Results 1 to 10 of 127
Elle Smith, a postgraduate researcher in the School of Earth, Environment and Sustainability has been announced as the European Young Urban Forester of the Year for 2026. The award celebrates forestry researchers and practitioners who work with trees, woodlands, forests, natural greenspaces and green infrastructure in urban or peri-urban settings. Elle was nominated for this...
By Robyn Wrigley and George Porton – School of Earth, Environment and Sustainability, University of Leeds In 2004, a restoration project in the Yorkshire Dales, UK, made the decision to replace sheep with cattle. The goal was simple – restore plant diversity in its grasslands. New research by the University of Leeds has found this...
A new public footpath has been unveiled at Gair Wood that links up with the ever-popular Meanwood Valley Trail and Leeds Country Way. It will be the first time the public will have access to the site owned by the University of Leeds. More than 60,000 trees were planted three years ago to enhance the...
Work to restore heathland, meadows, woodland, peatlands and rivers in the uplands of South Cumbria has begun in earnest thanks to a new project supported by Defra’s Landscape Recovery Scheme. Work to restore heathland, meadows, woodland, peatlands and rivers in the uplands of South Cumbria has begun in earnest thanks to a new project supported...
Cattle grazing at a nature reserve in the Yorkshire Dales has increased plant diversity by over 40% according to research by the University of Leeds. Allowing native cattle breeds to roam large areas of the landscape at Ingleborough has also led to a five-fold increase in the number of butterflies. Researchers conducted two studies into...
The University of Leeds and the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) are hosting an international Workshop on forest fires, smoke and air quality in Brazil. In 2024, wild fires affected 30 million hectares of Brazil — an area larger than the United Kingdom — causing severe environmental and health issues across the country. It...
Tropical forests help to generate vast amounts of rainfall each year, adding weight to arguments for protecting them as water and climate pressures increase, say researchers. A new study led by the University of Leeds has put a monetary value on one of forests’ least recognised services as a source of rainfall to surrounding regions,...
New research shows that careful woodland design can avoid tree-planting on high-carbon soils and that new woodland creation guidelines in England are likely to reduce soil organic carbon losses. The research is published today in Ecological Solutions and Evidence. Blog post by Francesca Darvill, lead author of the study: Targeting the Right Soils: How Woodland...
Access to trees and greenspaces is consistently low across English cities according to a new study led by the University. Researchers used a recognised three-part framework for measuring tree and greenspace access in urban neighbourhoods in Leeds, Bradford, Wakefield, York, Manchester, Stoke-on-Trent and Plymouth, and found that at best, only 2% of buildings in any...
New research reveals significant recent shifts in tree diversity among the tropical forests of the Andes and Amazon, driven by global change. The study was led by Dr Belen Fadrique from the University of Liverpool, who conducted the research when she was a Marie Curie Fellow at the University of Leeds. It uses 40 years...