trees

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Report: More Than a Third of Tree Species Are in Trouble

More than 16K are at risk of extinction, according to Global Tree Assessment

(Newser) - If the Lorax is still speaking for the trees, he's going to have a lot to say about the International Union for Conservation of Nature's first Global Tree Assessment. The report found that almost 35% of the world's tree species are at risk of extinction. More than...

From One Ancient Seed, a Biblical Plant Has Sprung
From One Ancient
Seed, a Biblical
Plant Has Sprung
NEW STUDY

From One Ancient Seed, a Biblical Plant Has Sprung

Scientists say the plant that sprouted may have had a medicinal purpose in long-ago times

(Newser) - A seed unearthed in the '80s in a cave in Israel's Judean Desert has produced a tree that scientists say hails from biblical times—and that could boast medicinal powers mentioned in the Good Book itself.
  • The planting: According to research published last month in the Communications Biology
...

Living Near Trees May Improve Your Heart Health
Living Near Trees May
Improve Your Heart Health
NEW STUDY

Living Near Trees May Improve Your Heart Health

Planting them in city neighborhoods appears to help, new study suggests

(Newser) - A new study suggests a no-frills way to be healthier: Live near trees. That's the takeaway from a years-long study out of the University of Louisville, reports NBC News . Specifically, study participants who lived in "greened" areas of city neighborhoods saw a decrease in a blood marker for...

Wildfire Smoke Signals Some Trees to Hold Their Breath

Researchers document a unique reaction from pines when smoke fills the air

(Newser) - During wildfires, people are urged to stay inside with shut windows to avoid inhaling smoke. Surrounding trees don't have that option, of course, but a new study suggests that some species can protect themselves from dangerous air quality, too. Yale Environment 360 reports that a team of researchers out...

Researchers Unravel a Beech Tree Mystery
Researchers Unravel
a Beech Tree Mystery
NEW STUDY

Researchers Unravel a Beech Tree Mystery

Trees across Europe drop their seeds at the same time, and the solstice appears to be key

(Newser) - European beech trees pull off a remarkable feat that has fascinated scientists for some time, and according to Quanta Magazine , researchers have just made a big advance in understanding it. The study, published in Nature Plants , shines light into how trees across the entire continent synchronize so they are all...

At Felled Sycamore Gap Tree, an 'Astonishing' Sight

The long-awaited regrowth has appeared

(Newser) - Ten months after it was brought down by vandals , the UK's beloved Sycamore Gap tree is regenerating. Eight small shoots bearing leaves have sprouted from the base of the 200-year-old sycamore's stump, NPR reports. Though only about 1.5 inches long, each shoot has "the potential to...

Widow of Late LL Bean Chief Says Her Trees Were Poisoned

Lisa Gorman accuses Missouri couple of tainting oaks in Maine for better view at their summer home

(Newser) - Suspicious deaths in an idyllic seaside community and detective work that points to poison sound like themes from a classic murder mystery. But the victims in this Maine whodunnit were trees that stood in the way of a wealthy family's oceanfront view of Camden Harbor, allegedly felled by well-heeled...

2 More Arrested in Felling of England's Iconic Tree
2 Men Charged With
Cutting Down Famous Tree
UPDATED

2 Men Charged With Cutting Down Famous Tree

They were arrested in November in connection with felling of England's Sycamore Gap tree

(Newser) - Two men have been charged with cutting down the famous Sycamore Gap tree in northern England. Police said Tuesday that Daniel Graham, 38, and Adam Carruthers, 31, who were arrested and released on bail in November, have been charged with criminal damage to the iconic sycamore tree and Hadrian's...

Have We Gone Overboard on Trees?
Maybe We Should
Just Let Trees Be Trees
longform

Maybe We Should Just Let Trees Be Trees

'Guardian' explores the zeitgeisty principles of the 'wood-wide web' and the ensuing backlash

(Newser) - There's a movie in the works based on the popular memoir Finding the Mother Tree by forest ecologist Suzanne Simard, with Amy Adams in line to play the title role. But as Daniel Immerwahr writes in the Guardian , "it is rare for academic ideas to reach the Amy...

