The International Forest List Weekly News Digest - September 07, 2024

[IFL Owner]

“The ground we walk on, the plants and creatures, the clouds above constantly dissolving into new formations - each gift of nature possessing its own radiant energy, bound together by cosmic harmony.” - Ruth Bernhard

Logging is the 3rd highest emitter in Canada. It should be measured that way, a new report says
Carbon emissions from logging would be the third highest emitting sector of Canada's economy, if the federal government reported them out separately, according to a new report from groups including Nature Canada…
https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/logging-emissions-forestry-trees-wildfires-1.7309504

Nano silica-mediated stabilization of heavy metals in contaminated soils
Soil contamination with heavy metals presents a substantial environmental peril, necessitating the exploration of innovative remediation approaches. This research aimed to investigate the efficiency of nano-silica in stabilizing heavy metals in a calcareous…
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-69182-0

A global flash drought inventory based on soil moisture volatility
Flash droughts, characterized by rapid onset and development, present significant challenges to agriculture and climate mitigation strategies. Operational drought monitoring systems, based on precipitation, soil moisture deficits, or…
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41597-024-03809-9

Organic phosphate isotopes method offers a new way to track pollutants in the environment
Plants need phosphorus, an essential nutrient, to grow. This nutrient is present in fertilizers and applied to crops to increase their yields. One downside of too much phosphorus in this agricultural environment is it can creep into lakes, rivers and other water bodies, causing…
https://phys.org/news/2024-09-phosphate-isotopes-method-track-pollutants.html

Soil pollution surpasses climate change as top threat to underground biodiversity, study finds
Earthworms, insects and mites are all at risk from soil pollution, and scientists are worried that we know very little about the damage it's causing. New research published in the journal iScience found that soil pollution was the leading cause of declines among…
https://phys.org/news/2024-09-soil-pollution-surpasses-climate-threat.html

Amazon rainforest fires produce secondary ultrafine particles that may affect weather and climate
Particles in wildfire smoke can lower air quality and harm human health. Smoke aerosols can also influence weather and climate by modifying cloud formation and changing how much of the sun's energy is reflected or absorbed by the atmosphere. Compared to…
https://phys.org/news/2024-09-amazon-rainforest-secondary-ultrafine-particles.html

5 Million Acre Sugarcane Megaproject Threatens Papua’s Rainforest
The Indonesian government plans to plant acres of sugarcane in Merauke, southern Papua, to develop a national sugar-based industry. If successful, the nascent industry would also produce bioethanol fuel and reduce Indonesia’s heavy reliance on sugar importation…
https://plantbasednews.org/news/environment/sugarcane-megaproject-threatens-papua-rainforest/

The world’s most studied rainforest is still yielding new insights
Conservationists generally disapprove of flooding species-rich habitats. But the law of unintended consequences works in mysterious ways. For it was just such a flood, in 1913, that created Barro Colorado Island in central Panama. Gatun, the lake surrounding the…
https://www.livemint.com/global/the-world-s-most-studied-rainforest-is-still-yielding-new-insights-11725624110176.html

Dorrigo Escarpment Great Walk
The centrepiece of proposed upgrades to Dorrigo National Park is a brand-new Arc Rainforest Centre, which will feature a spectacular elevated walkway and lookout to offer accessible and exceptional experiences for visitors…
https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/topics/parks-reserves-and-protected-areas/park-management/community-engagement/walking-tracks-and-trails-in-national-parks/dorrigo-great-walk

No evidence of increased forest loss from a mining rush in Madagascar’s eastern rainforests
Artisanal and small-scale mining is an important livelihood activity in many biodiversity hotspots. There is substantial international concern about the negative impact of artisanal and small-scale mining on biodiversity, yet in most places this remains poorly…
https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-024-01655-6

“Very worrying”: In Ecuador’s Amazon, scant progress after landmark oil vote
A year after Ecuador voted in a historic referendum to ban all oil drilling in a unique part of the Amazon rainforest, Indigenous leaders say the government has been slow to shut down wells in the oil-dependent South American nation…
https://sightmagazine.com.au/features/very-worrying-in-ecuadors-amazon-scant-progress-after-landmark-oil-vote/

