Desertification is one of the most pressing issues facing the world's drylands. However, the term "desertification" is only vaguely defined, leading to complications in monitoring and management at all scales.
Successful land conservation efforts require transparency and collaboration between all individuals involved, a recent analysis found. The first step is for stakeholders to engage in conversation.
Overhunting animal consumers of seeds increases extinction risk in tropical trees, and could change structure and ecological dynamics of tropical forests.
Species are going extinct 1,000 times faster than at any point in Earth's history, and even with protected areas, biodiversity preservation remains sub-optimal due to knowledge gaps and low representation of ecological habitats.
Across the world, animals are consistently imperiled by human land-use, but the magnitude of impact varies between species based on their innate features.
Miniscule fungi and diminutive insects that eat up seeds and seedlings of trees may hold the key to understanding the mindboggling diversity of tropical rainforests.
Ecosystem services are the tangible benefits natural systems provide to humans. Increasingly, the ecosystem services concept has been recognized for its value in the decision-making process. This is true at geographic scales ranging from small villages to entire continents. Defining the ecosystem services provided by a region necessarily involves both human values and the collection of scientific data.
Animals likely play a more instrumental role in carbon cycling and storage than previously understood, making wildlife management a potential avenue for mitigating carbon emissions.
