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Unexpected Elements

Factual: Science & Nature

Factual: Science & Nature: Science & Technology

The news you know, the science you don’t.

The news you know, the science you don’t. Unexpected Elements looks beyond everyday narratives to discover a goldmine of scientific stories and connections from around the globe. From Afronauts, to why we argue, to a deep dive on animal lifespans: see the world in a new way.

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Unexpected Elements: Global Tree Count Growing

Discussion & Talk

ThinkstockPhotos-sb10065242d-001.jpg

05/09/2015 GMT

Global Tree Count Growing

BBC World Service - Unexpected Elements, Global Tree Count Growing

A global increase in trees; Drones being used to plant trees; The majority of seabirds are now swallowing plastic waste

There are just over three trillion trees on Earth, according to a new assessment. This is eight times as many as the previous best estimate, which counted perhaps 400 billion at most. The more refined number will now form a baseline for a wide range of research applications - everything from studies that consider animal and plant habitats for biodiversity reasons, to new models of the climate, because it is trees of course that play an important role in removing the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Drones planting trees
Drones, unmanned aerial vehicles, have been put to use by various military bodies around the world as silent harbingers of death and destruction. But they might also be put to use for good causes: deployed in rescue operations, for example, or accurately dropping seeds to aid reforestation. 

Birds and Plastic
A study from Dr Erik van Sebille from Imperial College London says that the majority of seabirds are now swallowing plastic waste. 

Phantom Road
Dr Heidi Ware of Boise State University and colleagues created a “phantom road” using speakers to simulate the effects of traffic noise on the local bird populations. Almost one third of the bird community avoided the noise altogether, while those that remained showed a decline in body condition. Their findings suggest that noise pollution could have serious implications for the conservation of migratory birds.

El Nino
Roland Pease reports on recent warnings that we're heading for one of the most severe El Ninos on record which could distort weather patterns around the world.

Food on the Go Bad for Your Health?
If you are in the habit of eating your breakfast or lunch on the go, you might be ruining your chances of losing weight. Research at the University of Surrey in the UK suggests people who eat while they are walking are more likely eat more later in the day. But how big a contribution to obesity risk is this?

Drone Orchestra
Innovator Liam Young has teamed up with the musician John Cale formerly of the Velvet Underground to form the Drone Orchestra – a show where Cale’s music combines with acrobatic manoeuvres where the multi-propeller craft dance above the audience’s heads. Liam Young showed the audience some of his ornately adorned aircraft in the BBC’s Radio Theatre in London .  And poet Salena Gooden read a new poem inspired by a drone. 

The Science Hour was presented by Gareth Mitchell with comments from Jonathan Amos.
Producer: Deborah Cohen

Photo: Sunlight breaking through misty forest
Credit: Thomas Northcut/Thinkstock

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