Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Yadvinder Malhi @ymalhi.bsky.social · 19h

Contribute your thoughts to our effort to develop a UN metric of each country’s relationship with nature, to complement human development with flourishing with the rest of the natural world

Erle Ellis @erleellis.bsky.social · 7d

Redefine how the world measures progress!
🌍🧑‍🌾🌽🌎🌴🐬🌏🚵‍♀️🍄🌐👍

Join the Global Expert Consultation to develop
The Nature Relationship Index (NRI) @undp.org

<15 mins to make a difference
anu.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
> Deadline: Oct 15, 2025
> Background: rdcu.be/etpiQ

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Oxford Ecosystems @oxfordecosystems.bsky.social · 8d

An ancient yew tree in Scotland that is half the age of the Holocene has caught our attention. What a privilege to be in the presence of one of the oldest trees in Europe. @ymalhi.bsky.social explains the significance of this giant. @naturerecovery.bsky.social @ecioxford.bsky.social

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Guy Shrubsole @guyshrubsole.bsky.social · 21d

I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore.

So I wrote a blog about ten things you can do *right now* to help defeat Farage, Musk, and rightwing populism.

From scrutinising Reform councillors to demanding the UK Govt leave X - get involved:

guyshrubsole.substack.com/p/ten-things...

Ten things you can do to help defeat Farage, Musk, and rightwing populism

I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore.

guyshrubsole.substack.com

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Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery @naturerecovery.bsky.social · 29d

🌿What can conservation learn from Indigenous worldviews? @helinajolly.bsky.social shares insights from the Kattunayakan people of South India—where nature is kin, not a resource. 🐾✨ A powerful call to rethink human–nature relations. Watch here: youtu.be/1lR0gkaSaCQ?... @ecioxford.bsky.social

Rethinking Human–Nature Relations Through Indigenous Epistemologies.

Dr Helina Jolly, University of Vermont. What can conservation learn from Indigenous knowledge systems? In this video, Rethinking Human–Nature Relations Through Indigenous Epistemologies, we explore…

youtu.be

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Markus Eichhorn @markuseichhorn.bsky.social · Sep 3

Absolutely. As @ymalhi.bsky.social puts it, forests contain carbon, but that's probably the least interesting thing about them.

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Yadvinder Malhi @ymalhi.bsky.social · Sep 3

Nice new global study looking at how much resources forests worldwide put into reproduction …congrats @rward8.bsky.social !

Rachel Ward @rward8.bsky.social · Sep 2

The first chapter of my dissertation is out in Ecology Letters! We pooled data from forest sites across the globe to understand how forests differ in their carbon investment in reproduction (flowers, fruits, seeds). #ForestEcology #GlobalEcology onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Forest Age Rivals Climate to Explain Reproductive Allocation Patterns in Forest Ecosystems Globally

Forest allocation of net primary productivity (NPP) to reproduction is poorly quantified globally, despite its critical role in forest regeneration and a well-supported trade-off with allocation to g...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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Rachel Ward @rward8.bsky.social · Sep 2

The first chapter of my dissertation is out in Ecology Letters! We pooled data from forest sites across the globe to understand how forests differ in their carbon investment in reproduction (flowers, fruits, seeds). #ForestEcology #GlobalEcology onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Forest Age Rivals Climate to Explain Reproductive Allocation Patterns in Forest Ecosystems Globally

Forest allocation of net primary productivity (NPP) to reproduction is poorly quantified globally, despite its critical role in forest regeneration and a well-supported trade-off with allocation to g...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery @naturerecovery.bsky.social · Aug 27

Fabulous news! Congratulations to our Centre Director, @ymalhi.bsky.social who has been recognised for his outstanding contribution to the field of Ecology. 🎉

@ecioxford.bsky.social @oxfordgeography.bsky.social @ox.ac.uk @socsci.ox.ac.uk @orieloxford.bsky.social @britishecologicalsociety.org

Yadvinder Malhi awarded prestigious Ramon Margalef Prize in Ecology

Yadvinder Malhi recognised for outstanding contribution to the field of ecology

naturerecovery.ox.ac.uk

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Yadvinder Malhi @ymalhi.bsky.social · Aug 27

