wood
Air pollutants from fireplaces and wood-burning stoves raise health concerns
WASHINGTON, Feb. 5, 2011 — With millions of people warding off winter’s chill with blazing fireplaces and wood-burning stoves, scientists are raising red flags about the potential health effects of the smoke released from burning wood. Their stud…
Spiders adjust courtship signals for maximum effect
Communication is important in any relationship, but for spiders, it can be a matter of life or death.
After all, a male spider needs to convince potentially cannibalistic females that he is a suitable mate and not a meal. And new research from…
Landscape tree disease from 12 wood decay fungi studied
STONEVILLE, MS — Landscape trees, valued for their aesthetic nature and their environmental benefits, are becomingly increasingly valuable in urban environments. A single mature tree can add considerable value to commercial and residential propert…
Ancient forest emerges mummified from the Arctic
SAN FRANCISCO — The northernmost mummified forest ever found in Canada is revealing how plants struggled to endure a long-ago global cooling.
Researchers believe the trees — buried by a landslide and exquisitely preserved 2 to 8 million year…
CCNY biologists study rainforest host-plant associations
The widening of the Panama Canal currently underway has created a rare opportunity to study the insects that inhabit the plants of environmentally sensitive Central American rain forest habitats. Dr. Amy Berkov, Professor of Biology at The City Col…
Demand for wood may lead to forest growth, not decline, study says
Under the right economic conditions, a growing demand for forest products that accompanies development may lead to an increase ? not a decline ? in forest cover, according to a new study by researchers at Brown University and Harvard University. Policies that focus on reducing paper demand may not necessarily increase forestation.
Ancient Hopi Villages Built with Driftwood
Many cultures have relied on driftwood as a resource, for building homes and fires, especially where other wood resources are scarce. But archaeologists have not investigated the possible extent of driftwood use by ancient cultures of the southwestern United States, until now. In a recent article in the journal Kiva, researchers report on the use of driftwood at Homol’ovi, a cluster of 14th-century Hopi villages along the Little Colorado River, near present-day Winslow, Arizona. Their findings not only document the first known reliance on driftwood by peoples of the Southwest, but point to many other implications for the archaeological record of the villages.