Tree Care News

​Scientists have discovered that some forest soils are becoming surprisingly better at removing methane from the atmosphere as temperatures rise and rainfall declines. A study spanning up to 24 years found methane absorption increasing by an average of 3% annually,…

​Predatory wasps are hijacking shelters built by tropical trees for their ant defenders, potentially disrupting an ancient partnership that protects the plants from hungry insects. The takeover is far more common in disturbed landscapes such as oil palm plantations…

​A 30-year forestry experiment in Australia found that heavily thinned mountain ash forests grew unusually large trees while recovering enough carbon to match or exceed untouched areas. The results suggest carefully managed thinning could support timber production,…

​A 30-year forestry experiment in Australia found that heavily thinned mountain ash forests grew unusually large trees while recovering enough carbon to match or exceed untouched areas. The results suggest carefully managed thinning could support timber production,…

​A 30-year forestry experiment in Australia found that heavily thinned mountain ash forests grew unusually large trees while recovering enough carbon to match or exceed untouched areas. The results suggest carefully managed thinning could support timber production,…

​Mysterious 97-million-year-old magnetic fossils may be the oldest evidence of an animal using Earth’s magnetic field like a built-in GPS. Their sophisticated magnetic structure could have helped an unknown ocean creature navigate thousands of kilometers with…

​Scientists have identified two new species of large Australian stick insects, including one that lays extraordinary “lidded” eggs never before recorded in the group. The discovery also revealed that a familiar stick insect had been misidentified for decades, showing…

​A new protective fabric boosted strawberry yields by as much as 3.56 times while blocking insects and still allowing sunlight, rain, and airflow to reach the plants. Originally inspired by research on military clothing, Plant Armor could also help farms reduce…

​Mulberry compounds may reshape the gut microbiome in ways that support intestinal health and metabolism, with some combinations showing especially strong effects in animal studies. However, the results vary depending on the plant part and processing method, and the…

​Some tropical trees have evolved a clever way to survive drought by taking in carbon dioxide at night, allowing them to keep their pores closed during the hot daytime and conserve water. By comparing three Clusia species, researchers discovered that this water-saving…

​Researchers have created a concrete mixture that is both stronger and capable of absorbing carbon dioxide. The best formula, combining zeolite with bamboo biochar, boosted compressive strength by 7.48% and tensile strength by 15% compared with conventional concrete….

​A Yellowstone super-eruption would begin not with a sudden surprise, but with weeks of increasingly alarming warning signs such as migrating earthquake swarms, rapid ground uplift, changing geysers, and rising volcanic gases. In a worst-case scenario, those signals…

​A Yellowstone super-eruption would begin not with a sudden surprise, but with weeks of increasingly alarming warning signs such as migrating earthquake swarms, rapid ground uplift, changing geysers, and rising volcanic gases. In a worst-case scenario, those signals…

​Genetic evidence has revealed a previously unknown gentoo penguin species on the remote Kerguelen Islands and shown that gentoos actually consist of four distinct species. The discovery also highlights a growing threat, as warming oceans could leave several island…

​A large Amazon study suggests the most powerful conservation move may be protecting the forests that are already standing. Preventing damage from wildfires and logging delivered the greatest biodiversity benefits and nearly matched deforestation prevention for…

​A large Amazon study suggests the most powerful conservation move may be protecting the forests that are already standing. Preventing damage from wildfires and logging delivered the greatest biodiversity benefits and nearly matched deforestation prevention for…

​A chemical that stops drywood termites from building new exoskeletons killed about 95% of colonies in testing, offering a potentially safer alternative to traditional fumigation. Because termites eventually have no choice but to molt, the treatment turns a normal…

​U.S. irrigation produces some greenhouse gas emissions, but new research suggests it prevents vastly more by allowing farmers to grow more food on less land. Without irrigation, replacing lost crop yields could require converting natural ecosystems into farmland,…

​Insects quietly hold much of the natural world together, yet conservation efforts are overlooking the tropical regions where more than 80 percent of insect species live. Monash University researchers have developed a global framework to close this gap by combining…

​East Antarctica gained an astonishing 695 billion tons of ice between 2021 and 2023, temporarily slowing Antarctica’s long-term decline. Researchers found that warming thousands of miles away in the tropical ocean altered atmospheric circulation and funneled moisture…

​Indonesia’s dangerous peat fires are surging early in the 2026 fire season as a strengthening El Niño and severe drought dry out wetlands that can burn underground for months. These slow smoldering fires are especially destructive because they release far more fine…

​Elephant Butte Reservoir, New Mexico’s largest reservoir, plunged to just 1.4 percent capacity in July 2026 after years of extreme drought and record early snowmelt. The dramatic decline exposed long-submerged debris and underscored the growing strain on Rio Grande…

​Ancient teeth and human DNA are revealing a surprising history of insect eating. Modern humans in northern Eurasia appear to have eaten insects only occasionally, while Neanderthals may have consumed them much more regularly. Populations near the tropics also…

​Ancient fossils suggest insects conquered land through a long amphibious phase rather than making an abrupt jump from water to dry ground. A newly identified 324-million-year-old species still carried paddle-like abdominal limbs, revealing an evolutionary bridge…

​Scientists have long thought an unusual genetic system helped ants, bees, and wasps evolve their extraordinary social colonies. A massive new analysis suggests that genetics alone can’t explain it—and the real secret may lie in other traits unique to these insects….

