Guest guest Posted October 3, 2008 Report Share Posted October 3, 2008 --Today for you 32 new articles about earth's trees! (410th edition) --Audio and Video version of Earth's Tree News: http://forestpolicyresearch.org --To Subscribe / to the world-wide email format send a blank email to: earthtreenews- OR earthtreenews- Index: --Jamaica: 1) Land slippage occurred in deforested areas, 2) A small tropical rainforest called the Capintero has 1,100 species of plants, --Panama: 3) Theoretical studies of biodiversity and biogeography --Venezuela: 4) Attorney General to appoint special prosecutor to address illegal logging charges --Guyana: 5) He leads a poor country with a priceless resource --Peru: 6) Home to over ten million living species --Brazil: 7) New measures announced by government, 8) Brazil Makes Hollow Lazy Pledge 9) Latest deforestation stats, 10) 100 individuals who destroy the most, 11) Gov says they 'temporarily' suspended paving the Amazon hiway, 12) Atlantic rain forest, 13) Logging of the Amazon happens twice as fast these days, 14) Plant more trees than it loses? 15) Investing millions of dollars in a global tourism campaign, 16) Supreme Court defends Indians' territory in landmark case, 17) They emphasize the role deforestation plays in poverty, conflict and increasing greenhouse gas emissions, --World-wide: 18) Economic Growth as Limiting Factor for Wildlife Conservation? 19) Old treaties didn't thought old forests were carbon neutral, 20) RAN one of a shrinking group of NGOs that still support industrial logging of ancient primary old-growth, RAN's rationalizations and responces, 22) issues related to taxation incentives for the establishment carbon sink forests, 23) REDD framework claims to aid in the destruction of indigenous cultures, 24) The David versus Goliath moment in Bali, 25) Forgotten in mechanisms devised to compensate for deforestation, 26) MicroRNAs, coordinate growth and aging processes in plants, 27) phosphorus or nitrogen increases carbon emission from soil. 28) Three way forest affect warfare, 29) Friends of the Earth gives up on FSC, 30) Birds of the world are in serious trouble, 31) New fires sensors are powered by being plugged into live trees, 32) Human effect on forest ecology is quite profound, Articles: Jamaica: 1) Conservator of Forests, Marilyn Headley, has pointed out that most land slippage as a result of Tropical Storm Gustav, occurred in deforested areas. " There was little damage to trees, " she said in an interview with JIS News. " There was mainly land slippage and damage to infrastructure, and areas with good tree cover had the least damage, " she pointed out adding that this was a reminder of the importance of maintaining trees and constantly re-planting them. " In observance of 'National Tree planting Day' on October 3, " she said " I am appealing to schools, community groups, NGOs and farmers, particularly in the hilly areas to collect the free seedlings available from the Forestry Department and plant these trees for crop shade or to restore cover on bare hillsides. " She explained that hills without sturdy tree cover could not sustain agriculture, as crops would always be lost in heavy rains. " Rich top soil is also washed to the sea, " she added. " For food security and rural development, keeping trees on our hills is therefore critical. Our theme this year 'Deforested hillside.Downstream disaster,' is in keeping with this concept, " Miss Headley noted. The Conservator added that often, farmers cleared lands far too much, removing all cover and then re-planting bananas and plantain for shade, which although quick growing, were easily lost in bad weather, resulting in crop and soil loss. Forest trees, she informed, provided shade after about five years in the ground and lasted up to 25 years or more. As such they became permanent shade as they fared better in storms or hurricanes. " When preparing land for farming every effort should be made to keep naturally occurring trees or inter-crop with temporary and permanent shade, " she advised. Since National Tree Planting Day, was initiated five years ago, there has been a significant increase in urban forests, Miss Headley reported. She is therefore encouraging more planting of forest trees in rural areas such as the eastern Blue Mountains and Yallahs River Watershed, which suffered severe damage during this Atlantic Hurricane Season. " Seedlings available from the Forestry Department this year are mahogany, silky oak, yucca, Spanish elm, niem, milkwood, cedar and other less known varieties that are suitable for watershed areas and inter-cropping. Riverbeds should also be re-planted, " she emphasised. " However, planting should be done at least 20 metres from the river to allow space for the river to expand after heavy rains, " she pointed out. http://www.jis.gov.jm/agriculture/html/20080929T170000-0500_16824_JIS_CITIZENS_U\ RGED_TO_GROW_TREES_AS_BUFFER_AGAINST_STORMS.asp Costa Rica: 2) The National Museum has just conducted the study of a small tropical rainforest called the Capintero, which is currently only registered under the status of " Protected Zone " , the lowest conservation level in the country. The 2,991 hectare property is located in the province of Cartago and was discovered to contain an astonishing 1,100 species of plants, 31 species of mammals, 187 species of birds and 174 species of butterflies. The National Museum's Department of Natural History lead the extensive project, which took four years to complete. The paradox of this area is that it is situated in the Central Valley, the zone that is the least cared for in the country. The amount of flora and fauna housed discovered really came as a wonderful surprise. The region even contains areas of immense value, as the scientists discovered ancient vegetation dating up to 500 years old! It is now hoped that this rainforest, which turned out to be a jewel, will now be given a higher protection status. The forest shows an interesting variety of ancient trees, like the White Oak, which is a descendant of trees that used to inhabit the Central Valley a long, long time ago. To the joy of scientists and biologists, a large group of Epiphytes (parasite plants) was also discovered, including a large number of Orchids, Bromeliads, Lichens and Lianas among other flower species. Even more astonishing was the discovery of a species of plant that turns out to be unique in the whole country; the Peperomia Carpinterana. Indeed according to the researchers, The Carpintero may well be the only place in the world guarding this plant today. The animals are no less disappointing, with 187 species of birds, of which 13 are unique to Costa Rica and Panama and 40 are migratory. In particular, there appears to be a large number of Green Toucans. Out of the mammals, at least 16 species of bats were counted. Coyotes, two-toed sloth and armadillos are amongst the largest species found in the rainforest. A small type of wild cat, the Caucel, that is similar to an Ocelot, was apparently seen; the wild cats of Costa Rica are finding themselves at high risk and are rapidly becoming extinct so this comes as a positive surprise. Insects also are thriving in the area, with 142 species of butterflies and 32 species of moths were counted. This study was released at an important moment in which human development has surrounded this important biological zone and is threatening to further impede on the habitats of these diverse creatures and plant life. It needs stronger and better protection and it needs it now. Its status must be changed immediately if it is to survive. http://www.costaricapages.com/blog/costa-rican-wildlife/new-rainforest/1455 Panama: 3) UCLA researcher wins Kempe Award for tropical rainforest studies. The explanatory memorandum cites Stephen Hubbell " s important theoretical studies of biodiversity and biogeography, and his long-term research on the tropical rain forests in Panama. His work has a significant impact in better understanding the factors that maintain the diversity of tropical forest ecosystems and how these endangered