Topic description and stories

Illustration of Calamophyton trees

Earth’s earliest forest revealed in Somerset fossils

07 Mar 2024

The oldest fossilised forest known on Earth – dating from 390 million years ago – has been found in the high sandstone cliffs along the Devon and...

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Pile of yew trunks at the edge of an agricultural field

The Fens of eastern England once held vast woodlands

24 Nov 2023

The Fens of eastern England, a low-lying, extremely flat landscape dominated by agricultural fields, was once a vast woodland filled with huge yew...

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Woodland

Experts predict ‘catastrophic ecosystem collapse’ of UK forests within the next 50 years if action not taken

08 Nov 2023

Other threats to UK forests include competition with society for water, viral diseases, and extreme weather affecting forest management.

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A young child drinks from a water tap

Foresters bring Cambridge 'water curriculum' to Indian Himalayas

29 Jun 2023

Foresters across the mountainous northeastern Indian state of Nagaland will help roll out a unique programme of environmental education, co-developed...

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Treetops seen from a low angle

Phone-based measurements provide fast, accurate information about the health of forests

07 Mar 2023

Researchers have developed an algorithm that uses computer vision techniques to accurately measure trees almost five times faster than traditional...

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Deforestation

New report assesses global anti-deforestation measures

04 May 2022

Comprehensive scientific report shows progress and effects on climate, nature and people.

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European summer droughts since 2015 unprecedented in past two millennia

15 Mar 2021

Recent summer droughts in Europe are far more severe than anything in the past 2,100 years, according to a new study.

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Women in STEM: Flora Donald

19 Dec 2019

Flora Donald is a PhD candidate who splits her time between the Department of Plant Sciences and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. Here, she...

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Henry Peacham, 'Silvius', from Minerva Britanna (1612)

Into the woods with Shakespeare

02 Oct 2017

The Shakespearean Forest reimagines the real forests that our greatest playwright evoked in his works. The final book of renowned scholar, Anne...

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Minecraft tree “probably” the tallest tree in the Tropics

08 Jun 2016

A tree the height of 20 London double-decker buses has been discovered in Malaysia by conservation scientists monitoring the impact of human activity...

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The President of the Republic of Madagascar, Hery Rajaonarimampianina, receiving a copy of Forests and Food during his recent visit to Cambridge

Opinion: How tasty forest foods can help solve the global hunger crisis

27 Nov 2015

Dr Bhaskar Vira (Department of Geography) is co-editor of the open access book Forests and Food , which will be launched at the Global Landscapes...

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cacao fruits

Forests could play a vital role in efforts to end global hunger

06 May 2015

A new report underlines the crucial role that forests play in food security and poverty reduction with one billion people worldwide dependent on...

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