The main question addressed by the study is: Does greater biodiversity increase the economic value of managed ecosystems? “We have found that the possible relationships between economic value and biodiversity are varied,” says Professor Thomas Knoke, Head of the Institute of Forest Management at the TUM School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan.

Plants take in energy from sunlight to transform atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) into sugars and then other materials for growth and metabolic functions.

Methane is present in the natural gas that is very abundant in the earth's crust and has found many uses in modern applications, mainly as a burning fuel.

Researchers from Utrecht University in the Netherlands, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), and colleagues found that delta areas worldwide have actually gained land in the past 30 years, despite river damming. However, recent land gains are unlikely to last throughout the 21st century due to expected, accelerated sea level rise.

Tiny meteorites no larger than grains of sand hold new clues about the atmosphere on ancient Earth, according to scientists.

Flow rates and time of year must be taken into account to better understand the potential risks posed by emerging organic contaminants in rivers and streams, according to Penn State researchers who studied contaminant concentrations and flow characteristics at six locations near drinking water intakes in the Susquehanna River basin.

The German government has introduced a plan to phase out coal-fired power entirely by 2038 — a target that could cut the country’s carbon dioxide emissions by a quarter, Reuters reported.

Tiny, symbiotic fungi play an outsized role in helping plants survive stresses like drought and extreme temperatures, which could help feed a planet experiencing climate change, report scientists at Washington State University.

Mixing drinking water with chlorine, the United States’ most common method of disinfecting drinking water, creates previously unidentified toxic byproducts, says  Carsten Prasse from Johns Hopkins University and his collaborators from the University of California, Berkeley and Switzerland.

All plants and animals need suitable conditions to survive. That means a certain amount of light, a tolerable temperature range, and access to sources of food, water and shelter.