ecosystems can best be preserved and managed. In early October, Professor Hubbell will arrive in Umeå to receive the Kempe Award. Furthermore, he will present two honorary lectures. On Monday 6 October at 3:00 pm, he will lecture on " Neutral Theory as a Tool for Understanding Ecological Complexity " in P-O Bäckströms Conference Hall, SLU. He will discuss the subject of " Neutrality, Niche, and the Dynamics of a Neotropical Tree Community " on Tuesday 7 October at 3:00 pm at Auditorium KB3B1, KBC Building, Umeå University. It is the eight occasions in which the Kempe award has been awarded. Ecology researchers at Umeå University and SLU (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences) are jointly responsible for the selection of the award recipients. http://www.pressrelations.de/new/standard/result_main.cfm?pfach=1 & n_firmanr_=117\ 987 & sector=pm & detail=1 & r=340701 & sid= & aktion=jour_pm & quelle=0 Venezuela: 4) Bolivar State Legislative Council (CLEB) councillor Juan Linares is highlighting the illegal deforestation of more than two thousand trees in the area of El Tigrito and La Broma in the Cedeno municipality of southeastern Bolivar State. Linares says the situation is very grave considering the multiplicity of complaints raised over illegal exploitation of lumber and forest resources and that in one particular case, he alleges that regional officials from the Ministry of the Environment (MinAmb) were implicit in delivering the wood in La Broma to the lumber exploiting companies. Linares says that as a result of his request that Environment (MinAmb) 3rd District Supervisor, Hugo Nunez, should immediately be dismissed for " culpably complacent attitudes " together with the former coordinator of the National Land Institute (INTI), Pier Damian Plancheta, and two beneficiaries of the MinAmb logging permits, Hermes Luces and Clayre Cervantes. The councilor says that charges against the accused have been " fully verified and presented in full chamber of the Legislature " which took the decision to dismiss and to file criminal and administrative charges for the crime of serious damage caused to the environment in the General Manuel Broma Cedeno municipality by the illegal deforestation of natural tree species by fraudulently obtaining permits, with the proven involvement of MinAmb officials. " The Legislative Council has asked the Attorney General of the Republic to appoint a special prosecutor to objectively address the charges. " Linares adds that he is certain that MinAmb-Bolivar has " openly and contrary to reason and logic failed to do its duty … the Attorney General of the Republic has been met with silence since they have favored the actions of environmental predators and timber smugglers … MinAmb Vice Minister Merlys Garcia must visit Bolivar State again to decide what is to be done with the lumber seized from organized crime activities (in her ministry) which have issued permits totally ignoring the decisions of this parliament and, based on this evidence, that they should be removed from office forthwith. " He says that previous complaints lodged with MinAmb had been sent to the accused who had manipulated their excuses. http://www.netnewspublisher.com/legislative-councilor-claims-illegal-deforestati\ on-in-venezuela-achieved-by-fraudulently-obtained-permits/ Guyana: 5) Guyanese president Bharrat Jagdeo leads a poor country with a priceless resource: 40 million acres (16 million ha) of largely untouched rain forest. Logging firms are keen to cut it down, but Jagdeo, an economist and former Finance Minister, is seeking what he regards as a better business proposal: he wants international donors and investors to pay for the increasingly tangible benefits of keeping the rain forest intact. " If we're serious about global warming and its consequences, " says Jagdeo, " then the market has to address all the sources of greenhouse emissions. " Deforestation is a major source, accounting for 20% of human-generated greenhouse gases. Still, Jagdeo raised eyebrows last year when he announced that Guyana would offer its entire rain forest, which covers 75% of the country's territory, as a sustainable commodity. The idea is that public and private organizations would pay Guyana for the right to manage — and profit from — unscathed rain forests. They can sell the carbon credits on global markets, make money from ecotourism and pharmaceutical discoveries, and eventually create markets for " ecosystem services " such as rainfall generation and climate regulation. Jagdeo found his first taker this year when Canopy Capital, a London-based eco-finance firm, signed a deal to maintain Iwokrama, a 1,430-sq.-mi. (370,000-ha) rain-forest preserve. Studies suggest that such ventures could bring Guyana, one of South America's poorest countries, almost $60 million a year, or 6% of its gross domestic product. But Guyana's plan faces hurdles. Some critics consider it eco-blackmail to suggest that without market incentives poor nations will let loggers run amok. " They say, 'Here we go again, another developing country looking for a free handout,' " says Jagdeo. " But this time we've got something to trade. " He adds that environmental treaties like the Kyoto Protocol reward countries for reducing deforestation, but not for being good rain-forest custodians all along, as Guyana has been. Jagdeo is confident that his concept will catch on as its dividends become more evident. Guyana needs the money to upgrade the 223 miles (360 km) of dykes along its low-lying Atlantic coast, where sea levels are rising due to global warming — a reminder that paying for intact rain forests now could avert greater costs later. http://spoonfeedin.blogspot.com/2008/09/personality-bharrat-jagdeo.html Peru: 6) The Amazon in Peru is home to a diversity of life unequalled anywhere on Earth and it is this that makes it a paradise for nature lovers. The region is home to over ten million living species; including 2,000 species of fish, 1,200 birds and nearly 300 mammals – all contained within a region of incredible biological diversity, which brings with it a need to be preserved. For guests, the main tourist areas are the northern and southern jungles which share similar characteristics - with the main difference being the northern Amazon is based on the Amazon River itself - with the hub located at the Iquitos centre. Climates in both areas are tropical, with humid weather differentiated into two clearly differentiated seasons: the summer or dry season (from April to October each year) with sunny days and temperatures higher than 30C (86F); and the rainy season from November to March, with frequent heavy showers and large river flows. To get into the wilderness in the north of the jungle, visitors are advised to head straight for Peru's largest natural reserve, Pacaya-Samiria. Remote and stunningly beautiful, the reserve is among the least visited in Peru. It has endless waterways – indeed, it is named after the two rivers which flow through it, Pacaya and Samiria – designed for riverboat cruises, as well as wetlands to make it a jungle hotspot for nature tourism. For guests, there is the potential of nature observation, camping, and fishing tours throughout the reserve, as well as a chance to explore the jungle which covers the area. Canopy walkways, throughout the region, also afford guests a chance to watch bird and animal life in the forest canopy at first or last light when the jungle comes alive, and from the highest possible level to vividly show the layers of Amazon eco-system. Jungle lodges – including those at Pacaya Samiria Amazon Lodge - allow guests to stay in the thick of the jungle or by the river for a unique and authentic experience and contribute to the local community and eco-tourism. For those looking for something a little more developed, Iquitos is the northern Amazon hub and chief town of Peru's Amazon region. It is the capital of the Loreto Region and Maynas Province, but cannot be reached by road! Not just a jumping off point for the national park, the city – with a population of over 300,000 is