Phoebe Weston / THE GUARDIAN

Cut an apple in half, and the white flesh reveals a cluster of black pips arranged in the shape of a star. It is a tiny constellation of seeds hidden in the fruit bowl. But it reveals an interlinked…

Cowpats in a Cambridge meadow offer vital lessons in how a host of tiny creatures sustain our planet

The humble creatures – which break down organic matter and aerate soils – contribute to as much as 6.5% of the world’s grain harvests Earthworms’ contribution to the world’s grain harvest matches…

Fruit growers in the UK are already seeing less yield and lower-quality produce because of the loss of insects, scientists have told MPs, warning that a further loss of pollinators could have “…

From owls to hedgehogs to fungi, genetic material from plants and animals is being inadvertently hoovered up by air-quality monitoring stations around the world, creating an untapped “vault of…

Wealthy countries should pay for the loss and damage they cause to nature in poorer countries in the same way as for climate impacts, researchers have argued. At the Cop27 climate talks in November…

Assessment shows 20% global loss since 1700 – far less than thought – but Europe, US and China bear the brunt Half the wetlands in Europe, continental US and China have been destroyed in the past…

Study shows ‘disastrous consequences for wildlife’ if human-caused emissions push global temperatures up 4.4C More than 40% of land vertebrates will be threatened by extreme heat by the end of the…

If global heating continues at current rate of 2.7C, losses will be greater with 68% of glaciers disappearing