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News from A new study published in PNAS, led by the United States Department of Agriculture and involving several researchers from the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) and Leipzig University, investigated how the relationship between mean annual precipitation (MAP) and grassland biomass changes when one or more nutrients are added.

A new study published in the journal PNAS examines how the relationship between mean annual precipitation and grassland biomass changes with the addition of one or more nutrients. Researchers from the German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) and Leipzig University were also involved in the global analysis, which was led by the US Department of Agriculture.

Waterloo researchers are at the forefront of responding to the climate crisis with purpose-driven research and technology, including an interdisciplinary team who are in the field measuring methane emissions to support Canada's net-zero gas emissions goals. Methane is a very powerful greenhouse gas - approximately 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide (CO2) over a 20-year period.

The pedunculate oaks typical of Leipzig's floodplain forest and other German oak forests are struggling to regenerate in the understorey due to a lack of light. One reason for this is the absence of flooding in floodplain forests. In a two-year oak experiment in Leipzig's floodplain forest, researchers from Leipzig University and the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) found that the current tree dieback - caused by drought and pest outbreaks - combined with the thinning of certain understorey species, can actually support oak regeneration.

The English oaks typical of the Leipzig riparian forest and other German oak forests can hardly rejuvenate due to a lack of light in the undergrowth. One reason for this is the lack of flooding in alluvial forests. Researchers from Leipzig University and the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) have discovered in a two-year oak experiment in Leipzig's alluvial forest that the current tree mortality as a result of droughts and the spread of pests can be used in combination with a thinning out of certain species in the undergrowth for oak regeneration.

Wildflowers growing on land previously used for buildings and factories can accumulate lead, arsenic and other metal contaminants from the soil, which are consumed by pollinators as they feed, a new study has found. Our results should not discourage people from planting wildflowers in towns and cities.

About 66 million years ago, an asteroid slammed into the planet, wiping out all non-avian dinosaurs and about 70 percent of all marine species. The huge crater formed in the Gulf of Mexico functioned as a cradle for recovery of marine life enriching the overlying ocean for at least 700,000 years, according to research published today in Nature Communications .

Wealth inequality has been linked to human sustainability for over 10,000 years. That's according to a new study led by Professor Dan Lawrence from our Archaeology department.

Scientists at EPFL have developed a scalable method to produce porous graphene membranes that efficiently separate carbon dioxide. The breakthrough could significantly reduce the cost and footprint of carbon capture technology. Capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) from industrial emissions is crucial in the fight against climate change.

A novel paper led by Ulrich Brose of the Friedrich Schiller University Jena and the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) is widening understanding of how species interact within ecosystems via the so-called ,Internet of Nature'. Published in 'Nature Ecology and Evolution', the paper reveals that species not only exchange matter and energy but also share vital information that influences behaviour, interactions, and ecosystem dynamics - revealing previously hidden characteristics of natural ecosystems.

The preservation of at least some glacier ice in the Tyrolean Alps depends largely on whether the global temperature limit of +1.5 °C is maintained. If the global average temperature rises above this, all glaciers in the region can be expected to disappear completely - many of them within the next few years.

Mediterranean hunter gatherers navigated long-distance sea journeys well before the first farmers To the point Malta reached earlier than previously thought: Researchers have found evidence that hunter-gatherers arrived on the island by boat as early as 8,500 years ago - around 1,000 years before the first farmers.

Isotope analyses of limestone cave deposits reveal recurrent humid intervals in the Saharo-Arabian Desert over the last eight million years. Dripstones reveal: The Saharo-Arabian Desert experienced repeated wetter periods over the past eight million years. Life-friendly desert: Wetter conditions favoured the exchange of mammals between Africa and Eurasia.

Iceberg armadas and altered river courses caused parts of the northern hemisphere to cool rapidly on several occasions Abrupt climate changes: From the peak of the last ice age to the Holocene, the North Atlantic and neighboring regions cooled rapidly again and again, temporarily. Revealing model simulations: Between 20,000 and 13,000 years ago, ice masses breaking off from the ice sheets of the northern hemisphere enriched the North Atlantic with fresh water and weakened the Atlantic overturning circulation (Amoc), which transports heat from the tropics to the north.

The idea that dinosaurs were already in decline before an asteroid wiped most of them out 66 million years ago may be explained by a worsening fossil record from that time rather than a genuine dwindling of dinosaur species, suggests a new study led by UCL researchers. The study, published in  Current Biology , analysed the fossil record of North America in the 18 million years up to the asteroid impact at the end of the Cretaceous period (between 66 and 84 million years ago).

After the groundbreaking creation of the first bio-based handbag made from mycelium leather, the Microbiology research group at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) expands their research on mycelium-based materials into new product categories. Led by Prof. Eveline Peeters and Prof. Elise Vanden Elsacker, the team explores mycelium, the root structure of fungi, as viable alternative to animal and synthetic leather.

To the point Successful: Birds in the city are less likely to have brown plumage, and those with colorful plumage are more common. Differences between city and countryside: It is usually warmer in cities, there are fewer predators, but there is more artificial light and other background colors Advantages: Camouflage is not as important in the city because there are fewer predators than in nature.

Fast-moving underwater avalanches, known as turbidity currents, are responsible for transporting vast quantities of microplastics into the deep sea, according to new research published today. The findings, published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology , show that these powerful flows could be capable of traveling at speeds of up to eight meters per second, carrying plastic waste from the continental shelf to depths of more than 3,200 meters.

A hidden threat facing one of Australia's most iconic birds has been uncovered in a new study led by researchers from the University of Copenhagen and The Australian National University (ANU). The critically endangered regent honeyeater once numbered in the hundreds of thousands, but their population has dwindled to fewer than 300.

Missing species show human impact on biodiversity greater than thought A new global study, published yesterday in Nature , shows that in human-disturbed regions, many native plant species are missing from places where they could grow. Traditional methods of measuring biodiversity-such as simply counting species present-do not give a complete picture.