​Historic wildfires scorched huge areas of Spain and France, with one Spanish blaze burning an area about the size of New York City and a French fire generating a rare, towering fire cloud. A dangerous combination of lush winter growth, severe heat, drought, and…

​Historic wildfires scorched huge areas of Spain and France, with one Spanish blaze burning an area about the size of New York City and a French fire generating a rare, towering fire cloud. A dangerous combination of lush winter growth, severe heat, drought, and…

​Taiwan’s steep, remote mountains have sheltered extraordinary forests containing hundreds of giant Taiwania firs. After years of difficult expeditions, LiDAR mapping, and citizen-science detective work, researchers discovered an 84.1-meter (276-foot) tree, the…

​Thawing Arctic permafrost is releasing ancient carbon into the ocean, raising fears that microbes could turn it into greenhouse gases and accelerate climate change. But sediment cores collected near Canada’s Herschel Island reveal a more reassuring twist: most of…

​More than 150 years after Darwin’s finches helped reshape biology, Galápagos plants are exposing another evolutionary surprise. Giant daisies repeatedly developed similar heat-tolerant leaf shapes, but each lineage used a different combination of genes. Researchers…

​Bumblebees naturally have short lives, but extreme heat and human activity are making survival harder. Pesticides can poison bees or destroy the flowers they depend on, while habitat loss leaves them with fewer safe places to live and feed. Protecting native plants…

​Giant sequoias are built to withstand ordinary fires, but recent extreme wildfires killed thousands of trees that had survived for centuries or even millennia. A new analysis of about 26,400 sequoias found that trees in areas treated with prescribed burns were nearly…

​Giant sequoias are built to withstand ordinary fires, but recent extreme wildfires killed thousands of trees that had survived for centuries or even millennia. A new analysis of about 26,400 sequoias found that trees in areas treated with prescribed burns were nearly…

​Giant sequoias are built to withstand ordinary fires, but recent extreme wildfires killed thousands of trees that had survived for centuries or even millennia. A new analysis of about 26,400 sequoias found that trees in areas treated with prescribed burns were nearly…

​A notorious snake invasion that devastated Guam’s native birds may have succeeded because the reptiles carried hidden genetic advantages. Using advanced long-read DNA sequencing, researchers uncovered more than 19,000 large genetic differences in brown tree snakes,…

​Ancient fern savannahs may have transformed parts of Europe into a wildfire-prone inferno during the end-Triassic mass extinction. New fossil evidence suggests the ferns repeatedly regrew after fires, creating fresh fuel that helped prolong the devastation. This post…

​Ancient fern savannahs may have transformed parts of Europe into a wildfire-prone inferno during the end-Triassic mass extinction. New fossil evidence suggests the ferns repeatedly regrew after fires, creating fresh fuel that helped prolong the devastation. This post…

​Scientists have identified a hidden feedback loop that may explain how Earth has regulated its climate for tens of millions of years. As sea levels rose and fell, they changed how much phosphate reached the open ocean, affecting marine life and the amount of carbon…

​Two striking Asian praying mantis species that have rapidly spread across Europe have now been officially classified as invasive, raising new concerns about their impact on native wildlife. Boosted by climate change and urban environments, these fast-breeding…

​Oak trees keep absorbing carbon dioxide long after their annual growth has ended, revealing that photosynthesis and wood production are not as closely linked as scientists once believed. The finding could reshape forecasts of how much carbon forests will be able to…

​Oak trees keep absorbing carbon dioxide long after their annual growth has ended, revealing that photosynthesis and wood production are not as closely linked as scientists once believed. The finding could reshape forecasts of how much carbon forests will be able to…

​Oak trees keep absorbing carbon dioxide long after their annual growth has ended, revealing that photosynthesis and wood production are not as closely linked as scientists once believed. The finding could reshape forecasts of how much carbon forests will be able to…

​A new study reveals that goldfish can do far more than survive in the wild—they can fundamentally reshape freshwater ecosystems. Researchers found they cloud water, damage food webs, and hurt native fish populations, sometimes triggering major ecological shifts. This…

​A bird long thought to be a single rare species in Japan has turned out to be two. Scientists discovered that the elusive Ijima’s Leaf Warbler and a newly identified Tokara Leaf Warbler look almost identical, but their DNA and songs reveal they are distinct species….

​Trees planted to protect farmland from wind may not be the biodiversity boost many assume. In Japan’s wetland farming landscapes, shelterbelts benefited some birds but sharply reduced grassland and wetland species that need open space. Researchers found grassland…

​Trees planted to protect farmland from wind may not be the biodiversity boost many assume. In Japan’s wetland farming landscapes, shelterbelts benefited some birds but sharply reduced grassland and wetland species that need open space. Researchers found grassland…

​Tyrannosaurus rex may have been a much slower grower than scientists realized. A new study of 17 tyrannosaur fossils found that the giant predator likely took about 40 years to reach its full size of roughly eight tons, extending previous estimates by 15 years. This…

​Scientists found that thawing permafrost can trigger increased rock weathering, a natural process that absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere. In some regions, this carbon uptake was strong enough to fully offset — or even surpass — river greenhouse gas emissions. This post…

​Beneath our feet lies a vast hidden fungal superhighway that helps sustain much of life on Earth—and scientists have now mapped it for the first time. Researchers estimate that these underground networks stretch an astonishing 110 quadrillion kilometers, move about 4…

​A groundbreaking new connectome maps every neural connection in an adult fruit fly’s central nervous system, creating an unprecedented view of how the brain and body work together. The findings suggest that complex behaviors emerge from distributed local circuits…