Landscape Juice

Driveway installations are damaging butterfly population

Butterfly numbers are falling in towns and cities, as home owners turn their front gardens into driveways. Applications to pave over front gardens for parking have soared by almost 50 per cent in two years, devastating the flowers and bushes that butterflies rely on for survival. Charity Butterfly Conservation says the loss of gardens, along with pollution and development, has caused 25 butterfly species to decline faster in urban areas than the countryside. Research published by Direct Line last month showed successful applications for lowered kerbs to create driveways have risen by 49 per cent between 2013 and 2015, with... Read more →

Harmony of the Seas a floating plant disease risk?

The world's largest passenger liner has just docked in Southampton after sailing in from France in advance of its inaugural voyage to Rotterdam. It is a vast ship boasting a crew of 2,100 crew. It can host 6,780 guests. From a plant lover's perspective, the Harmony of the Seas takes parks and gardens to a new level. On board there is an impressive 10,587 plants, 48 vine plants, and 52 trees. I'm supposing that there are also huge beds and borders with soil and compost deep enough to support the roots of these plants? What a great initiative. Imagine sitting... Read more →

Plant gasses can counteract arctic climate change

Researchers from the University of Copenhagen have found that plant gasses possibly dampen the temperature rise in Greenland. Plants emit compounds to deter pests or attract pollinators, and as a side effect particles are formed when the compounds interact in the air. These particles can contribute to the formation of clouds, which reflect incoming solar radiation, and thus prevent solar heat from reaching the ground and warming it additionally. Researchers studied the effect of the imminent climate changes on the release of so-called “biogenic volatiles” to the atmosphere above Greenland. The study of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) is in... Read more →

Syrian war spurs first withdrawal from 'doomsday' Arctic seed vault

Syria's civil war has prompted the first withdrawal of crop seeds from a "doomsday" vault built in an Arctic mountainside to safeguard global food supplies. The seeds, including samples of wheat, barley and grasses suited to dry regions, have been requested by researchers in the Middle East to replace a collection in the Syrian city of Aleppo that has been damaged by the war. "Protecting the world's biodiversity in this manner is precisely the purpose of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault," said Brian Lainoff, spokesman for the Crop Trust which runs the underground store on a Norwegian island 1300 kilometres... Read more →

Lost Life Project aims to halt species loss

The world is currently experiencing the sixth mass extinction event, caused largely by human activities that continue to damage and destroy biodiversity across the globe. High extinction rates are typically associated with the most bio-diverse regions such as the tropical rainforests, however, it is vital that we do not forget about the species that live closer to home. Over the past 200 years, over 400 species have been lost from England alone. This loss of biodiversity has been caused by a range of factors, such as habitat degradation and modification, the intensification of agriculture, pollution and poor land management. There... Read more →

BRE to speak at Palmstead Nurseries workshop - Native Versus Non-Native: Which is Best?

Palmstead Nurseries 2013 workshop is to tackle the topic of native versus non-native planting and try to determine what is the best specification. Opposing views from designers and BRE promises to provide a stimulating debate at this year’s Palmstead Nurseries Soft Landscape Workshop. Professor Nigel Dunnett, one of the designers of the Olympic Park will be giving a talk entitled Beauty and Biodiversity: why using non-native species increases the ecological value of our designed landscapes - while Sarah McCarrick from BRE will present Native plants and their importance for BREEAM & Biodiversity, tackling the other side of the argument. Professor... Read more →

Biodiversity offsetting green paper published

Defra has outlined its proposals for a controversial biodiversity offsetting scheme. Under biodiversity offsetting, Builders and developers will be given permission to construct new housing schemes if they offset its impact by paying for local conservation projects. Environment Secretary, Owen Paterson, said: "Offsetting is an exciting opportunity to look at how we can improve the environment as well as grow the economy, "We want to hear from developer and wildlife groups alike on how we can simplify the existing planning process while enhancing our natural environment. "There is no reason why wildlife and development can't flourish side by side." Biodiversity... Read more →

Nurturing Nature: Policy to protect and improve biodiversity

The world’s and England’s natural environment is under tremendous pressure. Human development is threatening the resources and services which nature, through its habitats and its wildlife, provides. This has considerable economic, as well as environmental costs. However, it is possible for policy makers and communities to reverse this decline, harnessing economic growth to avoid environmental degradation. This report examines natural environment policy in England, and the UK’s international contribution to protecting important habitats and biodiversity. It recommends policy measures to not just halt the decline in the state of the natural environment, but to restore and improve it. It examines... Read more →

Moors for the Future restoration gets under way

An airlift operation got underway this month as work started to transport around 300,000 moorland plants onto the hills of northern England to help restore the Peak District and South Pennines Moors to good health. Between now and next spring, the thousands of native moorland plants are being airlifted by helicopter to six moorland sites. The work is being carried out by the Moors for the Future Partnership - the largest moorland conservation partnership in Europe - which is led by the Peak District National Park Authority, and funded by Natural England, Defra, the National Trust, Yorkshire Water, United Utilities... Read more →

Man controls the destiny of the world's 100 most endangered species say scientists

A new report has identified a list of 100 of the world's most threatened species which scientists believe may be allowed to die out because there is no obvious value to mankind. The list, which includes the tarzan’s chameleon, spoon-billed sandpiper and the pygmy three-toed sloth was released today by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). 8,000 scientists from the IUCN Species Survival Commission (IUCN SSC) have come together to identify 100 of the most threatened animals, plants and fungi on the planet. But conservationists fear they’ll be allowed to die... Read more →