As climate warming stokes longer fire seasons and more severe fires in the North American boreal forest, being able to calculate how much carbon each fire burns grows more urgent. New research led by Northern Arizona University and published this week in Nature Climate Change suggests that how much carbon burns depends… Read more
climate change
NAU researchers win $1.3M in NSF grants to study major shifts in carbon storage
Two researchers at the Center for Ecosystem Science and Society have won separate awards totaling $1.3M from the National Science Foundation to better understand where carbon is being stored and released in the terrestrial biosphere. Using different approaches, the two projects aim to better predict carbon storage by plants and soils in critical regions of the globe, and how that storage is being altered by changing climate patterns.… Read more
A tale of two understories: how mosses and climate are shaping the fate of nitrogen in the boreal
Mosses and their microbial partners are important players in fertilizing the boreal forests that make up nearly a third of all Earth’s forests. But climate may be changing mosses’ role in how these forests access nutrients, according to a new study led by the Center for Ecosystem Science and Society (Ecoss) at Northern Arizona University… Read more
NAU researchers urge tropical forest protection
NAU scientists contribute to critical new global study showing ‘best of the last’ tropical forests urgently need protection to mitigate climate change and safeguard human well-being.
The world’s ‘best of the last’ tropical forests are at significant risk of being lost, according to a paper released today in Nature Ecology and Evolution. Of… Read more
NAU researchers co-author study that finds water efficiency achievable throughout U.S. without decrease in economic activity
A recent study co-authored by two Northern Arizona University researchers showed that targeted efforts to increase water efficiency could save enough water annually to fill Lake Mead. It could happen without significantly compromising economic production, jobs or tax revenue.
The study, published today in Environmental Research Letters, demonstrates that there is no one right answer to… Read more
NAU researchers urge tropical forest protection
NAU scientists contribute to critical new global study showing ‘best of the last’ tropical forests urgently need protection to mitigate climate change, safeguard human well-being
The world’s ‘best of the last’ tropical forests are at significant risk of being lost, according to a paper released today in Nature Ecology and Evolution. Of these pristine forests that provide key services—including carbon storage, prevention of disease transmission and water provision—only a mere 6.5 percent… Read more