1
|
Li Q, Tietema A, Reinsch S, Schmidt IK, de Dato G, Guidolotti G, Lellei-Kovács E, Kopittke G, Larsen KS. Higher sensitivity of gross primary productivity than ecosystem respiration to experimental drought and warming across six European shrubland ecosystems. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 900:165627. [PMID: 37495128 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165627] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2023] [Revised: 07/13/2023] [Accepted: 07/16/2023] [Indexed: 07/28/2023]
Abstract
Shrubland ecosystems across Europe face a range of threats including the potential impacts of climate change. Within the INCREASE project, six shrubland ecosystems along a European climatic gradient were exposed to ecosystem-level year-round experimental nighttime warming and long-term, repeated growing season droughts. We quantified the ecosystem level CO2 fluxes, i.e. gross primary productivity (GPP), ecosystem respiration (Reco) and net ecosystem exchange (NEE), in control and treatment plots and compared the treatment effects along the Gaussen aridity index. In general, GPP exhibited higher sensitivity to drought and warming than Reco and was found to be the dominant contributor to changes in overall NEE. Across the climate gradient, northern sites were more likely to have neutral to positive responses of NEE, i.e. increased CO2 uptake, to drought and warming partly due to seasonal rewetting. While an earlier investigation across the same sites showed a good cross-site relationship between soil respiration responses to climate over the Gaussen aridity index, the responses of GPP, Reco and NEE showed a more complex response pattern suggesting that site-specific ecosystem traits, such as different growing season periods and plant species composition, affected the overall response pattern of the ecosystem-level CO2 fluxes. We found that the observed response patterns of GPP and Reco rates at the six sites could be explained well by the hypothesized position of each site on site-specific soil moisture response curves of GPP/Reco fluxes. Such relatively simple, site-specific analyses could help improve our ability to explain observed CO2 flux patterns in larger meta-analyses as well as in larger-scale model upscaling exercises and thereby help improve our ability to project changes in ecosystem CO2 fluxes in response to future climate change.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Qiaoyan Li
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
| | - Albert Tietema
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Sabine Reinsch
- UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Environment Centre Wales, Bangor, United Kingdom
| | - Inger Kappel Schmidt
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Giovanbattista de Dato
- CREA Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, Research Centre for Forestry and Wood, Arezzo, Italy
| | - Gabriele Guidolotti
- Research Institute on Terrestrial Ecosystems (IRET), National Research Council (CNR), Porano, TR, Italy
| | | | - Gillian Kopittke
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Klaus Steenberg Larsen
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Ferrín M, Márquez L, Petersen H, Salmon S, Ponge J, Arnedo M, Emmett B, Beier C, Schmidt IK, Tietema A, Angelis P, Liberati D, Kovács‐Láng E, Kröel‐Dulay G, Estiarte M, Bartrons M, Peñuelas J, Peguero G. Trait‐mediated responses to aridity and experimental drought by springtail communities across Europe. Funct Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.14036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Miquel Ferrín
- CSIC Global Ecology Unit CREAF‐CSIC‐UAB 08913 Bellaterra Catalonia Spain
- CREAF 08913 Cerdanyola del Vallès Catalonia Spain
| | - Laura Márquez
- CSIC Global Ecology Unit CREAF‐CSIC‐UAB 08913 Bellaterra Catalonia Spain
- CREAF 08913 Cerdanyola del Vallès Catalonia Spain
| | - Henning Petersen
- Natural History Museum Mols Laboratory Strandkaervej 6‐8 Femmøller DK8400 Denmark
| | - Sandrine Salmon
- Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle CNRS UMR 7179 4 Avenue du Petit‐Château 91800 Brunoy France
| | - Jean‐François Ponge
- Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle CNRS UMR 7179 4 Avenue du Petit‐Château 91800 Brunoy France
| | - Miquel Arnedo
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences and Biodiversity Research Institute (IRBio) Universitat de Barcelona Avinguda Diagonal 643 08028 Barcelona Spain
| | - Bridget Emmett
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology Environment Centre Wales, Deiniol Road Bangor LL57 2UW UK
| | - Claus Beier
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management University of Copenhagen Rolighedsvej 23 1958 Frederiksberg C Denmark
| | - Inger K. Schmidt
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management University of Copenhagen Rolighedsvej 23 1958 Frederiksberg C Denmark
| | - Albert Tietema
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics University of Amsterdam 94240, 1090 GE Amsterdam The Netherlands
| | - Paolo Angelis
- Department for Innovation in Biological Agro‐food and Forest systems University of Tuscia Via San Camillo de Lellis snc 01100 Viterbo Italy
| | - Dario Liberati
- Department for Innovation in Biological Agro‐food and Forest systems University of Tuscia Via San Camillo de Lellis snc 01100 Viterbo Italy
| | - Edit Kovács‐Láng
- Institute of Ecology and Botany MTA Centre for Ecological Research Alkotmany u. 2‐4 2163 Vacratot Hungary
| | - György Kröel‐Dulay
- Institute of Ecology and Botany MTA Centre for Ecological Research Alkotmany u. 2‐4 2163 Vacratot Hungary
| | - Marc Estiarte
- CSIC Global Ecology Unit CREAF‐CSIC‐UAB 08913 Bellaterra Catalonia Spain
- CREAF 08913 Cerdanyola del Vallès Catalonia Spain
| | - Mireia Bartrons
- Aquatic Ecology Group Universitat de Vic‐ Universitat Central de Catalunya Vic 08500 Barcelona Spain
| | - Josep Peñuelas
- CSIC Global Ecology Unit CREAF‐CSIC‐UAB 08913 Bellaterra Catalonia Spain
- CREAF 08913 Cerdanyola del Vallès Catalonia Spain
| | - Guille Peguero
- CSIC Global Ecology Unit CREAF‐CSIC‐UAB 08913 Bellaterra Catalonia Spain
- CREAF 08913 Cerdanyola del Vallès Catalonia Spain
- Departament de Biologia Animal Biologia Vegetal i Ecologia Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona 08193 Bellaterra Spain
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Abstract
AbstractThe response of soil microbial communities to a changing climate will impact global biogeochemical cycles, potentially leading to positive and negative feedbacks. However, our understanding of how soil microbial communities respond to climate change and the implications of these changes for future soil function is limited. Here, we assess the response of soil bacterial and fungal communities to long-term experimental climate change in a heathland organo-mineral soil. We analysed microbial communities using Illumina sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene and ITS2 region at two depths, from plots undergoing 4 and 18 years of in situ summer drought or warming. We also assessed the colonisation of Calluna vulgaris roots by ericoid and dark septate endophytic (DSE) fungi using microscopy after 16 years of climate treatment. We found significant changes in both the bacterial and fungal communities in response to drought and warming, likely mediated by changes in soil pH and electrical conductivity. Changes in the microbial communities were more pronounced after a longer period of climate manipulation. Additionally, the subsoil communities of the long-term warmed plots became similar to the topsoil. Ericoid mycorrhizal colonisation decreased with depth while DSEs increased; however, these trends with depth were removed by warming. We largely ascribe the observed changes in microbial communities to shifts in plant cover and subsequent feedback on soil physicochemical properties, especially pH. Our results demonstrate the importance of considering changes in soil microbial responses to climate change across different soil depths and after extended periods of time.
