We are told the natural world is ‘breaking down’. But forests don’t work like aeroplanes or human hearts ...

Ecosystem function describes the array of biological, geochemical and physical processes that occur within an ecosystem—such as primary production, nutrient cycling, decomposition and climate ...

Desertification is accelerating under climate change, threatening biodiversity, food security, and human well-being across the Mediterranean Basin, southern Europe, and the Middle East. Water scarcity ...

What can fossil records teach scientists about ancient ecosystems and marine environments? This is what a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences hopes to address ...

Many alpine ecosystems are undergoing vegetation degradation because of global change, which is affecting ecosystem functioning and biodiversity. The ecological consequences of alpine pioneer ...

In a study tracking climate-induced changes in the distribution of animals and their effects on ecosystem functions, North Carolina State University researchers show that resident species can continue ...

Soils underpin a wide array of functions that sustain terrestrial ecosystems and human well-being. These functions encompass physical support for plant growth, storage and regulation of water and ...

Halting biodiversity loss is one of the great challenges of the 21st century, and if we want international conservation policies that work, we need to urgently re-evaluate how we think ecosystems work ...

A recent study quantifies the impact of biodiversity loss on ecological functions by tracking energy flows within them. It found that declines in birds and small mammals have led to a significant ...

Fungi are key constituents of the soil microbial community, playing a major role in moving carbon and energy through the soil ...

Wildlife biologists used a novel technique to trace the movement of carbon through Arctic and boreal forest food webs and found that climate warming resulted in a shift from plant-based food webs to ...