Recent Scientific Papers
Ecosystems
| Latest Results for Ecosystems | ||
| The latest content available from Springer | ||
| Warming Tends to Promote Nitrogen Conservation but Stimulate N2O Emissions in Mangrove Sediments | ||
| 21. November 2023 | ||
| Abstract While climate change significantly influences nitrogen cycling and its related microbial diversity, the effects of warming on nitrate reduction processes and their related microbial communities and functional gene abundances in mangrove sediments are not fully understood. In this study, mangrove sediment slurry was incubated under six controlled temperatures for 28 days to simulate warming trends. Following the incubation, rates of denitrification (DNF), anaerobic ammonium oxidation (ANA), and nitrate decomposition reduction to ammonium (DNRA), and net nitrous... | ||
| Changes in Biotic Mechanisms of Phytoplankton Biomass Stability Along a Eutrophic Gradient | ||
| 20. November 2023 | ||
| Abstract Understanding the biotic mechanisms of community stability in variable environments has been a focal point of fundamental ecological research. A multitude of mechanisms, encompassing compensatory dynamics arising from negative species covariance, portfolio effect linked to species richness and evenness, and dominant species stability, have been found to collectively enhance community stability. However, it is not clear how their stabilizing effects change and contribute to the maintenance of community stability along environmental gradients. We performed a... | ||
| Woody Plant–Soil Relationships in Interstitial Spaces Have Implications for Future Forests Within and Beyond Urban Areas | ||
| 16. November 2023 | ||
| Abstract Relatively unmanaged interstitial areas at the residential–wildland interface can support the development of novel woody plant communities. Community assembly processes in urban areas involve interactions between spontaneous and cultivated species pools that include native, introduced (exotic/non-native) and invasive species. The potential of these communities to spread under changing climate conditions has implications for the future trajectories of forests within and beyond urban areas. We quantified woody vegetation (including trees and shrubs) in relatively... | ||
| Correction to: Early Differentiation of the Phenotypic Space and Performance of Juniperus thurifera Across Woodland-Expanding Area | ||
| 01. November 2023 | ||
| Mycorrhiza Better Predict Soil Fungal Community Composition and Function than Aboveground Traits in Temperate Forest Ecosystems | ||
| 01. November 2023 | ||
| Abstract Forests in the northeastern US are experiencing shifts in community composition due to the northward migration of warm-adapted tree species and certain species’ declines (for example, white ash and eastern hemlock) due to invasive insects. Changes in belowground fungal communities and associated functions will inevitably follow. Therefore, we sought to investigate the relative importance of two important tree characteristics—mycorrhizal type [ectomycorrhizal (EcM) or arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM)] and leaf habit (deciduous or evergreen) on soil fungal... | ||
| Carbon Stocks and Total Belowground Carbon Flux Respond to Weather and Grazing in Semiarid Montane Meadows | ||
| 01. November 2023 | ||
| Abstract Montane meadow ecosystems are regional carbon (C) hot spots relative to surrounding uplands and can be substantial C sinks or sources. In the semiarid Great Basin region of the western United States, meadows are vital to hydrology, livestock production, and wildlife. To elucidate factors contributing to meadow C cycling in the Great Basin, we measured the impact of interannual weather, grazing, vegetation communities, and edaphic characteristics on carbon stocks and total belowground C flux (TBCF) in meadows. Meadow carbon stocks were three times larger than... | ||
| Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Nitrogen Mobilization in Residential Lawns | ||
| 01. November 2023 | ||
| Abstract Identifying locations prone to exporting nitrogen (N), also called export control points, within residential landscapes, is key to determining N mitigation strategies. Within residential landscapes, lawns have the potential to act as either a sink of N via uptake and denitrification, or a source of N via additions such as fertilizer. Lawns draining to impervious surfaces are more likely to be sources of N loading to receiving water bodies through directly connected curb and sewer flow paths. We utilized small-scale rainfall experiments to examine whether... | ||
| Seasonal Rainfall, Shrub Cover and Soil Properties Drive Production of Winter Annuals in the Northern Sonoran Desert | ||
