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About LEAF
The Leeds Ecosystem, Atmosphere and Forest (LEAF) centre at the University of Leeds brings together forest-related research and activities from across campus. LEAF links the University with external organisations, such as local authorities, charities, government departments and the media, ensuring that our research has a tangible and beneficial impact on the world’s forests and their communities.
By linking researchers across faculties, LEAF aims to strengthen existing collaborations and encourage new inter-departmental partnerships, establishing the University of Leeds as a leading national centre in forest research. LEAF hosts regular events and maintains an active online presence, providing researchers with opportunities to disseminate the findings of their work.
News
Online map reveals local warming from tropical deforestation
A new interactive map reveals how deforestation is driving dangerous local warming across the tropics — with implications for health, agriculture, and climate resilience. Tropical forests are often called the lungs of the Earth, but they’re also its air conditioners. When trees are cut down, the cooling benefits they provide – through shade and...
Leeds scientists contribute to review of British woodland creation methods, understanding, and knowledge gaps.
Research from Restoring Hardknott Forest and Wild Ingleborough has contributed to a new paper summarising the current knowledge of creating woodland through natural processes in Great Britain. The synthesis was part of the TreE_PlaNat project and combined the expertise of 31 practitioners and researchers to compile 15 case studies where woodland has been created...
It’s not just about carbon – why planting the right trees matters for air quality in the UK
Planting trees on a large scale in the UK, as part of pathways to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, could bring substantial changes to biological emissions from our woodlands, but the scale of change and the compounds emitted varies with tree species planted. New woodlands play a key role in proposed pathways to achieving net-zero...