🌱 Environment Press Releases

Britain’s hazel dormice are getting lighter in spring but fatter in autumn as our climate changes, new research suggests. The study used 30 years of data on the weight of dormice at different times of year. In May and June, after hibernation, average weight has declined over time. This could reflect the fact that smaller individuals have an advantage in warmer temperatures, as small bodies lose heat faster. Alternatively, it could be because dormice are waking more frequently during hibernation and those that don’t die are lighter by spring as a ...

A study published in The Journal of Wildlife Management found varying risks to species due to mercury pollution across the United States’ National Wildlife Refuge System, the world’s largest network of lands and waters conserved specifically for fish, wildlife, and their habitats. For the study, investigators analyzed mercury concentrations in 1,356 dragonfly larvae collected from 30 refuges located throughout the United States between 2021 and 2023. Dragonfly mercury concentrations at different refuges spanned the entire range observed in other protected lands (<3 to >2,200 ng/g dry weight). Also, 80% of ...

EDMONTON, Alta. — To protect the vulnerable biodiversity of the Arctic, researchers from the University of Alberta and San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance (SDZWA) have identified a new conservation strategy in western Hudson Bay: using polar bears as an "umbrella species" to guide where protection is needed most. Establishing boundaries for marine protection is often difficult due to a lack of data on where marine life gathers. Polar bears offer a solution: by analyzing two decades of tracking data from 355 bears, a new study ...

With over a fifth of the global population, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) represents a massive piece of the international climate puzzle. Figuring out how these eight nations can expand their economies without severely degrading the atmosphere is an urgent, complex challenge. Now, an in-depth econometric analysis provides a concrete, data-backed roadmap for balancing regional wealth with environmental health. Authored by corresponding researcher Imran Khan, who bridges the Department of Economics at The University of Haripur in Pakistan and the School of Economics and Management at China University of Mining and Technology in China, this ...

A new study reveals that converting agricultural waste into biochar could significantly reduce emissions of nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas, from forest soils. The findings offer a promising strategy for climate-smart land management in rapidly growing bamboo ecosystems. “Transforming crop residues into biochar can shift soils from being a source of greenhouse gases to a potential climate solution,” said the study’s corresponding author. “Our results highlight how small changes in soil management can have large environmental benefits.” Nitrous oxide, or N2O, is a powerful greenhouse gas with ...

Across much of the Rocky Mountain West, a winter of record-breaking high temperatures and historically low snowfall has forced people to think about having less water this spring. But it could also mean more severe wildfires this summer, according to new research from Western Colorado University. In a paper published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, researchers from Western’s Clark School of Environment and Sustainability found that declining snowpack not only extends the fire season but also increases the severity of forest fires. Analyzing 36 years of snowpack and wildfire data across forests in the western United States, the researchers identified two ...

The resource waste and ecological pressure caused by waste polymeric materials have made exploring sustainable development pathways a global consensus. In a opinion article titled “Pathways Toward the Sustainable Development of Polymeric Materials” published in Engineering, Prof. Yu-Zhong Wang from Sichuan University systematically outlines multiple routes for the green development of polymeric materials and provides strategic recommendations for establishing a circular system covering the entire material lifecycle. The article discusses the topic from two dimensions: resources and the ...

Most people have experienced it: when you're moving, engaged, and focused, pain fades into the background, then flares when you're immobilized with nothing to do. That isn't imagination; it's biology. A comprehensive review published in Frontiers in Animal Science shows that barren captive housing removes exactly those pain-dampening inputs — movement, exploration, social contact — while triggering stress-driven mechanisms that amplify pain. Drawing on decades of evidence from neuroscience, immunology, veterinary medicine, and animal welfare ...

Astronomers have observed two planets forming in the disc around a young star named WISPIT 2. Having previously detected one planet, the team have now employed European Southern Observatory (ESO) telescopes to confirm the presence of another. These observations, and the unique structure of the disc around the star, indicate that the WISPIT 2 system could resemble a young Solar System. “WISPIT 2 is the best look into our own past that we have to date,” says Chloe Lawlor, PhD student at the University of Galway, Ireland, and lead author of the study published today in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.   The ...

Barcelona, March 24th, 2026-. According to a study published in the journal Atmospheric Environment: X, the implementation of the low emission zone (LEZ) in the Barcelona metropolitan area significantly reduced concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) between 2020 and 2022. However, it had a more limited effect on particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), which is more closely related to pollution sources other than traffic. The results indicate that the LEZ contributes to improving air quality, although additional measures are needed to mitigate air ...

