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Drought and wildfires threaten biodiversity and carbon sequestration in Europe’s forests, highlighting the need for new monitoring models. Photo: © European Union 2018 (photo by Pavel Koubek), CC BY-NC-ND 2.0© European Union 2018 (photo by Pavel Koubek), CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Europe’s forests: why we need to measure their resilience

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Le raccomandazioni di eLTER: Superficie e biomassa non bastano più a definire la capacità di ripresa delle foreste. Necessari nuovi indicatori, osservazioni di lungo periodo e modelli capaci di anticipare i rischi
Penn State University tested the use of multispectral imagery and machine learning to estimate pigment, carbon, and nitrogen content in the biocrusts of semi-arid ecosystems. Photo: Penn State. Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 Deed.Penn State. Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 Deed.

AI uses a pigment to reveal the condition of biocrusts

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For the first time, researchers have remotely measured the concentration of scytonemin, an indicator of the development and resilience of biocrusts in arid ecosystems
The study analyzed the response of forests in the Yangtze River Basin to the exceptional climate event of summer 2022. Photo: Tom Jarrett, Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) DeedTom Jarrett, Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) Deed

Heat and drought: natural forests resist better, planted forests recover faster

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A Yangtze Basin study reveals a trade-off between resistance and recovery in forests: biodiversity and structure protect natural forests, while young, fast-growing trees promote recovery in planted forests
Xerothermic grassland at Clifton Meadow, in the United Kingdom: an ecosystem in which high plant biodiversity helps to improve resilience to drought events. Photo: Steve Daniels Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic CC BY-SA 2.0 DeedSteve Daniels Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic CC BY-SA 2.0 Deed

Extreme drought: biodiversity helps grasslands, but not forests

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An international study finds that high biodiversity levels can reduce productivity losses in the driest grasslands during extreme drought events. However, the same pattern is not found in forested areas
A wildflower meadow, one of the key elements of biodiversity-friendly farming systems such as agriwilding. These habitats provide food resources and shelter for a wide range of pollinating insects. Photo: Nathanieljoyce, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA 4.0)Nathanieljoyce, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Insects, food production and biodiversity thrive together through agriwilding

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Productive crops, trees, species-rich grasslands and natural succession: agriwilding, a Belgian study explains, encourages the return of pollinators and opens new prospects for more sustainable agriculture