A turtle swims through the waters off the shores of Brazil. Marcos Paulo Prado, Unsplash

Best of Landscape News 2022: Biodiversity

Our pick of this year’s top stories

When we talk about biodiversity, we’re talking about all living things – the plants, animals, bacteria, fungi and other species that share this world with us. However, exploitation, development, pollution, climate change and a range of other human activities have put us on the precipice of a mass extinction, with a quarter of the world’s mammals, 13 percent of its birds and 40 percent of amphibians already threatened to be wiped out, not to mention the many more forms of life not listed in these categories. Below are the best articles from Landscape News in 2022 that explore biodiversity, where it stands today and what’s being done to protect the future.  

Reasons to raise the dead

Scientists are moving ahead with de-extinction, in the hopes bygone animals can aid landscape restoration

The last passenger pigeon, which was once the most common bird species in the U.S., died in 1914. Terence Faircloth, Flickr
The last passenger pigeon, which was once the most common bird species in the U.S., died in 1914. Terence Faircloth, Flickr

Bioluminescence: “It requires a whole new way of seeing”

Words and photos from legendary marine biologist Edith Widder

The common deep-sea jellyfish (Atolla vanhoeffeni) can produce several kinds of bioluminescent displays including an eye-catching pinwheel known as a burglar alarm. Edie Widder
The common deep-sea jellyfish (Atolla vanhoeffeni) can produce several kinds of bioluminescent displays including an eye-catching pinwheel known as a burglar alarm. Edie Widder

Top 6 new picture books about nature

…that are worth reading for adults too

The cover art of “Ben and the Sea Lion,” written and illustrated by Roy Henry Vickers.

How sacred groves protect deities, culture and biodiversity

In Asia and Africa, researchers examine the biodiversity benefits inherent to sacred sites

Statues in the Osun Osogbo Sacred Grove in Nigeria. jbdodane, Flickr
Statues in the Osun Osogbo Sacred Grove in Nigeria. jbdodane, Flickr

How acoustic ecology offers insight into forest health

To glean knowledge on biodiversity, experts are increasingly listening to landscapes

A tūī, a native New Zealand songbird and important pollinator for native flowers. Sid Mosdell, Flickr
A tūī, a native New Zealand songbird and important pollinator for native flowers. Sid Mosdell, Flickr

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