Featured
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News Feature |
GDP is getting a makeover — what it means for economies, health and the planet
Pressure is mounting to downgrade GDP or improve it so economic growth is not the only game in town.
- Ehsan Masood
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Article
| Open AccessLight competition drives herbivore and nutrient effects on plant diversity
Competition for light can cause plant diversity loss in grassland ecosystems when fertilized or herbivores are excluded, and experimentally restoring light can mitigate this biodiversity loss.
- Anu Eskelinen
- , W. Stanley Harpole
- & Yann Hautier
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Article |
Small rainfall changes drive substantial changes in plant coexistence
Reduced precipitation changes competitive outcomes among plant species, and species pairs that were functionally more similar were less likely to experience these changes.
- Mary N. Van Dyke
- , Jonathan M. Levine
- & Nathan J. B. Kraft
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Where I Work |
Spotting hopeful signs for coral health in Barbados’s backyard
In his diving surveys, ecologist Henri Vallès is finding that some coral populations might be on the mend.
- Linda Nordling
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Article |
More losses than gains during one century of plant biodiversity change in Germany
Time-series data including 1,794 plant species from 7,738 vegetation plots in Germany between 1927 and 2020 reveal patterns of change in biodiversity, and suggest that more species declined than increased in abundance during this period.
- Ute Jandt
- , Helge Bruelheide
- & Monika Wulf
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Article
| Open AccessA function-based typology for Earth’s ecosystems
The International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Global Ecosystem Typology has been developed to provide a systematic framework for data on all of Earth’s ecosystems in a unified theoretical context to support biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services.
- David A. Keith
- , José R. Ferrer-Paris
- & Richard T. Kingsford
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Article |
Global hotspots for soil nature conservation
A global field survey that analyses samples of soil from all continents identifies hotspots for soil nature conservation, and shows that different ecological dimensions of soil are associated with different priority areas for conservation.
- Carlos A. Guerra
- , Miguel Berdugo
- & Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo
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News |
Troubled biodiversity plan gets billion-dollar funding boost
But urgent progress is needed to secure the global deal to save the environment.
- Natasha Gilbert
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Correspondence |
Carbon farming: integrate biodiversity metrics
- Sylvain Coutu
- , Inbal Becker-Reshef
- & Loïc Pellissier
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World View |
Register animal-tracking tags to boost conservation
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the value of pooling animal-tracking data — a global tag registry would facilitate data discovery and collaboration.
- Christian Rutz
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Matters Arising |
Reply to: The risks of overstating the climate benefits of ecosystem restoration
- Bernardo B. N. Strassburg
- , Alvaro Iribarrem
- & Piero Visconti
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News |
Impact report: how biodiversity coverage shapes lives and policies
Three cases reveal how Nature’s science journalism and opinion content help to bring about change.
- Julian Nowogrodzki
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Research Highlight |
Mount Everest’s harsh heights shelter a rich array of life
Scraps of DNA show that living things of all kinds thrive in the thin air above 4,000 metres.
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Article |
When and where to protect forests
A dynamic optimization approach using plant species data from 458 forest ecoregions suggests a strategy for when and where to conserve forests globally over the next 50 years to maximize the conservation of plant biodiversity.
- Ian H. Luby
- , Steve J. Miller
- & Stephen Polasky
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Editorial |
We must get a grip on forest science — before it’s too late
Trees are one of our biggest carbon hopes. Supporting the scientists studying them should be a much higher priority.
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Where I Work |
Potato-gene wrangler
Hugo Campos develops resilient, high-yield crop varieties to battle food insecurity.
- Virginia Gewin
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News |
More than dollars: mega-review finds 50 ways to value nature
Assessing the environment in purely monetary terms can harm people and the planet.
- Ehsan Masood
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News |
Scientists warn deal to save biodiversity is in jeopardy
Conservation groups say that a lack of political leadership has bogged down negotiations.
- Natasha Gilbert
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News |
Crucial biodiversity summit will go ahead in Canada, not China: what scientists think
After pandemic delays, researchers say countries must agree this year on ambitious targets to protect the environment.
- Natasha Gilbert
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Editorial |
The sustainability movement is 50. Why are world leaders ignoring it?
Environmental sustainability provides a clear route to prosperity and well-being, and people in power need to take notice.
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Editorial |
Cash and action are needed to avert a biodiversity crisis
To stop catastrophic losses of animal and plant species, countries need to move ahead with talks and give generously — despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
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News |
COVID delays are frustrating the world’s plans to save biodiversity
Scientists hope an ambitious agreement to arrest species extinction will be finalized in China later this year, but the country’s pandemic response puts that in doubt.
