| 1. |
- Abbott, Benjamin W., et al.
(författare)
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Biomass offsets little or none of permafrost carbon release from soils, streams, and wildfire : an expert assessment
- 2016
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Ingår i: Environmental Research Letters. - : IOP Publishing. - 1748-9326. ; 11:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- As the permafrost region warms, its large organic carbon pool will be increasingly vulnerable to decomposition, combustion, and hydrologic export. Models predict that some portion of this release will be offset by increased production of Arctic and boreal biomass; however, the lack of robust estimates of net carbon balance increases the risk of further overshooting international emissions targets. Precise empirical or model-based assessments of the critical factors driving carbon balance are unlikely in the near future, so to address this gap, we present estimates from 98 permafrost-region experts of the response of biomass, wildfire, and hydrologic carbon flux to climate change. Results suggest that contrary to model projections, total permafrost-region biomass could decrease due to water stress and disturbance, factors that are not adequately incorporated in current models. Assessments indicate that end-of-the-century organic carbon release from Arctic rivers and collapsing coastlines could increase by 75% while carbon loss via burning could increase four-fold. Experts identified water balance, shifts in vegetation community, and permafrost degradation as the key sources of uncertainty in predicting future system response. In combination with previous findings, results suggest the permafrost region will become a carbon source to the atmosphere by 2100 regardless of warming scenario but that 65%-85% of permafrost carbon release can still be avoided if human emissions are actively reduced.
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| 2. |
- Audet, Joachim, et al.
(författare)
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Forest streams are important sources for nitrous oxide emissions - Nitrous oxide emissions from Swedish streams
- 2020
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Ingår i: Global Change Biology. - : Wiley. - 1354-1013 .- 1365-2486. ; 26, s. 629-641
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Streams and river networks are increasingly recognized as significant sources for the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O). N2O is a transformation product of nitrogenous compounds in soil, sediment and water. Agricultural areas are considered a particular hotspot for emissions because of the large input of nitrogen (N) fertilizers applied on arable land. However, there is little information on N2O emissions from forest streams although they constitute a major part of the total stream network globally. Here, we compiled N2O concentration data from low-order streams (~1,000 observations from 172 stream sites) covering a large geographical gradient in Sweden from the temperate to the boreal zone and representing catchments with various degrees of agriculture and forest coverage. Our results showed that agricultural and forest streams had comparable N2O concentrations of 1.6 +/- 2.1 and 1.3 +/- 1.8 mu g N/L, respectively (mean +/- SD) despite higher total N (TN) concentrations in agricultural streams (1,520 +/- 1,640 vs. 780 +/- 600 mu g N/L). Although clear patterns linking N2O concentrations and environmental variables were difficult to discern, the percent saturation of N2O in the streams was positively correlated with stream concentration of TN and negatively correlated with pH. We speculate that the apparent contradiction between lower TN concentration but similar N2O concentrations in forest streams than in agricultural streams is due to the low pH (<6) in forest soils and streams which affects denitrification and yields higher N2O emissions. An estimate of the N2O emission from low-order streams at the national scale revealed that ~1.8 x 10(9) g N2O-N are emitted annually in Sweden, with forest streams contributing about 80% of the total stream emission. Hence, our results provide evidence that forest streams can act as substantial N2O sources in the landscape with 800 x 10(9) g CO2-eq emitted annually in Sweden, equivalent to 25% of the total N2O emissions from the Swedish agricultural sector.
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| 3. |
- Berggren, Martin, et al.
(författare)
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Unified understanding of intrinsic and extrinsic controls of dissolved organic carbon reactivity in aquatic ecosystems
- 2022
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Ingår i: Ecology. - : Wiley. - 0012-9658 .- 1939-9170. ; 103:9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Despite our growing understanding of the global carbon cycle, scientific consensus on the drivers and mechanisms that control dissolved organic carbon (DOC) turnover in aquatic systems is lacking, hampered by the mismatch between research that approaches DOC reactivity from either intrinsic (inherent chemical properties) or extrinsic (environmental context) perspectives. Here we propose a conceptual view of DOC reactivity in which the combination of intrinsic and extrinsic factors controls turnover rates and determines which reactions will occur. We review three major types of reactions (biological, photochemical, and flocculation) from an intrinsic chemical perspective and further define the environmental features that modulate the expression of chemically inherent reactivity potential. Finally, we propose hypotheses of how extrinsic and intrinsic factors together shape patterns in DOC turnover across the land-to-ocean continuum, underscoring that there is no intrinsic DOC reactivity without environmental context. By acknowledging the intrinsic–extrinsic control duality, our framework intends to foster improved modeling of DOC reactivity and its impact on ecosystem services.
