1
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Finger-Higgens R, Hoover DL, Knight AC, Wilson SL, Bishop TBB, Reibold R, Reed SC, Duniway MC. Seasonal drought treatments impact plant and microbial uptake of nitrogen in a mixed shrub grassland on the Colorado Plateau. Ecology 2024; 105:e4393. [PMID: 39104160 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.4393] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2024] [Accepted: 05/24/2024] [Indexed: 08/07/2024]
Abstract
For many drylands, both long- and short-term drought conditions can accentuate landscape heterogeneity at both temporal (e.g., role of seasonal patterns) and spatial (e.g., patchy plant cover) scales. Furthermore, short-term drought conditions occurring over one season can exacerbate long-term, multidecadal droughts or aridification, by limiting soil water recharge, decreasing plant growth, and altering biogeochemical cycles. Here, we examine how experimentally altered seasonal precipitation regimes in a mixed shrub grassland on the Colorado Plateau impact soil moisture, vegetation, and carbon and nitrogen cycling. The experiment was conducted from 2015 to 2019, during a regional multidecadal drought event, and consisted of three precipitation treatments, which were implemented with removable drought shelters intercepting ~66% of incoming precipitation including: control (ambient precipitation conditions, no shelter), warm season drought (sheltered April-October), and cool season drought (sheltered November-March). To track changes in vegetation, we measured biomass of the dominant shrub, Ephedra viridis, and estimated perennial plant and ground cover in the spring and the fall. Soil moisture dynamics suggested that warm season experimental drought had longer and more consistent drought legacy effects (occurring two out of the four drought cycles) than either cool season drought or ambient conditions, even during the driest years. We also found that E. viridis biomass remained consistent across treatments, while bunchgrass cover declined by 25% by 2019 across all treatments, with the earliest declines noticeable in the warm season drought plots. Extractable dissolved inorganic nitrogen and microbial biomass nitrogen concentrations appeared sensitive to seasonal drought conditions, with dissolved inorganic nitrogen increasing and microbial biomass nitrogen decreasing with reduced soil volumetric water content. Carbon stocks were not sensitive to drought but were greater under E. viridis patches. Additionally, we found that under E. viridis, there was a negative relationship between dissolved inorganic nitrogen and microbial biomass nitrogen, suggesting that drought-induced increases in dissolved inorganic nitrogen may be due to declines in nitrogen uptake from microbes and plants alike. This work suggests that perennial grass plant-soil feedbacks are more vulnerable to both short-term (seasonal) and long-term (multiyear) drought events than shrubs, which can impact the future trajectory of dryland mixed shrub grassland ecosystems as drought frequency and intensity will likely continue to increase with ongoing climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - David L Hoover
- USDA-ARS Rangeland Resource and Systems Research Unit, Crops Research Laboratory, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Anna C Knight
- US Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center, Moab, Utah, USA
| | - Savannah L Wilson
- US Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center, Moab, Utah, USA
| | - Tara B B Bishop
- US Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center, Moab, Utah, USA
- Department of Earth Science, Utah Valley University, Orem, Utah, USA
| | - Robin Reibold
- US Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center, Moab, Utah, USA
| | - Sasha C Reed
- US Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center, Moab, Utah, USA
| | - Michael C Duniway
- US Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center, Moab, Utah, USA
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2
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Cardozo GA, Volaire F, Chapon P, Barotin C, Barkaoui K. Can we identify tipping points of resilience loss in Mediterranean rangelands under increased summer drought? Ecology 2024; 105:e4383. [PMID: 39054896 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.4383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2023] [Revised: 03/15/2024] [Accepted: 05/24/2024] [Indexed: 07/27/2024]
Abstract
Mediterranean ecosystems are predicted to undergo longer and more intense summer droughts. The mechanisms underlying the response of herbaceous communities to such drier environments should be investigated to identify the resilience thresholds of Mediterranean rangelands. A 5-year experiment was conducted in deep and shallow soil rangelands of southern France. A rainout shelter for 75 days in summer imposed drier and warmer conditions. Total soil water content was measured monthly to model available daily soil water. Aboveground net primary production (ANPP), forage quality, and the proportion of graminoids in ANPP were measured in spring and autumn. Plant senescence and plant cover were assessed in summer and spring, respectively. The experimental years were among the driest ever recorded at the site. Therefore, manipulated summer droughts were drier than long-term ambient conditions. Interactions between treatment, community type, and experimental year were found for most variables. In shallow soil communities, spring plant cover decreased markedly with time. This legacy effect, driven by summer plant mortality and the loss of perennial graminoids, led to an abrupt loss of resilience when the extreme water stress index exceeded 37 mm 10 day-1, characterized by a reduction of spring plant cover below 50% and a decreased ANPP in rainy years. Conversely, the ANPP of deep soil communities remained unaffected by increased summer drought, although the presence of graminoids increased and forage nutritive value decreased. This study highlights the role of the soil water reserve of Mediterranean plant communities in modulating ecosystem responses to chronically intensified summer drought. Communities on deep soils were resilient, but communities on shallow soils showed a progressive, rapid, and intense degradation associated with a loss of resilience capacity. Notably, indexes of extreme stress were a better indicator of tipping points than indexes of integrated annual stress. Considering the role of soil water availability in other herbaceous ecosystems should improve the ability to predict the resilience of plant communities under climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerónimo A Cardozo
- CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, INRAE, IRD, Montpellier, France
- Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agropecuaria (INIA), Área de Pasturas y Forrajes, Estación Experimental INIA Treinta y Tres, Treinta y Tres, Uruguay
| | - Florence Volaire
- CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, INRAE, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Pascal Chapon
- CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, INRAE, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | | | - Karim Barkaoui
- CIRAD, UMR AMAP, Montpellier, France
- AMAP, Univ Montpellier, CIRAD, CNRS, INRAE, IRD, Montpellier, France
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3
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Wang Q, Zhao X. Influence of vegetation pattern and aridity on soil properties related soil available water in the Mediterranean regions. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2024; 366:121841. [PMID: 39013310 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.121841] [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: 03/10/2024] [Revised: 06/13/2024] [Accepted: 07/10/2024] [Indexed: 07/18/2024]
Abstract
Grassland ecology is deteriorating along with a fall in biodiversity and ecosystem services as a result of climate change in the Mediterranean regions. Understanding the mechanism of feedback between soil properties related to available water and increasing aridity is a key component of preserving grassland ecosystems. Structural equation modelling was used to explore a deep understanding of the underlying mechanisms of the feedback between soil properties related to available water and increasing aridity. In most cases, vegetation patches had significantly higher soil properties related to available water than inter-patches. Compared to inter-patches, the fine fractions of silt and clay content, soil organic carbon, saturated hydraulic conductivity, and available water under vegetation patches increased by 3.79%-7.64%, 31.08%-37.64%, 96.65%-141.14%, and 2.63%-9.21%, respectively, under limestone and mica schist lithologies. The fine fractions of silt and clay content, soil organic carbon, and available water were more responsive to the aridity index than the vegetation patch, while saturated hydraulic conductivity was more responsive to the vegetation patch than the aridity index. These complex relationships demonstrated that the available water was significantly positively affected by the vegetation pattern (0.09) and the aridity index (0.21-0.38). Soil texture had a significantly direct effect (0.43-0.53) on available water. Increasing aridity would strengthen the contrast in soil water availability while weakening the contrast in saturated hydraulic conductivity between vegetation patches and inter-patches. Available water was controlled by many aspects except vegetation pattern and aridity index. Understanding these relationships helped in predicting and mitigating the impacts of climate change on soil properties related to available water. The study offered fresh perspectives on the mechanism of vegetation pattern and aridity index on the various soil properties related to available water in arid and semiarid grasslands ecosystems under climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qi Wang
- College of Grassland Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou, 730070, China.
