Tree Huggers

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cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/24915795

Clear-cutting forests doesn’t just raise flood risk — it can supercharge it. UBC researchers found that in certain watersheds, floods became up to 18 times more frequent and over twice as severe after clear-cutting, with these effects lasting more than four decades. The surprise? Terrain details like which direction a slope faces played a huge role in flood behavior. Conventional models miss these dynamics, which could mean we've been underestimating the danger for decades — especially as climate change accelerates extreme weather.

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cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/25024610

Researchers have conducted the world's biggest ever bird survey, recording 971 different species living in forests and cattle pastures across the South American country of Colombia. This represents almost 10% of the world's birds.

archived (Wayback Machine):

• phys.org article
• research cited

A Meadowview, Virginia, research center spearheads the effort, and more than a dozen experimental, large-plot plantings on state public lands have not only survived but reached maturity. Lesesne State Forest in Nelson County, for instance, holds about thirty acres of natural, second-growth woods anchored by seventy-foot-tall American chestnut trees that are more than sixty years old—and produce delicious wild nuts that few living people beyond foresters and researchers have ever tasted.

“We don’t go out of our way to advertise this fact,” says Scrivani, “but the public can now hike in and walk through natural groves of healthy [American chestnut trees] and forage for nuts for the first time in nearly a century.”

For centuries, the Native people of North America used controlled burns to manage the continent's forests. In an e360 interview, ecologist Loris Daniels talks about the long history of Indigenous burning and why the practice must be restored to protect against catastrophic fires.

• A new and alarming pattern of destruction is emerging in the rainforest, challenging Brazilian authorities ahead of COP30.
• After plunging in 2023 and 2024, deforestation in the Amazon surged 92% in May and is up 27% in 2025, half of it in recently burned land — an all-time high.
• The biome’s increased susceptibility to fire makes it a more attractive and less risky method for criminals seeking illegal deforestation, according to experts.
• This dramatic increase in forest loss presents a major challenge for Brazil’s government, which aims to lead conservation talks, ahead of COP30, in November.

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• The bicolored waterberry (Syzygium guineense subsp. barotsense) is a dominant tree along the Kafue and other major Zambian rivers, where it plays a vital structural and ecological role.
• Though capable of self-pollination, the tree’s flowers attract bees, birds and moths, creating vibrant micro-ecosystems in its canopy.
• While not currently threatened, riparian clearing poses local risks, and the trees’ value to pollinators may offer a path to conservation.

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• Tropical forest plant roots have not received as much research attention as above ground vegetation. This knowledge gap affects our understanding of how rainforests adapt to change, including their ability to capture and store atmospheric carbon.
• An emerging field of research is looking at how root systems respond to global change. New evidence dramatically underlines the outsized importance of tropical forests in the global carbon cycle. Tropical forests represent one of the world’s largest carbon sinks, largely thanks to plant roots which add carbon to soils.
• Despite the challenge of studying tiny roots hidden underground, researchers are uncovering important insights. Some tropical forests send roots deeper into the soil under dry conditions, possibly seeking moisture, which may aid in drought tolerance. Others seem unable to do this, making them more vulnerable to climate change.
• Recent plant root studies are confirming the immense stress tropical rainforests are under, with conditions changing faster than roots below ground can adapt. Knowing more precisely which forests can, and can’t, tolerate escalating climate change and other stressors could better inform management and conservation decisions.

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cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/24626684

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Anastassia Makarieva has also written more on this topic.

For information on syntropic practices for building up a forest ecosystem, see the helpful resources here.

Veganic permaculture food forests using syntropic methods can provide individual and community food security and sovereignty while simultaneously restoring landscapes and sparing the remaining forest from animal agriculture.

In the Amazon especially, some people are already reforesting with fruit trees and other beneficial vegetation, and they invite others to join in the effort.