home to Belén, which contains a large open air marker. On of the most interesting parts of the market is the " Pasaje Paquito " - an entire block of the market lined with local plant (and animal) medicines, stocking everything from copaiba to chuchuwasai. http://www.travelbite.co.uk/feature/south-and-central-america/peru/hidden-amazon\ -holiday-in-peru-$1241926.htm Brazil: 7) Brazil has announced new measures designed to stem an accelerating assault on the Amazon's rainforests – on the same day as the nation's space agency released figures showing that 756km2 of Amazon forest were cleared in August, triple the 230km2 cleared in August 2007. http://www.panda.org/news_facts/newsroom/index.cfm?uNewsID=146702 In August alone, loggers and farm interests leveled 300 square miles of Amazon rainforest, the Brazilian government reports (via AP). That's a land mass larger than greater Chicago -- taken out in the span of a single month. It also represents a leap of 228 percent over August 2007's destruction. Two observations: 1) Higher soy prices accelerate Amazon clearance (see Searchinger, et al, " Use of U.S. Croplands for Biofuels Increases Greenhouse Gases Through Emissions from Land-Use Change " [PDF].) And soy prices have been pushed up by U.S. and European biofuel mandates. 2) The Amazon rainforest anchors global climate stability by storing vast amounts of carbon; destroying it releases carbon and accelerates climate change. In an article in The New York Review of Books last year, Duke ecologist John Terborgh explains why piecemeal deforestation leads to feedback loops that could eventually destroy the rainforest wholesale. In the Amazon region, writes Terborgh, http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2008/9/30/81429/2592 8) Brazil Makes Hollow, Lazy Pledge to End Deforestation by 2015… Now Brazil's government has made an even gutsier move– they say they will end deforestation in their country by 2015. The only problem: they don't have any new plans for how to do it– only old ones that don't really address the issue of protecting Amazon ecosystems. The proposal is part of Brazil's new draft plan to combat climate change. It will soon go out for public review before being finalized. According to the BBC, the plan contains no specific goals for reducing emissions other than generalizations about methods. The primary means of ending deforestation by 2015 is to plant tree farms– an old idea. The plan also suggests that use of alternative energy and biofuels like ethanol will help reduce carbon emissions (something already happening in Brazil). While planting trees to replace those that are cut down is no doubt a positive step in the fight against global warming, it does little to protect ecosystems. Forests and many of the species they contain within need time to develop. Monocultures of trees will not be able to provide the diversity and hundreds of years some species need for life. When we consider the Amazon's importance to world water supplies and climate patterns as well, then it becomes clear that planting trees alone will not solve the problem of deforestation. The Amazon has been a hot-spot for environmental news this year, and conflicting reports have emerged as to trends of deforestation in Brazil. Most likely it depends on how you interpret or manipulate the statistics. The Brazilian government has declared that deforestation is decreasing, while other sources indicate the opposite. Regardless of whether or not Brazil's desire to end deforestation (or net deforestation if such distinctions are important) is being made wholeheartedly or with lazy obligation, it's going to be tremendously challenging for Brazil to do so in seven years time. http://ecoworldly.com/2008/09/28/brazil-makes-hollow-lazy-pledge-to-end-deforest\ ation-by-2015/ 9) Just a few days after the launch, new figures released by the Brazilian National Research Institute say deforestation went up by 134% from July to August, and that the 756 kilometers lost represent 228% more than the figures from the same month last year. The annual accumulation in 2008 is 64% more than the 12 months last year. In front of this, could Brazil's plan be a real solution to the problem? Keep reading to find out more. According to BBC Mundo and Abril, deforestation accounts for 75 to 80% of Brazilian emissions, and one of the main goals of this draft plan is to target this problem. Carlos Minc --who was named Environmental Minister after the tough Marina Silva resigned-- said there will be an aggressive program to restore native forests and stronger measures against illegal wood. The reforestation program includes increasing the area of planted forest from 5.5 million hectares to 11 million by 2015, 2 million of which have to be native species and the rest forest for commercial use. According to Minc, if this is done, by 2015 the government would be planting more trees than the ones being cut down. Of course this statement was done a few days before the new figures for deforestation in the Amazon were released, which threw an alarming 134% monthly increase. http://www.treehugger.com2008/09/amazon-deforestation-new-figures-global-\ warming-brazil-plan-fight-adapt.php 10) The 100 individuals or companies most responsible for Amazon deforestation since 2005 were listed Monday by Brazilian Environment Minister Carlos Minc, and Brazil's own land-reform agency took the top spot. The Institute for Colonization and Agrarian Reform was said to be culpable for the deforestation of 850 square miles of Amazon rainforest in the last three years. Everyone on the list, most of whom are Brazilian farmers and ranchers, will face criminal charges, according to Minc. Satellite data show that Amazon deforestation is up sharply after a few years of decline: At least 300 square miles of Amazon rainforest was destroyed in August 2008, compared to about 90 square miles in August 2007. Rising food prices have incentivized soy farmers and cattle ranchers to clear forested land, and with elections coming up, officials say mayors in the Amazon region are going easy on illegal loggers in hopes of gaining votes. It all makes for an uphill battle for Minc's ambitious goal to end net Amazon deforestation entirely by 2015. http://www.grist.org 11) Brazil has temporarily suspended the paving of a major Amazon road pending demarcation of 13 neighboring protected areas, reports the Associated Press. Wednesday Environment minister Carlos Minc said the government will delay construction contracts for BR-319, a highway that connects Manaus (Amazonas) and Porto Velho (Rondonia), until 13 conservation areas are established. The road, which is nearly impassable during the rainy season, will be transformed into an all-weather highway to enable soy farmers and ranchers to get their products to markets faster and at a lower cost. Environmentalists fear the road improvements will drive logging and agricultural expansion in the region as has been the case with other infrastructure development projects in the country. " Deforestation and illegal logging accelerated in anticipation of highway paving, " wrote Dr. Philip Fearnside, a researcher at the Brazilian National Institute for Research in the Amazon (INPA), in reference to the paving of BR-163, a sister road in the Brazilian Amazon. " Paving would further speed forest loss in the area, as well as stimulate migration of land thieves (grileiros) to other frontiers. " Infrastructure improvement in the Brazilian Amazon is largely driven by development interests, namely industrial soy farmers and cattle ranchers, which account for more than 70 percent of forest clearing in the region. " Soy farmers are a very powerful political lobby that is pushing for major expansion of roads, highways, river-channelization projects, and other transportation that will criss-cross large expanses of the Amazon, " said William F. Laurance of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama. " This infrastructure is acting like Pandora's box—it is opening up the frontier to spontaneous, unplanned colonization and exploitation by