Earth & Environment
Triharmony/Trilemma of Water Assets in tropical peatland
In tropical peatland, the three key elements Water, Carbon, and Nutrients are interrelated, interconnected, and interact. When these elements are in balance, a Triharmony state arises. Conversely, a Trilemma state occurs when these elements are out of balance. Here, we focus on Water Assets in the context of tropical peatland. To achieve Triharmony, scientists at Sumitomo Forestry Co, Ltd, and […]
Triharmony/Trilemma of Nutrients Assets in tropical peatland
Peatland soils and water are characterised by low nutrient concentrations. Despite this, biomass in native tropical peatlands is abundant and has adequate nutrients. At Hokkaido University, Sumitomo Forestry Co Ltd, Japan, and BRIN, Indonesia, scientists studying nutrient cycling in peatlands have developed an innovative nutrients management system for agriculture. Their approach – AeroHydro culture – involves cultivation using high groundwater […]
Triharmony/Trilemma of Carbon Assets in tropical peatland
Tropical peatlands provide globally important reservoirs of water and carbon, and the cycles of these two elements are intricately connected. At Hokkaido University, Sumitomo Forestry Co, Ltd, Japan, and BRIN, Indonesia, scientists have developed a model for mapping carbon emissions from tropical peatlands. Their integrated monitoring, reporting, and verifying (iMRV) system measures dynamic changes in water and carbon cycles, biomass […]
Exiguobacterium degradation of polystyrene: Enlisting bacteria in the war against plastic
Polystyrene is a chemically stable recalcitrant plastic that pollutes many natural environments. Unfortunately, few mechanisms can break down this man-made polymer into its naturally occurring components. Research into the polystyrene-digesting capabilities of the bacteria genus Exiguobacterium sp RIT 594 by Dr André Hudson and his team at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, USA, has uncovered the specific […]
Atmospheric species and their effect on solar radiation and our health
Our atmosphere is a giant chemical reactor that helps keep us safe from the potentially damaging and warming effects of solar radiation. It consists of a hugely complex mixture of atmospheric liquids, gases, and particles with constantly varying compositions. Professor Jianhui Bai at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Professor Rui Chen at the Beijing Academy of Science and Technology […]
Do bees farm microbes? Rethinking what it is to be a bee
Bees have not been eating what we thought they were. The work of Dr Prarthana Dharampal and Dr Shawn Steffan, University of Wisconsin, USA, shows bees are not strict vegetarians requiring just pollen and nectar for food. Larval bee health is also reliant on eating the microbes that are feeding on the pollen supplies. The bee larvae are further up […]
Phytoremediation: Using native vegetation to stabilise heavy metal contaminants at polluted sites
Elevated concentrations of heavy metals at polluted sites represent serious human health hazards and environmental threats. Persistent metal pollution is hard to remedy but one possible and effective method is phytoremediation, using plants to stabilise the metal pollution and ameliorate the contaminated soil properties. Across 20 years of research, Drs Madeleine Günthardt-Goerg and Pierre Vollenweider of the Swiss Federal Institute […]
Fieldlogy Science: A new transdisciplinary science for Earth’s regeneration
Fieldlogy, a new transdisciplinary science for the biosphere and geosphere, draws on ecological, environmental, and economic fields. The approach incorporates mutual interactions, cause-and-effect sequences, feedback systems, self-organising, fusion systems, and multiplicity. It aims to enhance natural capital through the application of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) rather than Industrial Technology-based Solutions (ITbS). ITbS cannot regenerate Earth’s systems due their huge cost and […]
Transdisciplinary field science based on Land-Surface Management (LSM)
Land-Surface Management (LSM) technology, which is based on transdisciplinary field science, offers a solution for ‘Earth Regeneration’. The general principle behind LSM technology aims to control and manage three basic elements of our land surface – water, oxygen, and nutrients – even in different eco-types such wetland or dryland. On a global scale, there are large areas of inferior soil […]
Altitude range shift of the Spanish Fir under climate change
In response to a changing climate, organisms must adapt or migrate to more suitable habitats where the environmental conditions are more favourable. Dr Antonio González-Hernández and his colleagues Dr Diego Nieto-Lugilde, Dr Julio Peñas de Giles, and Professor Francisca Alba-Sánchez, at the universities of Granada and Córdoba, Spain, studied the difference in distribution between two life stages of the Spanish […]