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"First report of its kind assesses state of world's plants, including baseline information on all vascular plants currently known to science, new plant discoveries and threats. The report estimates that there are about 391,000 species of vascular plants in the world."

Enter your zipcode and download a "Pollinator Guide" with information about native plants specific to your ecoregion.

" overgrazing of native plants by deer that open up more growing space for invasive exotic plants that deer find unpalatable"

A training manual to use a free open-source GIS to do spatial analysis with plant biodiversity and distribution

New York Nature Explorer is an online tool for finding out about the animals, plants and habitats in your neighborhood or area of interest. As a gateway to biodiversity information, it is intended for landowners, land managers, citizens, municipal officials, planners, consultants, project developers, researchers, students, and anyone else interested in the natural world. Nature Explorer currently contains information on birds, reptiles, amphibians, rare animals, rare plants, and significant natural communities.

Nature Explorer currently contains information on birds, reptiles, amphibians, rare animals, rare plants, and significant natural communities.

"Explore 15,000 of the world's endangered species. With over 100,000 photos and videos, discover what these animals, plants and fungi look like, what makes them special and why we should protect them."

"With soaring human populations and rapid climate change putting unprecedented pressure on species, conservationists must look to innovative strategies - from creating migratory corridors to preserving biodiversity hotspots - if we are to prevent countless animals and plants from heading to extinction."

Nearly 100 endangered species should be on track to meet federal scientists' recovery goals, according to a new analysis by a national nonprofit organization that seeks to protect the planet's biological diversity. The Center for Biological Diversity's review examined population trends of 110 endangered plant and animals protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in every state across the USA, including Florida's American crocodile, the gray wolf of the Rockies, and the black-footed ferret, which once existed from southern Canada to Texas. The group found that 90 percent of the species listed are on a positive trajectory toward recovery - and some are even doing better. Source: redOrbit (http://s.tt/1cmi1)

This free downloadable report addresses the question of how can we expect to tackle poverty and climate change if we don't look after the natural wealth of animals, plants, microorganisms and ecosystems that make our planet inhabitable? The articles look at the scientific, social, economic and cultural case for keeping diversity, showing how biodiversity supports our health and physical security, food production, medical research, livelihoods, tourism, artistic expression and cultural life.

Improvements to Federal Water Use Data Would Increase Understanding of Trends in Power Plant Water Use

Free ecoregion-specific planting guides. You can find out which ecoregion you live in by entering your zip code.

Awesome guide.

Plant and animal extinctions are detrimental to your health. That's the conclusion of a paper published in this week's issue of the journal Nature by scientists who studied the link between biodiversity and infectious diseases. Species loss in ecosystems such as forests and fields results in increases in pathogens, or disease-causing organisms, the researchers found.

"As the numbers of species declines due to habitat loss, pollution and climate change, the risk of catching infectious diseases may rise for humans, animals and plants. "

The Russian-English Agricultural Atlas is the world's most comprehensive source of information on the geographic distribution of plant-based agriculture in Russia and neighboring countries. The Atlas contains 1500 maps that illustrate the distribution of 100 crops, 560 wild crop relatives, 640 diseases, pests and weeds, and 200 environmental parameters. Additionally, the Atlas provides detailed biological descriptions, illustrations, metadata and reference lists. Currently, individual maps can be downloaded and viewed using freely available AgroAtlas GIS Utility software, which can also be downloaded at this site.

In this 7-minute excerpt from the documentary Roots of Change: The Vision of Wangari Maathai see how she became the first African woman, and first environmentalist, to win the Nobel Prize for Peace. The Green Belt Movement that she founded has profoundly changed the physical and social landscape of Kenya...and it all began with planting trees.

AMPHIBIANS, BIRDS, FISH, INVERTEBRATES, MAMMALS, PLANTS, REPTILES

The study shows that species that often occur together now are projected to shift in very different ways, resulting in new ecological communities. These novel (or "no-analog") communities may disrupt complex webs of plant and animal interactions, with unanticipated consequences for species and ecosystems.

authoritative source for information on more than 70,000 plants, animals, and ecosystems of the United States and Canada. Explorer includes particularly in-depth coverage for rare and endangered species.

New York Nature Explorer is an online tool for finding out about the animals, plants and habitats in your neighborhood or in your area of interest. Users may choose a county, town, or watershed, or they may specify their own location on a map. They will then receive a list of the animals, plants, and significant natural communities that have been found there, as documented in databases maintained by NYS DEC.

"Forest canopies provide structure that affects weather patterns, contributes to nutrient cycling, and provides habitat for plants and animals, among other things. A lot remains to be discovered...there's room for new scientists to climb up and explore. "