ranchers, farmers, hunters, and illegal gold miners. " http://news.mongabay.com/2008/0926-amazon.html 12) The image of Brazil in your mind is likely to be that of the Amazonian rain forest. That means leaving out an entire section of the rainforest — the Atlantic rain forest. Many of the better known cities are on the Altantic coast of Brazil — Sao Paolo and Rio, for example. All these areas were on the coast, and were where the came in the 17th century. Later, expansion implied cutting the forest. As a result, some of the biggest cities in the world have simply sprung out of the rainforest. As far as the rainforest goes, however, that's been bad news, because it's been degraded. But an example in Brazil shows how exactly you can look to a green future, instead of lamenting the past. The Parque das Neblinas defines this movement. Originally, the area was planted with eucalyptus trees for pulp for a paper mill. Now, the unfilled eucalyptus trees stand as a minority amidst the rest of the vegetation, only 15 years old. In fact, the eucalyptus actually has become part of the ecology, offering creepers a trunk to climb on, and ants a highway to traverse. But that is even more impressive is the value of a new forest. In this Park, scientists have discovered a new species of ant and a fish that was once considered extinct. In India, we have a lesson to learn from Brazil. Recreate forests, even small patches of them. If you feel for planet Earth, write to bharati.earthwatch - http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName= & id=a756af68-\ 6902-453f-914f-475f06cac294 & & Headline=Lessons+from+a+young+forest 13) After three years of declining deforestation, the Amazon is being cut down more than twice as fast as it was last year, Brazilian officials reported today. Brazil's Environment Minister Carlos Minc said upcoming elections are partly to blame, with mayors in the Amazon region turning a blind eye to illegal logging in hopes of gaining local votes. Non-governmental environmentalists blame the global spike in food prices for encouraging soy farmers and cattle ranchers to clear more land for crops and grazing. Elections no doubt play a part, but " the tendency of deforestation rising is deeply related to the fact that food prices are going up, " said Paulo Adario, who coordinates Greenpeace's Amazon campaign. " When you have elections, the appetite of authorities to enforce laws is reduced, " Adario said. " But the federal government has to step in and do its job.'' According to a report from Brazil's National Institute for Space Research, Amazon deforestation jumped 228 per cent in August when compared to the same month last year. Some 756 square kilometres of Amazon were destroyed last month, compared to 230 square kilometres in August 2007. The institute, which uses satellite imagery to track illegal logging, said rainforest destruction is likely even worse than its figures show, since no information has been available for about 26 per cent of the Amazon which is covered by clouds. http://www.thestar.com/News/World/article/508297 14) The plan, which will be published in full on Sept. 29 and put to public debate, calls on Brazil to plant more trees than it loses through logging and slash-and-burn agriculture by 2015, the ministry said in a statement on its Web site. ``It's a bold plan, with voluntary and sectoral targets that together represent the reduction by hundreds of millions of tons of carbon dioxide a year, be it through reducing waste, improving energy efficiency or the progressivereduction of deforestation and planting of native and commercial forests,'' Environment Minister Carlos Minc said in the statement. As a developing country, Brazil isn't subject to targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under the Kyoto Protocol. The burning of forests in Brazil, southeast Asia and elsewhere worldwide to clear land for crops releases carbon locked in trees into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, the main gas blamed for global warming. Deforestation in Brazil in 2007, Latin America's most populous nation, declined 18 percent from a year earlier, the country's National Institute for Space Investigations said last month. A total of 11,532 square kilometers (4,454 square miles) of forest was cut down after a third year of declines, the agency said. More than half of Brazil's greenhouse gas emissions stem from changes in land use, including deforestation, according to the most recent figures from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Brazil, Latin America's largest economy, will invest in ``aggressive'' reforestation programs to accomplish its goals, the ministry said in yesterday's statement. To that end, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has freed up 1 billion reais ($550 million) in funding over the next 12 years to protect forests, it said. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086 & sid=a5wsn.Ck6rvo 15) Brazil is investing millions of dollars in a global tourism campaign that will promote the country's attractions with the strapline 'Brazil. Sensational!' The UK is one of the target markets for the campaign, along with the US, Canada, Germany, Spain, Italy, France. The work will also run in other countries in South America. The campaign, which will run until next June, shows the different experiences visitors to the country can enjoy, including adventure tourism, beaches, culture, archaeology, good food and the Amazon rainforest. It is being run under the direction of the Brazilian tourism body Embratur, which was founded in 2003. Luiz Barretto, Brazil's minister of tourism, said: `The objective is to create higher demand for Brazilian destinations and support the products and services within those destinations. We want to share the beauty and wonders of Brazil with more tourists, encourage them to stay longer and become acquainted with new places.' http://www.brandrepublic.com/News/848373/Brazil-rolls-global-tourism-campaign/ 16) Key judge defends Indians' territory in landmark case. Attempts by land-grabbing farmers to carve up an Indian reserve have received a setback, after one Supreme Court judge ruled that the move was illegal. The case is widely seen as crucial to the future of indigenous rights in Brazil. Read more » You can write to the Supreme Court urging them to uphold the Indians' rights and sign an online petition. in a packed Supreme Court in Brazil, a key judge voted to uphold the demarcation of the indigenous territory Raposa-Serra do Sol. The case was adjourned at the request of another judge, and a final ruling is expected later this year. Raposa-Serra do Sol is seen as a test case for Indian rights in Brazil. The government of the state of Roraima and a group of powerful farmers have petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn the legal recognition of the territory, which is home to the Makuxi, Wapixana, Ingarikó, Taurepang and Patamona tribes. The Indians believe that if the recognition of their land is overturned, their way of life will be destroyed, and tribes all over Brazil could face similar attempts to reduce or annul their territories. The farmers have waged a campaign of violence against the Indians of Raposa-Serra do Sol since it was demarcated in 2005. bJudge Carlos Ayres Britto emphasised in his decision that the Brazilian Constitution guarantees Indian land rights, and that the Indians of Raposa-Serra do Sol are the original occupants of the territory. He also said that indigenous territories like Raposa-Serra do Sol which border other countries are not incompatible with national security, as the military have claimed. Brazil's Supreme Court was packed with Indians and their supporters, who greeted Britto's decision with delight. For the first time ever, an Indian addressed the Supreme Court's eleven judges. Indigenous lawyer Joênia Batista de Carvalho from the Wapixana tribe told the court, 'I do this work for love, because my family and my people need it. I'm defending my own land, to which I intend to return after this time spent in the city.' Batista