Tue, 01 Apr 2025 08:25:02 +0000Latest news in biodiversity and ecosystems/article/surprising-number-environmental-pollutants-hedgehogsTue, 01 Apr 2025 08:25:02 +0000/article/surprising-number-environmental-pollutants-hedgehogsLead, pesticides, brominated flame retardants, plastic additives, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and heavy metals. This is what researchers at �۶���Ƶ in Sweden found when they collected dead hedgehogs to investigate the environmental pollutants found in urban environments. /article/lakes-worldwide-are-changing-colour-possibly-due-human-impactFri, 14 Mar 2025 15:16:18 +0000/article/lakes-worldwide-are-changing-colour-possibly-due-human-impactOver the last 40 years, the majority of the world’s lakes have changed colour, according to a new study. The research team analysed 32 million satellite observations from over 67,000 lakes. Major changes in the lake ecosystems are thought to be the cause./article/grazing-zooplankton-severely-impacted-nanoplastic-particlesThu, 26 Sep 2024 11:20:16 +0000/article/grazing-zooplankton-severely-impacted-nanoplastic-particlesResearchers at �۶���Ƶ in Sweden have studied how nanoplastic affects aquatic organisms in lakes and rivers. The results are surprising and the researchers are the first to show that some species are being wiped out, while others – such as cyanobacteria that contribute to algal blooms – are completely unaffected./article/organic-farms-had-doubled-plant-diversity-only-over-timeMon, 02 Sep 2024 14:08:17 +0000/article/organic-farms-had-doubled-plant-diversity-only-over-timeIt takes a long time, up to several decades, before the benefits of organic farming take full effect on land that was previously cultivated conventionally, a new study from �۶���Ƶ suggests. After thirty years, the plant species richness around the cultivated crop had doubled on organic farms compared to conventional farms. /article/vacuum-cleaner-effect-fungi-can-hold-nanoplastics-bayMon, 09 Oct 2023 10:10:03 +0000/article/vacuum-cleaner-effect-fungi-can-hold-nanoplastics-bayUsing micro-engineered soil models, researchers at �۶���Ƶ in Sweden have investigated the effect of tiny polystyrene particles on bacteria and fungi. While these nanoplastics reduced both bacterial and fungal growth, the fungus actually managed to "clean up" their surroundings, thereby easing the effect of the plastics./article/four-lund-researchers-receive-erc-starting-grantsTue, 05 Sep 2023 15:26:19 +0000/article/four-lund-researchers-receive-erc-starting-grantsFour researchers from �۶���Ƶ in Sweden have received an ERC Starting Grant. The researchers and their respective fields are Filip Lenrick (industrial production), Colin Olito (evolutionary ecology), Milda Pucetaite (microbiological ecology) and Daria Davitti, (international law). The last-named is the first researcher at a department of law in Sweden to receive an ERC Grant. /article/secondary-forests-more-sensitive-droughtMon, 31 Jul 2023 08:50:09 +0000/article/secondary-forests-more-sensitive-droughtThe dry summer of 2018 hit Swedish forests hard - and hardest affected were the managed secondary forests. This according to a new study from �۶���Ƶ in Sweden./article/flowers-benefit-both-bees-and-biodiversityThu, 20 Apr 2023 19:24:58 +0000/article/flowers-benefit-both-bees-and-biodiversityAn increasing number of people want to help bees and other pollinators by growing flowers that are rich in pollen and nectar. But which flowers are the most beneficial?/article/earlier-take-could-lead-fewer-bumblebees-and-less-pollinationThu, 02 Mar 2023 10:08:26 +0000/article/earlier-take-could-lead-fewer-bumblebees-and-less-pollinationWith the arrival of spring, bumblebee queens take their first wing beat of the season and set out to find new nesting sites. But they are flying earlier in the year, as a result of a warmer climate and a changing agricultural landscape, according to new research from �۶���Ƶ in Sweden./article/urban-birds-prefer-native-treesMon, 13 Feb 2023 12:58:03 +0000/article/urban-birds-prefer-native-treesSmall passerine birds, such as blue and great tits, avoid breeding in urban areas where there are many non-native trees. Chicks also weigh less the more non-native trees there are in the vicinity of the nest. This is shown in a long-term study from �۶���Ƶ in Sweden./article/what-you-do-your-garden-help-pollinators-worksThu, 26 Jan 2023 15:59:13 +0000/article/what-you-do-your-garden-help-pollinators-worksHave you made adjustments to your garden to make it more welcoming for pollinators? If so, you have probably made a valuable contribution, according to a new study from �۶���Ƶ. The researchers evaluated the national ‘Operation: Save the Bees’ campaign, and their results indicate that what private individuals do in their gardens really can make a positive