- Smriti Mallapaty
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News |
My family and other parasites: more worm species are named for loved ones
Analysis also finds that parasites named after scientists tend to honour male rather than female researchers.
- Freda Kreier
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Editorial |
How to make Africa’s ‘Great Green Wall’ a success
One of the world’s most ambitious plans to restore degraded land needs a more meaningful way to measure its achievements.
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Comment |
Analysis: the biodiversity footprint of the University of Oxford
Every large organization should plot a path to net gain in biodiversity — here’s how.
- Joseph William Bull
- , Isobel Taylor
- & E. J. Milner-Gulland
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Article |
Agriculture and climate change are reshaping insect biodiversity worldwide
Interaction between climate warming and intensive agricultural land use is associated with reductions in insect abundance and species richness, which can be mitigated by nearby natural habitats in low-intensity agricultural settings.
- Charlotte L. Outhwaite
- , Peter McCann
- & Tim Newbold
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Correspondence |
Fuel, food and fertilizer shortage will hit biodiversity and climate
- Jianguo Liu
- , Andrew Balmford
- & Kamaljit S. Bawa
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Where I Work |
Ultracold storage ensures a future for endangered plants
Plant scientist Liang Lin develops cryopreservation technology to store seeds and plant tissues at liquid-nitrogen temperature to conserve biodiversity.
- Yvaine Ye
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News |
Funding battles stymie ambitious plan to protect global biodiversity
Researchers are disappointed with the progress — but haven’t lost hope.
- Natasha Gilbert
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Editorial |
Are there limits to economic growth? It’s time to call time on a 50-year argument
Researchers must try to resolve a dispute on the best way to use and care for Earth’s resources.
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Comment |
Africa: sequence 100,000 species to safeguard biodiversity
Build a major genomics resource on the continent to help breeders and conservationists.
- ThankGod Echezona Ebenezer
- , Anne W. T. Muigai
- & Appolinaire Djikeng
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Comment |
Rewilding Argentina: lessons for the 2030 biodiversity targets
A foundation that turns private land into national parks is reintroducing native species to restore ecosystems and build ecotourism.
- Emiliano Donadio
- , Sebastian Di Martino
- & Sofía Heinonen
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Correspondence |
Apply Singapore Index on Cities’ Biodiversity at scale
- Lena Chan
- , Kenneth Er
- & Elizabeth Maruma Mrema
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Matters Arising |
Do not downplay biodiversity loss
- Michel Loreau
- , Bradley J. Cardinale
- & Claire de Mazancourt
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Matters Arising |
The Living Planet Index does not measure abundance
- Mikael Puurtinen
- , Merja Elo
- & Janne S. Kotiaho
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Editorial |
Biodiversity faces its make-or-break year, and research will be key
A new action plan to halt biodiversity loss needs scientific specialists to work with those who study how governments function.
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Correspondence |
Wind power versus wildlife: root mitigation in evidence
- Tim Schmoll
- & Frank M. Schurr
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Correspondence |
Two million species catalogued by 500 experts
- Mark John Costello
- , R. Edward DeWalt
- & Olaf Banki
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News |
Landmark Colombian bird study repeated to right colonial-era wrongs
A re-run of a 100-year-old, US-led bird survey will inform future conservation efforts — but be helmed by local researchers.
- Luke Taylor
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Nature Podcast |
The Nature Podcast annual holiday spectacular
Games, seasonal science songs, and Nature’s 10.
- Benjamin Thompson
- & Noah Baker
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Editorial |
The UN must get on with appointing its new science board
The decision to appoint a board of advisors is welcome — and urgent, given the twin challenges of COVID and climate change.
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Correspondence |
Link knowledge and action networks to tackle disasters
- Jim Falk
- , Rita R. Colwell
- & Cherry A. Murray
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News |
COP26 climate pledges: What scientists think so far
Nations have promised to end deforestation, curb methane emissions and stop public investment in coal power. Researchers warn that the real work of COP26 is yet to come.
- Ehsan Masood
- & Jeff Tollefson
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Editorial |
The answer to the biodiversity crisis is not more debt
Funding pledges from China and other countries need to be given in grants — which must include research grants — and not as a reward for taking out loans.
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News |
Illegal mining in the Amazon hits record high amid Indigenous protests
Satellite data confirm incursions on protected lands as Indigenous people fight for their rights — and recognition of their role in conserving forests.
- Jeff Tollefson