US Forest Services announces plan to save at risk forests

US Forest Service chief Gail Kimbell announced $50 million in grants to permanently protect 24 working forests across 21 States, as part of the  Forest Legacy Program, a USDA press release said.
The programme is designed to permanently protects important private forestland threatened by conversion.
“The Forest Legacy Program conserves open space, which allows us to respond [...]

Top five invasive threats to US southern forests

Apologies that this post refers to information issued in a press release by the US Forest Service back in January, but it contains interesting data and links that could be of use to people – Take Cover team.
US Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS) ecologist Jim Miller, considered to be one of the foremost authorities [...]

US shade trees cut bills and emissions

Shade trees on the west and south sides of a house in California can reduce a homeowners’ energy bills by about $25, a study has concluded.
The survey, involving 460 homes in the Sacramento area, is described as the “first large-scale study to use utility billing data to show that trees can reduce energy consumption”.
“Everyone knows [...]

Pine beetles ‘affecting Rockies air quality and climate’

When pine bark beetles kill trees, scientists believe they may also alter local weather patterns and air quality, reports the Environmental News Service (ENS).
For the next four years, researchers will study forests from southern Wyoming to northern New Mexico to determine the precise relationship between the beetles, the trees they kill and the atmosphere.
A new [...]

Autumn watch on both sides of the Atlantic

Tree lovers on both sides of the Atlantic are able to make sure that they do not miss out on the colourful delights of autumn, thanks to the websites of the US Forest Service and the UK Forestry Commission.
The US Forest Service is offering people a free “hotline”,  which is an automated phone service that [...]

Old forests ‘continue to capture plenty of carbon’

Planting a new tree may be a less effective way to sequester carbon than saving an old tree from the axe, writes nature.com’s Emma Marris.
A study in the journal Nature shows that old forests continue to accumulate carbon at a much greater rate than researchers had previously thought, making them more important as carbon sinks [...]

21-month tree protest ends at US university

A 21-month occupation of an oak grove at the University of California at Berkeley, US, has ended peacefully, but not without some dispute, as the remaining “tree-sitter” protesters descended from their perch, writes AP staff writer MIchelle Locke.
The protesters, who have attracted a considerable amount of media coverage in the US, came down from the [...]

Ancient trees recorded in US mines

Spectacular fossil forests have been found in the coal mines of Illinois by a US-UK team of researchers, writes BBC News science reporter Jonathan Amos.

The group reported one discovery last year, but has since identified a further five examples.
The ancient vegetation – now turned to rock – is visible in the ceilings of mines covering [...]

Climate change ‘killing California’s trees’

Warmer temperatures and longer dry spells have killed thousands of trees and shrubs in a Southern California mountain range, US research shows.
A study by scientists at the University of California, Irvine also found that the shift in climate had pushed the plants’ habitat an average of 65 metres (213ft) up the mountain over the [...]

Trees ‘can cut emissions from poultry farms’

Planting just three rows of trees around poultry farms can cut nuisance emissions of dust, ammonia, and odours from poultry houses and help reduce complaints from neighbouring properties, US researchers suggest.
A Science Daily article quotes George Malone from the University of Delaware as saying the tree barrier can cut some of the emissions by almost [...]