de Carvalho works for the Indigenous Council of Roraima (CIR). Brazil's attorney general also spoke in favour of maintaining the demarcation of Raposa-Serra do Sol. http://www.survival-international.org/news/3662 17) Nobel Peace Prize laureates Al Gore and Wangari Maathai today called upon the United States to combat rapidly accelerating tropical deforestation as a central element in the fight against global poverty, climate change and international instability. At a luncheon hosted by the Avoided Deforestation Partners, Former Vice President Gore joined Maathai, founder of the Green Belt Movement and 2004 Peace Prize winner, to emphasize the role deforestation plays in poverty, conflict and increasing greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. The Nobel laureates were joined by leaders from the environmental and development communities, who stressed the scientific and social importance of these resources to global well-being. " We have to start reducing our pollution and substituting renewable sources of energy, " Gore said. " But, we also have to provide the means for stopping deforestation. One of the most effective things we can do in the near term to address the climate crisis is to protect the world's tropical forests. " Deforestation is currently responsible for about 20 percent of annual greenhouse gas emissions -- more than all the world's cars, trucks, planes and ships combined -- and rates of tropical forest loss have increased significantly. A recent report showed that Amazon deforestation has risen 69% over the past year. Worldwide, one acre of tropical forest is lost every second. Professor Maathai stressed the significance of protecting tropical forests for the world's most vulnerable populations. " The world's remaining tropical forests must be protected, because without them not only will the global climate not be stabilized, but the entire world will suffer, " she said. " This is particularly true for many in the global south, where protecting forests is not only about conservation butalso about economic development. Forests are the source of livelihoods, water and energy, and in most places they host abundant biodiversity that attracts tourism income. Destruction of forests in many places has jeopardized key economic sectors. " Leading voices from the environmental and development worlds discussed the indispensable role tropical forests play in both the global ecosystem and economy. http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/nobel-peace-laureates-al-gore/story.aspx?g\ uid={DA750B43-49F8-4773-87B1-1F3888F6AF57} & dist=hppr World-wide: 18) " Economic Growth as Limiting Factor for Wildlife Conservation " by Brian Czech, ABSTRACT: The concept of limiting factor includes the lack of welfare factors and the presence of decimating factors. Originally applied to populations and species, the concept may also be applied to wildlife in the aggregate. Because the decimating factor of economic growth eliminates welfare factors for virtually all imperiled species via the principle of competitive exclusion, economic growth may be classified as the limiting factor for wildlife conservation. The wildlife profession has been virtually silent about this limiting factor, suggesting that the profession has been laboring in futility. The public, exhorted by neoclassical economists and political leaders, supports economic growth as a national goal. To address the limiting factor for wildlife conservation, wildlife professionals need to become versed in the history of economic growth theory, neoclassical economic growth theory, and the alternative growth paradigm provided by ecological economics. The Wildlife Society should lead the natural resources professions in developing a position on economic growth. Robin Silver rsilver 19) Old forests – those that are more than 200 years old – are not protected by international treaties because they were thought to be carbon neutral. But a team from Belgium says such forests actually continue to take up carbon dioxide and are therefore important carbon sinks. Sebastiaan Luyssaert and colleagues at Antwerp University reckon that 15% of the world's old forests, which are not usually considered when offsetting carbon dioxide emissions, provide at least 10% of the global terrestrial carbon sink. So disturbing these forests would release huge amounts of carbon into the atmosphere and seriously contribute to climate change. Luyssaert and colleagues say old forests continue to store carbon over time periods of centuries, mainly in live woody tissues and decomposing leaf litter and soil. Although young forests admittedly store more carbon each year, they contain less biomass. As a result, the total amount of carbon captured from the atmosphere in these younger forests is lower. The researchers obtained their results by studying existing measurements of how much carbon is absorbed by and released from old forests in temperate and boreal regions around the world. These measurements included biomass studies combined with simple ecological modelling; productivity ratio (the amount of carbon added each year to forests compared to that released from the decomposition of dead plant matter); and air flow in and out of forests. The team concluded that forests between 15 and 800 years of age are not carbon neutral as previously believed but can sequester around 1.3 gigatonnes of carbon per year. They are therefore crucial long-term carbon sinks and disturbing them would release vast quantities of carbon into the atmosphere. Most larger old forest landscapes are located in Russia, Canada, Alaska and the US Pacific Northwest, with smaller ones found in northern Scandinavia. http://environmentalresearchweb.org/cws/article/research/36084 20) Rainforest Action Network (RAN) is one of a shrinking group of international environmental NGOs that supports industrial logging of ancient primary and old-growth forests by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Sadly, as RAN prepares to gather for their annual lavish, celebrity studded " Revel " fund-raiser, there is little to celebrate regarding their disjointed and harmful Old Growth Campaign -- legitimate questions regarding their FSC support have been stonewalled, Ontario's continued ancient forest destruction legitimized, and the forest protection movement needlessly divided. While RAN does good work with coal, biofuel and now oil sands campaigns; it continues to egregiously sell out ancient forests with unquestioning support for FSC certified industrial logging of ancient forests, and by repeatedly promoting and supporting deals that legitimate large scale industrial development of ancient forest wildlands. First they led the sell-out of British Columbia's Great Bear temperate rainforests, and recently gave their stamp of approval to Ontario's continued ancient forest liquidation for vague promises of possible protections in 15 years. RAN's outdated forest protection campaign is a leading threat to the world's life giving forest ecosystems and must be changed or stopped. Last week Friends of the Earth (FoE) became the first major international NGO to confirm they no longer support FSC certification; which falsely suggests primary and old-growth forest logging is desirable, benefits the climate, and is even sustainable; and that plantations are forests. FoE is to be commended for responding to recent science showing old-growth's role in carbon removal is under-appreciated, acknowledging FSC's activities in primary and plantation forest greenwashes business as usual destructive practices, and being capable of self-reflection and course adjustments. To the extent RAN still works on forest issues, they obstinately focus upon promoting protected areas in some remaining wildernesses, and making first-time industrial logging less damaging elsewhere, rather than uniting the movement to work for an end to ancient forest logging as the keystone response to the climate and biodiversity crises. RAN must stop supporting outdated, destructive logging. The following alert at the lnk below lets