Collapse
|
4
|
Wilfahrt PA, Schweiger AH, Abrantes N, Arfin‐Khan MAS, Bahn M, Berauer BJ, Bierbaumer M, Djukic I, Dusseldorp M, Eibes P, Estiarte M, Hessberg A, Holub P, Ingrisch J, Schmidt IK, Kesic L, Klem K, Kröel‐Dulay G, Larsen KS, Lõhmus K, Mänd P, Orbán I, Orlovic S, Peñuelas J, Reinthaler D, Radujković D, Schuchardt M, Schweiger JM, Stojnic S, Tietema A, Urban O, Vicca S, Jentsch A. Disentangling climate from soil nutrient effects on plant biomass production using a multispecies phytometer. Ecosphere 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
|
5
|
Liu D, Zhang C, Ogaya R, Fernández‐Martínez M, Pugh TAM, Peñuelas J. Increasing climatic sensitivity of global grassland vegetation biomass and species diversity correlates with water availability. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2021; 230:1761-1771. [PMID: 33577084 PMCID: PMC8252445 DOI: 10.1111/nph.17269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2020] [Accepted: 02/03/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Grasslands are key repositories of biodiversity and carbon storage and are heavily impacted by effects of global warming and changes in precipitation regimes. Patterns of grassland dynamics associated with variability in future climate conditions across spatiotemporal scales are yet to be adequately quantified. Here, we performed a global meta-analysis of year and growing season sensitivities of vegetation aboveground biomass (AGB), aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP), and species richness (SR) and diversity (Shannon index, H) to experimental climate warming and precipitation shifts. All four variables were sensitive to climate change. Their sensitivities to shifts in precipitation were correlated with local background water availability, such as mean annual precipitation (MAP) and aridity, and AGB and ANPP sensitivities were greater in dry habitats than in nonwater-limited habitats. There was no effect of duration of experiment (short vs long term) on sensitivities. Temporal trends in ANPP and SR sensitivity depended on local water availability; ANPP sensitivity to warming increased over time and SR sensitivity to irrigation decreased over time. Our results provide a global overview of the sensitivities of grassland function and diversity to climate change that will improve the understanding of ecological responses across spatiotemporal scales and inform policies for conservation in dry climates.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Daijun Liu
- Department of Botany and Biodiversity ResearchUniversity of ViennaRennweg 14Vienna1030Austria
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental SciencesUniversity of BirminghamBirmingham,B15 2TTUK
- Birmingham Institute of Forest ResearchUniversity of BirminghamBirmingham,B15 2TTUK
- CSICGlobal Ecology UnitCREAF‐CSIC‐Universitat Autònoma de BarcelonaBellaterra (Catalonia)08193Spain
| | - Chao Zhang
- CSICGlobal Ecology UnitCREAF‐CSIC‐Universitat Autònoma de BarcelonaBellaterra (Catalonia)08193Spain
- Optics of Photosynthesis LaboratoryInstitute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research (INAR)/Forest SciencesViikki Plant Science CentreUniversity of HelsinkiPO Box 27Helsinki00014Finland
| | - Romà Ogaya
- CSICGlobal Ecology UnitCREAF‐CSIC‐Universitat Autònoma de BarcelonaBellaterra (Catalonia)08193Spain
- CREAFCerdanyola del Vallès (Catalonia)08193Spain
| | | | - Thomas A. M. Pugh
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental SciencesUniversity of BirminghamBirmingham,B15 2TTUK
- Birmingham Institute of Forest ResearchUniversity of BirminghamBirmingham,B15 2TTUK
- Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystem ScienceLund UniversityLund22362Sweden
| | - Josep Peñuelas
- CSICGlobal Ecology UnitCREAF‐CSIC‐Universitat Autònoma de BarcelonaBellaterra (Catalonia)08193Spain
- CREAFCerdanyola del Vallès (Catalonia)08193Spain
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Yahdjian L, Sala OE, PiÑEiro-Guerra JM, Knapp AK, Collins SL, Phillips RP, Smith MD. Why Coordinated Distributed Experiments Should Go Global. Bioscience 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biab033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
The performance of coordinated distributed experiments designed to compare ecosystem sensitivity to global-change drivers depends on whether they cover a significant proportion of the global range of environmental variables. In the present article, we described the global distribution of climatic and soil variables and quantified main differences among continents. Then, as a test case, we assessed the representativeness of the International Drought Experiment (IDE) in parameter space. Considering the global environmental variability at this scale, the different continents harbor unique combinations of parameters. As such, coordinated experiments set up across a single continent may fail to capture the full extent of global variation in climate and soil parameter space. IDE with representation on all continents has the potential to address global scale hypotheses about ecosystem sensitivity to environmental change. Our results provide a unique vision of climate and soil variability at the global scale and highlight the need to design globally distributed networks.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Laura Yahdjian
