Observant commuters may notice that in some rail systems, traditional wooden ties are being replaced with those made from reinforced concrete.

Concrete ties may be stronger and more durable than wooden ones, but are they environmentally friendlier?

Pakistan is deficient in forest resources, as only 5 percent of total geographical area of the country is under forest cover and that, too, is under pressure due to various factors, including use of forest lands for non-forestry purposes and illegal logging.

Gandhinagar : Come Holi and timber vendors throng state capital to buy wood collected from trees that have been felled, or have fallen due to strong wind or heavy rains in monsoon and are now being sold by the forest department. People come in hordes with tractor trailers, camel carts and mini trucks to take away logs of wood at a nominal rate of Rs 1.10 per kg.

Lantana camara Linn. belonging to family Verbenaceae is known world wide as an obnoxious weed having 650 varieties spreading over 60 countries. The present study was carried out to investigate the efficacy of L. camara extracts against wood destroying white and brown rot fungi.

This eighth biennial issue of State of the World

New Delhi: Asked to prune, they hacked the trees. That

Dublin: The world

Environmental stories to watch in 2009 talk about four stories: Will the economic stimulus be green?; What are the prospects of Congress passing climate legislation?; How will the U.S. work with China?; and Will see a new weapon for protecting global forests and stopping illegal logging?.

Planted forests constituted only 7 percent of the global forest area, or about 271 million hectares, in the year 2005, but they contributed a higher proportion of overall forest goods and services.

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