Land & water
From forests and farms to glaciers, coastal waters, and oceans, the science and future of land use and water on our changing planet.
Food Agriculture Aquatic ecosystems Fluid mechanics Forests Freshwater resources Ice Land use Coastal ecosystems Fisheries and aquaculture Ocean chemistry Oceanography
Site news
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While 14% of major companies report carbon emissions, just 9% disclose water withdrawals and only 1% reveal recycled water use. Stanford and Korea University researchers have developed a scoring system that weighs where companies draw water and how they use it.
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Jennifer Brophy uses genetic tools to help plants adapt to climate change. Lately, she has focused her efforts on improving crops to reduce the need for chemical pesticides that can contaminate air and water.
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Schistosomiasis infects millions of people each year. Researchers at Stanford and in Senegal are working to reduce disease transmission in rice paddies, make food systems more productive and sustainable, and boost local economies – with the help of fish.
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An ambitious initiative is tackling the pervasive issue of lead contamination, which exerts a heavy toll on global health. Researchers aim to identify major sources of lead exposure and develop affordable detection methods in communities worldwide.
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David Lobell discusses how satellite data and artificial intelligence can provide insights on food security, poverty, and sustainability in this episode of the Stanford Ecopreneurship podcast.
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Scientists have discovered wintertime seismic activity in the ocean around Antarctica controls summer growth of phytoplankton, tiny organisms that fuel the marine food web and sequester huge amounts of carbon from Earth’s atmosphere.
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Founder and biochemist Pat Brown and business leader Nick Halla discuss animal agriculture and scaling from lab innovations to market in this episode of the Stanford Ecopreneurship podcast.
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Stanford researchers are studying how changing weather patterns, rising temperatures, and ecological shifts affect the global food system, while developing ways to improve food security for all.
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Small-scale fishers harvest 40% of wild-caught fish and support economies worldwide, but are threatened by climate change and overfishing. New research categorizes small-scale fisheries into five types, offering a clearer framework for sustainable seafood policies.
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The new Chef-in-Residence program brings culinary innovation into the lab, starting with the head of creativity at a two-Michelin-star restaurant in Spain.
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With support from the TomKat Center, two Stanford alumni are working to transform biowaste such as palm fibers into oil feedstocks for advanced fuels.
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New research finds damage to rice crops has accelerated in recent decades due to rainstorms that increasingly submerge young plants for a week or more. Adoption of flood-resistant rice varieties in vulnerable regions could help avert future losses.
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In many parts of the world, staple crops such as maize and wheat are dependent on rainfall recycled from land rather than oceans, making them more vulnerable to drought. Researchers at Stanford and the University of California San Diego identified a critical threshold in atmospheric moisture sources that could help predict and prevent future crop failures.
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New analysis of isotopes preserved in ancient seafloor sediments suggests oxygen levels in Earth’s deep ocean stabilized at modern-day levels long after the rapid burst of evolution that gave us most major animal groups.
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A decade ago, the O’Donohue Family Stanford Educational Farm was established after years of student advocacy. Today, it thrives as a hub for teaching, research, and campus life.
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Scholars across campus are leveraging AI to drive remarkable advancements in fields from robotics to neuroscience to mining, while fostering a cautious approach to the application of the technology.
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Scientists are tapping wastewater for valuable nutrients, public health information, and more.
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For the first time, researchers report that Arctic algae can hustle along in -15 C – the lowest-temperature movement ever recorded in complex, living cells. This discovery raises new questions about how algal communities regulate the overall health of the Arctic environment.
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Domestic vessels account for the majority of port visits globally. Inspecting them in addition to foreign vessels is key to deterring illegal fishing, scientists say.
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Research reveals that unvegetated meandering rivers can geologically masquerade as braided rivers, suggesting they were much more common in the first 90 percent of Earth’s history than previously thought.
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Jennifer Burney combines physics, economics, and on-the-ground data to understand how practical, local solutions and better policies can help improve access to food, support farmers, and drive down planet-warming emissions.
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Stanford researchers have developed a prototype system that can harvest fertilizer from urine. The approach could provide sanitation, income, and energy in resource-limited regions.
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Stanford researchers discovered that a nearly forgotten variety of black peas from the northwest Himalayas in India is genetically distinct from other peas and outperforms them.
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Often portrayed as lumber-hungry nuisances, North American beavers build dams that help freshwater ecosystems thrive. A new Stanford-led study uses high-resolution aerial imagery to map beaver dams and ponds, ultimately aiding managers in prioritizing areas for restoring wetlands and reintroducing beavers.