| | - Xiaole Zhao
- College of Grassland Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou, 730070, China.
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4
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Sasaki T, Berdugo M, Kinugasa T, Batdelger G, Baasandai E, Eisenhauer N. Aridity-dependent shifts in biodiversity-stability relationships but not in underlying mechanisms. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2024; 30:e17365. [PMID: 38864217 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2023] [Revised: 05/09/2024] [Accepted: 05/12/2024] [Indexed: 06/13/2024]
Abstract
Climate change will affect the way biodiversity influences the stability of plant communities. Although biodiversity, associated species asynchrony, and species stability could enhance community stability, the understanding of potential nonlinear shifts in the biodiversity-stability relationship across a wide range of aridity (measured as the aridity index, the precipitation/potential evapotranspiration ratio) gradients and the underlying mechanisms remain limited. Using an 8-year dataset from 687 sites in Mongolia, which included 5496 records of vegetation and productivity, we found that the temporal stability of plant communities decreased more rapidly in more arid areas than in less arid areas. The result suggests that future aridification across terrestrial ecosystems may adversely affect community stability. Additionally, we identified nonlinear shifts in the effects of species richness and species synchrony on temporal community stability along the aridity gradient. Species synchrony was a primary driver of community stability, which was consistently negatively affected by species richness while being positively affected by the synchrony between C3 and C4 species across the aridity gradient. These results highlight the crucial role of C4 species in stabilizing communities through differential responses to interannual climate variations between C3 and C4 species. Notably, species richness and the synchrony between C3 and C4 species independently regulated species synchrony, ultimately affecting community stability. We propose that maintaining plant communities with a high diversity of C3 and C4 species will be key to enhancing community stability across Mongolian grasslands. Moreover, species synchrony, species stability, species richness and the synchrony between C3 and C4 species across the aridity gradient consistently mediated the impacts of aridity on community stability. Hence, strategies aimed at promoting the maintenance of biological diversity and composition will help ecosystems adapt to climate change or mitigate its adverse effects on ecosystem stability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takehiro Sasaki
- Graduate School of Environment and Information Sciences, Yokohama National University, Yokohama, Japan
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Yokohama National University, Yokohama, Japan
| | - Miguel Berdugo
- Department of Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Department of Environment Systems Science, Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | | | - Gantsetseg Batdelger
- Information and Research Institute of Meteorology, Hydrology and Environment (IRIMHE) of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
| | - Erdenetsetseg Baasandai
- Information and Research Institute of Meteorology, Hydrology and Environment (IRIMHE) of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
| | - Nico Eisenhauer
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Yokohama National University, Yokohama, Japan
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5
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Maull V, Solé R. Biodiversity as a firewall to engineered microbiomes for restoration and conservation. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2024; 11:231526. [PMID: 39100153 PMCID: PMC11296081 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.231526] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2023] [Revised: 03/21/2024] [Accepted: 04/12/2024] [Indexed: 08/06/2024]
Abstract
The possibility of abrupt transitions threatens to poise ecosystems into irreversibly degraded states. Synthetic biology has recently been proposed to prevent them from crossing tipping points. However, there is little understanding of the impact of such intervention on the resident communities. Can such modification have 'unintended consequences', such as loss of species? Here, we address this problem by using a mathematical model that allows us to simulate this intervention scenario explicitly. We show how the indirect effect of damping the decay of shared resources results in biodiversity increase, and last but not least, the successful incorporation of the synthetic within the ecological network and very small-positive changes in the population size of the resident community. Furthermore, extensions and implications for future restoration and terraformation strategies are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victor Maull
- ICREA-Complex Systems Lab, UPF-PRBB, Dr. Aiguader 80, Barcelona08003, Spain
- Institut de Biologia Evolutiva, CSIC-UPF, Passeig Maritim de la Barceloneta 37, Barcelona08003, Spain
| | - Ricard Solé
- ICREA-Complex Systems Lab, UPF-PRBB, Dr. Aiguader 80, Barcelona08003, Spain
- Institut de Biologia Evolutiva, CSIC-UPF, Passeig Maritim de la Barceloneta 37, Barcelona08003, Spain
- Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Road, Santa Fe, NM87501, USA
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6
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Biancari L, Aguiar MR, Saiz H, Gross N, Le Bagousse-Pinguet Y, Eldridge DJ, Maestre FT. Upper boundary on tree cover at global drylands. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2024; 242:836-840. [PMID: 38362948 DOI: 10.1111/nph.19598] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2023] [Accepted: 01/28/2024] [Indexed: 02/17/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- Lucio Biancari
- IFEVA, Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad de Buenos Aires, CONICET, Buenos Aires, C1417DSE, Argentina
- Cátedra de Ecología, Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambiente, Facultad de Agronomía, UBA, Buenos Aires, C1417DSE, Argentina
| | - Martín R Aguiar
- IFEVA, Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad de Buenos Aires, CONICET, Buenos Aires, C1417DSE, Argentina
- Cátedra de Ecología, Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambiente, Facultad de Agronomía, UBA, Buenos Aires, C1417DSE, Argentina
| | - Hugo Saiz
- Departamento de Ciencias Agrarias y Medio Natural, Escuela Politécnica Superior, Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Ciencias Ambientales de Aragón (IUCA), Universidad de Zaragoza, Huesca, 50009, Spain
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, 3013, Switzerland
| | - Nicolas Gross
- Université Clermont Auvergne, l'Institut national de recherche pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement, VetAgro Sup, Unité Mixte de Recherche 212 Ecosystème Prairial, Clermont-Ferrand, F-63000, France
| | | | - David J Eldridge
- Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - Fernando T Maestre
- Instituto Multidisciplinar para el Estudio del Medio "Ramon Margalef", Universidad de Alicante, Carretera de San Vicente del Raspeig s/n, Alicante, 03690, Spain
- Departamento de Ecología, Universidad de Alicante, Carretera de San Vicente del Raspeig s/n, Alicante, 03690, Spain
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7
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Tariq A, Sardans J, Zeng F, Graciano C, Hughes AC, Farré-Armengol G, Peñuelas J. Impact of aridity rise and arid lands expansion on carbon-storing capacity, biodiversity loss, and ecosystem services. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2024; 30:e17292. [PMID: 38634556 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17292] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2023] [Accepted: 04/04/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024]
Abstract
