Always put eggs in two baskets? The “wisdom” of a seed-dimorphic aster to cope with environmental uncertainty.

Qian Gan (left) and Huixuan Liao (right) (photo credit: Zihao Chen) Huixuan Liao and Qian Gan, Sun Yat-sen University School of Life Sciences, discuss their article: ‘Spatiotemporal interaction of risk-spreading strategies for a seed-dimorphic plant’ Background Maternal modification of offspring stress tolerance is a ubiquitous phenomenon in plant and animal kingdoms that affects population persistence […]

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Editor’s Choice (112:05): Mediterranean ecosystems at risk of crossing tipping point with warming & fire beyond Holocene levels

The editor’s choice for our May issue is ‘Simulating past and future fire impacts on Mediterranean ecosystems‘, by Christoph Schwörer et al. Here, Associate Editor Anping Chen discusses the importance of this research: Characterized by a distinct climate with hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters, the Mediterranean region is also often associated with frequent and […]

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Does incorporating complexity into coastal engineering increase fish diversity along urban shorelines? – The Applied Ecologist

Authors of a recently published research article explain how, to enhance fish diversity, it is important to provide three-dimensional habitat architecture that incorporates a wide range of microhabitat sizes and types.  Habitat complexity Habitat complexity is a key driver of marine fish diversity and essential for determining structure and function of fish communities. Many fishes […]

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United States Announces Additional Humanitarian Support for Flood-Affected Areas of Brazil

The United States, through USAID, intends to provide $800,000 in humanitarian assistance to meet the immediate needs of those affected by devastating floods in Brazil’s southern Rio Grande do Sul state. This brings the total USAID humanitarian assistance in response to the recent floods in Brazil to $1 million. Widespread flooding and landslides resulting from […]

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Commission takes stock of how key pieces of climate legislation are operating

The Commission has today published reports on the operation of several pieces of climate legislation: the European Climate Law; the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) Directive; the Effort Sharing Regulation; and the Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) Regulation. These reports are required under the legislation, to provide an overview of how the […]

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Climate health risks posed by floods, droughts and water quality call for urgent action

Press releasePublished 15 May 2024 ImageCesare Barillà, Climate Change PIX /EEA Climate change is worsening floods, droughts and is reducing water quality, posing an increasing threat to our health, according to a European Environment Agency (EEA) report published today. Fast-tracking implementation and better coordination of efforts by governments, water authorities and healthcare providers are urgently […]

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Mission Adaptation: Taking stock of progress and promoting new opportunities

New report showcases progress and priorities Ahead of the Third Forum of the Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change on 23 May 2024, a new report reveals the progress and priorities for the Mission in its action to tackle climate change. The Activity Report presents success stories, data, insights and innovative Mission Projects that aim […]

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Calm before the storm? – The Applied Ecologist

In this week’s blog post, Jostein Gohli and authors discuss their recent research which explores how climatic and management-related factors influence bark beetle population sizes in boreal forests. The European spruce bark beetle The European spruce bark beetle (Ips typographus) is a notorious tree-killer in spruce-dominated forests. The last 5-10 years it has caused enormous […]

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Commission publishes new guide to designing better land-use policies

Our use and management of land is crucial for addressing the global challenge of climate change, both because it functions as a carbon sink that we need to strengthen and as a source of emissions that must be reduced. The EU 27’s net land sink declined by 35% between 2010 and 2021. On 15 May, […]

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