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Researchers at the University of British Columbia found that increased farm sizes resulted in a 15 percent decline in bird diversity. Frederik Noack, assistant professor in the Food and Resource Economics Group, part of their faculty of land and food systems, says, “Wildlife is a good indicator of a healthy agroecosystem, and one thing we wanted to understand was the link between farm size and biodiversity in surrounding areas.” A diverse bird population provides natural pest control and maintenance of an overall healthy ecosystem. They studied how various farming indicators impacted the diversity of local birds in the farmland bordering the former “Iron Curtain” in Germany. On the Western side of the former political border, farms are five times larger than on the Eastern side, a legacy of Communist farm collectivization. Although farms in East Germany have been privatized for 30 years, sharp differences in farm size remain along the former border, providing an opportunity to study the impact on biodiversity in an ecologically similar environment. Noack says, “Our results show that the negative impact of increased farm size can be mitigated by conserving land cover diversity within the agricultural landscape. In practice, this could mean incentivizing riparian buffer strips, forest patches, hedgerows or agroforestry.”
Climate Change Research in Central Park The Central Park Conservancy, the Yale School of the Environment and the New York City-based Natural Areas Conservancy are launching the Central Park Climate Lab, a new initiative and climate partnership to study the impacts of climate change on urban parks. Their mission is to work with cities across the country to improve urban park mitigation and adaptation to climate change. New York City Mayor Eric Adams states, “The Central Park Climate Lab begins a new era in research and cooperation that will give our park professionals improved tools to combat the climate crisis, and it will be a model for urban parks across the country.” Because around 55 percent of the world’s population lives in urban areas, the program will use mapping tools to develop interventions and protect urban parkland. With no national standard in place for characterizing and mapping it, the ability to identify broader climate solutions is limited. Research will begin in Central Park and then other New York City greenspaces before expanding to more parks. The data collected will be used to create new, scalable strategies and protocols. Elizabeth W. Smith, president and CEO of the Central Park Conservancy, says, “Severe weather events such as unprecedented rainfall, blizzards, high winds and extreme heat and cold, strain resources and impact Central Park’s tree canopy, plants and wildlife.”
Sea Change
Himalayan Glacier Retreat Bodes Consequences for Millions
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Glaciers in the Himalayan Mountains have been growing for millions of years, but researchers at England’s University of Leeds conclude in a new study published in the journal Scientific Reports that they are melting at an exceptional rate compared to other glaciers around the world. The Himalayas are home to nine of the world’s 10 highest peaks, including Mt. Everest, and the source of Asia’s longest river, the Yangtze. They contain the third-largest deposit of ice and snow in the world, after Antarctica and the Arctic. Study co-author Jonathan Carrivick, deputy head of the University of Leeds School of Geography, says, “Our findings clearly show that ice is now being lost from Himalayan glaciers at a rate that is at least 10 times higher than the average rate over past centuries ... and coincides with human-induced climate change.” These glaciers release meltwater that forms the headwaters of several major rivers, and their disappearance could threaten agriculture, drinking water and energy production in countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, China, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar. But the impact is not only regional, it includes the effect on sea level rise and the damage that could wreak on coastal communities globally. Carrivick says, “We must act urgently to reduce and mitigate the impact of human-made climate change on the glaciers and meltwater-fed rivers.” 12
Charlotte Edition
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Industrial Farming is Bad for Birds
