Tag: conservation

Research summaries

Studying habitat requirements at the edge of a species’ range: lessons from a critically endangered warbler in the Italian Alps

Ceresa et al. share their experience investigating the conservation of peripheral populations, focusing on the critically endangered barred warbler Curruca nisoria in the Italian Alps. Peripheral populations — those living at the edges of a species’ distribution — are often small and isolated. Yet they can be disproportionately important for conservation, harbouring unique genetic diversity and local adaptations that may help species cope with environmental change. … Continue reading Studying habitat requirements at the edge of a species’ range: lessons from a critically endangered warbler in the Italian Alps

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Research summaries

Qualitatively Assessing Carbon Management Trade-offs at the Nature Conservancy’s Meyer Preserve

Written by Rylee McMillan and Adrienne Keller At The Nature Conservancy’s Newell and Ann Meyer Preserve in Wisconsin, USA, managers face an increasingly difficult challenge: understanding the trade-offs and benefits of managing for carbon outcomes among other management objectives.  This challenge is not unique. Ecosystems globally are witnessing clear and intensifying effects of climate change, driving a growing interest in using natural lands for their … Continue reading Qualitatively Assessing Carbon Management Trade-offs at the Nature Conservancy’s Meyer Preserve

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Research summaries

Where Could Ireland and Britain’s Temperate Rainforest Actually Go?

Katerina Chernyuk highlights the need to understand the various factors impacting temperate rainforests and shares her team’s research investigating the potential climate envelopes in Ireland and Britain. Recently, temperate rainforests have captured public awareness across Ireland and Britain, with everything from award-winning books, media articles and restoration projects, leading to attention from both NGOs and governments. Temperate rainforests have become a flagship habitat for Irish … Continue reading Where Could Ireland and Britain’s Temperate Rainforest Actually Go?

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Plain language summaries, Research summaries

Plant mixture effects on soil nitrogen cycling

We conducted a global synthesis using paired observations of plant mixtures and corresponding monocultures to determine the long-term effects of plant diversity on soil N pools and N transformations. Our findings demonstrate that plant mixtures improve the sustainability of nitrogen cycling and reduce N2O emissions in the long term. We suggest that the conservation and restoration of terrestrial plant diversity should be designated as a … Continue reading Plant mixture effects on soil nitrogen cycling

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Research summaries

Turning camera-trap overload into actionable wildlife monitoring in African rainforests

To support adaptive management, Magaldi et al. have developed a deep-learning model to analyse ground-level camera traps in African tropical forests. A familiar problem If you work in wildlife research or protected-area management, you’ll know the feeling: camera traps are brilliant at “being there” 24/7 in dense forest, but they come with a hidden cost—an avalanche of photos and videos that someone has to sort, … Continue reading Turning camera-trap overload into actionable wildlife monitoring in African rainforests

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Monitoring and methods, Research summaries

La ciencia comunitaria complementa la evaluación del riesgo de extinción

Comprender la probabilidad de extinción es fundamental para una gestión y conservación eficaces. Si bien dicha evaluación depende principalmente de un monitoreo riguroso y estandarizado (con los mejores datos disponibles), una investigación reciente de Acevedo-Charry et al (2025) presenta una forma complementaria en la que los datos recopilados por voluntarios pueden ayudar a estimar la probabilidad de extinción. Esta entrada de blog también está disponible … Continue reading La ciencia comunitaria complementa la evaluación del riesgo de extinción

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Monitoring and methods, Research summaries

Community science complements assessment of extinction risk

Understanding the probability of extinction is critical for effective management and conservation. While such assessment mainly depends on rigorous and standardized monitoring (the best of the best data), recent research from Acevedo-Charry et al (2025) features a complementary way that data gathered from volunteers can help estimate probability of extinction. A version of this post is also available in Spanish here. How do we assess … Continue reading Community science complements assessment of extinction risk

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Monitoring and methods

Amidst the resplendence of Munnar’s sky islands

Madhumay Mallik from the Wildlife Trust of India recounts their experience researching grass frogs, and details what is being done to ensure that these and other frog species continue to thrive despite increasing challenges. Far away on the mountain peak were cotton clouds in restless sleep, tossing and turning. Before me, a lush pasture of smooth grass and wild flowers, blanketing a steep terrain and … Continue reading Amidst the resplendence of Munnar’s sky islands

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Conferences and events

Reclaiming Our Common Future

The pursuit of shared purpose in an age of division Reflections on a lecture given by Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland at the Grantham Institute, Imperial College, London, 29 October 2025. Gary Kass, Visiting Professor of Sustainability Science, Policy and Practice, Imperial College; Honorary Professor of Geography, University of Nottingham; Vice-President of IES and Chair of IES External Policy Advisory Group; Member of the Office of … Continue reading Reclaiming Our Common Future

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Research summaries

Scotland’s iconic Red deer threatened by invasive ‘super Sika’

Calum Brown and his team share their findings on managing native and non-native deer species in Scotland and discuss potential solutions. Scotland’s deer numbers are thought to be at an all-time high. Although estimates vary, something like a million deer currently roam the land, around double the numbers present in 1990. This growing population has serious impacts, including limiting the regeneration of our small, fragmented … Continue reading Scotland’s iconic Red deer threatened by invasive ‘super Sika’

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