Drylands, comprising semi-arid, arid, and hyperarid regions, cover approximately 41% of the Earth's land surface and have expanded considerably in recent decades. Even under more optimistic scenarios, such as limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C by 2100, semi-arid lands may increase by up to 38%. This study provides an overview of the state-of-the-art regarding changing aridity in arid regions, with a specific focus on its effects on the accumulation and availability of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) in plant-soil systems. Additionally, we summarized the impacts of rising aridity on biodiversity, service provisioning, and feedback effects on climate change across scales. The expansion of arid ecosystems is linked to a decline in C and nutrient stocks, plant community biomass and diversity, thereby diminishing the capacity for recovery and maintaining adequate water-use efficiency by plants and microbes. Prolonged drought led to a -3.3% reduction in soil organic carbon (SOC) content (based on 148 drought-manipulation studies), a -8.7% decrease in plant litter input, a -13.0% decline in absolute litter decomposition, and a -5.7% decrease in litter decomposition rate. Moreover, a substantial positive feedback loop with global warming exists, primarily due to increased albedo. The loss of critical ecosystem services, including food production capacity and water resources, poses a severe challenge to the inhabitants of these regions. Increased aridity reduces SOC, nutrient, and water content. Aridity expansion and intensification exacerbate socio-economic disparities between economically rich and least developed countries, with significant opportunities for improvement through substantial investments in infrastructure and technology. By 2100, half the world's landmass may become dryland, characterized by severe conditions marked by limited C, N, and P resources, water scarcity, and substantial loss of native species biodiversity. These conditions pose formidable challenges for maintaining essential services, impacting human well-being and raising complex global and regional socio-political challenges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akash Tariq
- Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Desert Plant Roots Ecology and Vegetation Restoration, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, China
- State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Key Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, China
- Cele National Station of Observation and Research for Desert-Grassland Ecosystems, Cele, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Global Ecology Unit, CREAF-CSIC-UAB, CSIC, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
- CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Jordi Sardans
- Global Ecology Unit, CREAF-CSIC-UAB, CSIC, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
- CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Fanjiang Zeng
- Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Desert Plant Roots Ecology and Vegetation Restoration, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, China
- State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Key Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, China
- Cele National Station of Observation and Research for Desert-Grassland Ecosystems, Cele, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Corina Graciano
- Instituto de Fisiología Vegetal, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Alice C Hughes
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Gerard Farré-Armengol
- Global Ecology Unit, CREAF-CSIC-UAB, CSIC, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
- CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Josep Peñuelas
- Global Ecology Unit, CREAF-CSIC-UAB, CSIC, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
- CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Catalonia, Spain
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8
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Perez-Navarro MA, Lloret F, Molina-Venegas R, Alcántara JM, Verdú M. Plant canopies promote climatic disequilibrium in Mediterranean recruit communities. Ecol Lett 2024; 27:e14391. [PMID: 38400769 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2023] [Revised: 02/05/2024] [Accepted: 02/09/2024] [Indexed: 02/26/2024]
Abstract
Current rates of climate change are exceeding the capacity of many plant species to track climate, thus leading communities to be in disequilibrium with climatic conditions. Plant canopies can contribute to this disequilibrium by buffering macro-climatic conditions and sheltering poorly adapted species to the oncoming climate, particularly in their recruitment stages. Here we analyse differences in climatic disequilibrium between understorey and open ground woody plant recruits in 28 localities, covering more than 100,000 m2 , across an elevation range embedding temperature and aridity gradients in the southern Iberian Peninsula. This study demonstrates higher climatic disequilibrium under canopies compared with open ground, supporting that plant canopies would affect future community climatic lags by allowing the recruitment of less arid-adapted species in warm and dry conditions, but also it endorse that canopies could favour warm-adapted species in extremely cold environments as mountain tops, thus pre-adapting communities living in these habitats to climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria A Perez-Navarro
- CREAF, Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Geography, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Francisco Lloret
- CREAF, Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), Barcelona, Spain
- Ecology Unit, Universitat Autonoma Barcelona, Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Rafael Molina-Venegas
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Biodiversity and Global Change Research Center (CIBC-UAM), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Julio M Alcántara
- Departamento de Biología Animal, Biología Vegetal y Ecología, Universidad de Jaén, Jaén, Spain
- Instituto Interuniversitario de Investigación del Sistema Tierra en Andalucía (IISTA), Universidad de Jaén, Jaén, Spain
| | - Miguel Verdú
- Centro de Investigaciones Sobre Desertificación (CIDE, CSIC-UV-GV), Moncada, Spain
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9
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Rog I, Hilman B, Fox H, Yalin D, Qubaja R, Klein T. Increased belowground tree carbon allocation in a mature mixed forest in a dry versus a wet year. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2024; 30:e17172. [PMID: 38343030 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17172] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2023] [Revised: 01/07/2024] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 02/15/2024]
Abstract
Tree species differ in their carbon (C) allocation strategies during environmental change. Disentangling species-specific strategies and contribution to the C balance of mixed forests requires observations at the individual tree level. We measured a complete set of C pools and fluxes at the tree level in five tree species, conifers and broadleaves, co-existing in a mature evergreen mixed Mediterranean forest. Our study period included a drought year followed by an above-average wet year, offering an opportunity to test the effect of water availability on tree C allocation. We found that in comparison to the wet year, C uptake was lower in the dry year, C use was the same, and allocation to belowground sinks was higher. Among the five major C sinks, respiration was the largest (ca. 60%), while root exudation (ca. 10%) and reproduction (ca. 2%) were those that increased the most in the dry year. Most trees relied on stored starch for maintaining a stable soluble sugars balance, but no significant differences were detected in aboveground storage between dry and wet years. The detailed tree-level analysis of nonstructural carbohydrates and δ13 C dynamics suggest interspecific differences in C allocation among fluxes and tissues, specifically in response to the varying water availability. Overall, our findings shed light on mixed forest physiological responses to drought, an increasing phenomenon under the ongoing climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ido Rog
- Department of Plant & Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Boaz Hilman
- Department of Biogeochemical Processes, Max-Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany
- The Institute of Earth Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Hagar Fox
- Department of Plant & Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - David Yalin
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Rafat Qubaja
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Tamir Klein
- Department of Plant & Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