- Ecology Department, Faculty of Agronomy, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | | | - Juan Manuel PiÑEiro-Guerra
- Departamento de Sistemática e Ecologia, Laboratório de Ecologia Aplicada e Conservação, Cidade Universitária, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, in João Pessoa, Brazil
| | - Alan K Knapp
- Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States
| | - Scott L Collins
- Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States
| | - Richard P Phillips
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, United States
| | - Melinda D Smith
- Department of Biology and the director of the Semiarid Grassland Research Center, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Naidu DGT, Bagchi S. Greening of the earth does not compensate for rising soil heterotrophic respiration under climate change. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2021; 27:2029-2038. [PMID: 33508870 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2020] [Revised: 01/13/2021] [Accepted: 01/22/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Stability of the soil carbon (C) pool under decadal scale variability in temperature and precipitation is an important source of uncertainty in our understanding of land-atmosphere climate feedbacks. This depends on how two opposing C-fluxes-influx from net primary production (NPP) and efflux from heterotrophic soil respiration (Rh )-respond to covariation in temperature and precipitation. There is scant evidence to judge whether field experiments which manipulate both temperature and precipitation align with Earth System Models, or not. As a result, even though the world is generally greening, whether the resultant gains in NPP can offset climate change impacts on Rh , where, and by how much, remains uncertain. Here, we use decadal-scale global time-series datasets on NPP, Rh , temperature, and precipitation to estimate the two opposing C-fluxes and address whether one can outpace the other. We implement machine-learning tools on recent (2001-2019) and near-future climate scenarios (2020-2040) to assess the response of both C-fluxes to temperature and precipitation variation. We find that changes in C-influx may not compensate for C-efflux, particularly in wetter and warmer conditions. Soil-C loss can occur in both tropics and at high latitudes since C-influx from NPP can fall behind C-efflux from Rh . Precipitation emerges as the key determinant of soil-C vulnerability in a warmer world, implying that hotspots for soil-C loss/gain can shift rapidly and highlighting that soil-C is vulnerable to climate change despite widespread greening of the world. The direction of covariation between change in temperature and precipitation, rather than their magnitude, can help conceptualize highly variable patterns in C-fluxes to guide soil-C stewardship.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Dilip G T Naidu
- Divecha Centre for Climate Change, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India
- Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India
| | - Sumanta Bagchi
- Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
A meta-analysis of 1,119 manipulative experiments on terrestrial carbon-cycling responses to global change. Nat Ecol Evol 2019; 3:1309-1320. [PMID: 31427733 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-019-0958-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 157] [Impact Index Per Article: 31.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2018] [Accepted: 07/10/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Direct quantification of terrestrial biosphere responses to global change is crucial for projections of future climate change in Earth system models. Here, we synthesized ecosystem carbon-cycling data from 1,119 experiments performed over the past four decades concerning changes in temperature, precipitation, CO2 and nitrogen across major terrestrial vegetation types of the world. Most experiments manipulated single rather than multiple global change drivers in temperate ecosystems of the USA, Europe and China. The magnitudes of warming and elevated CO2 treatments were consistent with the ranges of future projections, whereas those of precipitation changes and nitrogen inputs often exceeded the projected ranges. Increases in global change drivers consistently accelerated, but decreased precipitation slowed down carbon-cycle processes. Nonlinear (including synergistic and antagonistic) effects among global change drivers were rare. Belowground carbon allocation responded negatively to increased precipitation and nitrogen addition and positively to decreased precipitation and elevated CO2. The sensitivities of carbon variables to multiple global change drivers depended on the background climate and ecosystem condition, suggesting that Earth system models should be evaluated using site-specific conditions for best uses of this large dataset. Together, this synthesis underscores an urgent need to explore the interactions among multiple global change drivers in underrepresented regions such as semi-arid ecosystems, forests in the tropics and subtropics, and Arctic tundra when forecasting future terrestrial carbon-climate feedback.