Revel's many sponsors know they are funding greenwashing of ancient forest devastation -- and asks that RAN immediately review and cease their support for destruction of centuries old ancient trees and their ecosystems. Until RAN does so, there is no chance the world's forests will be protected, and global ecological sustainability achieved. Clearly the time has come for RAN to unite and work with others on an ecologically sufficient campaign to end industrial, first-time ancient forest logging -- the Earth's climate and species depend upon it. Please note, there are two different protest emails to send. Please send Ran's Revel sponsors emails to let them know how FSC should not be endorsed by RAN. http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/alerts/send.aspx?id=ran_ancient_forest_lo\ gging 21) RAN Claim: Recently one of our old NGO allies, Ecological Internet, the parent organization of Rainforest Portal, has directly contacted a number of our supporters and allies. Our organizations have a strategic difference of opinion, and Ecological Internet has recently decided to divert the attention of the environmental movement away from protecting forests and towards attacking RAN and other NGOs. This note is to offer our side of the issue and request your patience with any inconvenience caused by Ecological Internet's internet campaign. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns. EI's response: Ecological internet carries out a wide array of protests regarding climate and forests -- all based upon the latest ecological science and what is known regarding requirements for global ecological sustainability. When we has two staff persons, and ran nearly two dozen, we hardly feel that several hundred emails constituting a protest should have aggrieved RAN quite so deeply. This is the 3rd protest targeting RAN in the past year, and we have yet to receive a detailed response to the core concerns regarding FSC. You will find nothing in their most recent response which defends their notion that cutting ancient forests with FSC certification somehow protects them. Only the suggestion they have been victimized and subtle villificaiton of the messenger. A full list of our recent campaigns, the only one which targets NGOs being this FSC campaign, can be found at http://www.ecoearth.info/shared/alerts/ . RAN Claim: Does RAN support ancient forest logging? No, RAN absolutely does not support logging ancient forests. Our Old Growth Campaign works to protect ancient forests and defend the rights of their inhabitants. EI's response: RAN is a member and vocal supporter of FSC which has certified as environmentally acceptable the first time logging of hundreds of millions of hectares of primary forests -- mostly rainforests. By definition, once logged primary forests are destroyed. They will never again have fully intact function, structure or composition -- in effect they are to become tree plantations. At least 60% of FSC timber comes from such first time logging of ancient forests. Until recently, ran inaccurately characterized FSC as being " sustainable " on their web site, illustrating their lack of ecological know-how. RAN most definitely supports logging of ancient forests, because they support FSC which provides the " certificate " saying it is okay, and validates a huge industry that cuts the last ancient forests to make your yard furniture. Their denial is simply not true! http://www.ecologicalinternet.org/ 22) A number of broad issues relating to the impact of taxation incentives for the establishment carbon sink forests were examined during the committee's consideration of this legislation. These included: 1) the impact on prime agricultural land; 2) the impact on rural communities and industries; 3) enforceability of carbon sequestration property rights over consecutive landowners; 4) the permanency of new plantings; 5) the requirement that plantings be contiguous; 6) incentives for biodiverse planting; 7) the potential for undesirable taxation outcomes; 8) the need for the tax incentives; 9) Managed Investment Schemes; and 10) recognition of other forms of carbon stores. - The members of the committee were unable to agree on issues raised during the inquiry, so this report includes two dissenting reports [Abstract from APO]. http://enviro-agri.blogspot.com/2008/09/implementation-operation-and.html 23) It is alarming that indigenous peoples' fears and objections have now been confirmed by the UN-REDD Framework Document itself. On page 4 and 5 it blatantly states that the program could " deprive communities of their legitimate land-development aspirations, that hard-fought gains in forest management practices might be wasted, that it could cause the lock-up of forests by decoupling conservation from development, or erode culturally rooted not-for-profit conservation values. " An estimated 60 million indigenous peoples are completely dependent on forests and are considered the most threatened by REDD. Therefore, indigenous leaders are among its most prominent critics. The International Indigenous Peoples' Forum on Climate Change declared that: '...REDD will steal our land… States and carbon traders will take control over our forests.' It is further highlighted that " REDD benefits in some circumstances may have to be traded off against other social, economic or environmental benefits. " In carefully phrased UN language, the document further acknowledges that REDD could cause severe human rights violations and be disastrous for the poor because it could " marginalize the landless…and those with… communal use-rights " . This is tantamount to the UN recognizing that REDD could undermine indigenous peoples and local communities rights to the usage andownership of their lands. Could it be that the UN is paving the way for a massive land grab? To read UN-REDD Framework Document: http://www.undp.org/mdtf/UN-REDD/docs/Annex-A-Framework-Document.pdf - http://www.huntingtonnews.net/political/080929-staff-politicalclimatechange.html 24) It was a classic David versus Goliath moment. At the December 2007 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali, Kevin Conrad challenged the U.S., the sole holdout on a plan for a post-2012 climate treaty. " If, for some reason, you're not willing to lead, leave it to the rest of us, " he declared. " Please, get out of the way! " Within minutes, the U.S. backed down. The resulting " Bali Action Plan " provides a road map for an international climate treaty that will succeed the Kyoto Protocol. The Bali agreement was significant for Conrad, who was there as Papua New Guinea's Special Envoy for Climate Change, because it contained provisions for which he'd fought for years. For the first time, the U.N. Climate Treaty agreed to recognize the role of tropical forests and deforestation in tackling global warming. This issue has long been central to Conrad, 40, who was raised in a small village deep in the rain forests of Papua New Guinea. He first addressed deforestation as a graduate student at Columbia University. While there, he sought my assistance on how the international community can provide incentives for conserving rain forests. He knew that without payment for environ-mental services, which have been excluded from current climate-change agreements, countries like Papua New Guinea simply cannot protect their forests. Momentum quickly shifted after Conrad secured the support of two visionary leaders, Prime Minister Michael T. Somare of Papua New Guinea and President Oscar Arias Sánchez of Costa Rica. Making the case that deforestation in the developing world accounts for 20% of global greenhouse-gas emissions, Somare and Arias have called for countries that preserve their rain forests to be compensated. http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1841778_1841779,00.ht\ ml 25) The leaders of Nauru and Suriname, two developing nations struggling to protect their vulnerable environments from the ravages wrought by climate change, issued a call to the General Assembly today for increased assistance to boost their resilience to the effects