WHILE the news coming out of forests is often dominated by deforestation and habitat loss, research published in Nature Climate Change shows that the world has actually got greener over the past decade.

Despite ongoing deforestation in South America and South East Asia, we found that the decline in these regions has been offset by recovering forests outside the tropics, and new growth in the drier savannas and shrublands of Africa and Australia.

Plants absorb around a quarter of the carbon dioxide that people release into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels. With a greening globe, more plants may mean more absorption of carbon dioxide. If so, this will slow but not stop climate change.

However, questions remain over how long plants can keep pace with our increasing emissions in a warmer climate.

We studied how plants and vegetation are faring by determining the amount of carbon stored in living plant mass (or 'biomass') above the ground.

We developed a new technique to map changes in vegetation biomass using satellite measurements of changes in the radio-frequency radiation emitted from the Earths surface, a technique called passive microwave remote sensing. The radiation varies with temperature, soil moisture and the shielding of water in vegetation biomass above the ground.

We extracted this vegetation information from several satellites and merged them into one time series covering the past two decades. This allowed us to track global changes in biomass from month to month, something that was not possible before.

For the period 2003-12, we found that the total amount of vegetation above the ground has increased by about four billion tonnes of carbon.

Our global analysis shows losses of vegetation in many regions, particularly at the frontiers of deforestation in the tropics of South America and South East Asia.

As expected, the greatest declines have been in the so-called 'Arc of Deforestation' on the southeastern edge of the vast Amazon forests. In South East Asia we found the most widespread declines in the Indonesian provinces of Sumatra and Kalimantan - the Indonesian part of Borneo.

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Earth greening despite deforestation

MANILA, Philippines To conduct rescue and clearing operations in Dinapigue, Isabela, where Tropical Depression Chedeng made landfall on Sunday morning, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) sent 50 of its personnel to the area a day before the weather disturbance hit land. In a text message to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, MMDA Chair Francis Tolentino said that the agency sent a 50-man rescue team to Isabela and another rescue group to Aurora.

They are now conducting training seminars for the rescuers and even the police in those areas, he added, adding that the members of the rescue team wanted to share their knowledge to the locals for disaster preparation and rescue operation.

The MMDA chair also mentioned in a radio interview on Sunday that the teams were already in the affected areas a day before Chedeng made landfall.

The instruction given to them is to extend assistance to the affected areas and local government units and to conduct clearing operations after the tropical depression, Tolentino said adding that the group would also provide any needed assistance by the LGUs.

During the meeting of the Metro Disaster Risk and Reduction Management Council (MDRRMC) on Saturday, it was agreed that the LGUs in Metro Manila would mobilize rescuers in the areas affected by Chedeng.

Since it was forecast that metro will not be hit, rescue teams from Valenzuela, Marikina, Muntinlupa and Paraaque were deployed to the affected areas since they have the necessary equipment to conduct clearing operations, Tolentino said.

He added that the rescue groups also brought with them relief items from the Department of Social Welfare and Development for distribution to the residents.

The agencys rescue and rehabilitation personnel have been tasked to clean areas, which will not be reached by the local government so that power supply will be easily restored and residents can return to their normal lives.

Members of the team will also work closely with the local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (DRRMC) to speed up the clearing of affected areas and the repair of infrastructures damaged by Chedeng. SFM/AC

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MMDA sends rescuers to Isabela, Aurora for Chedeng

Taking down a large tree

By: The Land Clearing Guy

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Taking down a large tree - Video

Land Clearing In Tarpon Springs - Before
This is before we started this job to give an accurate depiction of what needed to be done. We cleared this land to give better visibility to this business entrance. We also had a great time doing it!

By: Suncoast Lawn Group

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Land Clearing In Tarpon Springs - Before - Video

CMH Land Clearing and Hauling, LLC is a Landing Hauling Service Company near Dunnellon,FL
CMH Land Clearing Hauling, LLC provides a wide variety of tractor services to fit your job necessities! We specialize in land clearing, hauling, and grading. Established since 2006, we provide...

By: CMH Land Clearing Hauling

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CMH Land Clearing and Hauling, LLC is a Landing Hauling Service Company near Dunnellon,FL - Video

New View Land Clearing specializes in cleaning up overgrown property. Whether it's a small yard with grass too tall for your lawn mower, orone hundred acres of thick growth we can tailor a plan to fit your needs and budget.

