Biodiversity Stories
In this new epoch, human influence is ubiquitous in the natural world. Coverage of terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems in Anthropocene magazine takes a critical look at humans’ changing relationship with the natural world—and ways to promote biodiversity in the novel ecosystems we’ve created.
Forests follow unexpected—and surprisingly fast—paths to recovery
A new study found that carbon, nitrogen and soil density in cleared forests reached 90% of levels in untouched forests after 1 to 9 years. The key was leaving them alone.
How much land is needed to stop the biodiversity crisis?
A new study estimates that the answer is a huge area—44%of Earth’s land, some 64 million square kilometers
Human-Driven Evolution Is a Hallmark of the Anthropocene
The Human Age will be shaped by the species we create and foster as well as the ones we kill off
Clean air policies are for the birds
According to a new estimate, reducing ozone pollution has saved 1.5 billion birds over the past 40 years.
More than half of rare species need intensive, hands-on help to ward off extinction
As world leaders discuss committing to protect 30% of the world's habitat, scientists warn that won't be enough for many endangered species.
Letting Biodiversity Get Under Our Skin
Some aspects of dirty living can be healthy. A new study posits that the decline of plant and animal diversity in cities may be linked to the recent surge of allergies and other chronic inflammatory diseases.
Seed dispersal is plummeting just when plants need to move most
When researchers trained a machine-learning model on global seed dispersal, they made a jarring discovery: there are too few animals to move plant seeds far enough to keep pace with climate change.
Is there such a thing as too much good habitat?
Panda researchers find that gene flow among pandas in a Chinese wildlife reserve is better in places with gaps in the bamboo forest.
Artificial intelligence can track a coral reef’s health by learning its “song”
Researchers demonstrate how to tell damaged reefs from healthy ones using relatively cheap underwater recorders paired with new computer programs.
Thinking like a footloose wolf might be recipe for land conservation success
Nearly three decades after the launch of the ambitious campaign to connect wildlife habitat from the Yukon in northern Canada to Yellowstone National Park, researchers say such big ambitions and lots of hype can pay off.