| 01. November 2023 | ||
| Abstract Winter annual plants play an important role in arid and semiarid ecosystems because of their rapid response to resource pulses, which drive primary production that provides resources for herbivores and pollinators. Understanding the factors that control annual plant growth is key to predicting how arid and semiarid ecosystems will respond to changes in climate and resource availability from anthropogenic activities. We used a long-term nutrient enrichment experiment that spanned precipitation and urbanization gradients in central Arizona, USA, to examine the... | ||
| Deterioration of the Littoral–Benthic Ecosystem Following Recent Expansion of Signal Crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus) in the World’s Clearest Large Lake | ||
| 01. November 2023 | ||
| Abstract Some biological invasions can result in algae blooms in the nearshore of clear lakes. We studied if an invasive crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus) modified the biomass and community composition of benthic macroinvertebrates and therefore led to a trophic cascade resulting in increased periphyton biomass, elevated littoral primary productivity, and benthic algae bloom in a lake with remarkable transparency [Crater Lake, Oregon, USA]. After quantifying the changes in the spatial distribution of invasive crayfish over a 13-year period, we compared biomass and... | ||
| Changes in Ecosystem Structure and Composition Influence Groundwater Chemistry in Herbaceous Wetlands | ||
| 01. November 2023 | ||
| Abstract Along coasts, biologically diverse terrestrial wetlands and marine ecosystems maintain complex hydrological connections that influence groundwater quality. The coastline of Florida’s panhandle is home to globally rare coastal dune lakes that are hydrologically influenced by unique wet prairies within their watersheds. Little is known regarding how changes in ecosystem structure and composition of wet prairies influences groundwater chemistry within these coastal dune lake watersheds. To identify how physical and biological characteristics of terrestrial... | ||
| Experimental Evidence that Forest Structure Controls Detrital Decomposition | ||
| 01. November 2023 | ||
| Abstract Much remains unknown regarding the linkages between forest structure and microclimate as they regulate detrital decomposition. In this study, we use a factorial field experiment that included canopy gap creation and downed woody material (DW) additions conducted in a mature northern hardwood forest. Our objectives were to (1) test the individual and combined effects of canopy gaps and DW additions on detrital mass loss; (2) determine whether the factors regulating mass loss are similar among leaf litter, experimental wood stakes, and coarse DW; and (3) assess... | ||
| The Relative Importance of Coarse-Scale Climate and Fine-Scale Nitrogen Availability Contrasts in Driving Home-Field Advantage Effects in Litter Decomposition | ||
| 01. November 2023 | ||
| Abstract Understanding the relative importance of climates at coarse scales and nitrogen (N) availability at fine scales in driving litter decomposition is crucial for ecosystem functioning. In this study, we explored the relative importance of coarse-scale climatic contrast (China vs. France) and local soil fertility contrast related to N availability in determining ‘home-field advantage (HFA)’ effects. Four tree-species litters from four forest types with contrasting chemical properties from China and France were reciprocally transplanted in a litterbag... | ||
| Variable Tissue Stoichiometry Influences Nutrient Recycling by Invasive Freshwater Mussels in Nutrient-Poor Lakes | ||
| 01. November 2023 | ||
| Abstract Animal excretion provides nutrients for primary productivity and can be a crucial component of ecosystem nutrient cycling. The concentrations of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) in an animal’s excretion are strongly influenced by the C:N:P stoichiometry (molar ratios) of its body and of the food it eats. We measured the C:N:P ratios of quagga mussel (Dreissena rostriformis bugensis) tissues and excreta and of seston across wide environmental and spatial gradients in the upper Laurentian Great Lakes. We then investigated how mussel excretion rates... | ||
| Fire History and Long-Term Carbon Accumulation in Hemi-boreal Peatlands | ||
| 01. November 2023 | ||
