When Janet Silbernagel grew up playing along the banks of the Sugar River near the town of Riley, she never imagined she was following in the footsteps of a famous naturalist.

Denizens of oceans, lakes and even wet soil, diatoms are unicellular algae that encase themselves in intricately patterned, glass-like shells. Curiously, these tiny phytoplankton could be harboring the next big breakthrough in computer chips.

CALS forest ecologists are studying how environmental factors such as forest fires and climate influence carbon levels in the northern hemisphere’s conifer-dominated boreal forests. Their most recent findings, reported in the Nov. 1 issue of the journal Nature, offer insight into the balance of carbon uptake and release that contribute to atmospheric carbon dioxide levels worldwide.

The Aspen Free Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment experiment is a large-scale and long-term environmental study located in the Harshaw Experimental Forest. Twelve conspicuous patches of aspen, birch and maple form a state-of-the-art outdoor laboratory for researchers from around the U.S. and world to study the likely impacts of climate change on northern temperate forests.

Grad students Amber Roth and Ron Hull, who are cataloguing bird species in one of several aspen plots scattered around north central Wisconsin, are just two of dozens of seasonal residents at the Kemp Natural Resources Station in Woodruff, Wis.

At any given spot in Wisconsin, chances are that you’re not far from a lake or a farm, or both – but the combination is not always a harmonious one. The future of both may hinge on proper management of an essential element: phosphorus.

A team of University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty, students and community organizations, however, is out to construct a new reality: green housing that doesn’t require as much up-front expense.

When he was in seventh grade, Mike Hillstrom was happiest when he was playing with bugs. A dozen years later, it’s still true. But now the bugs are a lot bigger and more exotic. And technically, he’s not just playing.

The rogue proteins that cause chronic wasting disease exhibit a dramatic increase in their infectious nature when bound to common soil particles, according to a new study.

MADISON – A consortium of universities, government laboratories and businesses led by the University of Wisconsin-Madison to explore the vast potential of bioenergy was awarded […]