News

Swedes find tree growth gene (UPI/ForestPress)

UMEA, Sweden – Swedish researchers say they have discovered an important gene that controls tree growth and development. Scientists at the Ume? Plant Science Center and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences say they have demonstrated how the growth and development of forest trees is controlled. The scientists say they have found that the FT gene that was previously shown to control the flowering time of annual plants, also controls tree flowering.

2006. May 8.

International Conference on Nanotechnology and Forest Products (ForestPress)

International Conference on Nanotechnology and Forest Products to Look at Safety Issues as well as Technical Ones When more than 150 researchers, business leaders and government officials gather in Atlanta later this month to examine nanotechnology and its global scientific and economic impact on forest products industries, one of the first topics they’ll consider will be potential environmental safety and health issues related to nanotechnology.

2006. May 8.

Gender programme in forest owner organisation (ForestPress)

In the further development of the organization of agricultural producers and forest owners in Finland equality between the sexes will play an important role. The Central Union of Agricultural Producers and Forest Owners (MTK) has recently adopted its first equality programme. Although at least one forest owner out of four is a woman, there are only 9 % women on the governing boards of the forestry associations and only 4 % on the Forestry Board of MTK.

2006. May 7.

Planting trees 'will not cancel out climate change (SciDev.Net)

Catherine Brahic Attempts to limit climate change by planting trees to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere could be futile, according to two studies published this week. It had previously been suggested that rising concentrations of the gas would boost plant growth and, with it, the amount of carbon dioxide plants absorb.

2006. May 5.

GM trees are being grown secretly in UK (Independent)

Byline: Geoffrey Lean They are 'somewhere in Dundee'. But they won't say where. Could it be because of a damning UN verdict? Governments worldwide have issued an unprecedented warning about the greatest biotech hazards so far: GM trees. Trees modified to grow faster, yield better wood, produce whiter paper, resist pests and disease and tolerate herbicides are increasingly being cultivated.

2006. May 4.

Ash fertilization is beneficial for spruce (Nordic/ForestPress)

Research made at the Lund University, Faculty of Engineering in Sweden proves that fertilizing spruce with ash increases growth by an average of 14 %. Mr Gunnar Thelin, manager of the research project, finds the results more positive than expected. He believes the most likely reason for increased spruce growth to be that ash improves the phosphorus balance of the trees.

2006. May 3.

Polar bears, hippos added to threatened species (Reuters)

By Laura MacInnis GENEVA – Polar bears and hippos have joined the ranks of species threatened with extinction from climate change, unregulated hunting and other man-made dangers, a leading environmental agency said on Tuesday. The World Conservation Union, or IUCN, said more than 16,000 species of animals and plants were at risk of disappearing, including one in four mammals and one in eight birds.

2006. May 3.

European Forests under new head (Nordic/ForestPress)

Stefan Schenker is the new president of the Confederation of European Forest Owners, CEPF. During its General Assembly, CEPF unanimously acclaimed Mister Stefan Schenker as its new president. The internationally recognised expert on forestry has been heading the Austrian association "Land & Forst Betriebe Österreich" up to last year. Since 1995 Stefan Schenker is a member of the CEPF board.

2006. May 2.

Dancing around the Maypole (ForestPress)

Ancient ceremonies around the Maypole were annual festivals to celebrate the excitement of the coming of spring. Bright flowers springing from the earth would be more exciting if you lived in primitive dwellings as people did over two thousand years ago. Today when a trip to the supermarket yields fresh blossoms any day of the year, there is not as much incentive to gladden our hearts over spring.

2006. May 1.

Game farming traditions in Bulgaria (RadioBulgaria/Science and nature)

Bulgaria’s impressive game diversity is due to the country’s geographic location and unique natural wealth. Its large forests and mountains are the habitat of the entirety of game species typical of the European-Siberian and Mediterranean zoogeographic regions. These strong and handsome animals are key to the local hunting tourism, which has a long and prominent tradition and is internationally acclaimed.

2006. April 30.

Ancient trees reveal climate change in Pakistan (SciDev.Net)

By Aleem Ahmed [ISLAMABAD] Oxygen locked away inside ancient trees shows that human activities have resulted in a dramatic increase in snowfall in northern Pakistan, say researchers. A study published today (27 April) in Nature says the region received more snow in the past century than at any other point during the past thousand years. It points to the onset of industrialisation and rising greenhouse gas emissions as the cause of the trend.

2006. April 30.

VICTORY: Russia Announces Lake Baikal to Be Spared Oil Pipeline Threat (ForestPress)

In yet another startling victory for Ecological Internet's network and partners, Russian President Putin has announced the new Siberian/Pacific coast oil pipeline will be routed at least 40 km from Lake Baikal, and outside of the "Jewel of Siberia's" watershed. Lake Baikal is home to 20 percent of the world's fresh water, and is the world's deepest and oldest lake renowned for its water purity and home to tremendous amounts of endemic species including a rare fresh water seal.

2006. April 28.

The web as a guideline to more profitable deciduous forests (nordic)

Ordinary Swedish deciduous trees could be exploited much more effectively. That is the message by Mr Martin Werner and Mr Lars Rytter at Skogforsk, the Forestry Research Institute of Sweden. They have developed a new web-based support for tending birch, aspen, hybrid aspen and alder.

2006. April 27.

Climate change effects seen in sugar maple (UPI)

BURLINGTON – In Ohio and New England, and through Canada, the maple sugaring season starts and ends earlier than a generation ago -- a sign of warming climate trends. Rex Marsh, 71, can recall winters so cold no one in northern Vermont ever thought of tapping a sugar maple before town meeting day on the first Tuesday of March.

2006. April 27.

Laos: A Lost World For Frogs (ScienceDaily)

Laonastes aenigmamus Frogs and lots of them are being discovered in the Southeast Asia nation of Lao PDR, according to the Bronx Zoo-based Wildlife Conservation Society, which says that six new frog species have been found by scientists over a two-year period.

2006. April 25.

Forest based tourism (NORDIC)

More than 80 per cent of the production forest in Norway is personally owned and family forestry is the dominating type of forest ownership with an average size of 60 hectares. The whole forest area in Norway is certified under the PEFC scheme. 80 per cent of the annual cut is harvested and sold through the forest owners co-operatives in the Norwegian forest owners’ federation.

2006. April 24.

Falcon Smugglers Swoop to Profits, Endanger Birds (Reuters)

Smuggling is driving many species of falcon towards extinction in an illicit market where prized birds can sell for a million dollars each, an expert said on Thursday. The black market in birds of prey, centred around the Middle East and Central Asia, can yield bigger profits than selling drugs or weapons, according to the US-based Union for the Conservation of Raptors (UCR).

2006. April 22.

Asia-Pacific leading the world in forest plantation development (ForestPress)

Still, lowest forest area per person in the world Bangkok, New Delhi, Rome – The Asia-Pacific region recorded the highest rate of forest plantation in the world, over the past five years, according to data released by FAO today. This helped the region reverse the 1990s’ trend of net loss of forest cover into a net gain during the period from 2000 to 2005, FAO said in advance of a gathering of key forestry officials in Dehradun, India, 17 to 21 April.

2006. April 21.