difference./article/un-conference-it-time-biodiversity-take-centre-stageWed, 30 Nov 2022 12:04:40 +0000/article/un-conference-it-time-biodiversity-take-centre-stageJust over two weeks after the UN climate summit in Egypt, the leaders of the world’s countries are meeting again, this time to address another acute crisis facing humanity – the loss of biodiversity. The issue is less well-known than the climate crisis and no framework corresponding to the Paris agreement is in place – something that many people hope the December summit in Montreal will rectify. /article/study-uncovers-widespread-and-ongoing-clearcutting-swedish-old-forestsWed, 09 Nov 2022 09:09:59 +0000/article/study-uncovers-widespread-and-ongoing-clearcutting-swedish-old-forestsAlmost one fourth of Sweden’s last unprotected old-growth forest was logged between 2003 and 2019. At this rate, all of these ecologically unique and valuable forests will be lost in about 50 years. These findings add to the growing body of evidence for widespread cryptic forest degradation across the global north./article/uns-climate-change-conference-cop27-topics-agendaTue, 08 Nov 2022 11:07:01 +0000/article/uns-climate-change-conference-cop27-topics-agendaThe UN’s annual climate change conference is currently ongoing in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt. Over the course of two weeks, representatives of the world’s nations will gather to discuss how to achieve the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement and contribute to the climate transition./article/world-fire-how-do-we-adapt-hotter-planetThu, 27 Oct 2022 09:33:25 +0000/article/world-fire-how-do-we-adapt-hotter-planetResearchers around the globe agree: the Earth is getting warmer and warmer, extreme weather such as heatwaves and long droughts increase the risk of wildfires. The group Wildfires in the Anthropocene at the Pufendorf Institute connects researchers from across �۶���Ƶ who study fires from different perspectives: climate change, health, environmental security, fire safety and biodiversity./article/less-bird-diversity-city-forestsThu, 29 Sep 2022 10:20:46 +0000/article/less-bird-diversity-city-forestsA new study led by �۶���Ƶ in Sweden shows that cities negatively affect the diversity of birds. There are significantly fewer bird species in urban forests compared with forests in the countryside - even if the forest areas are of the same quality./article/strawberries-were-smaller-when-bees-ingested-pesticidesThu, 15 Sep 2022 10:25:06 +0000/article/strawberries-were-smaller-when-bees-ingested-pesticidesSolitary bees that ingested the pesticide clothianidin when foraging from rapeseed flowers became slower. In addition, the strawberries pollinated by these bees were smaller. This is shown by a new study from �۶���Ƶ in Sweden./article/importance-precipitation-ecosystems-earthFri, 06 May 2022 11:03:18 +0000/article/importance-precipitation-ecosystems-earthWhere, how often, and how much it is going to rain or snow in the future is difficult to predict. Anders Ahlström studies the importance of precipitation for ecosystems on Earth – and contributes with new knowledge in a complex and fraught area./article/forest-under-strain-many-directionsThu, 11 Apr 2019 09:27:21 +0000/article/forest-under-strain-many-directionsLiving forests with diverse plants and animals, forests where you can hike, hunt or pick berries and mushrooms – will they still be there when the pressure on forestry production increases? Is it possible to increase production in a sustainable way, without reducing the possibility of achieving environmental and sustainability goals? /article/farm2forest-sustainable-agriculture-biobased-futureWed, 22 Aug 2018 22:00:00 +0000/article/farm2forest-sustainable-agriculture-biobased-futureResearch and society in close cooperation: that is the basis for Farm2Forest, a project aiming to produce evidence guiding Swedish and European agricultural and forestry policymaking. The idea is to combine economic and ecological data and models to evaluate different future scenarios for marginal agriculture in forest-dominated landscapes which, in terms of surface area, accounts for a significant proportion of Swedish agriculture. /article/human-and-nature-symbiosisThu, 22 Feb 2018 23:00:00 +0000/article/human-and-nature-symbiosisIn recent years, ‘ecosystem services’ has become an increasingly common concept within the research community, as well as in municipalities, public authorities and industry. In simple terms, ecosystem services can be described as the benefits humans gain from nature’s ecosystems, for example regarding the food we eat, the air we breathe, purification of the water we drink, the bioenergy we use to heat our homes, the wood that is made into paper, houses and so on. The list is long and the value hard to estimate.