Shirin-yoku, literally translated to “forest bathing” refers to a practice where one “bathes” in the atmosphere of the forest. The sensory connection one forms with nature through sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch bridges the gap between humans and the natural world (Li, 2018). With the increase of urbanisation, and the tendency to stay indoors…

We attended a lecture on “Waste impact on ecosystems” by Dr. Amy Choong who is teaching Waste and our Environment (LSM1307). The link allows you to search for the effects of a pollutant on a particular habitat, ecosystem, or even more specifically, a species of organism. Below is an example of selecting “Acid deposition” as…

Forests are a critical cog in the water cycle. Termed as the “rivers in the sky”, the trees in the forests act as fountains that suck water out from the ground and releasing it into the atmosphere through the pores of its foliage (Wheeling, 2019). This results in giant “rivers” in the sky whereby clouds…

Forests are an important climate change regulator. Trees are an important carbon sink within forests that plays a big role in doing that, but there is another critical organism that plays a major role in regulating climate change – fungi. Studies have found that fungi are responsible for most carbon sequestration in forests (Malyan et…

Studies have shown that the presence of dragonflies and damselflies indicates low pollution levels in the environment (Lesch & Bouwman, 2018; Ho et al., 2018; Simon, 2012). This is due to their lifecycle, where the insect spends most of its life living in water, hence, water quality is very crucial for their survival (Samways and…

In previous blog posts, we have talked about sensitive plants that act as bioindicators that could potentially detect pollutants like ozone in the in Switzerland (links from previous blog post: Plants as bioindicators of ozone and Effect of Ozone On Native Plant Species in Switzerland). In Singapore, we also have natural bioindicators like insects and…

Singapore, located on the equator carries a suitable climate for a diverse forest ecosystem. There are four different types of forests in Singapore, each carrying its own distinctive characteristics. Lowland dipterocarp forests: These types of forests are dominated by tall trees from the Dipterocarpaceae, where tree species are characterised by their large canopies that forms…

As mentioned in previous posts, tropospheric ozone (O3) is a secondary pollutant formed by photochemical reactions. Though some are from natural sources, as an anthropogenic air pollutant is sourced from the emissions from fossil fuel combustion. In the Northeastern United States, ozone is of regional scale importance due to long-range transport within slow moving and…

Though ozone presents a threat to the health of forests, interestingly, more sensitive species were also discovered to have the potential to serve as bioindicators of ozone. They could potentially be used to monitor ozone levels in more remote areas. Multiple studies have been conducted regarding this potential method of identifying ozone with biodiversity. This…