You'll Be Glad You Chose Us

Effective planning is crucial to the successful completion of any land or lot clearing project. Before starting the project, wewill talk with you and assess your goals for your property. Then we will provide you with an estimate and time line for completion. From beginning to end you will be involved every step of the way.

AffordableLand and Lot Clearing Services

We use a number of methods for landclearing depending on the needs ofour customers. Our specialty is "Forestry Mulching". Compared to other methods it is a relatively new technique of land and lot clearing. It is the same method many people associate with as "Bull of the Woods". With Forestry Mulching, we can do with one machine what might take several machines and trucks with other methods. Forestry Mulching basically shreds standing trees, brush and undergrowth on the spot, leaving only topsoil enriching mulch behind.Forestry Mulchingis a faster, more efficient and more economical way to clear land.Forestry Mulchingeliminates the erosion issues caused by other land clearing equipment. Our rubber tracked machines have very low ground pressure. This reduces compaction of the soil making it easier to start grass afterwards.There is no need fortop soil damaging burn piles and requires no hauling off of debris.Forestry Mulchingleaves a nutrient rich layer of mulch to biodegrade into the soil, and a "park like" appearance at job completion.

We also offer Tractor Services. Bush Hogging, garden and food plot prep, roto tilling and discing are just a few examples of the tractor work we can provide for you.

If you are in need of Land or Lot Clearing, Forestry Mulching, Bush Hogging, Tractor Work or Excavator Work give us a call today.

Land Clearing Services:

Serving North Florida, Southern Alabama and Southern Georgia

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Land Clearing, Lot Clearing, Brush Clearing, Forestry ...

April 4, 2015, 4 a.m.

A JUDGE has reserved his decision in the case of a Croppa Creek farmer the son of an alleged murderer accused of unlawful clearing.

A JUDGE has reserved his decision in the case of a Croppa Creek farmer the son of an alleged murderer accused of unlawful clearing.

Grant Wesley Turnbull appeared in the Land and Environment Court in Sydney this week over alleged breaches of the Native Vegetation Act, after several investigations by the Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH).

The hearing resumed this week after adjourning in March, following a court challenge by the OEH, instigated in September 2014, to halt immediate works on certain areas of Colorado, his family farm north of Moree.

Last September, Justice Rachel Pepper granted a temporary interlocutory order, sought by the OEH, restraining Mr Turnbull from clearing, or causing or permitting the clearing of, native vegetation on the land.

A further allegation centres on an area totalling 286 hectares, which is alleged to have been cleared between May and August last year.

Turnbulls family is at the centre of land-clearing disputes with the OEH after his father, Ian Robert Turnbull, allegedly gunned down and murdered an environmental compliance officer near the Croppa Creek village last July.

Justice Malcolm Craig has reserved his decision in the case to a later date.

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Judge reserves decision in unlawful clearing case

MADISON, Wis. - Clearing grasslands to make way for biofuels may seem counterproductive, but University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers show in a study today (April 2, 2015) that crops, including the corn and soy commonly used for biofuels, expanded onto 7 million acres of new land in the U.S. over a recent four-year period, replacing millions of acres of grasslands.

The study -- from UW-Madison graduate student Tyler Lark, geography Professor Holly Gibbs, and postdoctoral researcher Meghan Salmon -- is published in the journal Environmental Research Letters and addresses the debate over whether the recent boom in demand for common biofuel crops has led to the carbon-emitting conversion of natural areas. It also reveals loopholes in U.S. policies that may contribute to these unintended consequences.

"We realized there was remarkably limited information about how croplands have expanded across the United States in recent years," says Lark, the lead author of the study. "Our results are surprising because they show large-scale conversion of new landscapes, which most people didn't expect."

The conversion to corn and soy alone, the researchers say, could have emitted as much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as 34 coal-fired power plants operating for one year -- the equivalent of 28 million more cars on the road.

The study is the first comprehensive analysis of land-use change across the U.S. between 2008 and 2012, in the "critical time period" following passage of the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), and during a "new era" of agriculture and biofuel demand, Lark and Gibbs say. The results may aid policymakers as Congress debates whether to reform or repeal parts of the RFS, which requires blending of gasoline with biofuels that are supposed to be grown only on pre-existing cropland, in order to minimize land-use change and its associated greenhouse gas emissions.

Lark recently visited Washington, D.C., to present the findings to the Environmental Protection Agency and the White House Office of Management and Budget, which share responsibility for rule-making and review of the RFS.

