ScienceDaily: Earth & Climate News

Follow the pollen. Records from past plant life tell the real story of global temperatures. Warmer temperatures brought plants -- and then came even warmer temperatures, according to new model simulations.

New research combines demographic data with the distribution of GI and geographic areas prone to rainwater flooding in Portland, Phoenix and Atlanta and asks whether these cities are equitably building GI to mitigate flood risks.

Researchers have developed the maps at a fine-enough resolution to help conservation managers focus their efforts where they are most likely to help birds -- in individual counties or forests, rather than across whole states or regions.

Scientists explore microbial communities flourishing in leachate, a liquid percolating through solid waste in a landfill. They find that the composition and behavior of specific microbes found in arid landfills, like those in Arizona, are distinct from similar communities in more subtropical or temperate climates. Microbial composition also differs depending on the age of the landfill deposits.

This South American wildflower was presumed extinct -- to the point that its official scientific name is Gasteranthus extinctus. But now, scientists are reporting the first confirmed sightings in 40 years. This not only means that this one little flower made it, but that an important concept in conservation biology called Centinelan extinction needs to be re-examined.