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/24584255

• Of the more than 4,000 known tree species found only in Mesoamerica, nearly half are threatened with extinction, according a new assessment.
• Agriculture emerges as the primary threat across the region from both small- and large-scale farming, while logging represents the second major threat in five countries.
• While 72% of threatened tree species occur within protected areas, only 16% of endemic threatened species have recorded conservation actions, and just 18% are protected in botanical collections, highlighting significant gaps in active conservation efforts.
• With 515 threatened tree species shared between countries, researchers emphasize the need for international collaboration and incorporating native threatened species into large-scale tree-planting efforts rather than focusing solely on fast-growing nonnative species.

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Animal agriculture is the leading cause of both deforestation and species extinction.

• Communities in the Amazon reported severe cuts of up to 80% of Brazil nut crops, with some territories collecting “not even a single nut.”
• The nut tree, which can live up to 800 years, is crucial for forest economies and ecosystems, but is increasingly vulnerable to extreme climate events, such as the historic droughts of 2023 and 2024.
• Sold worldwide, the Brazil nut’s price soared fourfold, prompting experts to warn of market instability if buyers abandon it, urging recognition of their ecological value and continued inclusion in product lines.

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“We need to place communities at the center of this conservation process and understand that it is through their empowerment … that they become protagonists in the conservation and development of the Amazon, because in fact they already are,”

As governments and corporations scramble to meet climate pledges, the search for reliable and scalable carbon removal strategies has turned increasingly toward forests. But while tree planting captures the public imagination, a new study suggests a simpler, less costly strategy may deliver better results: Protecting young secondary forests already on the landscape.

archived (Wayback Machine):

• Mongabay article
• research cited

• Papua New Guinea is a global hotspot of avian biodiversity, home to spectacular and behaviorally complex bird species that occur nowhere else on the planet.
• A new study shows that forest fragmentation reduces unique forest-specialist birds, but boosts generalist species like pigeons, sunbirds and bulbuls.
• Birds suffered greater declines in habitats cut off from the surrounding landscape, compared to degraded habitats that remained connected to nearby intact forests.
• The shift in the bird community in degraded and isolated habitats undermines ecosystem stability and resilience, as birds that once performed vital pollination, seed dispersal and insect control services are lost.

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• Rubber tapping in the forest was once the main Amazonian economic activity, and now an Indigenous group is bringing it back.
• Partnering with Brazilian organizations, Indigenous Gavião communities find they can simultaneously protect the forest and its cultural heritage while boosting their own livelihoods through the wild rubber trade.
• The initiative is part of a broader Indigenous-led bioeconomy movement in the Amazon that attracts younger generations by combining traditional practices with technical training and earning opportunities.
• Despite promising results, challenges such as drought and limited private sector engagement highlight the need for increased investment to scale up forest-based alternatives.

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cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/24330194

A recent academic review argues that up to 83% of ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi species, which form partnerships with trees, may be unknown to science.

This ignorance has important implications.

archived (Wayback Machine):

• phys.org article
• research cited

Another reason to include a variety of native species in your reforestation efforts!

• Brown spider monkeys (Ateles hybridus) are some of the world’s most threatened primates, as deforestation has razed about 85% of their habitat in Colombia.
• With monkey populations living in patches of forests, conservationists in the Middle Magdalena region feared that low genetic variation could lead to a further collapse of the species, so they started creating biological corridors connecting forest fragments.
• The project currently maintains 15 ecological corridors, with plans to create six more. Researchers work with landowners to create private conservation areas, leveraging the benefits of forest restoration for agriculture and ecosystems in general.

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• Río San Juan Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Nicaragua has suffered a wave of deforestation in recent years, fueled by land deals that allow settlers to clear the rainforest for farming, mining and cattle ranching.
• Without government support, Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities have patrolled the forests on their own but are overwhelmed by the number of people settling in the area.
• Some residents have crossed the border into Costa Rica due to security concerns.
• Recently, the government also authorized more dredging on the San Juan River, despite losing a previous case about dredging at the International Court of Justice.