For instance, the study found that 3.5 million acres of corn and soy grown during this time period was produced on new, rather than pre-existing, cropland, rendering it potentially ineligible for renewable fuel production under the RFS. However, this went undetected due to limitations in current federal monitoring, which captures only national-level, aggregate land-use change rather than the high-resolution changes found in the study.

The study also showed that expanding the geographic scope of another policy, the Sodsaver provision of the 2014 Farm Bill, could better prevent widespread tilling of new soils. This policy reduces federal subsidies to farmers who grow on previously uncultivated land, but it applies in only six Northern Plains states. The researchers say the findings suggest a nationwide Sodsaver is needed to protect remaining native ecosystems, since roughly two-thirds of new cropland conversion occurred outside of these states.

Using high-resolution satellite imagery data collected over the last 40 years by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Geological Survey, the researchers identified where land had been converted to cropland, to what extent conversion had occurred, and the nature of the conversion -- for instance, whether wetlands were converted for soy, or grasslands were turned into cornfields.

Grasslands are home to a diversity of species and store an abundance of carbon in their soils; yet, the researchers found nearly 80 percent of cropland expansion replaced grasslands, among them 1.6 million acres of undisturbed natural grassland equivalent in area to the state of Delaware.

Read more:
Plowing prairies for grains: Biofuel crops replace grasslands nationwide

Clearing grasslands to make way for biofuels may seem counterproductive, but University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers show in a study that crops, including the corn and soy commonly used for biofuels, expanded onto 7 million acres of new land in the U.S. over a recent four-year period, replacing millions of acres of grasslands.

The study -- from UW-Madison graduate student Tyler Lark, geography Professor Holly Gibbs, and postdoctoral researcher Meghan Salmon -- is published in the journal Environmental Research Letters and addresses the debate over whether the recent boom in demand for common biofuel crops has led to the carbon-emitting conversion of natural areas. It also reveals loopholes in U.S. policies that may contribute to these unintended consequences.

"We realized there was remarkably limited information about how croplands have expanded across the United States in recent years," says Lark, the lead author of the study. "Our results are surprising because they show large-scale conversion of new landscapes, which most people didn't expect."

The conversion to corn and soy alone, the researchers say, could have emitted as much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as 34 coal-fired power plants operating for one year -- the equivalent of 28 million more cars on the road.

The study is the first comprehensive analysis of land-use change across the U.S. between 2008 and 2012, in the "critical time period" following passage of the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), and during a "new era" of agriculture and biofuel demand, Lark and Gibbs say. The results may aid policymakers as Congress debates whether to reform or repeal parts of the RFS, which requires blending of gasoline with biofuels that are supposed to be grown only on pre-existing cropland, in order to minimize land-use change and its associated greenhouse gas emissions.

Lark recently visited Washington, D.C., to present the findings to the Environmental Protection Agency and the White House Office of Management and Budget, which share responsibility for rule-making and review of the RFS.

For instance, the study found that 3.5 million acres of corn and soy grown during this time period was produced on new, rather than pre-existing, cropland, rendering it potentially ineligible for renewable fuel production under the RFS. However, this went undetected due to limitations in current federal monitoring, which captures only national-level, aggregate land-use change rather than the high-resolution changes found in the study.

The study also showed that expanding the geographic scope of another policy, the Sodsaver provision of the 2014 Farm Bill, could better prevent widespread tilling of new soils. This policy reduces federal subsidies to farmers who grow on previously uncultivated land, but it applies in only six Northern Plains states. The researchers say the findings suggest a nationwide Sodsaver is needed to protect remaining native ecosystems, since roughly two-thirds of new cropland conversion occurred outside of these states.

Using high-resolution satellite imagery data collected over the last 40 years by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Geological Survey, the researchers identified where land had been converted to cropland, to what extent conversion had occurred, and the nature of the conversion -- for instance, whether wetlands were converted for soy, or grasslands were turned into cornfields.

Grasslands are home to a diversity of species and store an abundance of carbon in their soils; yet, the researchers found nearly 80 percent of cropland expansion replaced grasslands, among them 1.6 million acres of undisturbed natural grassland equivalent in area to the state of Delaware.

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Plowing prairies for grains: Biofuel crops replace grasslands nationwide, U.S. study shows

Tractor Clearing Land
http://www.tngun.com/tractor-clearing-land/ http://www.amazon.com/52-Prepper-Projects-Project-Unpredictable/dp/1616088494/Sheschinc-20.

By: Shepherd School

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Tractor Clearing Land - Video