Not every dry year means degraded land. A new framework published in Catena on August 25 can distinguish persistent degradation from short-term climate fluctuations. Land degradation remains a critical ecological challenge worldwide, undermining ecosystem services, food security, and sustainable development. The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has established Land Degra
Environment & ClimateConservationClimate#climate#decarbonization#Chinese Academy of Sciences#Research News#Conservation
A research team from the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography (XIEG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has proposed a new ecosystem health framework to track long-term, consistent ecological changes across Asian drylands. Based on the framework, the team found that ecosystem health across Asian drylands declined steadily until 2012, then partially recovered after 2014. Central Asia c
Environment & ClimateClimateConservation#climate#decarbonization#Chinese Academy of Sciences#Research News#Conservation
Satellites are becoming increasingly important to track global carbon cycle. China is preparing to launch its next-generation carbon monitoring satellite, TanSat-2, which is designed to provide global and regional observations of column-averaged carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and methane (CH 4 ). Atmospheric CO 2 observations contain signals from both human activities and carbon exchanged between atmosphe
Environment & ClimateCarbon Neutrality#climate#decarbonization#Chinese Academy of Sciences#Research News#Carbon Neutrality
Researchers from the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and their collaborators identified a new fossil oak species in northern Thailand. The newly identified species, Quercus liensis , provides crucial evidence that the region experienced a cooler, wetter subtropical climate during the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene epoch, about 25 million years ago
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Freshwater protected areas (FPAs) are widely promoted as an important conservation tool for rebuilding overexploited fish populations and protecting aquatic habitats. Yet simply banning fishing does not always guarantee ecological recovery. This is partly because non-native, stocked, and benthivorous fishes may also benefit from reduced fishing pressure. A new study suggests that targeted fish rem
Environment & ClimateConservation#climate#decarbonization#Chinese Academy of Sciences#Research News#Conservation
Scientists have recently found that a long‑term dominant diatom in China's South-to-North Water Diversion Project maintains its edge through a mutually reinforced cycle with bacteria , whereas a short‑term dominant species lacks such a close partnership and is far less resilient . The study, led by researchers from the Institute of Hydrobiology (IHB) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was publish
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Goji berry ( Lycium barbarum L.) is a perennial woody cash crop valued for its nutritional and medicinal properties and of significant industrial importance. However, its typical indeterminate growth habit has become a major bottleneck to the development of the goji berry industry. This trait causes goji branches to continuously sprout, bloom, and bear fruit over time. Consequently, flowers and fr
Environment & ClimateBioengineering#climate#decarbonization#Chinese Academy of Sciences#Research News#Bioengineering
Soil organic carbon dynamics are a key indicator for assessing the success of ecosystem restoration. According to a new study by researchers from the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, soil microorganisms play a critical role in regulating carbon storage in tropical ecosystems undergoing recovery. The study, published in Catena on August 27, showed t
Life SciencesEnvironment & ClimateCarbon Neutrality#genomics#biology#climate#decarbonization#Chinese Academy of Sciences#Research News#Carbon Neutrality
"Red berries grow in southern land, how many spring branches hold?" The red beans described by WANG Wei (701–761) in his poem have evoked the longing of the Chinese people for thousands of years. Today, right in the "southern land" mentioned in the poem—the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area—a research team has unveiled the identity of two new species of this very genus. Recently, a team l
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The genus Androsace is widely distributed across the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with notable diversity in the Alps and the Hengduan–Himalaya regions. Previous phylogenetic studies have advanced the understanding of Androsace 's evolutionary history, but its biogeographic origins and diversification history remain unresolved due to limited species sampling and low statistical sup
Environment & ClimateBiodiversity#climate#decarbonization#biodiversity#Chinese Academy of Sciences#Research News
Scientists recently discovered various Denisovan remains in Southwest China dating back to the late Middle Pleistocene, including the first Denisovan radius—one of two long bones in the forearm. Denisovans are a genetically identified archaic hominin group believed to have been widely distributed across Asia. However, due to the limited number of fossil remains, especially postcranial bones—those
Life SciencesEnvironment & ClimatePaleontology#genomics#biology#climate#decarbonization#Chinese Academy of Sciences#Research News#paleontology
Environment & ClimateUniversity of California, Riverside
In some regions of the world, the poorest people may spend about 50 percent of their income on food, while the richest spend about 5 percent.
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A common blue pigment could help turn carbon dioxide (CO₂) from an industrial waste product into a useful fuel. A joint research team led by Tohoku University's Advanced Institute for Materials Research (WPI-AIMR), in collaboration with Hokkaido University and startup AZUL Energy, has developed a catalyst that converts CO₂ directly into methane (CH₄) with high efficiency using copper phthalocyanin
Researchers at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and other institutions now have access to one of the most advanced platforms available for high-throughput proteomics thanks to a new state-of-the-art mass spectrometry instrument installed in the Nebraska Center for Biotechnology’s Proteomics and Metabolomics Facility.
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The research found that at least 18 million people living in poverty fish in seagrass meadows across the Indo-Pacific. Of these, around 6.5 million are entirely dependent on the habitat for both food and fishing-related income. The study also revealed that households living in extreme poverty were significantly more likely to rely on seagrass meadows for all their fishing activities. Seagrass-depe
A study has found that young chimpanzees develop distinct population-specific vocal patterns as they mature (ontogeny), challenging the long-held assumption that their calls are inflexible and determined solely by genetics. Led by Doctoral researcher Kassandra Giragosian from the School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences at Queen Mary University of London, in collaboration with the University
Environment & Climate#climate#decarbonization#Queen Mary University of London#QMUL Latest News#Science And Engineering
Environment & ClimateNational University of Singapore
Artificial intelligence (AI) may have more to offer science than accurate predictions. The patterns it learns could point researchers towards new, testable explanations of how complex systems function. A new Perspective co-authored by Assistant Professor Gianmarco Mengaldo from the Department of Mechanical Engineering under the College of Design and Engineering at the National University of Singap
Environment & Climate#climate#decarbonization#National University of Singapore#CDE Research News#Cde News#Research Impact
The National Science Foundation renewed its funding for the AI-powered Earth system modeling center LEAP , aimed at improving Earth system projections through…
