forestry research News
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Working Together for the Development of Sustainable Forest Management in the Mediterranean Basin
The development and extension of sustainable “Mediterranean forest” management is set to be the focus of a new collaboration between PEFC, the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification, and MENFRI, the Mediterranean Network of Forestry Research and Innovation. At last year’s PEFC Forest Certification Week held in Paris, France, representatives from PEFC ...
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Forest Certification to Help Ensure the Sustainable Use of Southern Mediterranean Forests
Desertification is one of the major environmental problems faced by Maghreb. The sustainable use of forests in these countries would help to mitigate and adapt to this global change. This is why MENFRI, the Mediterranean Network of Forestry Research and Innovation, gathered together forestry experts in Barcelona this summer to discuss opportunities and challenges brought by innovative solutions ...
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Root-imaging technology could improve crop resilience
Mexican researchers have welcomed a breakthrough in imaging plant roots, saying it could help breeders develop new varieties of crops that can thrive in harsh conditions. The technique uses X-ray computed tomography to build up a three-dimensional image by scanning through 360 degrees, a technology commonly used in hospitals to diagnose soft tissue damage. Scans of plant roots in soil show the ...
By SciDev.Net
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Alcoa Employees Join Expedition to Brazil and China as Earthwatch Fellows
Alcoa Foundation announced today thatit will sponsor25 employees from the Company’s operations in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Hungary, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Spain, Suriname and the United States on Earthwatch Institute expeditions to Brazil and China. The employees, who volunteered to become Earthwatch Fellows, will venture to Rio Cachoeira Natural Reserve in Paraná State, ...
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Forests and REDD+ in COP17 Durban
With all its complex processes and acronyms, it’s easy to forget that the international climate change negotiations are supposed to lead to changes on the ground. There have been several developments this year, however, which should remind us of the urgency of the task and the importance of getting each piece of the puzzle right, including incentives for developing countries to reduce their ...
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Reality check for `miracle` biofuel crop
The hardy jatropha tree as a biofuel source may not be the panacea for smallholders that some have claimed, say Miyuki Iiyama and James Onchieku. It sounds too good to be true: a biofuel crop that grows on semi-arid lands and degraded soils, replaces fossil fuels in developing countries and brings huge injections of cash to poor smallholders. That is what some are claiming for Jatropha curcas, ...
By SciDev.Net
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FAO to partner CBD on biodiversity
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) will work together on programmes that address climate change, food security and biodiversity loss. Two memoranda of understanding (MoU) signed last week (11 Oct) on the sidelines of the 11th Conference of Parties (COP 11) of the CBD in Hyderabad, India, aim to promote partnerships covering research, ...
By SciDev.Net
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Vast forest fires in Indonesia spawn ecological disaster
For farmer Achmad Rusli, it was a season of smoke: Ten weeks without sunlight for his oranges, guavas and durians, thanks to deliberately set forest fires that burned a chunk of Indonesia the size of New Jersey. The fires have finally died down with the arrival of monsoon rains, but too late for his crops, which are far too measly to sell. "We had not seen the sun in a two-and-a-half months," ...
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Sub-Saharan Africa news in brief: 7–20 April 2011
Below is a roundup of news from or about Sub-Saharan Africa for the period 7–20 April 2011 Solar powered farms on the way Kenya is pioneering a solar powered 'green farm' — which would be the continent's first. Ephraim Mukisira, director of the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) said that all farm activities, including the growing of crops and the rearing of livestock, ...
By SciDev.Net
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France to collaborate on FAO strategic objectives
FAO and French research institutions will step up cooperation in key research areas and coordinate their actions within the global framework of FAO’s renewed strategy. Two agreements signed today cover a broad spectrum of joint activities, including agro-ecology, biodiversity, animal health, food loss, agrarian reforms and genetic resources, which will contribute to FAO’s Strategic ...
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Arcadia Biosciences Takes Next Step to Enable Farmers to Receive Carbon Credits for Reduced Nitrogen Fertilizer Use
Arcadia Biosciences, Inc., an agricultural technology company focused on developing technologies and products that benefit the environment and human health, today announced that the company has submitted a carbon credit methodology to the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The methodology would allow ...
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Revitalising rural areas through innovation
The European Union has launched the project Social Innovation in Marginalised Rural Areas (SIMRA) in order to explain what is needed to make good ideas succeed in underpopulated territories or in areas of difficult access. Nowadays, the main challenges for rural areas include the decline and aging of the population, as well as increasing pressure faced by the agricultural and environmental ...
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Dutch university uses PlantCare technology
Dutch university Wageningen UR uses PlantCare equipment for soil moisture research in their greenhouse horticulture facilities in Bleiswijk, The Netherlands. 6 PlantCare wireless sensors, for recording soil moisture and soil temperature, and a PlantControl CX wireless data logger with modem, for sending the data to an email address, are being used. PlantCare’s worldwide patented sensor ...
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The importance of measuring and monitoring soil moisture
Crop irrigation uses more than 70% of the world’s water, and thus, improving irrigation efficiency is decisive to sustain the food demand from a fast-growing world population.* In future measuring and monitoring soil moisture will get more and more important to meet the needs of an increasing demand for food. Eijkelkamp offers solutions with a wide range of sensors. PlantCare The ...
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Profile probe saves time and money for forest monitoring team
FutMon project: Delta-T Profile Probes have been installed at four sites across the U.K. to provide soil moisture data as part of FutMon, an EU Life+ project. The aim of FutMon is to create a Europe-wide long term forest monitoring system. The FutMon partner organisation in the UK is Forest Research (Centre for Forestry and Climate Change). The data required for FutMon are being collected at ...
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New research project addresses national priorities in combating the threat of tree diseases
New diseases are posing significant risks to tree health and plant biosecurity.UK Government Research Councils, DEFRA, Forestry Commission and Scottish Government, are together investing £7M to fund seven new projects to help address threats to UK forests, woods and trees. Bangor University is a partner in one of these projects in collaboration with the Universities of Stirling and ...
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Measuring forestry`s impact on water availability
Undertaken by a team of CSIRO Water for a Healthy Country Flagship scientists for the National Water Commission (NWC) and Forest & Wood Products Australia, the project developed modelling tools to provide greater confidence in estimating the impact of new plantations on catchment stream flow. Australia's blueprint for water reform – the National Water Initiative (NWI) – ...
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Grass strips help curb erosion, herbicide transport
Grass filter strips placed in riparian zones not only curb soil erosion, but can help block and degrade the widely used herbicide atrazine, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists report. Atrazine has been used extensively to suppress weeds in corn production for decades, but because it's applied directly to soil it's especially prone to losses in surface runoff. The contamination of ...
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Bolivian researchers sound alarm over quinoa farming
Bolivian scientists have warned that growing international demand for quinoa is endangering local farming practices and the environment, as well as denying access to local consumers. Their caution follows the UN's kick off last month (20 February) of a year-long series of cultural, artistic and academic activities — along with scientific research — to celebrate 2013 as the ...
By SciDev.Net
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Peru relaxes GM rules … for now
After nine years of discussions, Peru's government has passed an agricultural biosafety regulation intended to promote biotechnological research and help the country's researchers catch up with other Latin American nations. The Biosafety Rules for the Agriculture or Forestry Sectors will regulate the research, production and trade of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), activities that were ...
By SciDev.Net
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