#living-ecosystems

#living-ecosystems

The transformation of Pacheco Marsh from a scarred dumping ground into a pristine wetland represents a significant achievement in environmental restoration, showcasing the potential for nature to reclaim industrial sites.

"We started Wild Cities because urban nature must be restored for people, for wildlife, and for the future. A coalition model lets us work at the scale the challenge demands, celebrating communities and helping people and ecosystems become more connected and resilient."

Fungi are some of the most important things in the world. They feed 90% of terrestrial plants. Without them, there is no life on the Earth.

A study by researchers at the University of California Berkeley has found that ethanol is surprisingly common in floral nectar, the sugary fuel that keeps pollinators alive. Yeast feeding on those sugars produces trace amounts of alcohol, and in this study, it showed up in 26 of the 29 plant species sampled.

Researchers have known since at least 2008 that wildfires can create chromium-6, but a new study, published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology in November, is the first to report details such as how long it might persist in groundwater.

Aquaponics systems utilize one gallon of water to produce a kilogram of leafy greens, compared to over 30 gallons in traditional farming, showcasing remarkable efficiency.

Around a third of UK gardeners use pesticides, and our studies found that house sparrow numbers, for example, were nearly 40% lower in gardens where the pesticide metaldehyde was used. By reducing pesticide use, you can actively encourage birds back into your outdoor spaces, as they rely on invertebrates such as slugs and snails as natural prey.

Peat bogs provide huge value to humans and the environment. When healthy, they store twice as much carbon as all the world's forests, reducing global emissions.

If you enter the amounts of different types of plastic that you clean up into the Wildlife Impact Calculator, it will tell you how many animal lives would have been at risk, had those items made their way into the ocean and been ingested.

Climate breakdown is occurring more rapidly with the heating rate almost doubling, according to research that excludes the effect of natural factors behind the latest scorching temperatures. It found global heating accelerated from a steady rate of less than 0.2C per decade between 1970 and 2015 to about 0.35C per decade over the past 10 years.

Waterways across Contra Costa County are increasingly threatened by invasive plant species that engulf canals and drains, decreasing biodiversity and reducing safe habitats for wildlife. In an effort to address and restore the environment, the Contra Costa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District is working to reverse that trend. The district hosted its recent 12th annual Giving Natives a Chance event at the Clayton Valley Drain near Concord's Hillcrest Community Park, inviting volunteers from across the county to plant native species around waterways and drains.