planarians an animal model of phylogeographic studiesauthors explain that to formulate an efficient conservation policy a good understanding of spatial and temporal biodiversity patterns
For this reason--they add--it is necessary to work with organisms with a low-dispersal ability that are particularly sensitive to changes in the environment.
#Carbon capture breakthrough: Recyclable material absorbs 82 percent of its weight in carbon dioxiderice University scientists have created an Earth-friendly way to separate carbon dioxide from natural gas at wellheads.
and enable the economic production of gas resources with higher carbon dioxide content that would be too costly to recover using current carbon capture technologies Tour said.
and other emissions it could well face new regulations Tour said noting the White house issued its latest National Climate Assessment last month and this week set new rules to cut carbon pollution from the nation
or shape constantly remapping our perception of our urban environment with faã§ades becoming animated reflective and mobile in response to communal desires and emotions.
and weathering as a result of the environment. Dr Duncan Rowland a fine artist and Reader in the School of Computer science developed the software application.
They get old die (due to fire insects hurricane etc. and regenerate. This paper improves on a fundamental theory in ecosystem development:
How a forest evolves over time. It demonstrates that when a forest gets old its ability to grow decreases
or human being says lead author Jianwu (Jim) Tang an assistant scientist in the MBL Ecosystem Center.
To mitigate human-induced climate change and global warming we may either plant more forests in non-forested lands decrease use of fossil fuels
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