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10
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He H, Zhou J, Wang Y, Jiao S, Qian X, Liu Y, Liu J, Chen J, Delgado-Baquerizo M, Brangarí AC, Chen L, Cui Y, Pan H, Tian R, Liang Y, Tan W, Ochoa-Hueso R, Fang L. Deciphering microbiomes dozens of meters under our feet and their edaphoclimatic and spatial drivers. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2024; 30:e17028. [PMID: 37955302 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2023] [Revised: 10/24/2023] [Accepted: 10/26/2023] [Indexed: 11/14/2023]
Abstract
Microbes inhabiting deep soil layers are known to be different from their counterpart in topsoil yet remain under investigation in terms of their structure, function, and how their diversity is shaped. The microbiome of deep soils (>1 m) is expected to be relatively stable and highly independent from climatic conditions. Much less is known, however, on how these microbial communities vary along climate gradients. Here, we used amplicon sequencing to investigate bacteria, archaea, and fungi along fifteen 18-m depth profiles at 20-50-cm intervals across contrasting aridity conditions in semi-arid forest ecosystems of China's Loess Plateau. Our results showed that bacterial and fungal α diversity and bacterial and archaeal community similarity declined dramatically in topsoil and remained relatively stable in deep soil. Nevertheless, deep soil microbiome still showed the functional potential of N cycling, plant-derived organic matter degradation, resource exchange, and water coordination. The deep soil microbiome had closer taxa-taxa and bacteria-fungi associations and more influence of dispersal limitation than topsoil microbiome. Geographic distance was more influential in deep soil bacteria and archaea than in topsoil. We further showed that aridity was negatively correlated with deep-soil archaeal and fungal richness, archaeal community similarity, relative abundance of plant saprotroph, and bacteria-fungi associations, but increased the relative abundance of aerobic ammonia oxidation, manganese oxidation, and arbuscular mycorrhizal in the deep soils. Root depth, complexity, soil volumetric moisture, and clay play bridging roles in the indirect effects of aridity on microbes in deep soils. Our work indicates that, even microbial communities and nutrient cycling in deep soil are susceptible to changes in water availability, with consequences for understanding the sustainability of dryland ecosystems and the whole-soil in response to aridification. Moreover, we propose that neglecting soil depth may underestimate the role of soil moisture in dryland ecosystems under future climate scenarios.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haoran He
- College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China
- State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China
| | - Jingxiong Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an, China
| | - Yunqiang Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an, China
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Shuo Jiao
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology in Arid Areas, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Environmental Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China
| | - Xun Qian
- College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China
| | - Yurong Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Ji Liu
- Hubei Province Key Laboratory for Geographical Process Analysis and Simulation, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, China
| | - Ji Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an, China
- Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University, Tjele, Denmark
| | - Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo
- Laboratorio de Biodiversidad y Funcionamiento Ecosistémico, Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Sevilla (IRNAS), CSIC, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Albert C Brangarí
- Institute for Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Li Chen
- College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China
- State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China
| | - Yongxing Cui
- Sino-French Institute for Earth System Science, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Haibo Pan
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology in Arid Areas, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Environmental Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China
| | - Renmao Tian
- Institute for Food Safety and Health (IFSH), Illinois Institute of Technology, Bedford Park, Illinois, USA
| | - Yuting Liang
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China
| | - Wenfeng Tan
- State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Soil Health and Green Remediation, College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Raúl Ochoa-Hueso
- Department of Biology, IVAGRO, University of Cádiz, Campus de Excelencia Internacional Agroalimentario (CeiA3), Campus del Rio San Pedro, Cádiz, Spain
| | - Linchuan Fang
- College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China
- State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China
- Key Laboratory of Green Utilization of Critical Non-Metallic Mineral Resources, Ministry of Education, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, China
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11
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Li H, Terrer C, Berdugo M, Maestre FT, Zhu Z, Peñuelas J, Yu K, Luo L, Gong JY, Ye JS. Nitrogen addition delays the emergence of an aridity-induced threshold for plant biomass. Natl Sci Rev 2023; 10:nwad242. [PMID: 37900195 PMCID: PMC10600907 DOI: 10.1093/nsr/nwad242] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2023] [Revised: 09/05/2023] [Accepted: 09/11/2023] [Indexed: 10/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Crossing certain aridity thresholds in global drylands can lead to abrupt decays of ecosystem attributes such as plant productivity, potentially causing land degradation and desertification. It is largely unknown, however, whether these thresholds can be altered by other key global change drivers known to affect the water-use efficiency and productivity of vegetation, such as elevated CO2 and nitrogen (N). Using >5000 empirical measurements of plant biomass, we showed that crossing an aridity (1-precipitation/potential evapotranspiration) threshold of ∼0.50, which marks the transition from dry sub-humid to semi-arid climates, led to abrupt declines in aboveground biomass (AGB) and progressive increases in root:shoot ratios, thus importantly affecting carbon stocks and their distribution. N addition significantly increased AGB and delayed the emergence of its aridity threshold from 0.49 to 0.55 (P < 0.05). By coupling remote sensing estimates of leaf area index with simulations from multiple models, we found that CO2 enrichment did not alter the observed aridity threshold. By 2100, and under the RCP 8.5 scenario, we forecast a 0.3% net increase in the global land area exceeding the aridity threshold detected under a scenario that includes N deposition, in comparison to a 2.9% net increase if the N effect is not considered. Our study thus indicates that N addition could mitigate to a great extent the negative impact of increasing aridity on plant biomass in drylands. These findings are critical for improving forecasts of abrupt vegetation changes in response to ongoing global environmental change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hailing Li
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou730000, China
| | - César Terrer
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Miguel Berdugo
- Instituto Multidisciplinar para el Estudio del Medio “Ramón Margalef,” Universidad de Alicante, Alicante 03690, Spain
- Institut de Biologia Evolutiva (CSIC-UPF), Barcelona08003, Spain
| | - Fernando T Maestre
- Instituto Multidisciplinar para el Estudio del Medio “Ramón Margalef,” Universidad de Alicante, Alicante 03690, Spain
- Departamento de Ecología, Universidad de Alicante, Alicante 03690, Spain
| | - Zaichun Zhu
- School of Urban Planning and Design, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Peking University, Shenzhen518055, China
| | - Josep Peñuelas
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Barcelona 08193, Spain
- CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona 08193, Spain