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/32029789

All Amazonian countries are trying to reduce deforestation. That is wonderful, but then what to do to combat organised crime? They control a $280bn business – drug trafficking, wildlife trafficking, people trafficking, illegal logging, illegal gold mining, illegal land grabbing. It is all connected. And these gangs are at war with the governments. That’s one of the main reasons I’m becoming concerned because I know reducing deforestation is doable, so is forestry restoration. But how to combat organised crime?

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• A resolution issued by Peru’s Ministry of Agrarian Development and Irrigation (MIDAGRI) aims to boost the sustainable development of palm oil production in the country.
• Critics argue that it will lead to increased deforestation and that Indigenous organizations were excluded from the regulation’s drafting process.
• Oil palm is cultivated to obtain palm oil, which is used as a raw material in beauty products, toiletries, food and biodiesel.
• The regulation adds to at least two other recent measures by the Peruvian government with potential environmental impacts.

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Reforestation is critically necessary more than ever before, and it is worth doing right. It is important to exercise caution when introducing foreign species to an area and to prioritise native species as much as reasonably possible. That said, this article is overly negative, and I'd like to give a more balanced perspective.

The downsides of introducing Neltuma juliflora to Kenya:

• It grows into waterways and slows their flow, creating breeding grounds for mosquitoes (parasites).
• It occupies land where native tree species could have otherwise been planted, and it is difficult to replace with native species once it is established.
• It makes life even more unpleasant for large domesticated herbivores due to its sharp thorns and its tasty fruits which are not suitable for their physiology.*

The benefits of introducing Neltuma juliflora to Kenya:

• It grows into waterways and slows their flow, giving water more time to penetrate into the soil which its deep roots help to loosen.
• It forms a symbiotic relationship with nitrogen-fixing microbes, enriching the soil with its fallen nitrogen-rich leaves, which it sheds throughout the dry season.
• It provides canopy cover and moisture retention in what was "a treeless land" where "grass covered every inch" prior to its introduction, thereby helping to protect a vulnerable landscape from desertification.
• It provides a nutritious food for local humans and other animals in times of scarcity. The fruit is not something for a frugivorous primate to eat out of hand in large quantity, but some animals can and do eat it as-is. For humans, it can be processed into a flour (without the toxic seeds) that can then be added to meals.
• It makes life more difficult for the herders and ranchers who exploit other beings and degrade the landscape for profit, thereby reducing the incentive to commit such violence.

Overall, the plant's introduction was a blunder, but the results are mixed, not entirely a "nightmare" as the article claims. Trees native to the region, or at least to eastern Africa's dry lands more broadly, would have made much more sense to plant instead. Introducing non-native species when reforesting an area can be beneficial (especially in an era of unprecedented climate change, with conditions in some areas shifting out of the range that native species can tolerate), but it's important to select species with low invasive potential and which do not pose a threat to the native animals. In most cases, it would be a safe strategy to plant a combination of native species and carefully-selected non-native trees that produce fruit for human consumption, as cultivated fruit trees mostly have a low potential for becoming invasive in most areas, and they can sustainably feed the people who live in and around the forest. This is important, as there must be people living in the area in order to protect it from cattle ranchers, and without tree-based food sources, the people stewarding the land would need to rely on agricultural practices destructive to the forest for their sustenance.

Neltuma juliflora and its close relative Neltuma pallida are very important species in their native ranges in Ecuador and Peru. They are some of the most abundant trees in these tropical dry forest ecosystems (including much of the Tumbes-Piura dry forest which is a biodiversity hotspot on the brink), and they serve as vital pioneer species in reforestation efforts in the region, providing much-needed shade for other plants and food for native animals (at a time of year when little else is available), as well as stabilising the soil and reducing erosion from coastal wind and torrential rain and seasonally-flooding rivers. This article was an exemplary case of "right plant, wrong place."

* The article seems to imply that sugar inherently causes tooth decay, but that obviously isn't true; plenty of animals eat sugary fruits without dental problems. The pulp of mesquite fruits is dry and sticky, so when eaten by cows who are not at all adapted to such food, it probably coats their teeth, dries out their mouth, and alters their oral microbiome, with dehydration and unfriendly bacteria leading to tooth decay.