Oct. 3, 2012

The National Science Foundation's (NSF) Dynamics of Coupled Natural and Human Systems (CNH) program announced funding for 18 new projects in 2012; total funding for the awards is $17.6 million.

Research funded by CNH awards aims to provide a better understanding of natural processes and cycles and of human behavior and decisions -- and how and where they intersect.

shadow

Oct. 2, 2012

Combine the tree-ring growth record with historic information, climate records and computer-model projections of future climate trends, and it's a grim picture for the future of trees in the southwestern United States. That's the word from a team of CHANS-Net scientists from Los Alamos National Laboratory, the U.S. Geological Survey, University of Arizona, and several other partner organizations.

shadow

Sept. 28, 2012

A study published in Science magazine and co-authored by CHANS-Net researchers at the Bren School Sustainable Fisheries Group (SFG) and their colleagues confirms suspicions that thousands of "data-poor" fisheries, representing some 80 percent of the world's fisheries, are in decline but could recover with proper management.

shadow

Sept. 24, 2012

It's called mile-a-minute weed or "forest killer." Mikania micrantha is an exotic, invasive species that spreads quickly, covering crops, smothering trees and rapidly altering the environment.

shadow

Sept. 4, 2012

The revelation that tigers and people are sharing exactly the same space – such as the same roads and trails – of Chitwan National Park flies in the face of long-held convictions in tiger conservation circles. It also underscores how successful conservation efforts need sciences that takes into account both nature and humans.

shadow

Aug. 23, 2012

A recent study of residential landscape types and native bird communities in Phoenix, Ariz., led by a CHANS-Net member, suggests that yards mimicking native vegetation and wildlands offer birds "mini refuges," helping to offset the loss of biodiversity in cities and supporting birds better than traditional grass lawns and non-native plantings.

shadow

Aug. 7, 2012

To protect a dangerous and endangered animal -- be it a tiger in Nepal or a wolf in Michigan -- you really do have to ask people “how do you FEEL about your predatory neighbor?”

Effective conservation calls for not only figuring out what protected species need – like habitat and food sources. It also requires an understanding of what it takes for their human neighbors to tolerate them. A Michigan State University doctoral student studying tigers in Nepal found that those feelings can provide critical information on how best to protect species.

shadow

July 30, 2012

Nothing inspires environmentalism quite like a smog-filled sky or a contaminated river, according to a new study that also indicates that environmentalism isn’t just for the prosperous.

People living in China’s cities who say they’ve been exposed to environmental harm are more likely to be green: re-using their plastic grocery bags or recycling. Moreover, the study, published this week in the international journal AMBIO, indicates that the poor would sacrifice economic gain to protect their environment.

shadow

July 18, 2012

As spatial planning is used increasingly to manage fisheries and other ocean resources, researchers are working to determine the best ways to use and refine the various spatial management tools. Among them are marine protected areas (MPAs), one of the most common methods, which limit or entirely curtail fishing in a given area.

shadow

June 30, 2012

Vincent Ostrom,  founding director of the Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis based at Indiana University and the Arthur F. Bentley Professor Emeritus of Political Science, died Friday. He was 92. His wife, Elinor Ostrom, the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Economic Science, died June 12.

shadow