of global warming. Phosphate mining has stripped Nauru of its farmable land, and greenhouse gas emissions are leading to a sea level rise – one metre in this century by conservative estimates – that will flood the remaining habitable terrain, President Marcus Stephen told the Assembly's high-level debate. " Our people will be literally trapped between the rising sea and an ancient, uninhabitable coral field, " he said. But Mr. Stephen said that " the cost of rehabilitating 80 per cent of our lands is well beyond our immediate means, " appealing for support from the United Nations, along with other donors, to help restore Nauru. Similarly, Runaldo Ronald Venetiaan, President of Suriname, urged increased funding to help the South American nation maintain its forests. Due to its low deforestation rates, he said that his country is " g. " However, he stressed " the importance of new financing mechanisms, since good management of forests and other natural resources cannot and should not be at the expense of the development of our own peoples, the peoples of countries with high forest coverage and low deforestation rates. " http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=28245 & Cr=general+assembly & Cr1=debat\ e 26) In their study now published in PLoS Biology, scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Tubingen have shown that certain small sections of genes, so-called microRNAs, coordinate growth and aging processes in plants. These microRNAs inhibit certain regulators, known as TCP transcription factors. These transcription factors in turn influence the production of jasmonic acid, a plant hormone. The higher the number of microRNAs present, the lower the number of transcription factors that are active, and the smaller the amount of jasmonic acid, which is produced by the plant. The plant therefore ages more slowly, as this hormone is important for the plant's aging processes. The researchers have succeeded for the first time in describing the antagonistic regulation of growth and aging in plants. Since the quantity of microRNAs in the plants can be controlled by genetic methods, it may be possible in future to cultivate plants that live longer and grow faster. (PLoS Biology, September 23, 2008) MicroRNAs are short, single-strand sections of genes that regulate other genes. They do this by binding to complementary sections of the genetic material, thus preventing them from being read and implemented in genetic products. In plants, microRNAs mainly inhibit other regulators, so-called transcription factors. These factors can switch genes on or off by binding to DNA sections, thus activating or blocking them so that either too many or too few proteins are formed. Since proteins control metabolic processes, an imbalance leads to more or less clearly visible changes to the plant. http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Formula_Discovered_For_Longer_Plant_Life_999.h\ tml 27) The study showed that when phosphorus or nitrogen — which occur naturally in rain forest soils — were added to forest plots in Costa Rica, they caused an increase in carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere by about 20 percent annually, said Cleveland. " The study is important because human activities are changing the amount of phosphorus and nitrogen in ecosystems all over the globe, including the tropics, " Cleveland said. " Tropical rain forests play a dominant role on Earth in regulating atmospheric carbon dioxide. " One big question, said Cleveland, " is how tropical rain forests are responding to climate change. What we have demonstrated is that even small changes in nutrients could have a profound impact on the release of carbon dioxide from tropical forest soils. " The study, which took place in 2004 and 2005 in Costa Rica's Golfo Dulce Forest Reserve, included a series of 25 meter-square plots that were fertilized with phosphorus, nitrogen, or a combination of the two. Tropical forests contain up to 40 percent of the carbon stored on Earth's continents and account for at least one-third of the annual exchange of carbon dioxide between the biosphere and the atmosphere, said Cleveland. Earth's soils are believed to store several times more carbon than all the planet's vegetation. " This is the first time anyone has taken a close look at how changes in key nutrients may alter soil carbon dioxide emissions in tropical forests, " said Cleveland. " Processes in the tropics affect what is happening around the globe, so this study has some big implications. " Phosphorus is known as a " limiting nutrient " because its availability can govern the growth rate of many organisms. While slash-and-burn agriculture in the tropics often reduces soil phosphorus in the long run, the practice can initially make more phosphorus available to tropical soil microbes, increasing their metabolism and the amounts of carbon dioxide they emit. Phosphorus and many other nutrients are regularly transported around the Earth by global wind patterns, sometimes riding on huge transcontinental dust clouds, said Townsend. " There is strong evidence that humans are increasing the size of these dust clouds as changes occur in both land-use patterns and climate, which in turn can alter the availability of nutrients to forests, " he said. http://www.brightsurf.com/news/headlines/25028/Tropical_rainforest_nutrients_lin\ ked_to_global_carbon_dioxide_levels.html 28) There are at least three ways in which the presence of forests affected the ways in which wars or battles were fought. The first two, both applicable mainly on the tactical level, are obvious enough: forests served as an obstacle to movement, especially of cavalry and artillery, and provided concealment or cover, especially to infantry or irregular forces. The third way is not so obvious: dense forests affected the way in which societies conceived of war, prepared for it, and practiced it. Forests, especially dense ones, inhibited the free movement of armies from the earliest times onward. Caesar's legions complained of the dark woods of Gaul, and worked hard to build roads through them to ease transport. Clausewitz in Chapter 21 of his famous military manual On War, explained how field commanders might make use of forests, and how above all they should, when on the defensive stay clear of thick forests so as not to fight " like a blind man against one with his eyesight. " Clever commanders could exploit forest barriers to offset enemy advantages in numbers or firepower. General Robert E. Lee did just this at Chancellorsville in early May of 1863, one of the many battles of the American Civil War fought in northern Virginia. Outnumbered nearly 2 to 1 by the Army of the Potomac under Gen Joseph Hooker, Lee divided his forces, gambling that Hooker would not venture out of the dense woods locally known as The Wilderness. Hooker, having forgotten his Clausewitz, obliged. Unaware of the scale and meaning of Lee's movements, he allowed Lee's right arm, Gen. Stonewall Jackson, to achieve a surprise attack on the weakest part of the Union front. Lee relied on the forests to inhibit his opponent's movement, and his information, in what is often termed his greatest victory. Relying on forests to stymie enemy movements was always a risky gamble. While it worked for Lee it did not save France from German invasion in 1940. In the 1930s, the French had invested heavily in fortifications along the Franco-German border (the Maginot Line) and expected an eventual German attack along a broad front, along the lines of what had happened in the previous German invasion in 1914. The French Army had arranged its defenses in anticipation of war on the theory that the Wehrmacht would not be able to penetrate the Ardennes forest in Belgium in strength. Indeed the French Army was influential enough in the Third Republic to mandate forest preservation on the north-eastern frontiers of France in order to improve its defenses.31 Marshall Pétain, the prestigious French hero of World War I, claimed the Ardennes forest would prove impenetrable, as indeed it would have to