| | - Kailiang Yu
- High Meadows Environmental Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Lin Luo
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou730000, China
| | - Jie-Yu Gong
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou730000, China
| | - Jian-Sheng Ye
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou730000, China
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12
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Tariq A, Ullah I, Sardans J, Graciano C, Mussarat S, Ullah A, Zeng F, Wang W, Al-Bakre DA, Ahmed Z, Ali S, Zhang Z, Yaseen A, Peñuelas J. Strigolactones can be a potential tool to fight environmental stresses in arid lands. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2023; 229:115966. [PMID: 37100368 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.115966] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2023] [Revised: 04/01/2023] [Accepted: 04/19/2023] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Environmental stresses pose a significant threat to plant growth and ecosystem productivity, particularly in arid lands that are more susceptible to climate change. Strigolactones (SLs), carotenoid-derived plant hormones, have emerged as a potential tool for mitigating environmental stresses. METHODS This review aimed to gather information on SLs' role in enhancing plant tolerance to ecological stresses and their possible use in improving the resistance mechanisms of arid land plant species to intense aridity in the face of climate change. RESULTS Roots exude SLs under different environmental stresses, including macronutrient deficiency, especially phosphorus (P), which facilitates a symbiotic association with arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi (AMF). SLs, in association with AMF, improve root system architecture, nutrient acquisition, water uptake, stomatal conductance, antioxidant mechanisms, morphological traits, and overall stress tolerance in plants. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that SL-mediated acclimatization to abiotic stresses involves multiple hormonal pathways, including abscisic acid (ABA), cytokinins (CK), gibberellic acid (GA), and auxin. However, most of the experiments have been conducted on crops, and little attention has been paid to the dominant vegetation in arid lands that plays a crucial role in reducing soil erosion, desertification, and land degradation. All the environmental gradients (nutrient starvation, drought, salinity, and temperature) that trigger SL biosynthesis/exudation prevail in arid regions. The above-mentioned functions of SLs can potentially be used to improve vegetation restoration and sustainable agriculture. CONCLUSIONS Present review concluded that knowledge on SL-mediated tolerance in plants is developed, but still in-depth research is needed on downstream signaling components in plants, SL molecular mechanisms and physiological interactions, efficient methods of synthetic SLs production, and their effective application in field conditions. This review also invites researchers to explore the possible application of SLs in improving the survival rate of indigenous vegetation in arid lands, which can potentially help combat land degradation problems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akash Tariq
- Xinjiang Key Desert Plant Roots Ecology and Vegetation Restoration Laboratory, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China; State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, China; Cele National Station of Observation and Research for Desert-Grassland Ecosystems, Cele, 848300, China.
| | - Ihteram Ullah
- Department of Plant Breeding & Genetics, Gomal University, Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan
| | - Jordi Sardans
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit, CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Bellaterra, 08193, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain; CREAF, Cerdanyola Del Vallès, 08193, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Corina Graciano
- Instituto de Fisiología Vegetal, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Sakina Mussarat
- Department of Botanical and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Kohat University of Science and Technology, Kohat, Pakistan
| | - Abd Ullah
- Xinjiang Key Desert Plant Roots Ecology and Vegetation Restoration Laboratory, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China; State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, China; Cele National Station of Observation and Research for Desert-Grassland Ecosystems, Cele, 848300, China
| | - Fanjiang Zeng
- Xinjiang Key Desert Plant Roots Ecology and Vegetation Restoration Laboratory, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China; State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, China; Cele National Station of Observation and Research for Desert-Grassland Ecosystems, Cele, 848300, China.
| | - Weiqi Wang
- Key Laboratory of Humid Subtropical Eco-Geographical Process, Ministry of Education, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, 350007, China; Institute of Geography, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, 350007, China
| | - Dhafer A Al-Bakre
- Department of Biology, College of Science, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia
| | - Zeeshan Ahmed
- Xinjiang Key Desert Plant Roots Ecology and Vegetation Restoration Laboratory, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China; State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, China; Cele National Station of Observation and Research for Desert-Grassland Ecosystems, Cele, 848300, China
| | - Sikandar Ali
- State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, China
| | - Zhihao Zhang
- Xinjiang Key Desert Plant Roots Ecology and Vegetation Restoration Laboratory, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China; State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, China; Cele National Station of Observation and Research for Desert-Grassland Ecosystems, Cele, 848300, China
| | - Aftab Yaseen
- State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China, Yunnan Key Laboratory of Natural Medicinal Chemistry, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China
| | - Josep Peñuelas
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit, CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Bellaterra, 08193, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain; CREAF, Cerdanyola Del Vallès, 08193, Catalonia, Spain
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13
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Zhang J, Feng Y, Maestre FT, Berdugo M, Wang J, Coleine C, Sáez-Sandino T, García-Velázquez L, Singh BK, Delgado-Baquerizo M. Water availability creates global thresholds in multidimensional soil biodiversity and functions. Nat Ecol Evol 2023; 7:1002-1011. [PMID: 37169879 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-023-02071-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2022] [Accepted: 04/17/2023] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
Soils support an immense portion of Earth's biodiversity and maintain multiple ecosystem functions which are essential for human well-being. Environmental thresholds are known to govern global vegetation patterns, but it is still unknown whether they can be used to predict the distribution of soil organisms and functions across global biomes. Using a global field survey of 383 sites across contrasting climatic and vegetation conditions, here we showed that soil biodiversity and functions exhibited pervasive nonlinear patterns worldwide and are mainly governed by water availability (precipitation and potential evapotranspiration). Changes in water availability resulted in drastic shifts in soil biodiversity (bacteria, fungi, protists and invertebrates) and soil functions including plant-microbe interactions, plant productivity, soil biogeochemical cycles and soil carbon sequestration. Our findings highlight that crossing specific water availability thresholds can have critical consequences for the provision of essential ecosystem services needed to sustain our planet.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianwei Zhang
- College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, China
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China
| | - Youzhi Feng
- College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, China.
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China.
- Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Solid Organic Waste Resource Utilization, Nanjing, China.
| | - Fernando T Maestre
- Instituto Multidisciplinar para el Estudio del Medio 'Ramón Margalef', Universidad de Alicante, Alicante, Spain
- Departamento de Ecología, Universidad de Alicante, Alicante, Spain
| | - Miguel Berdugo
- Department of Environment Systems Science, Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
- Depatamento de Biodiversidad, Ecología y Evolución, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Juntao Wang
- Global Centre for Land-Based Innovation, Western Sydney University, Penrith, New South Wales, Australia
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Richmond, New South Wales, Australia
- State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Claudia Coleine
- Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, University of Tuscia, Viterbo, Italy
| | - Tadeo Sáez-Sandino
- Departamento de Sistemas Físicos, Químicos y Naturales, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Laura García-Velázquez
- Departamento de Sistemas Físicos, Químicos y Naturales, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Brajesh K Singh
- Global Centre for Land-Based Innovation, Western Sydney University, Penrith, New South Wales, Australia
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Richmond, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo
- Laboratorio de Biodiversidad y Funcionamiento Ecosistémico, Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Sevilla (IRNAS), CSIC, Sevilla, Spain.
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14
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Song L, Wang J, Zhang R, Pan J, Li Y, Wang S, Niu S. Threshold responses of soil gross nitrogen transformation rates to aridity gradient. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2023; 29:4018-4027. [PMID: 37103000 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16737] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2023] [Accepted: 03/17/2023] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
The responses of soil nitrogen (N) transformations to climate change are crucial for biome productivity prediction under global change. However, little is known about the responses of soil gross N transformation rates to drought gradient. Along an aridity gradient across the 2700 km transect of drylands on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, this study measured three main soil gross N transformation rates in both topsoil (0-10 cm) and subsoil (20-30 cm) using the laboratorial 15 N labeling. The relevant soil abiotic and biotic variables were also determined. The results showed that gross N mineralization and nitrification rates steeply decreased with increasing aridity when aridity was less than 0.5 but just slightly decreased with increasing aridity when aridity was larger than 0.5 at both soil layers. In topsoil, the decreases of the two gross rates were accompanied by the similar decreased patterns of soil total N content and microbial biomass carbon with increasing aridity (p < .05). In subsoil, although the decreased pattern of soil total N with increasing aridity was still similar to the decreases of the two gross rates (p < .05), microbial biomass carbon did not change (p > .05). Instead, bacteria and ammonia oxidizing archaea abundances decreased with increasing aridity when aridity was larger than 0.5 (p < .05). With an aridity threshold of 0.6, gross N immobilization rate increased with increasing aridity in wetter region (aridity < 0.6) accompanied with an increased bacteria/fungi ratio, but decreased with increasing aridity in drier region (aridity > 0.6) where mineral N and microbial biomass N also decreased at both soil layers (p < .05). This study provided new insight to understand the differential responses of soil N transformation to drought gradient. The threshold responses of the gross N transformation rates to aridity gradient should be noted in biogeochemical models to better predict N cycling and manage land in the context of global change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Song
- Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P.R. China
- College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P.R. China
| | - Jinsong Wang
- Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P.R. China
- College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P.R. China
| | - Ruiyang Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P.R. China
- College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P.R. China
| | - Junxiao Pan
- Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P.R. China
| | - Yang Li
- Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P.R. China
| | - Song Wang
- Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P.R. China
- College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P.R. China
| | - Shuli Niu
- Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P.R. China
- College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P.R. China
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15
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Liu L, Sayer EJ, Deng M, Li P, Liu W, Wang X, Yang S, Huang J, Luo J, Su Y, Grünzweig JM, Jiang L, Hu S, Piao S. The grassland carbon cycle: Mechanisms, responses to global changes, and potential contribution to carbon neutrality. FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH 2023; 3:209-218. [PMID: 38932925 PMCID: PMC11197582 DOI: 10.1016/j.fmre.2022.09.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2022] [Revised: 09/22/2022] [Accepted: 09/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Grassland is one of the largest terrestrial biomes, providing critical ecosystem services such as food production, biodiversity conservation, and climate change mitigation. Global climate change and land-use intensification have been causing grassland degradation and desertification worldwide. As one of the primary medium for ecosystem energy flow and biogeochemical cycling, grassland carbon (C) cycling is the most fundamental process for maintaining ecosystem services. In this review, we first summarize recent advances in our understanding of the mechanisms underpinning spatial and temporal patterns of the grassland C cycle, discuss the importance of grasslands in regulating inter- and intra-annual variations in global C fluxes, and explore the previously unappreciated complexity in abiotic processes controlling the grassland C balance, including soil inorganic C accumulation, photochemical and thermal degradation, and wind erosion. We also discuss how climate and land-use changes could alter the grassland C balance by modifying the water budget, nutrient cycling and additional plant and soil processes. Further, we examine why and how increasing aridity and improper land use may induce significant losses in grassland C stocks. Finally, we identify several priorities for future grassland C research, including improving understanding of abiotic processes in the grassland C cycle, strengthening monitoring of grassland C dynamics by integrating ground inventory, flux monitoring, and modern remote sensing techniques, and selecting appropriate plant species combinations with suitable traits and strong resistance to climate fluctuations, which would help design sustainable grassland restoration strategies in a changing climate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lingli Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Emma J. Sayer
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, United Kingdom
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich 8057, Switzerland
| | - Meifeng Deng
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
| | - Ping Li
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
| | - Weixing Liu
- National Hulunber Grassland Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Xin Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
| | - Sen Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Junsheng Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
| | - Jie Luo
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
| | - Yanjun Su
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
| | - José M. Grünzweig
- Institute of Plant Sciences and Genetics in Agriculture, The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Lin Jiang
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, 310 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, GA 30332, United States
| | - Shuijin Hu
- Department of Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27607, United States
| | - Shilong Piao
- Sino-French Institute for Earth System Science, College of Urban and Environmental Science, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
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16
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Zhang Y, Tariq A, Hughes AC, Hong D, Wei F, Sun H, Sardans J, Peñuelas J, Perry G, Qiao J, Kurban A, Jia X, Raimondo D, Pan B, Yang W, Zhang D, Li W, Ahmed Z, Beierkuhnlein C, Lazkov G, Toderich K, Karryeva S, Dehkonov D, Hisoriev H, Dimeyeva L, Milko D, Soule A, Suska-Malawska M, Saparmuradov J, Bekzod A, Allin P, Dieye S, Cissse B, Whibesilassie W, Ma K. Challenges and solutions to biodiversity conservation in arid lands. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 857:159695. [PMID: 36302433 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159695] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2022] [Revised: 10/20/2022] [Accepted: 10/20/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The strategic goals of the United Nations and the Aichi Targets for biodiversity conservation have not been met. Instead, biodiversity has continued to rapidly decrease, especially in developing countries. Setting a new global biodiversity framework requires clarifying future priorities and strategies to bridge challenges and provide representative solutions. Hyper-arid, arid, and semi-arid lands (herein, arid lands) form about one third of the Earth's terrestrial surface. Arid lands contain unique biological and cultural diversity, and biodiversity loss in arid lands can have a disproportionate impact on these ecosystems due to low redundancy and a high risk of trophic cascades. They contain unique biological and cultural diversity and host many endemic species, including wild relatives of key crop plants. Yet extensive agriculture, unsustainable use, and global climate change are causing an irrecoverable damage to arid lands, with far-reaching consequences to the species, ground-water resources, ecosystem productivity, and ultimately the communities' dependant on these systems. However, adequate research and effective policies to protect arid land biodiversity and sustainability are lacking because a large proportion of arid areas are in developing countries, and the unique diversity in these systems is frequently overlooked. Developing new priorities for global arid lands and mechanisms to prevent unsustainable development must become part of public discourse and form the basis for conservation efforts. The current situation demands the combined efforts of researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and local communities to adopt a socio-ecological approach for achieving sustainable development (SDGs) in arid lands. Applying these initiatives globally is imperative to conserve arid lands biodiversity and the critical ecological services they provide for future generations. This perspective provides a framework for conserving biodiversity in arid lands for all stakeholders that will have a tangible impact on sustainable development, nature, and human well-being.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuanming Zhang
- Xinjiang Institute of Ecology & Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xinjiang, China.
