Tag Archives: Ecosystems

Podcasts, Research, Reviews, Science

Science: Biofuels For Planes, Biodiversity In Ecosystems, Conservation

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On this week’s show: Whether biofuels for planes will become a reality, mitigating climate change by working with nature, and the second installment of our book series on the science of food and agriculture.

First this week, Science Staff Writer Robert F. Service talks with producer Meagan Cantwell about sustainable aviation fuel, a story included in Science’s special issue on climate change. Researchers have been able to develop this green gas from materials such as municipal garbage and corn stalks. Will it power air travel in the future?

Also in the special issue this week, Nathalie Seddon, a professor of biodiversity at the University of Oxford, chats with host Sarah Crespi about the value of working with nature to support the biodiversity and resilience of our ecosystems. Seddon emphasizes that nature-based solutions alone cannot stop climate change—technological approaches and behavioral changes will also need to be implemented.

Finally, we have the second installment of our series of author interviews on the science of food and agriculture. Host and science journalist Angela Saini talks to Jessica Hernandez, an Indigenous environmental scientist and author of Fresh Banana Leaves: Healing Indigenous Landscapes Through Indigenous Science. Hernandez’s book explores the failures of Western conservationism—and what we can learn about land management from Indigenous people.

This week’s episode was produced with help from Podigy.

[Image: USDA NCRS Texas; Music: Jeffrey Cook]

[alt: cows in a forest]

Authors: Meagan Cantwell; Robert Service, Sarah Crespi, Angela Saini

Ecosystems, Research, Reviews, Science, Sustainability

Research: How Africa Keeps The Amazon Green

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Jet streams sprinkle North African dust over the Amazon, providing the rain forest with much needed nutrients. Changing wind patterns and increasing smoke may shift the system.

Culture, Ecosystems, Environment, Stories, Travel, Videos, Views

Ecosystems: Plastic Nets On The Ganges River, India

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Follow a local fisherman as he navigates his community’s dependency of plastic nets and the effects this has on the river. The National Geographic Society, committed to illuminating and protecting the wonder of our world, funded the Sea to Source: Ganges expedition.

Conservation, Ecosystems, Travel, Videos, Views

Preservation: Mangroves National Park In Congo

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This Wednesday is International Wetlands Day. Worldwide, wetlands cover 12.1 million km². But more than 30 percent have been lost over the past 50 years, despite them playing a crucial role in mitigating the impact of climate change. One example is the Mangroves National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It’s the only marine park in the country and it’s home to a wide variety of plants and rare animals, including sea turtles. But the park is increasingly threatened by poaching and illegal logging. The construction of a deep water port in the vicinity has also sparked controversy. Our correspondents report.

Ecology, Stories, Sustainability, Travel, Videos, Views

Reforestation: Tanzania Restores Its Dry Land

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Sustained droughts are making farming near impossible in Tanzania. The soil is to dry for planting. The organization Justdiggit wants to alleviate the situation by planting trees in a way that encourages moisture collection. Not only do the trees grow better, the soil is can recover in their shade.

Climate Change, Ecosystems, Environment, Reviews, Science, Videos

Ecology: Importance Of Peatlands In CO2 Capture

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As more of the world’s forests are destroyed, it makes you wonder: what’s going to absorb CO2 in their place?! In an ironic twist of fate, one of Earth’s “deadest” habitats might be our best hope for an ongoing supply of breathable air.

Called peatlands, these wetland environments are named for their tendency to accumulate decayed plant matter. Unlike most other ecosystems, like forests, where branches and leaves typically decompose in a matter of months… in peatlands, that plant material can stay intact for millenia. You see, peatlands mostly exist in high altitude places where temps are low and there’s not much water flow. This results in their having extremely low oxygen and high acidity levels.

These harsh conditions aren’t very hospitable to microbes and fungi, which are instrumental to the whole decomposition process. So without them around, the plant material sort of… just sits. Over time, that it globs together to form peat, a thick, spongy material that can soak up 20x its weight in water. Peat also soaks up loads of carbon. Through a process known as the Calvin cycle, living plants absorb CO2 from the air and convert it into organic molecules that they can then use as energy to grow.

Through decomposition, the carbon that’s “fixed” in a plant’s structure gets released but since peat doesn’t decompose, that carbon can stay put! It’s estimated that peatlands contain 550 gigatonnes of organic carbon, which is twice as much organic carbon as all the world’s forests combined. That’s absolutely wild, considering that forests cover about 30% of the world’s land area… and peatlands only account for 3%! Like most of the world’s habitats, peatlands aren’t immune to the threats of human development and exploitation.

Peat is also are a very in-demand resource. Its incredible water holding capacity makes it a favorite amongst horticulturists; If you’ve ever picked up a bag of soil amendment, chances are it’s full of the stuff. Since peat is also a fossil fuel with a long burn, it’s used in some parts of the world. Peatlands are also often drained to accommodate other land use activities, like agriculture.

Ecology, Ecosystems, Sustainability, Videos, Views

Ecosystems: Seed-Firing Drones Planting Trees

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Climate Change, Ecosystems, Environment, Travel, Videos, Views

Habitats: The Destruction Of Paraguay’s Rainforests

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Paraguay might be one of the world’s first countries to lose its rainforest because of a confluence of factors including inequality, corruption, drug trafficking, and climate change. The South American nation offers a stark warning for what the planet stands to lose if it doesn’t act to protect its natural resources.

Paraguay is a landlocked country between Argentina, Brazil and Bolivia, home to large swaths of swampland, subtropical forest and chaco, wildernesses comprising savanna and scrubland. The capital, Asunción, on the banks of the Paraguay River, is home to the grand Government Palace and the Museo del Barro, displaying pre-Columbian ceramics and ñandutí lacework, the latter available in many shops. 

Ecosystems, Green Design, Travel, Videos, Views

Views: The Eden Project – World’s Largest Indoor Rainforest, Cornwall, UK

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There’s a rainforest in Europe? Apparently, yes – and it’s called the Eden Project! It houses the world’s largest covered rainforest, beneath a giant dome.

But it’s not an amusement park, but rather an educational centre and environmental organisation. The concept: Only those who experience and engage with the beauty of nature can also protect it. That’s why 100,000 plants from all over the world have been brought here, where they cover an area of some 50 hectares.

Not only the sheer number of plants is impressive, the building itself is, too: Two geodesic domes span the site as greenhouses – like massive soap bubbles sticking together. Our Euromaxx reporter Hendrik Welling visits the record-breaking Eden Project and to explore its biotopes and rainforest.