Trees Along Highways Don't Just Make the Drive Prettier

Study finds they can significantly reduce air pollution

(Newser) - It's arguably more pleasant to drive along a highway lined with trees and bushes versus one that lacks greenery. A new study finds the upside isn't just aesthetic. Georgia State University researchers report in a study published in PLoS One that vegetation along highways significantly reduces the air...

Felled Sycamore Gap Tree Yields Seedlings

That's in addition to 9 genetic copies

(Newser) - Though slashed from its base, the Sycamore Gap tree might still have a future, the BBC reports, as dozens of seeds taken from the tree have now sprouted. A national landmark, the centuries-old sycamore tree stood in a picturesque gap between hills in England's Northumberland National Park before it...

One Way to Save Struggling Trees: Help Them Migrate

Varied strategies in Pacific Northwest address changing environment

(Newser) - As native trees in the Pacific Northwest die off due to climate changes, the US Forest Service, the city of Portland, and citizen groups around Puget Sound are turning to a deceptively simple climate adaptation strategy called "assisted migration." As the world's climate warms, tree-growing ranges in...

Key Figure in the 'Plant Trees' Movement Has New Message

Ecologist Thomas Crowther says it's better to maintain existing forests than to plant new ones

(Newser) - At this month's environment COP28 summit, renowned ecologist Thomas Crowther addressed environmental officials from around the world and asked them to stop planting so many trees. Which is noteworthy given that Crowther himself is "at least partly" responsible for the worldwide push on that front in recent years,...

With Sale of This Tree, 'the Magic of Christmas Lives On'

'Humblest Christmas tree in the world' is 100-plus years old, just sold for $4.3K

(Newser) - If you've always had a soft spot for Charlie Brown-style Christmas trees , this story will warm the cockles. An auction for what's been deemed "the humblest Christmas tree in the world" has come to a close, though the final price tag was far from humble itself. The...

After Years of Research, Expert Advice: Burn California's Forests

Burning, thinning, or a combination of both found to make trees more resilient to wildfire, drought

(Newser) - The findings of a 20-year study on the health of California forests will come as no surprise to Native Americans, whose ancestors traditionally managed land through controlled fires . The study out of the University of California-Berkeley confirms that prescribed burning, the use of controlled fire to clear debris; restoration thinning,...

Buds Dormant for Centuries Save Redwoods After Fire
Redwoods Surprise Scientists
With a Survival Tactic
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Redwoods Surprise Scientists With a Survival Tactic

Decades-old reserves of carbon brought centuries-old buds to life

(Newser) - You don't survive up to 2,000 years without learning a trick or two, and ancient redwoods in California have revealed one of theirs to researchers. Some of the trees that were thought to have been damaged beyond repair during 2020 wildfires in Big Basin Redwoods State Park are...

Sycamore Gap Tree to Head to Secret Spot

It needs to be moved off Hadrian's wall

(Newser) - Since an act of vandalism took it down in late September, England's storied Sycamore Gap tree has lain where it fell. That will change on Thursday, when a crane will lift the 50-foot tree off of Hadrian's Wall so it can be put into storage—at a National...

Journalist Held by China Sees a Tree for First Time in Years

China's Ministry of State Security said Cheng Lei had served her sentence

(Newser) - After being held in China since her August 2020 arrest, journalist Cheng Lei is back home in Australia. The BBC reports she was "tried in secret" in China in March on national security charges, and China's Ministry of State Security on Wednesday said she'd pleaded guilty and...

There's Still Hope for Iconic Tree Felled in UK

The stump is healthy, but sycamore will take centuries to regrow to former size, expert say

(Newser) - The British are mourning one of the country's most famous trees, a centuries-old sycamore that was felled Wednesday night in what authorities have described as an appalling act of vandalism. But the Sycamore Gap tree, which grew in a gap between hills along Hadrian's Wall in northern England,...

A Nation Grieves Over Felling of Iconic Tree
16-Year-Old Arrested
After Felling of Iconic Tree
UPDATED

16-Year-Old Arrested After Felling of Iconic Tree

Sycamore Gap tree in Northumberland, England, is cut down, and a teen is in custody

(Newser) - Authorities in northern England have arrested a 16-year-old boy who is accused of cutting down a world-famous tree, reports the BBC . The unidentified teen is being held on suspicion of criminal damage over the felling of the tree near Hadrian's Wall, a landmark from the Roman Empire, per the...

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