| | - Akash Tariq
- Xinjiang Institute of Ecology & Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xinjiang, China; Cele National Station of Observation and Research for Desert-Grassland Ecosystems, Cele 848300, China
| | - Alice C Hughes
- Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yunnan, China
| | - Deyuan Hong
- Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Fuwen Wei
- Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Hang Sun
- Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yunnan, China
| | - Jordi Sardans
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit, CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain; CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Josep Peñuelas
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit, CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain; CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Gad Perry
- Department of Natural Resource Management, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, USA
| | - Jianfang Qiao
- Xinjiang Institute of Ecology & Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xinjiang, China
| | - Alishir Kurban
- Xinjiang Institute of Ecology & Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xinjiang, China; Sino-Belgian Joint Laboratory for Geo-Information, Urumqi 830011, China
| | - Xiaoxia Jia
- Science Technology Innovation Unit, Secretariat of the UNCCD, Bonn, Germany
| | | | - Borong Pan
- Xinjiang Institute of Ecology & Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xinjiang, China
| | - Weikang Yang
- Xinjiang Institute of Ecology & Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xinjiang, China
| | - Daoyuan Zhang
- Xinjiang Institute of Ecology & Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xinjiang, China
| | - Wenjun Li
- Xinjiang Institute of Ecology & Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xinjiang, China
| | - Zeeshan Ahmed
- Xinjiang Institute of Ecology & Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xinjiang, China
| | | | - Georgy Lazkov
- Institute of Biology, National Academy of Sciences of Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
| | - Kristina Toderich
- International Platform for Dryland Research and Education, University of Tottori, Tottori, Japan
| | | | - Davron Dehkonov
- Institute of Botany, Academy Sciences of Uzbekistan, Uzbekistan
| | - Hikmat Hisoriev
- Flora and Systematic Botany Department Institute of Botany, Plant Physiology and Genetics, Tajikistan National Academy of Sciences, Dushanbe, Tajikistan
| | - Liliya Dimeyeva
- Laboratory of Geobotany, Institute of Botany & Phytointroduction, Almaty, Kazakhstan
| | - Dmitry Milko
- Institute of Biology, National Academy of Sciences of Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
| | - Ahmedou Soule
- Research Center for the Valorization of Biodiversity, Nouakchott, Mauritania
| | - Malgozhata Suska-Malawska
- International Platform for Dryland Research and Education, University of Tottori, Tottori, Japan; Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Jumamurat Saparmuradov
- Department of Environmental Protection and Hydrometeorology, Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
| | - Alilov Bekzod
- Institute of Botany, Academy Sciences of Uzbekistan, Uzbekistan
| | - Paul Allin
- Transfrontier Africa, Hoedspruit, South Africa
| | - Sidy Dieye
- Transfrontier Africa, Hoedspruit, South Africa
| | - Birane Cissse
- Cheikh Anta DIOP University of Dakar, Dakar, Senegal
| | | | - Keping Ma
- Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
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17
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Iordache V, Neagoe A. Conceptual methodological framework for the resilience of biogeochemical services to heavy metals stress. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2023; 325:116401. [PMID: 36279774 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.116401] [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: 05/25/2022] [Revised: 09/21/2022] [Accepted: 09/26/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The idea of linking stressors, services providing units (SPUs), and ecosystem services (ES) is ubiquitous in the literature, although is currently not applied in areas contaminated with heavy metals (HMs), This integrative literature review introduces the general form of a deterministic conceptual model of the cross-scale effect of HMs on biogeochemical services by SPUs with a feedback loop, a cross-scale heuristic concept of resilience, and develops a method for applying the conceptual model. The objectives are 1) to identify the clusters of existing research about HMs effects on ES, biodiversity, and resilience to HMs stress, 2) to map the scientific fields needed for the conceptual model's implementation, identify institutional constraints for inter-disciplinary cooperation, and propose solutions to surpass them, 3) to describe how the complexity of the cause-effect chain is reflected in the research hypotheses and objectives and extract methodological consequences, and 4) to describe how the conceptual model can be implemented. A nested analysis by CiteSpace of a set of 16,176 articles extracted from the Web of Science shows that at the highest level of data aggregation there is a clear separation between the topics of functional traits, stoichiometry, and regulating services from the typical issues of the literature about HMs, biodiversity, and ES. Most of the resilience to HMs stress agenda focuses on microbial communities. General topics such as the biodiversity-ecosystem function relationship in contaminated areas are no longer dominant in the current research, as well as large-scale problems like watershed management. The number of Web of Science domains that include the analyzed articles is large (26 up to 87 domains with at least ten articles, depending on the sub-set), but thirteen domains account for 70-80% of the literature. The complexity of approaches regarding the cause-effect chain, the stressors, the biological and ecological hierarchical level and the management objectives was characterized by a detailed analysis of 60 selected reviews and 121 primary articles. Most primary articles approach short causal chains, and the number of hypotheses or objectives by article tends to be low, pointing out the need for portfolios of complementary research projects in coherent inter-disciplinary programs and innovation ecosystems to couple the ES and resilience problems in areas contaminated with HMs. One provides triggers for developing innovation ecosystems, examples of complementary research hypotheses, and an example of technology transfer. Finally one proposes operationalizing the conceptual methodological model in contaminated socio-ecological systems by a calibration, a sensitivity analysis, and a validation phase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Virgil Iordache
- University of Bucharest, Department of Systems Ecology and Sustainability, and "Dan Manoleli" Research Centre for Ecological Services - CESEC, Romania.
| | - Aurora Neagoe
- University of Bucharest, "Dan Manoleli" Research Centre for Ecological Services - CESEC and "Dimitrie Brândză" Botanical Garden, Romania.
