@unk-p Love this. Especially the last part about it being well-known by indigenous people there. So much to learn from each other!
As an aside, for any artists on the list, I have followed a number of botanical/scientific illustrators for years and the woman who illustrated this gorgeous giant is Lucy T. Smith (@palmsmithy on Instagram) if you are curious to see her updates on documenting this and also her life-sized painting of this.
UK forests could store almost double the amount of carbon than previous calculations suggest, with consequences for our understanding of carbon stocks and humanity's response to climate change, according to a new study involving UCL researchers.
The authors say that their study could have implications for the role of forests in tackling climate change, with the potential underestimation of forest carbon stocks having both positive and negative consequences for climate policy
https://phys.org/news/2022-12-uk-woodlands-carbon-previously.html
https://apple.news/AOS0cY-7oQ_WC1wrOD6jkDA
An environmental organisation from Bargara, near Bundaberg, is aiming to produce biofuels for the Japanese aviation industry by establishing Australia's first commercial pongamia plantation.
https://www.bioenergyplantations.com.au/about-pongamia-milletia/
Explains what Pongamia is.
https://www.treecrop.com.au/news/new-research-explore-potential-pongamia/
“While significant progress has been made in the renewable electricity sector, advancements in the sustainable transport fuel industry has lagged, and Australia currently has limited alternative fuel sources.
“In addition to biodiesel and renewable jet fuel, pongamia can help further mitigate the impacts of climate change, acting as an effective carbon sink, while the seedpods can be used for biomass energy. If the value of all these outputs is added to the use of the protein meal as stockfeed, pongamia is likely to be very profitable. This value could increase if the removal of all the unpleasant ingredients from the protein meal of the pongamia tree enables its use as a human food.”
Who knew.
Regards to all
Good news!
After its first-ever left-wing presidential administration took charge of negotiating permanent peace with the socialist FARC rebels, Colombia’s forests are feeling the effects with a 26% reduction in deforestation in the conflict areas.
"There is an enhanced understanding that you cannot build a new Colombia on the basis of the further deterioration of nature, so you have to find an economic, social, political, inclusive process that is more respectful towards nature than before" said peace negotiation leader Espen Barth Eide from Norway.
@lovendures Good tree news: Tiny forests are cropping up in cities around the world. They lower temperatures, absorb torrential rainfall and bring biodiversity back to cities. I love the one in the photo. I also love this thread - thanks for starting it. https://reasonstobecheerful.world/dense-micro-forests-miyakwaki-method-paris-france/
Good Christmas tree news: tree farms that rent and retrieve live Xmas trees. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ldoDK1SABM
Year's back we used to buy xmas trees in a pot and then plant them after christmas. That worked out well except that we now have too much shade to support these sun-loving trees in our yard.
I did some research earlier this month on whether it was better to buy a cut Xmas tree or use a fake one. The online consensus (although some might disagree) was that that cut trees are better for the environment because their tree farms support continuous tree growth. However I still feel bad about killing a tree for decoration. Now there is a solution which I shall try to use next year, provided I can find a tree farm willing to oblige.
@jeanne-mayell Goat keepers here on the Outer Cape have asked again for leftover trees (free of tinsel etc). Apparently, “pine needles provide trace nutrients, antioxidants, minerals, and forage. Pine is great for intestinal worm control and has high vitamin C content as well.” Go Goats! 🌲🌲🌲
@earthangel Don't forget to check your local bird rescues to see if they need still green cut trees. Our local rescues take some trees so that their recovering inhabitants have some fresh and familiar inclusions in their recuperation spaces.
@earthangel Don't forget to check your local bird rescues to see if they need still green cut trees. Our local rescues take some trees so that their recovering inhabitants have some fresh and familiar inclusions in their recuperation spaces.
Used live Christmas trees make wonderful winter shelter for birds when added to a brush pile. The evergreen leaves will provide shelter for many species throughout the winter. This makes great areas to watch local wildlife too.
I recently installed a dead cedar tree perch in my bird feeding area. And used the excess branches to add the the brush pile. Already I have seen an increase in the number and species of birds present in the bird feeding area.
@earthangel Great tip for putting a Xmas tree to good use. I will look for them online.
Also, It was SOOOOO awesome running into you and your husband in NYC a few weeks ago. I loved meeting you both and am just so glad you called out to me.
@April, We usually move our tree outside and keep the lights on it so we can enjoy it as long as possible. Then we add it to a brush pile on the edge of the forest. So it's heartening to think that the tree is still being used, in case I can't get to the goat keepers!