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UC SANTA BARBARA (US) - Human land-use activity has begun to change the regional water and energy cycles of parts of the Amazon basin. A new study published in the journal Nature also shows ongoing interactions of deforestation, fire, and climate change have the potential to alter carbon storage, rainfall patterns, and river discharge on an even larger scale.

A free downloadable textbook written by the top names in conservation biology with the principal aim of disseminating cutting-edge conservation knowledge as widely as possible. Topics include balancing conversion and human needs, climate change, conservation planning, designing and analyzing conservation research, ecosystem services, endangered species management, extinctions, fire, habitat loss, and invasive species.

A cute animated version of Wangari Maathai's story about a hummingbird trying to put out a forest fire. "The hummingbird story reminds us all that however small we are, in the face of hard times, of huge problems we can still do something, we can still make our voices heard, we can still have an impact."

"The most interesting finding from the study was that roads impact biodiversity independently of deforestation, via more cryptic forms of disturbance. These disturbances include reduction in habitat quality, increased risk of forest fires, and, perhaps most importantly, the facilitation of human access to undisturbed lands, increasing the potential for illegal logging, poaching, and colonization. "