How Louisiana's Mega Swamp Breaks Hurricanes

In the Atchafalaya Basin—the largest river swamp in the U.S.—ancient cypress trees act as natural barriers against hurricanes and extreme weather. Spanning a million acres, these nearly indestructible trees have protected Louisiana's coast for thousands of years. How does this million-acre ecosystem protect Louisiana’s communities, and how can we protect it?

Pando, Latin for 'I spread,' appears to be a forest but is actually one massive tree. Weighing 13 million pounds, Pando is one of the world’s largest living organisms. It has thrived in Utah's Fishlake National Forest, spreading across 106 acres with 47,000 stems. Find out how human intervention has both threatened its survival and sparked a passionate mission to protect it.

In kitchens around the world, truffles represent culinary excellence and prestige, but in the forest they’re just another flora fighting to exist, using somewhat…unusual methods. In the lush woodland of the Pacific Northwest, these modest mushrooms’ adaptation strategies are promoting not only their own survival, but that of their forest ecosystem at large.