Very surprised, honoured and humbled to have been awarded the Ramon Margalef Prize in Ecology 😊

The Biodiversity Network @biodivoxford.bsky.social · Aug 27

🔊Congratulations @ymalhi.bsky.social 🎉

naturerecovery.ox.ac.uk/news/yadvind... 🌴🍃

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Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery @naturerecovery.bsky.social · Aug 20

@ecioxford.bsky.social @univofmaryland.bsky.social @sdclayton.bsky.social @kwatene.bsky.social @hannahritchie.bsky.social @peterfrankopan.bsky.social @jaspermontana.bsky.social @ymalhi.bsky.social @michael.muthukrishna.com @erleellis.bsky.social @laurap18.bsky.social @davidobura.bsky.social

An aspirational approach to planetary futures - Nature

The Nature Relationship Index offers a new way to measure and engage human aspirations to shape a better future for people and all life on Earth.

www.nature.com

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Jonathan Myers @jamyersecology.bsky.social · Aug 19

A big congratulations to William Farhan-Rios on this paper in @pnas.org, featuring a study of tropical-forest change over four decades along the Amazon-to-Andes elevational gradient in Bolivia and Peru 🌴 ⛰️ 🌐

@mobotgarden.bsky.social @livingearthcollab.bsky.social

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www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Amazonian and Andean tree communities are not tracking current climate warming | PNAS

Climate change is shifting species distributions, leading to changes in community composition and novel species assemblages worldwide. However, the...

www.pnas.org

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Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery @naturerecovery.bsky.social · Aug 20

Human aspirations for better lives can be mobilized to ensure that the natural world thrives along with people. Says Pedro Conceição @undp.org Read his op-ed in the Financial Times, which builds on the paper published in Nature in June ⬇️Proud to be working alongside the @undp.org & others on this

Don’t ask what nature can do for you . . .

Measuring and ranking countries’ efforts to protect animal and plant life will incentivise us to achieve a better future

www.ft.com

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Yadvinder Malhi @ymalhi.bsky.social · Aug 5

Just rediscovered this article I wrote in 2021 in Gilbert White and the radical significance of closely observing local nature...
psyche.co/ideas/observ...

@naturerecovery.bsky.social

Observing nature in your backyard is not dull but radically significant | Psyche Ideas

Instead of ‘helicopter science’, we need Gilbert White’s intimate study of nature to understand global environmental change

psyche.co

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Nature @nature.com · Jul 31

This surprisingly relaxing footage is from SIX MILES under the ocean – and it’s the deepest ecosystem yet discovered

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Rebecca Solnit @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · Jul 31

An energy revolution is underway in this century, though it’s unfolded in ways slow enough and technical enough for most people not to notice (and I assume it’s nowhere near finished). It is astonishing – a powerful solution to the climate crisis... [Wrote it a while ago; came out yesterday.]

The renewable energy revolution is a feat of technology | Rebecca Solnit

An energy revolution is underway in this century, though most people have not noticed it

www.theguardian.com

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Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery @naturerecovery.bsky.social · Jul 30

🌍Our climate is changing fast due to human activity, but is this different from how the climate varies naturally?
@ymalhi.bsky.social explains. ⬇️🌍

@ecioxford.bsky.social @ox.ac.uk @oxfordgeography.bsky.social

Professor Yadvinder Malhi - Why rainforest diversity is critical

Yadvinder Malhi, Professor of Ecosystem Science and Director of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery, discusses his career and the importance of restoring our natural world.

www.ox.ac.uk

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The Biodiversity Network @biodivoxford.bsky.social · Jul 23

In our latest blog, Cecilia Dahlsjӧ takes a closer look at Ragwort, a plant which divides the UK countryside! Should we embrace or eradicate it?
www.biodiversity.ox.ac.uk/research_sto...
Let us know in the poll below where you stand

@ecioxford.bsky.social @oxfordgeography.bsky.social

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Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery @naturerecovery.bsky.social · Jul 21

Global plant trait analyses can yield intriguing insights, but a recurring limitation is that some results merely reflect stark contrasts between ecologically distinct biomes, e.g., #tundra vs. #tropical forest. The key question remains: what do we learn beyond confirming the obvious?

