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The forest sound detectives

How scientists check the health of a forest by listening to it.

Scientists are checking up on the health of forests by analysing the sounds in them.

They test their vital signs by measuring the croaks, tweets and hums of resident creatures. If they can hear a full range of animals they can be confident an ecosystem is doing well. However, if gaps start to appear, it鈥檚 a sign something is up.

Nick Holland hears more about how it works and how it鈥檚 being used to strike a balance between the needs of Papua New Guinea鈥檚 growing indigenous communities and the need to preserve the biodiversity of the forests they live off.

Produced and presented by Nick Holland
Image: The Nature Conservancy
Repeat - first published 04 May 2021.

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24 minutes

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