Judgement of the National Green Tribunal in the matter of Court on Its Own Motion Versus State of Himachal Pradesh dated 01/08/2017 regarding large scale illegal felling of trees near Tara Devi Temple, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. The trees were of Deodar and Oak and were on a private property adjoining to Tara Devi temple, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. Further, it was reported in the newspaper that cutting of the trees was without prior permission of the authorities.

Man-made forest fires in the traditionally populated zone (about 800–2000 m altitude) are common in much of the Central Himalaya, and are a major topic of environmental debate. This study based on an analysis of data of the State Forest Department at Uttarakhand on incidence of forest fires shows that these are high-frequency, low-severity surface fires of small size, largely determined by the moisture conditions of the pre-monsoon season (from March to mid-June), and the traditional practices of biomass collection by local people.

Chronic nitrogen deposition has measureable impacts on soil and plant health. We investigate burning emissions from biomass grown in areas of high and low NO x deposition. Gas and aerosol-phase emissions were measured as a function of photochemical aging in an environmental chamber at UC-Riverside. Though aerosol chemical speciation was not available, results indicate a systemic compositional difference between biomass grown in high and low deposition areas.

Physico-chemical properties of soil of two dominant forest types in Western Himalaya, viz. oak (Quercus leucotrichophora) and pine (Pinus roxburghii) across three soil depths, and winter and rainy seasons were analysed. In general, all the soil parameters, viz. soil moisture, water-holding capacity, organic carbon and total nitrogen decreased significantly with increasing soil depth in both the forests. However, pH did not show any trend with soil depth. All the soil physicochemical parameters were found significantly higher for oak forests compared to pine forests.

Scientists say signs of spring are appearing earlier in woodlands because of temperature rises in past decades.

Declines in the number of large trees in temperate and tropical forests have attracted attention, given their disproportionate importance to forest structure, function, and carbon storage. Yet, factors responsible for these declines are unclear. By comparing historic (1930s) and contemporary (2000s) surveys of California forests, we document that across 120,000 km2, large trees have declined by up to 50%, corresponding to a 19% decline in average basal area and associated biomass, despite large increases in small tree density.

The EU plant health regime is no longer fit for purpose in preventing fatal plant diseases, says the Forestry Commission

Imagine the British landscape with a third fewer trees. That is the chilling prediction being made this week by the Woodland Trust.

Global environmental changes affect not only the aboveground but also the belowground components of ecosystems. The effects of seasonal drought and air warming on the genus level richness of Collembola, and on the abundance and biomass of the community of Collembola and mites were studied in an acidic and a calcareous forest soil in a model oak-ecosystem experiment (the Querco experiment) at the Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL in Birmensdorf.

Some 5.6 million urban shade trees were killed by the record drought that baked Texas last year, the Texas Forest Service reported on Wednesday.

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