Collapse
|
9
|
Peguero G, Sol D, Arnedo M, Petersen H, Salmon S, Ponge JF, Maspons J, Emmett B, Beier C, Schmidt IK, Tietema A, De Angelis P, Kovács-Láng E, Kröel-Dulay G, Estiarte M, Bartrons M, Holmstrup M, Janssens IA, Peñuelas J. Fast attrition of springtail communities by experimental drought and richness-decomposition relationships across Europe. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2019; 25:2727-2738. [PMID: 31206913 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2019] [Revised: 04/04/2019] [Accepted: 05/02/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Soil fauna play a fundamental role on key ecosystem functions like organic matter decomposition, although how local assemblages are responding to climate change and whether these changes may have consequences to ecosystem functioning is less clear. Previous studies have revealed that a continued environmental stress may result in poorer communities by filtering out the most sensitive species. However, these experiments have rarely been applied to climate change factors combining multiyear and multisite standardized field treatments across climatically contrasting regions, which has limited drawing general conclusions. Moreover, other facets of biodiversity, such as functional and phylogenetic diversity, potentially more closely linked to ecosystem functioning, have been largely neglected. Here, we report that the abundance, species richness, phylogenetic diversity, and functional richness of springtails (Subclass Collembola), a major group of fungivores and detritivores, decreased within 4 years of experimental drought across six European shrublands. The loss of phylogenetic and functional richness was higher than expected by the loss of species richness, leading to communities of phylogenetically similar species sharing evolutionary conserved traits. Additionally, despite the great climatic differences among study sites, we found that taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional richness of springtail communities alone were able to explain up to 30% of the variation in annual decomposition rates. Altogether, our results suggest that the forecasted reductions in precipitation associated with climate change may erode springtail communities and likely other drought-sensitive soil invertebrates, thereby retarding litter decomposition and nutrient cycling in ecosystems.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Guille Peguero
- Research Group of Plant and Vegetation Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Bellaterra, Spain
| | - Daniel Sol
- CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
- CSIC, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - Miquel Arnedo
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, and Biodiversity Research Institute (IRBio), Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Sandrine Salmon
- Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS UMR, Brunoy, France
| | | | | | - Bridget Emmett
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Environment Centre Wales, Bangor, UK
| | - Claus Beier
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Inger K Schmidt
- Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
| | - Albert Tietema
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Paolo De Angelis
- Department for Innovation in Biological, Agro-food and Forest Systems, University of Tuscia, Viterbo, Italy
| | - Edit Kovács-Láng
- Institute of Ecology and Botany, MTA Centre for Ecological Research, Vacratot, Hungary
| | - György Kröel-Dulay
- Institute of Ecology and Botany, MTA Centre for Ecological Research, Vacratot, Hungary
| | - Marc Estiarte
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Bellaterra, Spain
- CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - Mireia Bartrons
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Bellaterra, Spain
- BETA Technological Centre (Tecnio), Aquatic Ecology Group, University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Martin Holmstrup
- Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Silkeborg, Denmark
- Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Ivan A Janssens
- Research Group of Plant and Vegetation Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Josep Peñuelas
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Bellaterra, Spain
- CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Robinson DA, Hopmans JW, Filipovic V, van der Ploeg M, Lebron I, Jones SB, Reinsch S, Jarvis N, Tuller M. Global environmental changes impact soil hydraulic functions through biophysical feedbacks. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2019; 25:1895-1904. [PMID: 30900360 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2018] [Revised: 03/12/2019] [Accepted: 03/16/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Although only representing 0.05% of global freshwater, or 0.001% of all global water, soil water supports all terrestrial biological life. Soil moisture behaviour in most models is constrained by hydraulic parameters that do not change. Here we argue that biological feedbacks from plants, macro-fauna and the microbiome influence soil structure, and thus the soil hydraulic parameters and the soil water content signals we observe. Incorporating biological feedbacks into soil hydrological models is therefore important for understanding environmental change and its impacts on ecosystems. We anticipate that environmental change will accelerate and modify soil hydraulic function. Increasingly, we understand the vital role that soil moisture exerts on the carbon cycle and other environmental threats such as heatwaves, droughts and floods, wildfires, regional precipitation patterns, disease regulation and infrastructure stability, in addition to agricultural production. Biological feedbacks may result in changes to soil hydraulic function that could be irreversible, resulting in alternative stable states (ASS) of soil moisture. To explore this, we need models that consider all the major feedbacks between soil properties and soil-plant-faunal-microbial-atmospheric processes, which is something we currently do not have. Therefore, a new direction is required to incorporate a dynamic description of soil structure and hydraulic property evolution into soil-plant-atmosphere, or land surface, models that consider feedbacks from land use and climate drivers of change, so as to better model ecosystem dynamics.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Jan W Hopmans
- Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, University of California, Davis, California
| | - Vilim Filipovic
- Department of Soil Amelioration, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Martine van der Ploeg
- Department Environmental Sciences, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Inma Lebron
- Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, ECW, Bangor, UK
| | - Scott B Jones
- Department of Plants, Soils and Climate, Utah State University, Logan, Utah
| | | | - Nick Jarvis
- Department of Soil and Environment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Markus Tuller
- Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
de Nijs EA, Hicks LC, Leizeaga A, Tietema A, Rousk J. Soil microbial moisture dependences and responses to drying-rewetting: The legacy of 18 years drought. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2019; 25:1005-1015. [PMID: 30387912 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2018] [Revised: 09/27/2018] [Accepted: 10/27/2018] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
Climate change will alter precipitation patterns with consequences for soil C cycling. An understanding of how fluctuating soil moisture affects microbial processes is therefore critical to predict responses to future global change. We investigated how long-term experimental field drought influences microbial tolerance to lower moisture levels ("resistance") and ability to recover when rewetted after drought ("resilience"), using soils from a heathland which had been subjected to experimental precipitation reduction during the summer for 18 years. We tested whether drought could induce increased resistance, resilience, and changes in the balance between respiration and bacterial growth during perturbation events, by following a two-tiered approach. We first evaluated the effects of the long-term summer drought on microbial community functioning to drought and drying-rewetting (D/RW), and second tested the ability to alter resistance and resilience through additional perturbation cycles. A history of summer drought in the field selected for increased resilience but not resistance, suggesting that rewetting after drought, rather than low moisture levels during drought, was the selective pressure shaping the microbial community functions. Laboratory D/RW cycles also selected for communities with a higher resilience rather than increased resistance. The ratio of respiration to bacterial growth during D/RW perturbation was lower for the field drought-exposed communities and decreased for both field treatments during the D/RW cycles. This suggests that cycles of D/RW also structure microbial communities to respond quickly and efficiently to rewetting after drought. Our findings imply that microbial communities can adapt to changing climatic conditions and that this might slow the rate of soil C loss predicted to be induced by future cyclic drought.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Evy A de Nijs
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED), University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Lettice C Hicks
- Section of Microbial Ecology, Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Ainara Leizeaga
- Section of Microbial Ecology, Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Albert Tietema
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED), University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Johannes Rousk
- Section of Microbial Ecology, Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|