Biodiversity

In what is described as the first thorough study to track natural forest expansion, researchers have found that nearly 59 million hectares of forest has naturally regrown since 2000, an area larger than mainland France.

When natural ocean shoreline is replaced by an artificial seawall, a lot of precious intertidal habitat is lost. A new study, however, indicates that by covering those walls with specially designed tiles, a substitute habitat can be created.

A new study has found that climate change is raising nighttime temperatures across the globe faster than daytime temperatures, which could have “significant implications” for the environment, the authors warn.

Drawing on extensive analysis of species populations around the world, a new report from the WWF reveals an average decline of 68 percent in vertebrate species numbers between 1970 and 2016, a decline the authors describe as "catastrophic."

The natural world is a huge source of life-saving drugs and that extends to the organisms that inhabit the seas, with new research describing how a molecule from a sea sponge proved capable of preventing cervical cancer cell growth in the lab.

The XPrize foundation has today launched a new US$10 million competition geared towards preserving the world's rainforests, a process that begins with building new technologies to help us better appreciate what they have to offer.

Earth stands to lose a massive 25 percent of its biodiversity, warned UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay as she launched a Global Assessment study to more than 130 government delegations in Paris. “No one will be able to claim that they did not know,” she said.

​​In the face of climate change, reindeer are resorting to eating kelp seaweed, according to new research. The creatures in question are Svalbard reindeer, a sub-species of wild reindeer.

Drawing on nature to cure ailments stretches back thousands of years, but with our destruction of the environment continuing apace, some are concerned how much of it we’ll have to depend on in the future.

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has released its latest Living Planet Report, an assessment of the health of our planet, and paints a rather grim picture of the damage caused by humanity’s growing footprint on Earth.

​Two new complimentary studies have utilized CRISPR gene editing technology to explore how specific genes affect wing pattern variation in butterflies. By selectively knocking out single genes and observing the effects, scientists have uncovered a key insight into how broad biodiversity can evolve.

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is home to the world's largest seed collection, safeguarding important crops for future generations. But record global temperatures have seen meltwater make its way inside, prompting new measures to fortify the facility in the face of climate change.​