insert_link Environment Reforestation to capture carbon could be done much more cheaply, study says By Liz Kimbrough, via Mongabay Trees are allies in the struggle against climate change, and regrowing forests to capture carbon may be cheaper than we thought. According to new research published in Nature Climate Change, a strategic mix of natural regrowth and tree planting could be the most cost-effective way to capture carbon. Researchers analyzed reforestation projects in 138 low- and middle-income countries to compare the costs of different […] todayAugust 15, 2024 12
insert_link Africa Planting trees in grasslands won’t save the planet – rather protect and restore forests By Susanne Vetter, Rhodes University Tree planting is one of the nature-based solutions being used to offset greenhouse gas emissions. Trees absorb atmospheric carbon dioxide. Many of these tree planting projects target Africa’s rangelands (open grasslands or shrublands used by livestock and wild animals). They include agroforestry initiatives such as the Great Green Wall in the Sahel, or commercial timber plantations that double as carbon offset projects. […] todayApril 23, 2024 21
insert_link Environment Fossil beetles found in a Botswana diamond mine help us to reconstruct the distant past By Sandiso Mnguni, University of the Witwatersrand When most people think of fossils they probably picture bones. But there’s much more to the global fossil record: plants, shells, minerals and insects. The study of fossil insects is called palaeoentomology. Palaeoentomologists like myself seek out and study fossil insects that were trapped in mud which later became rock sediments, and those found in amber (tree resin). Very few deposits […] todayApril 11, 2024 15
insert_link Environment Rhinos can’t sweat, making them vulnerable to overheating: global warming could wipe them out in southern Africa By Timothy Randhir, UMass Amherst Southern Africa is home to 22,137 of the world’s 23,432 white and black African rhinos. But they’re facing grave threats because of a warming planet. Now, the first study of how climate change affects rhinos in southern Africa has found that they will cease to exist in the region’s national parks by 2085 if the world takes the worst-case scenario climate change […] todayFebruary 16, 2024 15