Land

The science—and practice—of safeguarding wildlands and helping developed areas return to nature.

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‘Mr. Fezziwig's Ball,’ an 1843 illustration by John Leech for ‘A Christmas Carol’ by Charles Dickens. This novella was the earliest and most popular of Dickens' Christmas stories. The kissing under mistletoe (left) and evergreen decoration hanging from the ceiling are vestiges of pre-Christian winter rites.

A history of mistletoe: The parasitic ‘dung on a twig’

A cross sectional image of an actively growing microbialite from South Africa.

‘Living rocks’ suck up a lot of carbon

By Laura Baisas

several red and beige mushroom-like plants growing at the base of a tree

Asexual parasitic plants break biology’s rules

By Laura Baisas

a close up of evergreen branches

How the evergreen shaped America

By Trent Preszler

Awa Guajá couple, family of Takarentia, only contacted 5 days before this picture was taken, 1992.

Half of all uncontacted Indigenous tribes may disappear by 2036

Big bison in the National Park on the shore of a lake or river

This national park uses helicopters for bison round-up duty

a toilet in the woods, covered by wooden panels

World’s first mushroom-powered toilet could replace stinky porta-potties

By Margherita Bassi

a small, brown prairie dog popping out of a hole

Tiny prairie dogs’ poop play a mighty role in grasslands

By Margherita Bassi

a red panda in a tree

11 adorable photos of red pandas to celebrate International Red Panda Day

By Popular Science Team

Mountains, river, and forest in Alberta, Canada

A $1 million treasure hunt is underway in Canadian wilderness

Two images of Bootanomyia dorsalis with 1 mm size comparison

Invasive parasitic wasp spotted in the US for the first time

a rattlesnake with brown and white scales is coiled on the ground of a forest

Michigan’s only rattlesnake is inbreeding

By Laura Baisas

Cacao Beans in seed pods next to chocolate chunks in cacao seed pod

How to make perfect chocolate, according to science

Wild pig walking in grass

Wild pigs’ guts are turning blue in California

Two researchers excavating dig site in Norwegian cave, seen from above

Remote Norwegian cave is an ice age animal jackpot

a purple crab stands on green moss in thailand

Rare purple crabs spotted in Thailand

By Margherita Bassi

Drone_on_the_ground_clsoe_up

These drones drop burning balls in the forest to control wildfires

By Mack DeGeurin

Missionaries accused of illegally giving gadgets to isolated Amazon tribe

several fireflies blinking at once in a forest

Why fireflies are everywhere this summer

By Laura Baisas

a beaver swimming in water. its eyes, nose, ears, and back are exposed

Beavers put to work saving two Utah rivers

By Margherita Bassi