Japan's forests trap about 420 trillion airborne microplastics per year in their canopies. Photo: ajay_suresh CC BY 2.0 DEED Attribution 2.0 Genericajay_suresh CC BY 2.0 DEED Attribution 2.0 Generic

Forests keep us from breathing in microplastics

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Airborne microplastics latch onto tree leaves, explains a Japanese study. In this way, forests act as sinks thereby limiting their uptake by humans
To measure the effectiveness of biodiversity protection strategies, researchers analyzed the distribution of forest bird habitat in Colombia. Photo: Halfpaap CC BY-ND 2.0 DEED Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 GenericPhoto: Halfpaap CC BY-ND 2.0 DEED Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic

In biodiversity protection, choosing the right areas halves the costs

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This is supported by an Australian study: in protecting biodiversity it is better to target smaller but more at-risk areas. The goal is to achieve greater convenience and better results
PREPSOIL promuove la nascita di una biblioteca online sulla salute del suolo. Immagine: PREPSOIL

Prepsoil is creating an online library on soil health

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The Knowledge Hub is an initiative implemented as part of the European Prepsoil project with the goal of building a multilingual online library to aggregate soil knowledge by engaging the communityby
Peatlands store one-third of the organic carbon in global soils. Photo: Brian Nelson CC BY-SA 2.0 DEED Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 GenericBrian Nelson CC BY-SA 2.0 DEED Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic

In peatlands, climate change supports the degradation of organic carbon

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An experiment shows that in peatlands all organic soil components decompose more rapidly when temperatures are higher
Subsidence, or the lowering of the land surface due to the removal of material from underground, impacts 25 percent of the Planet's population. Photo: David Smith and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence CC BY-SA 2.0 DEED Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 GenericPhoto: David Smith and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence CC BY-SA 2.0 DEED Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic

Land subsidence threatens 2 billion people

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Subsidence, or the lowering of the land surface due to the removal of material from underground, impacts 25 percent of the Planet's population, U.S. researchers have found
The effects of soil desiccation cracking promoted by drought are an example of the feedback loop between climate change and soil. Photo: Christopher Michel CC BY 2.0 DEED Attribution 2.0 GenericChristopher Michel CC BY 2.0 DEED Attribution 2.0 Generic

Soil releases more GHGs than expected as drought plays a crucial role

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A U.S. study hypothesizes the existence of an "amplifying cycle" involving drought, soil desiccation and CO2 emissions. A mechanism that climate models do not seem to take into account
EPA researchers are testing biochar on the grounds of the Salt Chuck Mine,a former mine located on Prince of Wales Island in southeast Alaska. Photo: Jsayre64 CC BY-SA 3.0 DEED Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 UnportedJsayre64 CC BY-SA 3.0 DEED Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported

Alaska researchers use biochar to decontaminate soil from copper

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Researchers want to exploit biochar's ability to absorb heavy metals. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is currently at work on the soils of a former mine
Per comprendere l’effetto del clima sui microbi i ricercatori hanno esaminato una prateria subartica in Islanda soggetta, da oltre mezzo secolo, al riscaldamento geotermico. Foto: Christina Kaiser Universität Wien Press ReleaseChristina Kaiser Universität Wien Press Release

Diversity of soil microbes increases with climate change

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A study from the University of Vienna brings new insights into the microbiome-climate cycle in the soil. Higher temperatures activate dormant bacteria, scientists explain
Bacteria were detected in soils of the Franz Joseph Land archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. Photo: Wofratz CC BY-SA 2.5 DEED Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 GenericPhoto: Wofratz CC BY-SA 2.5 DEED Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 Generic

Cold-resistant bacteria can degrade oil in the Arctic

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The Russian study: some bacteria decompose biopolymers and hydrocarbons and convert phosphates into soluble forms. In this way they contribute to the decontamination of permafrost
In eastern U.S. forests, trees cool the land surface by 1-2°C per year compared to nearby grasslands and agricultural fields. Photo: Miguel.v CC0 1.0 DEED CC0 1.0 UniversalMiguel.v CC0 1.0 DEED CC0 1.0 Universal

Reforestation curbed climate change in the eastern U.S.

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Reforestation that began in the 1930s was able to mitigate the effect of climate, explains an Indiana University study. Trees cooled the eastern U.S. while the rest of the country became warmer

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