Purdue University: Purdue launches new AI-based global forest mapping project. “[Jingjing] Liang is developing an artificial intelligence model that will combine information collected about billions of trees measured on-site with satellite and other geospatial data to map local forest growth rates throughout the global forest range.”
Purdue University: Purdue team introduces advance in automatic forest mapping technology. “How lightning travels from the sky to the ground inspired the concept behind a new algorithmic approach to digitally separate individual trees from their forests in automatic forest mapping.”
USDA: Working Lands for Wildlife Launches Literature Gateway. “USDA just launched a new research and visualization tool that summarizes published scientific research on bird species-vegetation relationships in the Eastern and Boreal Forests of North America. The tool, Literature Gateway: A Systematic Map of Bird-Vegetation Relationships in Eastern and Boreal Forests, can be used to identify science-need gaps and guide habitat restoration and forest management practices on the ground.”
New York Times: Timber Poachers Set a Forest on Fire. Tree DNA Sent One to Prison.. “Prosecutors said this was the first time that such evidence had been used in a federal criminal trial, although it has been used in state cases and in federal cases that did not reach trial. Researchers hope this will deter future poaching, particularly of bigleaf maples, for which there is now a large database.”
Mongabay: How to pick a tree-planting project? Mongabay launches transparency tool to help supporters decide. “Mongabay has put together a directory to show whether tree-planting and reforestation projects publicly disclose the criteria that experts say are keys to success. We thought this would be a useful starting point for people wanting to fund reforestation, so they could identify projects that align with their interests. Our Reforestation Directory is built on a three-month research effort to record publicly available information on more than 350 tree-planting projects in 80 countries. Rather than make an assessment (and perceived endorsement) of the quality of the projects, Mongabay’s review is based on how much information is publicly disclosed by an organization.”
BBC: Norway funds satellite map of world’s tropical forests. “A unique satellite dataset on the world’s tropical forests is now available for all to see and use. It’s a high-resolution image map covering 64 countries that will be updated monthly. Anyone who wants to understand how trees are being managed will be able to download the necessary information for analysis – for free.”
Phys .org: NASA forest structure mission releases first data . “NASA’s Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation mission (GEDI) released its first publicly available data on January 21, 2020, giving researchers access to measurements of forests around the world.”
White Mountain Independent: Arizona Memory Project now hosts collection of Apache County photos . “The Apache National Forest History collection from Round Valley Public Library highlights the history of the Apache and Sitgreaves National Forests beginning in the 1910s. The collection showcases the work of the Civil Conservation Corps, the National Forest Service and the logging industry in Apache County, Arizona….Viewers of the collection will find images of campgrounds, lodges, mills, reservoirs and lakes, construction projects, and the people that helped make the Apache National Forest a place to escape the summer heat.”
Phys .org: Network of leading forest restoration experts features new website. “The new website highlights key findings from 60+ publications, synthesized into eight key messages. Key messages focus on livelihoods and well-being, local decision making, planting trees, natural regeneration, tree cover change, climate change, holistic vision, and guiding principles. The interactive website guides visitors to each message and provides short summaries of foundational research findings and free access to peer-reviewed publications, policy briefs, and educational modules.”
Purdue University: Nature paper offers global map to understand changing forests. “An international collaboration of hundreds of scientists – led in part by the Forest Advanced Computing and Artificial Intelligence (FACAI) Laboratory in Purdue’s Department of Forestry and Natural Resources – has developed the world’s first global map of tree symbioses. The map is key to understanding how forests are changing and the role climate plays in these shifts.”
The Nation (Thailand): Tree ‘fingerprinting’: a new weapon to defend forests . “A timeworn laboratory in Britain’s Royal Botanic Gardens may not seem like the obvious epicentre of efforts to halt international illegal logging. Beakers bubble away on a hotplate, while suspect guitars that have been sent by customs officials for testing sit on top of shelves lined with tattered old journals and reference books in a multitude of languages. But scientists at the Wood Anatomy Laboratory, part of the research centre at the gardens in Kew, southwest London, are working on a new global project to help precisely identify the origin and species of timber.”
Quartz: Tropical rainforests have a soundtrack. Recording it may save them. “Imagine a human city which has lost half of its inhabitants, or in which its diverse populations have been winnowed down to a single culture. While the buildings and roads may be standing, the many interactions that make the city hum would largely vanish. That’s what’s happening in many forests.”
Science Daily: Tropical trees in the Andes are moving up — toward extinction. “… UM researchers joined forces with 18 other researchers from around the world to create a new database that tracks the livelihoods of thousands of highland trees in 186 plots of land situated throughout what is known as the Tropical Andes Biodiversity Hotspot. Sitting at elevations from 300 to over 3,000 meters above sea level, most of the plots are about the size of an American football field and have been inventoried multiple times over the past couple decades. Collectively, these forest plots contain an astonishing diversity — a total of 120 different plant families, 528 genera, and more than 2,000 tree species.”
Mongabay: Seeing REDD: a database of forest carbon emissions reduction projects. “A searchable database of initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) is now available through the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR).”
University of Vermont: New Map Shows Many Old-growth Forests Remain In Europe. “Though you might read about deep, dark woods in fairy tales, the prevailing story today is that very little European old-growth forest remains. But now a new study—and map—shows that a surprising number of these primary forests still stand.”
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