Publication archives

Feb 7, 2006

Sequoias designed to last a couple of thousand years (CA)

Giant sequoia trees are tough, long-lived organisms. Their survival strategy, perfected over millions of years, is to live for dozens of centuries. Most everyone knows this, but much of what the trees pursue to achieve this goal is missed by many who visit the groves.
Feb 7, 2006

Saving park's hemlock trees meant busy '05 (TN)

Last year was a busy year for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park's hemlock woolly adelgid control effort since the park began battling the insect in 2002.
Feb 6, 2006

Landmark Vermont farm tries grass pellet heat

It cost Shelburne Farms about $1,000 a year to mow grass that doesn't end up as hay for the animals and simply goes to waste. Now staff at the historic farm have come up with a use for it: turn it to pellets and burn them to heat the massive main barn.
Feb 6, 2006

UPM's Russian wood suppliers operating at a good level

In 2005, UPM carried out 112 supplier audits covering 235 different logging sites. These suppliers accounted for 80% of the wood procured in Russia.
Feb 6, 2006

Switch grass may bounce back as player in new energy goals

Switch grass used to blanket the Eastern and Central U.S. from the Gulf Coast to Canada, providing a habitat for birds and food for deer, which would munch on the five-foot-tall perennial. Cleared by pioneers to make room for food crops, switch grass was relegated to use as erosion control in low-quality land but may be making a comeback.
Feb 6, 2006

Watch for Wood Wasps

There are a variety of insects that are attracted to dying and recently dead trees. If wood dries normally, these insects often survive, even if the wood is cut up for firewood or processed into lumber (assuming they weren't in the direct path of the saw). These insects then can be found in homes where firewood or lumber used in remodeling or construction projects are brought indoors.
Feb 6, 2006

Too many deer in forests? (MN)

As one part of the certification of 4.7 million acres of the state's forests, forest and deer managers have something to prove by this fall. They must show they have a plan to ensure deer populations won't hinder forest regeneration. One of the two audits - that of Forest Stewardship Council - said that's a problem in certain areas of the state.
Feb 1, 2006

Statement by the NAMA Group of Developing Countries, February 2006

Statement by a new coalition of developing countries in the NAMA negotiations, known as the NAMA-11. The group states that developing countries need flexibility to ensure sufficient space for industrial development, that there must be a balanced outcome between the agriculture and NAMA negotiations, and that specific development concerns of developing countries will need to be addressed.