vegetation

Fire in San Jose? Santa Clara residents complain of smoke too as Angel Island vegetation burn impacts Bay Area

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Smoke from a prescribed vegetation burn led to fears of a fire in San Jose and Santa Clara. Image for representational purposes. (Unsplash)

San Jose and Santa Clara residents feared there was a fire on September 23. This came amid heavy smoke in the San Francisco Bay Area, California. The smoke is due to a prescribed vegetation burn on Angel Island. Smoke from a prescribed vegetation burn led to fears of a fire in San Jose and Santa … Read more

For half a century, Massachusetts’ Mill Brook ran beneath a downtown parking lot; Athol has now uncovered it, created 12,000 sq ft of wetlands and turned 53,000 sq ft of pavement into vegetation

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For half a century, Massachusetts' Mill Brook ran beneath a downtown parking lot; Athol has now uncovered it, created 12,000 sq ft of wetlands and turned 53,000 sq ft of pavement into vegetation

For decades, a stretch of Mill Brook in Athol, Massachusetts, was hidden beneath asphalt, largely out of sight beneath what had become a downtown parking area. This month, the small central Massachusetts town celebrated a very different landscape: the stream is flowing in the open again, new wetlands surround it and much of the former … Read more

Scientists removed kangaroo rats from desert plots for 13 years, revealing how the rodents shape vegetation in the Chihuahuan Desert

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Scientists removed kangaroo rats from desert plots for 13 years, revealing how the rodents shape vegetation in the Chihuahuan Desert

PC: Connor Long/Wikipedia In the Chihuahuan Desert, kangaroo rats play an important role in shaping vegetation. Between 1977 and 1990, researchers excluded three kangaroo rat species from experimental plots to see how their absence affected plants and other animals. The 13-year experiment found that two grasses became significantly more abundant in plots without the rodents … Read more

Thermal Airport Fire update: Vegetation blaze in Riverside County closes Jacqueline Cochran airport; watch scary visuals

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A vegetation blaze dubbed the Airport Fire was reported in Thermal, California on September 4. At the time of writing, the fire is at 3 acres, as per WatchDuty. A vegetation blaze dubbed the Airport Fire was reported in Thermal, California. Image for representational purposes. (Unsplash) Initially, the Airport Fire was a ‘1/4 acre vegetation … Read more

In 1911, Norwegian whalers released 10 reindeer on South Georgia for food and hunting; a century later nearly 7,000 were removed after the herds damaged native vegetation

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In 1911, Norwegian whalers released 10 reindeer on South Georgia for food and hunting; a century later nearly 7,000 were removed after the herds damaged native vegetation

In 1911, Norwegian whalers released 10 reindeer on South Georgia for food and hunting When Norwegian whalers brought ten reindeer to the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia in 1911, the plan was simple: provide a steady supply of fresh meat and give workers a reminder of home. A century later, that small livestock release had … Read more

In 2017, Antigua and Barbuda removed invasive rats and goats from Redonda; by 2023, vegetation biomass rose over 2,000% and ground dragons increased 13-fold

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In 2017, Antigua and Barbuda removed invasive rats and goats from Redonda; by 2023, vegetation biomass rose over 2,000% and ground dragons increased 13-fold

Redonda had become a thriving haven for wildlife within a few years, and now it has received a major new layer of protection. For years, Redonda resembled more a barren moonscape than a tropical Caribbean island. Its vegetation was destroyed, its native wildlife was wiped out, and the marine ecosystem around it was harmed by … Read more