Rural areas, forests and cities: youths from the Amazon rainforest organize in a network to demand public policies
According to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE, in Portuguese), northern Brazil is the youngest region of the country, with 25.2% of its population under the age of 14, followed by northeast Brazil, with 21.1%...
https://www.brasildefato.com.br/2024/09/05/rural-areas-forests-and-cities-youths-from-the-amazon-rainforest-organize-in-a-network-to-demand-public-policies

Public asked for help to buy mountain to create highest nature reserve
Cumbria Wildlife Trust says it hopes to restore 620 acres of lost Atlantic rainforest in the lower slopes of Skiddaw in the Lake District. Other habitat which would be restored include montane scrub which is a high-altitude woodland, wildflower grasslands…
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/articles/ckg5ed8gqg5o

Gold and coca: the curse fuelling war in the Putumayo rainforests
Pedro José received the order the evening he was coming back from planting cassava on his plot of land in Puerto Guzmán, Putumayo, a departament in the Amazon region of Colombia that borders Peru and Ecuador. Men who identified themselves as members…
https://voragine.co/historias/investigacion/gold-and-coca-the-curse-fuelling-war-in-the-putumayo-rainforests/

Mangroves: Cradle of Coastal Biodiversity and Partners in the Fight against Climate Change
The upcoming COP16 aims to set a milestone for conservation of biodiversity by calling on the world to make "Peace with Nature".  Today, this petition, undoubtedly takes on a greater sense of urgency given the continuous decline of biodiversity and accelerated…
https://www.audubon.org/news/mangroves-cradle-coastal-biodiversity-and-partners-fight-against-climate-change

The vanishing mangroves of El Salvador: ‘All our efforts may only slow the destruction’
Along El Salvador’s western coast lies a 10,000-hectare (25,000-acre) emerald oasis, in stark contrast to the rest of the country’s largely deforested landscape. This lush forest, just a few miles from the Guatemalan border, teems with diverse wildlife…
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/article/2024/sep/05/mangroves-el-salvador-forests

Factors influencing mangrove carbon storage and its response to environmental stress
Mangrove forests serve as significant carbon sinks and play a crucial role in mitigating climate change. Currently, the response of mangroves to intensified climate change and human activities, and the factors that influence the magnitude of carbon storage in…
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2024.1410183/full

Mangroves more important to Earth's climate than previously known
New research reveals that mangrove forests play an even more crucial role in capturing and storing carbon than scientists previously understood. Therefore, protection of these important coastal vegetated areas is needed to mitigate climate change…
https://www.gu.se/en/news/mangroves-more-important-to-earths-climate-than-previously-known

UNESCO’s ‘Sustaining Our Oceans’ (SOO) project seeks to preserve Thailand’s largest mangrove ecosystem
UNESCO’s ‘Sustaining Our Oceans’ (SOO) project, launched in April 2024, aims to develop in children a mindset of harmonious living with the ocean and the protection of marine resources. Under the auspices of the SOO project, and as part of a situation analysis…
https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/unescos-sustaining-our-oceans-soo-project-seeks-preserve-thailands-largest-mangrove-ecosystem

Indonesia's mangroves 12 times better in carbon absorption: President
President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) highlighted that Indonesia's mangrove forests, reaching 3.3 million hectares, can absorb carbon 12 times better than tropical rainforests. The president conveyed this while spotlighting Indonesia's potential to tackle global…
https://en.antaranews.com/news/324823/indonesias-mangroves-12-times-better-in-carbon-absorption-president

Mozambique Approves Africa’s Largest Mangrove Restoration
Africa’s largest mangrove restoration project has been given the green light in Mozambique, with plans to plant 200 million trees over the course of 60 years, as announced by the company that secured the license on Thursday…
https://newscentral.africa/mozambique-approves-africas-largest-mangrove-restoration/

Over 15ha of mangroves planted under Temasek Foundation's efforts in Indonesia
Singapore's Temasek Foundation said its mangrove restoration efforts in Indonesia have produced promising results. More than 15 hectares of mangroves -- the size of about 21 football fields -- have been planted in Banyuasin regency, South…
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/watch/over-15ha-mangroves-planted-under-temasek-foundations-efforts-indonesia-4589221