Testing Eco-Evolutionary Theory: How Tropical Forest Traits Vary With Dryness

By Huanyuan Zhang-Zheng We have seen many global analyses of plant traits. Admittedly, many of them are intriguing and insightful. However, there is a reoccurring issue evident in most global analysis...

naturerecovery.ox.ac.uk

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Huanyuan Zhang-Zheng @h-zhang.bsky.social · Jul 10

This was the first chapter of my PhD but we spent a long long time on reviewing and revising (which indeed greatly improved the quality). This is where we need nice supervisors and coauthors who keep encouraging me regardless of peer criticism and rejection! Also C.Bio. has very good author service!

Communications Biology @commsbio.nature.com · Jul 10

Testing ecophysiological theory using tree traits along a vapour pressure deficit (VPD) gradient shows, as predicted, that photosynthetic capacity is higher at higher VPD sites. Contrary to the predictions, potential water conductivity tends to increase with higher VPD. doi.org/10.1038/s420...

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Imma Oliveras Menor @ioliverasmenor.bsky.social · Jul 10

Last publication of @h-zhang.bsky.social 's PhD thesis is finally out! This study tests optimality theory on the effect of vapour pressure deficit using tree trait data collected in West Africa

Communications Biology @commsbio.nature.com · Jul 10

Testing ecophysiological theory using tree traits along a vapour pressure deficit (VPD) gradient shows, as predicted, that photosynthetic capacity is higher at higher VPD sites. Contrary to the predictions, potential water conductivity tends to increase with higher VPD. doi.org/10.1038/s420...

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Bill McKibben @billmckibben.bsky.social · Jul 9

Among all the big bad things happening on our planet, there's one Big Good Thing, the sudden, startling rise of solar energy.
It changes the power dynamic, in every sense of the word 'power.'
www.newyorker.com/news/annals-...

4.6 Billion Years On, the Sun Is Having a Moment

In the past two years, without much notice, solar power has begun to truly transform the world’s energy system.

www.newyorker.com

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Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery @naturerecovery.bsky.social · Jul 7

What can conservation learn from Indigenous knowledge systems? Here, @helinajolly.bsky.social explores how Indigenous worldviews can challenge dominant models of conservation & biodiversity management, where wild animals are seen not as resources to manage, but as kin, teachers & spiritual beings.

Rethinking Human–Nature Relations Through Indigenous Epistemologies.

YouTube video by Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery

youtu.be

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Yadvinder Malhi @ymalhi.bsky.social · Jul 4

Our new paper with the UN Human Development team seeking to expand the definition of developing to include flourishing relationships with the rest of the living planet …

Oxford Martin School @oxmartinschool.bsky.social · Jul 4

A new global index proposes a hopeful shift: measuring how people & nature thrive together. The Nature Relationship Index, co-developed by Oxford Martin's Biodiversity and Society Programme , could reshape how we define progress.

Read more: www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/news/new-glo...

New global index puts nature at the heart of human progress

Researchers from the University of Oxford, including those from the Oxford Martin Programme on Biodiversity and Society, have joined international…

www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk

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Peter Frankopan @peterfrankopan.bsky.social · Jun 30

Why does this matter now?
🔹 Climate anxiety is rising
🔹 Biodiversity is crashing
🔹 “Limits” language often disempowers

But people want clean air, green space, and healthy ecosystems.
The NRI starts from aspiration - not fear. A metric that motivates, not paralyses.

#SustainableFuture

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Peter Frankopan @peterfrankopan.bsky.social · Jun 30

The NRI complements the Human Development Index (HDI), but shifts the focus:
Not just how well are people doing?
But how well are people and nature doing together?

Three core dimensions:
🌱 Nature is thriving and accessible
🧑‍🌾 Nature is used with care
⚖️ Nature is safeguarded

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