Maize, rice and cassava drive more deforestation than major export-oriented crops like cocoa, coffee, and rubber. This has been shown by researchers from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, in the most comprehensive global survey of how different commodities are causing deforestation. The study confirms the major impact of meat production, but reveals several overlooked drivers of deforestation. Food production is the main cause of deforestation in the world, but until now there has not been any detailed mapping of which crops affect deforestation in which countries. Chandrakant Singh, researcher ...

New satellite driven model provides “more realistic and reliable” predictions of sand and dust storm emissions Cardiff-led team tackles decades-long problem of overestimating when and where sediment transport occurs   The technology used to predict sand and dust storm (SDS) severity has for decades systematically over-estimated when and where sediment is transported across the Earth’s surface, a new study shows. Existing models, which draw on satellite, surface, Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) and weather data, make emission predictions and underpin early warning systems to try and reduce the health and climate impacts of SDS events globally. However, ...

Australia has almost doubled the size of its national parks and reserves since 2010, but an analysis shows the expansion has not been where it’s needed to protect threatened species and ecosystems. The study led by Professor James Watson at The University of Queensland found the amount of land gazetted for protection jumped from 12.8 per cent of the country to 22.3 per cent between 2010 and 2022. Professor Watson said while the headline numbers were important to recognise, there was a critical problem underneath. “Despite thousands of square kilometres ...

MADISON — Cycles in the growth and decay of Antarctica’s ice sheets once shaped marine biological productivity thousands of miles away in the subtropical ocean, according to new research led by scientists at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. The study, recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that the obliquity cycle — a 40,000-year astronomical cycle tied to changes in Earth’s axial tilt — influenced ocean productivity in subtropical latitudes about 34 million years ago, when the Antarctic ice sheet was ...

This winter was one of the warmest on record across the West; as a result, many snowy, alpine areas have seen bouts of winter rainfall where there would ordinarily only be snow. These unusual weather patterns have contributed to an abysmal ski season, but they can also set the stage for dangerous avalanches. At temperatures close to freezing, precipitation can fall as rain but freeze when it hits the snow, forming an icy crust. Snow that accumulates on top of that crust is unstable and prone to abrupt slides, causing an avalanche that can close down a major highway in moments, endanger backcountry ...

Campo Grande, Brazil — The 15th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) opens here today amid new reports that almost half (49%) of all CMS-listed species have decreasing population trends, and nearly one in four are threatened with extinction.  The State of the World's Migratory Species: Interim Report (2026) paints a stark picture of animals under pressure from a combination of overexploitation, habitat destruction, pollution, climate change, and invasive species.  Over 2,000 participants ...

Researchers from ETH Zurich and the University of Tasmania have found that the limiting factor in plant water uptake is not the plant's own physiology but the physics of water movement through soil pores. The finding, published in Science, explains why breeding programs aimed at making drought-resistant crops through increased cellular solute concentrations have consistently failed.

Researchers at Hawaii Pacific University tested asphalt pavement made with recycled fishing nets and residential plastic waste on an Oahu road for 11 months. Microplastic shedding was comparable to standard polymer-modified asphalt, and tire wear dominated the polymer signal in road dust.

Researchers created a calcium-modified biochar from corn straw and eggshells that adsorbs up to 290 mg of phosphorus per gram. The study maps how molecular structure determines whether phosphorus binds through chemical precipitation or hydrogen bonding, offering a path to precision nutrient management.

Using Sentinel-1 radar satellites, researchers tracked melt patterns across nearly all of Alaska's glaciers from 2016 to 2024. Each 1 degree Celsius rise in summer temperature added three weeks of melt. A 2019 heat wave drove snowlines 350 feet higher than normal, two months ahead of schedule.

Sixteen years of road surveys across central South Africa reveal that half of 26 raptor and large terrestrial bird species have declined significantly, with the Secretarybird down 68%. Only three species showed clear increases, raising urgent conservation questions.

Primary boreal forests in Sweden store 72% more carbon than managed secondary forests across all pools combined. The gap, driven largely by massive soil carbon reserves, is 2.7 to 8 times greater than earlier estimates, suggesting climate models may seriously overvalue forest-based bioenergy.

Researchers from Stanford and Lund University measured carbon in over 200 Swedish forest plots and found old-growth forests store 72% more carbon than managed replacements. The soil beneath undisturbed forests alone contains more carbon than managed forests do across all compartments combined.

Swedish researchers spent nearly ten years mapping the nation's old-growth forests and found they store 83% more carbon than managed forests. The soil alone in primary forests holds as much carbon as everything in managed forests combined, trees, dead wood, and soil included.

A lactic acid bacterium isolated from kimchi retained 57% nanoplastic adsorption efficiency under simulated gut conditions, compared to just 3% for a reference strain. In germ-free mice, it more than doubled the nanoplastics detected in feces, suggesting enhanced excretion.