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18
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Duniway MC, Benson C, Nauman TW, Knight A, Bradford JB, Munson SM, Witwicki D, Livensperger C, Van Scoyoc M, Fisk TT, Thoma D, Miller ME. Geologic, geomorphic, and edaphic underpinnings of dryland ecosystems: Colorado Plateau landscapes in a changing world. Ecosphere 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.4273] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Travis W. Nauman
- US Geological Survey Southwest Biological Science Center Moab Utah USA
| | - Anna Knight
- US Geological Survey Southwest Biological Science Center Moab Utah USA
| | - John B. Bradford
- US Geological Survey Southwest Biological Science Center Flagstaff Arizona USA
| | - Seth M. Munson
- US Geological Survey Southwest Biological Science Center Flagstaff Arizona USA
| | - Dana Witwicki
- National Park Service Northern Colorado Plateau Network Moab Utah USA
- National Park Service Natural Resource Condition Assessment Fort Collins Colorado USA
| | - Carolyn Livensperger
- National Park Service Northern Colorado Plateau Network Moab Utah USA
- National Park Service Capitol Reef National Park Fruita Utah USA
| | | | - Terry T. Fisk
- National Park Service Southeast Utah Group Parks Moab Utah USA
- National Park Service Water Resources Division Fort Collins Colorado USA
| | - David Thoma
- National Park Service Northern Colorado Plateau Network Moab Utah USA
| | - Mark E. Miller
- National Park Service Southeast Utah Group Parks Moab Utah USA
- National Park Service Wrangell‐St. Elias National Park and Preserve Copper Center Alaska USA
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19
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de Lorenzo V. Environmental Galenics: large-scale fortification of extant microbiomes with engineered bioremediation agents. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20210395. [PMID: 35757882 PMCID: PMC9234819 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Contemporary synthetic biology-based biotechnologies are generating tools and strategies for reprogramming genomes for specific purposes, including improvement and/or creation of microbial processes for tackling climate change. While such activities typically work well at a laboratory or bioreactor scale, the challenge of their extensive delivery to multiple spatio-temporal dimensions has hardly been tackled thus far. This state of affairs creates a research niche for what could be called Environmental Galenics (EG), i.e. the science and technology of releasing designed biological agents into deteriorated ecosystems for the sake of their safe and effective recovery. Such endeavour asks not just for an optimal performance of the biological activity at stake, but also the material form and formulation of the agents, their propagation and their interplay with the physico-chemical scenario where they are expected to perform. EG also encompasses adopting available physical carriers of microorganisms and channels of horizontal gene transfer as potential paths for spreading beneficial activities through environmental microbiomes. While some of these propositions may sound unsettling to anti-genetically modified organisms sensitivities, they may also fall under the tag of TINA (there is no alternative) technologies in the cases where a mere reduction of emissions will not help the revitalization of irreversibly lost ecosystems. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Ecological complexity and the biosphere: the next 30 years’.
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Affiliation(s)
- Víctor de Lorenzo
- Systems Biology Department, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología-CSIC, Campus de Cantoblanco, Madrid 28049, Spain
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20
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Solé R, Levin S. Ecological complexity and the biosphere: the next 30 years. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20210376. [PMID: 35757877 PMCID: PMC9234814 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Global warming, habitat loss and overexploitation of limited resources are leading to alarming biodiversity declines. Ecosystems are complex adaptive systems that display multiple alternative states and can shift from one to another in abrupt ways. Some of these tipping points have been identified and predicted by mathematical and computational models. Moreover, multiple scales are involved and potential mitigation or intervention scenarios are tied to particular levels of complexity, from cells to human–environment coupled systems. In dealing with a biosphere where humans are part of a complex, endangered ecological network, novel theoretical and engineering approaches need to be considered. At the centre of most research efforts is biodiversity, which is essential to maintain community resilience and ecosystem services. What can be done to mitigate, counterbalance or prevent tipping points? Using a 30-year window, we explore recent approaches to sense, preserve and restore ecosystem resilience as well as a number of proposed interventions (from afforestation to bioengineering) directed to mitigate or reverse ecosystem collapse. The year 2050 is taken as a representative future horizon that combines a time scale where deep ecological changes will occur and proposed solutions might be effective. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Ecological complexity and the biosphere: the next 30 years’.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ricard Solé
- ICREA-Complex Systems Lab, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Dr Aiguader 80, Barcelona 08003, Spain.,Institut de Biologia Evolutiva, CSIC-UPF, Pg Maritim de la Barceloneta 37, Barcelona 08003, Spain.,Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Road, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA
| | - Simon Levin
- Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Road, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA.,Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
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21
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de Lorenzo V. 15 years of microbial biotechnology: the time has come to think big-and act soon. Microb Biotechnol 2022; 15:240-246. [PMID: 34932877 PMCID: PMC8719810 DOI: 10.1111/1751-7915.13993] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2021] [Accepted: 12/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Our epoch is largely characterized by the growing realization and concern about the reality of climate change and environmental deterioration, the surge of global pandemics, the unacceptable inequalities between developed and underdeveloped countries and their unavoidable translation into messy immigration, overpopulation and food crises. While all of these issues have a fundamentally political core, they are not altogether removed from the fact that Earth is primarily a microbial planet and microorganisms are the key agents that make the biosphere (including ourselves) function as it does. It thus makes sense that we bring the microbial world-that is the environmental microbiome-to the necessary multi-tiered conversation (hopefully followed by action) on how to avoid future threats and how to make our globe a habitable common house. Beyond discussion on governance, such a dialogue has technical and scientific aspects that only frontline microbial biotechnology can help to tackle. Fortunately, the field has witnessed the onset of new conceptual and material tools that were missing when the journal started.
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