Kourosh Kalantar-Zadeh’s Post

A French Burial Alternative: Introducing ‘Sanctuary Forests’ Cinerary forests, also known as sanctuary forests, are gaining popularity in eastern France as an alternative to traditional cemeteries. This ecological concept, originally from Germany, allows individuals to be buried in a peaceful natural setting. The trend is spreading to areas near the German border, including the Alsace region. One town, Muttersholtz, is offering burial ... -a title="" class="read-more" href="" aria-label="More on "-Read more-/a- https://lnkd.in/dMT-wheQ

😃 The Cape sugarbird is distributed throughout most of the fire driven ecosystem of the Fynbos in South Africa, the dominant vegetation type of the Cape Floral Region where there are flowering proteas and ericas. 📷 Cameryn Brock 

#SpeciesSpotlight: Northern Red-faced Turtle (Emydura victoriae) This medium sized fresh-water species has undergone a bit of an identity crisis since first being described and has had more names than the artist formerly known as Prince. Initially, the species appeared in literature as Emydura australis, but at the same time was also recorded as Hydraspis victoriae. However, just 40 years ago, Emydura australis was synonymised with the name Emydura macquarii (the name also given to both the Bellinger River and Murray River Turtles!) – so the species was given a new persona. Though, this new moniker also wouldn’t last long - 18 years later, in 2001, the species was renamed Emydura victoriae. The name refers to the Victoria River in the Northern Territory, one of the places where the turtles can be found. At least the common name is easy to remember – it’s found in rivers, streams and permanent water bodies across much of northern Australia and has bright scarlet markings on the face. 📷 An Emydura victoriae found at Mornington Wilderness Sanctuary (WA) during turtle surveys. B Leue/AWC #AWC #WorldTurtleDay #NorthernRedFacedTurtle #TurtlesOfAustralia #AustralianTurtles

Last month DEFRA released its definition of ‘Irreplaceable Habitats’ along with a list of such habitats that will be mentioned in the forthcoming Biodiversity Net Gain (#BNG) legislation (of particular relevance when working through the DEFRA BNG Metric). Further to this, guidance on the what needs to be in a Local Nature Recovery Strategy (#LNRS), lists the requirement to include Irreplaceable habitats alongside other features of biodiversity importance. Ancient and Veteran Trees are listed as ‘irreplaceable’ and unusually the data on such features is not on a habitat inventory on MAGIC but it is held by the The Woodland Trust and data can be inputted by any of us. Your records will play a key role in both BNG implementation and delivery of the LNRSs.   Do get out there and log any Ancient and Veteran trees you may know of, it is a key time to do so. Simon Needle Elspeth Sage Ian McDermott Jeff Grant Treeconomics Birmingham & Black Country Wildlife Trust Warwickshire Wildlife Trust Worcestershire Wildlife Trust https://lnkd.in/er352EMV

The slender-billed xenops (Xenops tenuirostris) is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical swampland. It is a small, brown bird of rainforest canopy. It has upturned mandible, white whisker mark, and pale streaking on underparts and back. It bores into dead twigs and vines for insects, and may climb briefly on larger branches to probe bark crevices. 

The green sea turtle, also know as the green turtle, black turtle, or Pacific green turtle is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus Chelonia.

Mosselbaai 3 Interesting Facts about the Garden Route. 1. The Garden Route is over 300km long, stretching along the southern coastline of South Africa, from Mossel Bay in the west to Storms River in the east. 2. It is sandwiched between the Indian Ocean to the south and the Outeniqua and Tsitsikamma mountain ranges to the north. 3. The Outeniqua and Tsitsikamma indigenous forests are a unique mixture of Cape Fynbos and temperate forest, and are home to some 300 bird species, including Knysna Loeries, Narina Trogons, Olive Thrushes, Chorister Robins, Cape Robins and Starred Robins.💛

THE TURKS AND CAICOS is home to many varied marine and terrestrial environments, yet one of the most important, and one that often ties land and sea, is the mangrove wetland. Mangrove is a term that globally can refer to more than 80 species of salt-resistant trees. In the Turks and Caicos, red mangroves (Rhizophora mangle) are by far the most common, followed by black mangroves (Avicennia germinans) and white mangroves (Laguncularia racemose). Silver buttonwood (Conocarpus erectus), which is also common in the archipelago, is sometimes referred to as button mangrove or false mangrove. Mangroves are halophytes, which is a term for plants that have a high tolerance for salt.

This is a 50 mts (165ft) tree in Costa Rica！ The Guanacaste, known for its massive crown, is Costa Rica's national tree. The Guanacaste tree (Enterolobium cyclocarpum) is best known for its massive hemispheric crown – a cascade of greenery wider than the tree is tall. Declared the national tree on August 31, 1959, the Guanacaste is native to Costa Rica and is a member of the legume family. It is found along the coasts of Central America, in Cuba and in the lowlands of the Antilles.  Its height varies from 82 to 164 feet, while the trunk is usually six to seven feet in diameter. The term Guanacaste means ear tree, as the species has curled seedpods that resemble ears. The tree is an unmistakable addition to the landscape, especially in the hot and sunny province of Guanacaste: its wide, green canopy resembles a portobello mushroom cap. 

An article which all of us should read about a discovery of a huge tree in BC, Canada. I wonder how large our trees could be in Europe, if we let them grow https://lnkd.in/dv4peQJa