Remote sensing analysis of spatiotemporal impacts of anthropogenic influence on mountain landscape ecology in Pir Chinasi national park
Mountain landscapes can be fragmented due to various human activities such as tourism, road construction, urbanization, and agriculture. It can also be due to natural factors such as flash floods, glacial lake outbursts, land sliding, and climate change such as rising…
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-71689-5

Assessing soil CO2 emission on eucalyptus species using UAV-based reflectance and vegetation indices
Eucalyptus species play an important role in the global carbon cycle, especially in reducing the greenhouse effect as well as storing atmospheric CO₂. Thus, assessing the amount of CO₂ released by the soil in forest areas can generate important information…
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-71430-2

Wildfire destroys 20% of Brasilia forest, arson suspected
Firefighters succeeded on Wednesday in reducing the extent of a massive wildfire that blazed for two days and destroyed 20% of a forest in the Brazilian capital, cloaking the city in clouds of gray-white smoke, according to officials, who suspect that it may have been…
https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/wildfire-destroys-20-brasilia-forest-arson-suspected-2024-09-04/

Why repairing forests is not just about planting trees
Trees first appeared around 400 million years ago. They survived the mass-extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs some 66 million years ago and lived through several glacial periods during which ice covered up to one-quarter of Earth’s land. Now, they face…
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-02834-3

Understanding Carbon-Water Tradeoffs in Pacific Northwest Forests
A new study documents how spruce forests differing in management and age structure influence individual tree growth, carbon stocks, and landscape-water balance in the Pacific Northwest…
https://eos.org/editor-highlights/understanding-carbon-water-tradeoffs-in-pacific-northwest-forests

Climate Breakdown: Losing Our Aspen Forests in the West
What will our forests in the west be like in fall without those golden yellow leaves shining in the sun? Aspen forests in the Intermountain West support levels of biodiversity only exceeded by riparian (stream) communities. In this…
https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/09/05/climate-breakdown-losing-our-aspen-forests-in-the-west/

Untouched parts of England’s green belt at risk amid housing target pressure
Huge expanses of green belt land in England could be built on to meet government housing targets, it has emerged, with guidelines saying that councils lacking enough brownfield sites will be expected to offer untouched plots for construction…
https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/sep/06/england-green-belt-at-risk-amid-pressure-to-meet-housing-targets

Bunyip birds and brolgas: how can we better protect species important to Indigenous people?
Kamilaroi Country lies in far northwest New South Wales, past Tamworth and crossing over the Queensland border. Here, the bunyip bird (Australasian bittern, Botaurus poiciloptilus), and the brolga (Grus rubicunda or burraalga in Kamilaroi) have been part…
https://theconversation.com/bunyip-birds-and-brolgas-how-can-we-better-protect-species-important-to-indigenous-people-236801

72 per cent of people believe ecocide should be a crime. Could a new EU directive make a difference?
A new study has discovered that a majority of people believe causing serious damage to nature and the climate should be a criminal offence. The Ipsos survey, commissioned by Earth4All and the Global Commons Alliance (GCA), interviewed 22,000 people across…
https://www.euronews.com/green/2024/09/06/72-per-cent-of-people-believe-ecocide-should-be-a-crime-could-a-new-eu-directive-make-a-di

The farmers changing how they work to protect the planet
Carbon may be a dirty word, but in farming and food terms, it is currency. It creates life in the soil which translates to nutrition. As a frontline in the fight against climate change, farmers are being asked to adapt their methods to protect the planet…
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9v84gz2lezo

Judge in Brazil orders slaughterhouses to pay for Amazon reforestation
A judge in the Brazilian state of Rondonia has found two beef slaughterhouses guilty of buying cattle from a protected area of former rainforest in the Amazon and ordered them, along with three cattle ranchers, to pay a total of $764,000 for causing environmental…
https://apnews.com/article/brazil-amazon-deforestation-cattle-environment-387912a13bf13b03da0b7724604c9325

US, China 'narrowing' rift on climate finance in this week's talks, US envoy says
China and the United States still have "some differences" on issues such as climate finance but have made progress in narrowing them during talks this week, U.S. climate envoy John Podesta said in Beijing on Friday…
https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/sustainable-finance-reporting/us-china-still-have-some-differences-climate-finance-us-envoy-says-2024-09-06/

Compiled by Nelson Wong

IFL Owner