an army advancing along a broad front. But the Germans instead drove armored units right through the Ardennes, along paved roads, quickly punctured the French line, ignoring the state-of-the-art defenses of the Maginot Line, and soon defeated France in June of 1940. http://warandgame.wordpress.com/2008/09/24/forests-in-war-fighting/ 29) Friends of the Earth (FoE) is the first major international NGO to confirm they no longer support Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification [search], which falsely suggests primary and old-growth forest logging is desirable and even sustainable. This is a major victory for those including Ecological Internet (EI) and FSC-Watch[1] who have courageously taken on large environmental interests using FSC to greenwash ancient forest destruction. FoE pioneered timber certification during the 1980s and was one of FSC's founders, but FoE International in Amsterdam has confirmed that it is now " reviewing " its membership of the organization. FoE UK announced on their website[2] they are " deeply concerned by the number of FSC certifications that are now sparking controversy and threatening the credibility of the scheme. We cannot support a scheme that fails to guarantee high environmental and social standards. As a result we can no longer recommend the FSC standard. " " FoE is to be commended for their courage in admitting all forest certification schemes including FSC are failing forests, climate and peoples globally. FSC plantation and ancient forest logging standards have been shown to be a fraud -- business as usual forest destruction. We welcome reports that other European NGOs may follow FoE's lead, and demand that Rainforest Action Network, Greenpeace and WWF stop their stonewalling and follow suit, or face escalating disruptive protests " warns Dr. Glen Barry, Ecological Internet's President. EI has long sought protection for all the Earth's remaining primary and old-growth forests. These efforts were stymied by large environmental bureaucracies falsely suggesting cutting carbon and species rich, centuries old trees is an environmental good. It became obvious the world's forests could only be protected, and global ecological sustainability achieved, if groups supporting FSC were confronted. Our protest campaign launched last year, assisted by recent overwhelming ecological science showing old-growth forests continue to store and remove carbon and are essential to fighting climate change[3]. http://www.rainforestportal.org/issues/2008/09/friends_of_the_earth_rejects_f.as\ p [1] For more information see http://www.fsc-watch.org/ [2] See their statement at: http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/faqs/sustainable_timber_fsc.html [3] See earlier EI release at:http://forests.org/blog/2008/09/feature-old-growth-carbon-find.asp 30) The birds of the world are in serious trouble, and common species are in now decline all over the globe, a comprehensive new review suggests today. From the turtle doves of Europe to the vultures of India, from the bobwhite quails of the US to the yellow cardinals of Argentina, from the eagles of Africa to the albatrosses of the Southern Ocean, the numbers of once-familiar birds are tumbling everywhere, according to the study from the conservation partnership BirdLife International. Their falling populations are compelling evidence of a rapid deterioration in the global environment that is affecting all life on earth -- including human life, BirdLife says in its report, State of The World's Birds. The report, released today with an accompanying website at the BirdLife World Conservation Conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina, identifies many key global threats, including the intensification of industrial-scale agriculture and fishing, the spread of invasive species, logging, and the replacement of natural forest with monocultural plantations. It goes on to suggest that in the long term, human-induced climate change may be the most serious stress. Based in Cambridge, BirdLife International is a global alliance of conservation organisations working in more than 100 countries and territories which is now the leading authority on the status of birds, their habitats and the issues and problems affecting them. When brought together, as in its new report, the regional pictures of bird declines combine to present a startling picture of a whole class of living things on a steep downward slope. A remarkable 45 per cent of common European birds are declining, with the familiar European turtle dove, for example, having lost 62 per cent of its population in the last 25 years, while on the other side of the globe, resident Australian wading birds have seen population losses of 81 per cent in the same period. Twenty common North American birds have more than halved in number in the last four decades, while in Asia, the millions of white-rumped vultures which once filled the skies have crashed by 99.9 per cent and the species is now critically endangered. " Many of these birds have been a familiar part of our everyday lives, and people who would not necessarily have noticed other environmental indicators have seen their numbers slipping away, and are wondering why, " said Dr Mike Rands, BirdLife's chief executive. http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=106996 31) A new sensor system developed by Voltree Power uses the energy produced by trees to wirelessly transmit signals with information about forest fires. The system is powered by off-the-shelf batteries that are slowly charged by the small amounts of electricity produced by trees. Scientists only recently discovered that trees produce energy generated from an imbalance in pH between a tree and its surrounding soil. The forest fire warning sensor is the first real-world application of this knowledge. The system wirelessly transmits information about temperature and humidity four times a day from sensor to sensor until the info reaches a weather station that beams the data by satellite to a forestry center in Idaho. Voltree's sensor is a big improvement over current forest fire warning technologies. Remote automated weather stations are expensive, and manually recharging batteries at hard-to-reach locations is costly. In contrast, the Voltree system maintains itself and only requires cheap batteries. And with forest fires getting bigger and more out of control every year, fire-prone areas will welcome the arrival of the tree-powered sensor. http://cleantechnica.com/2008/09/22/forest-fire-warning-system-derives-power-fro\ m-trees/ 32) The human effect on forest ecology is quite profound. While you could make a case for the destruction that may causes by simply walking into the forest, there is much worse done. Some of the common problems in local forests, national forest and even much larger forests include these: 1) Small, local forests are important to the local environment yet many are overrun with litter and debris. This causes a breakdown in the ecosystem and often leads to potential long term effects on the living environment. 2) Ecotourism has hurt many of the larger forests. Even national forests that are well protected have changed considerably due to the tourism of people. Tourism changes the landscape and often destroys part of the ecosystem in the process. 3) Deforestation is a large problem in many areas of the country. The search for wood is detrimental to the livelihood of the forest. Often times, when forests are wiped out due to foresting, they are not replanted, which destroys an entire habitat for animals and microorganisms. - Forest ecology is an important topic. Since trees are a natural beauty and they provide support for the larger ecosystem contained under their canopy, it is very harsh to believe that these forests are unimportant. What is important is having protection and special care to better save these forests for generations to come. http://safefornature.com/ecology/studying-forest-ecology Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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