Ecosystems
The Cerrado’s Secret Carbon Stores at Risk
Newly revealed peatlands in the Cerrado hold millennia of carbon, but shifting water and climate regimes could turn them from allies into threats.
Ecosystems
From Pot Plant to Cliff Invader
A garden plant called Kalanchoe × houghtonii is spreading along Mediterranean coasts and may be pushing out native plants that normally grow there.
Ecosystems
The Living Seed Banks of the Alps
Fourteen botanical gardens across the Alps collectively grow a third of the region's flora, including species found in no seed bank anywhere.
Ecosystems
The Safest Place in the Pyrenees Is a Cliff Face
Century-old photographs reveal that a Spanish national park's most treacherous terrain is doing more for rare plants than a hundred years of protection.
Ecosystems
The Ecological Experiment 2000 Years in the Making
Thousands of megalithic jars in Laos were carved for burial rites. Two millennia later, they're miniature ecosystems, and ecologists have started taking notes.
Ecosystems
What Our Footsteps Leave Behind: the Silent Impact of Tourist Trails on Lichens and Bryophytes
Trails may seem small and harmless amid the vastness of national parks, but new evidence suggests that their ecological impact may be far greater than it appears.
Ecosystems
Sowing for a Warmer Britain: Are Wildflower Seeds Climate-Ready?
A new study reveals that most UK wildflower seeds can handle rising temperatures, but a few key species may struggle to germinate in the Britain of tomorrow.
Ecosystems
Eau De Fourmi Mourante: A Bizarre Floral Fragrance To Attract the Right Lover
When it comes to flower scents, it’s not always roses and rainbows. It can be anything from sweaty feet to the chemical cries of suffering bugs, as recently shown by science.
Ecosystems
Climate Change Threatens Alpine Plants Before They Ever Get the Chance to Grow
New experiments in the Australian Alps reveal how warming, drought and fire quietly undermine plant survival.
Ecosystems
Rising From the Ashes with the Sunbirds
A study from South Africa reveals that plants that flower after fires are not taking a gamble but are relying on an unexpectedly resilient alliance with sunbirds.
Ecosystems
The Buzz Behind Your Favourite Morning Aroma
Nothing like the smell of fresh coffee in the morning. According to science, we might want to thank the bees for it.
Ecosystems
When an invader vanishes, so does an ecosystem’s winter defences
A pretty riverside invader does its worst damage after it dies, destabilising riverbanks when floods hit hardest.