Although the use of pesticides in agriculture is increasing, some farms have transitioned to organic practices and avoid applying them. But it s uncertain whether chemicals applied to land decades ago can continue to influence the soil s health after switching to organic management. Now, researchers reporting in ACS
Noise protection: Green earplugs
Cars, trains, planes: For two thirds of the European population, traffic noise is part of everyday life.
However, the right environment can have a major impact on this nuisance, as Empa researchers have found out. Green spaces in urban areas help to make road and railroad noise less of a nuisance. Only in the case of aircraft noise does this seem counterproductive: the greener the surroundings, the more disturbing the aircraft noise.
Through the window, you hear the traffic noise from down the street, a train rumbles in the distance – that is the everyday life for many of us. Almost 75% of the European population lives in urban areas and only a quarter in rural areas. Noise pollution from cars, trains and planes poses a health problem that should not be underestimated. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), increased noise pollution leads to numerous negative effects on health, from stress and sleep disturb
Invasive harlequin ladybird causes severe decline of two-spotted ladybird, new study shows
CABI scientists have led an 11-year study which shows how the invasive harlequin ladybird (
Harmonia axyridis) caused the severe decline of the two-spotted ladybird (
Adalia bipunctata) on broadleaved trees and shrubs in northern Switzerland.
Lead author Dr Marc Kenis, Head of Risk Analysis and Invasion Ecology based at CABI s Swiss Centre in Delémont, of the research - published in the journal
Insects - said the two-spotted ladybird was the most abundant ladybird at the 40 sites surveyed before the harlequin ladybird took hold between 2006 and 2017.
The scientists discovered that the harlequin ladybird - which is a predator native to Central and East Asia and whose presence was confirmed in Switzerland in 2004 - quickly dominated the broadleaved hedges representing 60-80% of all specimens collected in this habitat.