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BNP Paribas is the bank that has contributed the most to deforestation in the Amazon with i456 million euros invested in a decade in the soybean, beef and palm oil sectors. PHOTO: Can Pac Swire CC BY-NC 2.0.PHOTO: Can Pac Swire CC BY-NC 2.0.

French banks criticized as they financed deforestation with more than €700 mln

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NGO's accusation: banks BNP Paribas, Société Générale, Crédit Agricole and the Banque Populaire et Caisse d'Epargne group allegedly financially supported the beef and soy bean giants responsible for Amazon deforestation
A fungus, called Metarhizium robertsii, is reportedly able to remove mercury around plant roots. Photo: Chengshu Wang and Yuxian Xia Attribution 2.5 Generic (CC BY 2.5)Chengshu Wang and Yuxian Xia Attribution 2.5 Generic (CC BY 2.5)

Mercury pollution is not a problem (as long as we use this fungus)

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A fungus that can break down mercury-based organic forms into less toxic inorganic substances protects plants by allowing them to survive in contaminated soils, a Sino-American study has found
MRIDA, or soil in Hindi, is an application developed to estimate carbon sequestration potential. Photo: AS Rao, ICRISAT Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC 2.0)AS Rao, ICRISAT Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC 2.0)

A new soil app from India can teach you climate-smart agriculture

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Helping farmers and decision makers in developing climate-smart practices in soil management. That's the goal of MRIDA, the new app created in India to assess the carbon sequestration potential of different agricultural strategies
Scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (photo) have developed a new method of analyzing soil microbes. Image: LLNL Public Domain-Merket 1.0LLNL Public Domain-Merket 1.0

A new research technique may unlock the secrets of soil microbes

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A study from the US paves the way for more in-depth investigations into the role of soil microbes. By improving the stable isotope survey, researchers highlighted the "food web" of interactions stimulated by soil microorganisms
Sustainable agriculture made a crucial contribution to the development of the Maya society. Photo: Diego Delso Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)Diego Delso Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Sustainable agriculture was crucial for ancient Maya’s society

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Proper soil and agricultural management enabled the growth of settlements originating in southern Mexico in ancient times, environmental DNA study by U.S. researchers has found
Over two decades, trees in Finnish forests have promoted carbon sequestration in the soil with an average growth of 36 grams per square meter. Photo: Ajattokoj Ahyaj Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0)Ajattokoj Ahyaj Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Forests, climate and carbon storage: the lesson of Finnish trees

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A 20-year survey by the Helsinki Ministry of Agriculture highlights the role of trees in promoting soil carbon storage. Logging reduces the amount retained. Some species prove more successful than others in sequestration
The Congo River Basin is home to one-fifth of the world's plant and animal species. Photo: Corinne Staley Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC 2.0)Photo: Corinne Staley Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC 2.0)

Deforestation in the Congo Basin is growing at an alarming rate

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In 2021, deforestation in the Congo Basin increased by 4.9 percent affecting more than 630 thousand hectares of land. This is a particularly worrying trend, explains the Dutch NGO Climate Focus, when considering the area's importance for climate mitigation and biodiversity
The U.S. Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory hosted the research on soil virus. Photo: Jvimal Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0)Jvimal Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0)

Here’s the mysterious virus-made protein supporting soil life

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Chitosanase is a protein produced by a virus that "could be acting like a garden hoe for the soil preparing it for vegetables, trees, flowers, and all other kinds of life." A U.S. study gives new insights into land ecosystem processes
By applying the technique on a large scale, researchers say, it would be possible to address the problem of global soil pollution. Photo: Marco Verch https://www.flickr.com/photos/30478819@N08/51093188777 Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/Marco Verch https://www.flickr.com/photos/30478819@N08/51093188777 Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Australian researchers mimic plants to clean up soil

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Through solar-powered evaporators, the presence of heavy metals in soil can be significantly reduced. The solution, developed by the University of South Australia, could find application in other contexts and for other substances
More than 90 percent of deforestation in tropical areas is driven by agriculture. Photo: Kate Evans/CIFOR Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)Kate Evans/CIFOR Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Land speculation drives deforestation ‘for nothing’ in the tropics

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In tropical regions, agriculture causes up to 99 percent of deforestation. But at least one-third of deforested land gives no contribution to food production, researchers have found

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