Diversity is key to stability, grassland study finds

Biological diversity brings beauty and variety to our lives and to the world around us. It also could be the key to keeping ecosystems strong, according to a new University of Minnesota study published April 17 in the journal ...

Ecosystem services: Looking forward to mid-century

As population grows, society needs more—more energy, more food, more paper, more housing, more of nearly everything. Meeting those needs can lead to changes in how land is used.

Overgrazing turning parts of Mongolian Steppe into desert

Overgrazing by millions of sheep and goats is the primary cause of degraded land in the Mongolian Steppe, one of the largest remaining grassland ecosystems in the world, Oregon State University researchers say in a new report.

Parts of Amazon on the verge of forest-to-grassland shift

The stability of the Amazon rainforest, and the ecosystem's resilience to widespread deforestation, may be much lower than previously thought. The replacement of stands of trees with grassland changes evapotranspiration rates ...

Invasion of the slugs—halted by worms...

The gardener's best friend, the earthworm, is great at protecting leaves from being chomped by slugs, suggests research in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Ecology. Although they lurk in the soil, they seem to protect ...

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