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Science In Action: 10/05/2012

10/05/2012

BBC World Service - Science In Action, 10/05/2012

Research shows that species not seen for years could benefit from natural disasters.

Research shows that species not seen for years could benefit from natural disasters; Brown tree snakes devastating Guam wildlife; Organic fuel from agricultural waste; Evergreen agriculture.

Ecosystem revival
New research shows that species, not seen for years, could be the surprising beneficiaries of natural disasters, which we would usually view as entirely devastating. On the beaches of Southern Chile, which was  hit by a huge earthquake and tsunami, a team of researchers led by Prof. Eduardo Jaramillo of the Universidad Austral de Chile, had the unique opportunity to study beaches before and after the event.  One of the co-authors, Dr. Jenifer Dugan from the University of California, Santa Barbara, talks about their findings. What these scientists have found could have global consequences when we look at coastal development.


Brown tree snake invasion
The brown tree snake was probably introduced to the tiny Pacific island of Guam at the end of World War II and an estimated two million of the animals now live in the forests. Not only that they invade people's homes and cause power shortages, but they have also had a devastating effect on the local wildlife. BBC reporter Rebecca Morelle has been to Guam and she describes the latest unusual attempts to reduce the population.


Organic fuel from waste 
The most common type of fuel for cooking in Uganda is wood, but its use is leading to de-forestation and then things like soil degradation. So an alternative is needed, and that is where Sanga Moses has a plan. He is a making clean cooking fuel from agricultural waste, and he came up with the plan to do it from a very personal angle. Jon Stewart recently met him at the TED Conference in California earlier this year.


Evergreen Agriculture
A new concept in farming could help soils more fertile across Africa, and help farmers produce higher yields. The population of Sub-Saharan Africa has doubled since 1970, and as it grows, farmland is diminished – the end result is many people trying to grow crops on not much land. So fewer farmers are practicing crop rotation, which is where land is left fallow, or unfarmed, each season to rejuvenate. Instead there’s more growing the same crop year after year, which eventually depletes nutrients in the soil and leads to lower yields. But a new farming practice is starting to spread around the continent, as our reporter Meera Senthilingham has been finding out.

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