Friday, July 13, 2007
Vital Ecosystem Services Threatened by Species Loss
Vital ecosystem functions, such as sequestering carbon dioxide and purifying water, depend on a larger number of species than previously thought. That means we may have underestimated the environmental impact of biodiversity losses. Andy Hector and Robert Bagchi of the University of Zurich, Switzerland, analysed data on the ecosystem services provided by grass species. They then devised a method to identify how many species were need to provide increasing numbers of services.
Thursday, July 05, 2007
South Africa: Plant Forests for World Cup
South Africa should commit itself to a major indigenous reforestation project in order to achieve its goal of a carbon-neutral World Cup. That‘s the call from Stuart Pimm, professor of conservation biology at Duke University, North Carolina, as well as at the University of Pretoria, and a world renowned authority on deforestation and its effects. Speaking yesterday at the 21st meeting of the Society of Conservation Biologists, Pimm said South Africa‘s stated commitment to carbon neutrality for 2010 was a visionary step.
