#degradation — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #degradation, aggregated by home.social.
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Soil degradation - the stuff of life that is called 'dirt'
"Soil is a vital resource for life on Earth."* The Ig Nobel Prizes: "Franz Bender, Marcel van der Heijden, Atlant Bieri, and Pia Viviani, for burying 1,000 identical pairs of underpants in more than 25 countries and then digging them up after two months."
"The results: Land use was the most important factor. Underpants decomposed the fastest in private gardens, where soil analysis also revealed the highest levels of organic matter. Lawns showed the least activity of soil organisms, with agricultural fields and meadows ranging in the middle. Temperature and moisture levels also affected organism activity, particularly if conditions were too cold or too dry, as did soil nutrient levels. Overall, the authors found that their “underpants index” provided equally meaningful information about soil conditions as the TBI, including chemical and physical properties, elevation, and moisture." >>
https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/09/meet-the-2026-ig-nobel-prize-winners/* "Soil is a vital resource for plant growth. It hosts a major part of global species diversity and is key for ecosystem functioning and it forms the basis of human civilization. Yet soils are rapidly degrading, threatening food production, biodiversity, and Earth system functioning. This threat is largely unrecognized in broader society, hindering effective steps towards soil protection."
"Soil is a vital resource for life on Earth. Although many soils are degraded, societal awareness of soil-related issues is limited."
"Farmers, responsible for the management of vast areas of land, often receive little education in basic soil principles. The lack of relationship between the public and soil leads to wasteful treatment of global soil resources. Increased awareness and targeted action towards the protection of soils are urgently needed." >>
https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ppp3.70259
#biodiversity #degradation #soil #life #dirt #lawns #SoilHealth #farmers #ImperviousSurfaces
Image: Lawn and impervious surfaces NSW -
Human-mediated extirpation of wildlife through logging
"Before industrial logging in south-west British Columbia, there were nearly 1,000 spotted owls in the old-growth forests. But they have vanished in recent decades, victims of habitat destruction. Activists have tried in vain to hold the government to account, alleging protected species laws have failed to prevent the extirpation of the owls."
"Efforts to revive the population have failed, with a pair of owls released from the breeding program dying within months. The lone female in the wild is also believed to have died."
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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/12/canada-owl-rats-valentines-dayWhat happened to the Northern Spotted Owl? >>
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_spotted_owl
#LoggingImpacts #harm #birds #biodiversity #NativeForests #LoggingIndustry #Wildlife #habitat #destruction #degradation #extirpation #NSWLogging #SaveTuckersNob #koalas #BellingenLogging #SettlerSociety #governance #ecocide -
Logging in forest earmarked for koala national park increasing under NSW Labor, analysis finds
“Far from protecting the great koala national park, they are accelerating its degradation.""Logging of native forest in the proposed great koala national park (GKNP) in northern New South Wales has intensified since the Minns government took office, according to new analysis by conservation advocates."
The report, which the state’s forestry corporation disputes, found 7,185 hectares (17,700 acres) were logged within the promised park in the 21 months since the March 2023 state election. Dailan Pugh, the president of the North East Forest Alliance, said this was about 8.4% of the area identified for potential logging and included habitat for endangered koalas and another 37 threatened species....They’re still logging areas they’ve identified as high density for koalas,” Pugh said."
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https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/jan/13/logging-in-forest-earmarked-for-koala-national-park-increasing-under-nsw-labor-analysis-finds
#TheGreatKoalaNationalPark #degradation #NSWLogging #FCNSW #BellingenLogging #SaveTuckersNob #koalas #gliders #biodiversity #governance #StopLoggingKoalaHabitat -
"Between 2000 and 2022, NSW logged approximately 435,000 ha of native forest and woodland, all of which overlapped with the distributions of at least one threatened forest-dependent taxon."
"While logging in NSW has degraded 435,000 ha of native forest across 143 threatened taxa distributions, logging is still legal under current legislation."
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https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/csp2.13185
#biodiversity #ShiftingBaselines #ThreatenedSpecies #NSWLogging #FCNSW #LoggingIndustry #deforestation #degradation #harm #fires #roads #SettlerSociety #BellingenLogging #TheGreatKoalaNationalPark #SaveTuckersNob #ExtinctionCrisis #EPBCAct #EUDR -
Labor continues double-speak on forestry issues
"Amid talk of managing forestry and environmental conservation, Labor governments continue the destruction of forests across Australia."
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https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/labor-continues-double-speak-on-forestry-issues,18770Forest conversion and timber certification in the public plantation estate of NSW: Implications at the landscape and policy levels, (Tim Cadman et al., 2024)
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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2024.107179
#NativeForests #deforestation #NSWLogging #regulation #koalas #TheGreatKoalaNationalPark #BellingenLogging #SaveTuckersNob #FCNSW #degradation #RemnantVegetation #conversion #ecosystem #conservation #Biodiversity #GlasgowDeclaration #ecology #ClimateAction #Law #governance #legitimacy #EUDR #SupplyChains #Australia #reputation -
Are Australia's 4WD enthusiasts wrecking the bush?
From bushwalking to ALL TERRAIN driving in the bush"4WD touring is booming and it's putting unprecedented pressure on the bush. The increased traffic is also degrading many of the tracks...Many of the tracks are historical — initially built for logging, gold mining or firebreaks — and are not designed for four-wheel driving. These tracks proliferate, they very rarely disappear."
"Something bogs up, drivers go round it, and it gets bigger, damages vegetation and spreads weeds and pests...The rules for four-wheel drives are the same whether you're in a national park or in a state forest, you're supposed to drive them on a road. You're not supposed to drive them around in the bush, willy nilly."
"Seasonal closures can also protect areas at risk of degradation.The spokesperson says 181 infringements totalling more than $60,000 were given to people caught driving cars or riding trail bikes illegally off-road or in restricted areas last year."
Déjà vu of SUVs being washed in a perennial stream (Orara River) on the eastern slopes of the Dorrigo Plateau and nappies deposited on river rocks.
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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-13/4wd-tracks-see-boom-in-drivers-damaging-landscape-high-country/104049400
#conservation #NPs #TheBush #NSW #TheDrive #Bellingen #Orara #rivers #NeverNever #SUVs #ATV #OffRoad #DomesticTourism #rubbish #weeds #toilets #degradation #car #culture #regulation #bushwalking #biodiversity #habitat #climate -
#GlobalStudy led by #UniversityOfBristol revealed #CarbonSink #vulnerability of #recovering forests. #Tropical #forests are #vital in the fight against #ClimateChange & have great #potential as a carbon sink. However, new #data shows that new tropical #deforestation & forest #degradation are #outstripping rates of forest #regrowth .
#StopDeforestation #StopEcocide #StopClearcuts #SaveOldGrowth #WorthMoreStanding #protectOldGrowth #ClimateAction #ecojustice #ecology