Planet Earth stories
Climate change exacerbates European hay fever risk
The highly allergenic plant ragweed is set to become more widespread throughout Northern Europe as the climate changes, according to a new study.
27 Feb 2014
Peatlands of the western Amazon
Recent investigations in western Amazonia have revealed vast peatlands, up to 8m thick in places. Because they are so remote, we know little about them compared to peatlands in the northern hemisphere. Tom Kelly and Freddie Draper explain how their work will help us understand these ecosystems and revel how big they really are.
21 Feb 2014
Tags: Atmosphere, Climate, Ecology, Environmental change, Forests, Rivers and lakes, Soils
Diseases spread to wild bees
Diseases that have affected managed honeybee colonies for a number of years have now spread to wild bees, according to new research.
19 Feb 2014
Tags: Bees, Biodiversity, Conservation, Disease, Ecology, Farming, Hazards, Pollinators, UK
Podcast: Rats, mice and the diseases they give us
This week in the Planet Earth podcast, Mike Begon, Andy Fenton and Federico Costa of the University of Liverpool describe the work they're doing to understand how infections like Weil's disease and bubonic plague move from rodents to people.
18 Feb 2014
Did humans transport Stonehenge rocks further than previously thought?
Scientists have pinpointed the exact source of many of the rocks used to build Stonehenge.
17 Feb 2014
Tags: Archaeology, Geology, UK
Floods caused lead poisoning in UK cattle
A case of lead poisoning that killed two young cattle on a West Wales farm was caused by contaminated flood deposits, new research has revealed.
11 Feb 2014
Drought leaches carbon from Amazon
A drought in 2010 caused the Amazon basin to release more carbon into the atmosphere than it took in, new research has revealed.
5 Feb 2014
Tags: Atmosphere, Climate, Ecology, Environmental change, Forests, Weather
Podcast: Why the River Thames faces a pollution crackdown
This week in the Planet Earth podcast, Paul Whitehead of the University of Oxford and Mark Barnett of the Environment Agency explain why the UK's River Thames will fail to meet new pollution standards unless farmers and water companies take radical action.
4 Feb 2014
Tags: Podcasts, Pollution, Rivers and lakes, UK, Water
Studies highlight differences between banned pesticides
Two separate studies have added new weight to the idea that some varieties of controversial neonicotinoid pesticides are less harmful to bees than others.
21 Jan 2014
Tags: Bees, Biodiversity, Biology, Ecology, Farming, Insects, Natural resources, Pollinators, UK
Abundant bugs bring better apples
Apples from trees pollinated by insects are bigger, rounder, and more desirable, according to new research.
15 Jan 2014
Tags: Biodiversity, Conservation, Ecology, Food, Natural resources, Pollinators, UK