16-year-old male arrested on suspicion of felling a landmark tree in England released on bail

LONDON (AP) — The 16-year-old male arrested for felling a 300-year-old sycamore tree near the Roman landmark of Hadrian's Wall in the north of England has been released on bail, police said Friday. The boy was arrested Thursday on suspicion of criminal damage, after the tree was...

An old car tire, burnt trees and a utility pole may be key in finding how the Maui wildfire spread

Melted remains of an old car tire. Heavily burned trees. A charred stump of an abandoned utility pole. Investigators are examining these and other pieces of evidence as they seek to solve the mystery of last month’s deadly Maui wildfire: How did a small, wind-whipped fire sparked...

Maine motorist killed when large tree limb falls on his vehicle; first fatality attributed to Atlantic storm Lee

Logging is growing in a Nigerian forest home to endangered elephants. Rangers blame lax enforcement

OMO FOREST RESERVE, Nigeria (AP) — Roaring chainsaws sent trees crashing to the ground, and bare-chested men hacked away at the branches beside a muddy road. Others heaved logs onto a truck, where they were tied in place with wire. The work was similar on the other side of the...

Invasive and ubiquitous, English ivy can hurt trees and plants. Removing it isn't easy

English ivy (Hedera helix), a heavy, woody vine with handsome, dark-green, waxy leaves, is believed to have been brought to the New World by European colonists in the 1700s. They likely appreciated its shade tolerance, versatility as both a ground cover and climbing vine, and rapid growth. ...

'Don't chop me down.' 100-year-old gingko trees may get axe for Tokyo redevelopment project

TOKYO (AP) — Miho Nakashima stood in a bathing suit in Tokyo on Sunday next to a 100-year-old gingko tree, her body painted head-to-toe in green leaves and brown branches. Her message was clear, and she repeated it standing at the heart of the Jingu Gaien park area, its sanctity...

Some plants are more flammable than others. How gardeners can reduce the risks

The deadly wildfires in Hawaii this month were fueled in part by plants, in particular invasive grasses that have taken over land once occupied by sugar and pineapple plantations. Some plants are more flammable than others, says Michele Steinberg, wildfire division director at the...

Rabbits and deer and voles, oh my! What's eating your garden?

Nature is a beautiful thing, but sometimes it can wreak havoc on a garden. Insects and wildlife have to eat, of course, and when we lay out a veritable buffet, who can blame them for gorging themselves? This is the natural order of things, and we should be happy to see monarch...

Ring by ring, majestic banyan tree in heart of fire-scorched Lahaina chronicles 150 years of history

For generations, the banyan tree along Lahaina town's historic Front Street served as a gathering place, its leafy branches unfurling majestically to give shade from the Hawaiian sun. By most accounts, the sprawling tree was the heart of the oceanside community — towering more than 60 feet (18...

Bark beetles are eating through Germany's Harz forest. Climate change is making matters worse

CLAUSTHAL-ZELLERFELD, Germany (AP) — Nestled in the spruce trees in the Harz mountains of northern Germany is a bark-eating pest not much bigger than a sesame seed. Known as “book printers” for the lines they eat into the bark that fan out from a single spine resembling words...