Forests

The giant sequoia's ability to grow faster as it ages makes it a champ at carbon sequestration.

"The Supreme Court [Monday] weighed whether a U.S. EPA rule issued Friday could resolve a dispute over stormwater runoff from logging roads."

"Foresters are on the watch for a potential invasion of an insect that has decimated millions of acres of forest across the West and in Canada, with continued evidence showing the mountain pine bark beetle is on the march into Nevada and the Sierra."

"It is known that mountain pine beetle infestations have the potential to raise nearby air temperatures by killing off trees that provide a natural refrigerator effect for forests. Now, researchers are releasing hard numbers documenting how the pests' invasions affected a specific place."

"The Obama administration [Wednesday] released a final rule setting aside 9.6 million acres of critical habitat for the federally threatened northern spotted owl, a species whose population continues to slide despite decades of conservation efforts."

"Britain is facing its worst ecological disaster in at least a generation, as a devastating fungus that has already wiped out most of continental Europe's ash trees, appears to have taken root in rural England, conservationists say."

"Park Williams remembers the forest when he visited Mesa Verde more than two decades ago as an inquisitive third-grader on a family vacation. 'Back then, it was wet and green,' the 31-year-old scientist recalled."

"BRASILIA, Brazil, October 18, 2012 (ENS) – President Dilma Rousseff has vetoed nine items of the Forestry Code approved by Congress in September. One of the vetoes cancels amnesty for those who cleared the rainforest illegally."

Next year California will put into effect a "cap and trade" system to control greenhouse gas emissions.

"In the worst wildfire season on record, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service ran out of money to pay for firefighters, fire trucks and aircraft that dump retardant on monstrous flames."