| Abstract Fire can play an important role in peatlands by modifying plant communities and carbon (C) stocks. However, baseline disturbance data on peatland fire history are lacking in the hemi-boreal region. We sampled 29 peatlands in northern Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota and used peat core records, radiocarbon dating, and infrared spectrometry to identify and date past fire events in 4 major hemi-boreal peatland ecotypes including open poor fens, treed poor fens, forested poor fens, and forested rich fens. In this region all types of poor fens had widely variable... | ||
| Species Diversity and Stability of Dominant Species Dominate the Stability of Community Biomass in an Alpine Meadow Under Variable Precipitation | ||
| 01. November 2023 | ||
| Abstract The stability of aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) is critical for ecosystem functions and services, and have been studied across a wide range of ecosystems. An intriguing and challenging question emerging from these studies is how precipitation fluctuations, especially extreme precipitation, affect the temporal stability of ANPP in alpine meadow. We investigated the changes in plant community composition and aboveground biomass in an alpine meadow over six consecutive years under five precipitation treatments (increase of 50%, natural precipitation... | ||
| Decreased Soil Microbial Nitrogen Under Vegetation ‘Shrubification’ in the Subarctic Forest–Tundra Ecotone: The Potential Role of Increasing Nutrient Competition Between Plants and Soil... | ||
| 01. November 2023 | ||
| Abstract The consequences of warming-induced ‘shrubification’ on Arctic soil carbon storage are receiving increased attention, as the majority of ecosystem carbon in these systems is stored in soils. Soil carbon cycles in these ecosystems are usually tightly coupled with nitrogen availability. Soil microbial responses to ‘shrubification’ may depend on the traits of the shrub species that increase in response to warming. Increase in deciduous shrubs such as Betula nana likely promotes a loss of soil carbon, whereas the opposite may be true if evergreen shrubs such... | ||
| Different Cerrado Ecotypes Show Contrasting Soil Microbial Properties, Functioning Rates, and Sensitivity to Changing Water Regimes | ||
| 01. November 2023 | ||
| Abstract Soil moisture is among the most important factors regulating soil biodiversity and functioning. Models forecast changes in the precipitation regime in many areas of the planet, but how these changes will influence soil functioning, and how biotic drivers modulate such effects, is far from being understood. We evaluated the responses of C and N fluxes, and soil microbial properties to different soil water regimes in soils from the main three ecotypes of the world's largest and most diverse tropical savanna. Further, we explored the direct and indirect effects of... | ||
| Assessing Energetic Pathways and Time Lags in Estuarine Food Webs | ||
| 01. November 2023 | ||
| Abstract Detecting strong species interactions in food webs is often challenging due to difficulties related to adequate experimentation and the prevalence of generalist diets throughout nature. A promising new mathematical technique, empirical dynamic modeling (EDM), has demonstrated the potential to identify trophic interactions between populations by assessing time lags between associated time series. We attempted to analyze trophic linkages both within a subtropical estuary, as well as a simulated, theoretical ecosystem, to determine how energy moves through these... | ||
| Tree Species Effects on Soil CO2 and CH4 Fluxes in a Mixed Temperate Forest | ||
| 01. November 2023 | ||
| Abstract Temperate forest soils are net sources of carbon dioxide (CO2) and net sinks for methane (CH4), the two greenhouse gases most responsible for contemporary global climate change. Both soil carbon fluxes are sensitive to their local tree communities due to the direct effects of tree traits as well as indirect effects of associated soil properties. We asked how tree species identity and diversity predicts the flux of CO2 and CH4 from soils, how the two net fluxes are related, and what tree and soil characteristics predict their magnitudes. In a mixed temperate... | ||
| Carbon Stocks and Transfers in Coniferous Boreal Forests Along a Latitudinal Gradient | ||
| 17. Oktober 2023 | ||
| Abstract Carbon (C) sequestrated in the boreal forest ecosystems plays an important role in climate regulation. This study’s objectives were to quantify the differences in the components of the forest C cycle along a 1000 km latitudinal gradient within the boreal region and between dominant coniferous species in Fennoscandia. The study included seven xeric–sub-xeric and eight mesic–herb-rich heath forests dominated by Scots pine and Norway spruce, respectively. The total site carbon stock (CS) ranged from 81 to 260 Mg ha−1. The largest ecosystem component CSs... | ||