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| 4. |
- Björkvald, Louise, et al.
(författare)
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Hydrogeochemistry of Fe and Mn in small boreal streams : The role of seasonality, landscape type and scale
- 2008
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Ingår i: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. - : Elsevier BV. - 0016-7037 .- 1872-9533. ; 72:12, s. 2789-2804
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Stream water from a stream network of 15 small boreal catchments (0.03–67 km2) in northern Sweden was analyzed for unfiltered (total) and filtered (<0.4 μm) concentrations of iron (Fetot and Fe<0.4) and manganese (Mntot and Mn<0.4). The purpose was to investigate the temporal and spatial dynamics of Fe, Mn and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) as influenced by snow melt driven spring floods and landscape properties, in particular the proportion of wetland area. During spring flood, concentrations of Fetot, Fe<0.4, Mntot, Mn<0.4 and DOC increased in streams with forested catchments (<2% wetland area). In catchments with high coverage of wetlands (>30% wetland area) the opposite behavior was observed. The hydrogeochemistry of Fe was highly dependent on wetlands as shown by the strong positive correlation of the Fetot/Altot ratio with wetland coverage (r2 = 0.89, p < 0.001). Furthermore, PCA analysis showed that at base flow Fetot and Fe<0.4 were positively associated with wetlands and DOC, whereas they were not associated during peak flow at spring flood. The temporal variation of Fe was likely related to varying hydrological pathways. At peak discharge Fetot was associated with variables like silt coverage, which highlights the importance of particulates during high discharge events. For Mn there was no significant correlation with wetlands, instead, PCA analysis showed that during spring flood Mn was apparently more dependent on the supply of minerogenic particulates from silt deposits on the stream banks of some of the streams. The influence of minerogenic particulates on the concentration of, in particular, Mn was greatest in the larger, lower gradient streams, characterized by silt deposits in the near-stream zone. In the small forested streams underlain by till, DOC was of greater importance for the observed concentrations, as indicated by the positive correlation of both Fetot and Fe<0.4 with DOC (r2 = 0.77 and r2 = 0.76, p < 0.001) at the smallest headwater forest site. In conclusion, wetland area and DOC were important for Fe concentrations in this boreal stream network, whereas silt deposits strongly influenced Mn concentrations. This study highlights the importance of studying stream water chemistry from a landscape perspective in order to address future environmental issues concerning mobility of Fe, Mn and associated trace metals.
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| 5. |
- Buffam, Ishi, et al.
(författare)
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Environmental drivers of seasonal variation in green roof runoff water quality
- 2016
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Ingår i: Ecological Engineering. - : Elsevier. - 0925-8574 .- 1872-6992. ; 91, s. 506-514
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Green (vegetated) roofs provide many beneficial environmental services but can also pose a disservice by leaching nutrients and metals, via storm water runoff, to downstream aquatic ecosystems. Current estimates of water quality impacts rely on limited samples (snapshots in time) and may not accurately reflect the true influence of green roof ecosystems, which likely vary temporally as do natural ecosystems. Using a 46 m(2) green roof in Cincinnati, OH, we analyzed runoff from >80 events over two years for pH, conductivity, and concentrations of dissolved nutrients, base cations, and metals. We related the variation in water chemistry to environmental variables including air temperature, storm event magnitude, and estimated antecedent moisture. We observed strong seasonal patterns in bioactive elements, with carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and base cation concentrations highest in the summer, and positively correlated with temperature. This suggests temperature-mediated processes such as microbial mineralization of organic matter, desorption or weathering, rather than plant uptake or hydrologic variation among storms, are the major controlling mechanisms for runoff water quality in this newly constructed green roof. The large temporal variation in green roof effluent water quality supports the need for long-term studies to characterize the complexity of these engineered ecosystems and their responsiveness to environmental variation. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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| 6. |
- Buffam, Ishi
(författare)
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Green roof research in North America: a recent history and future strategies
- 2020
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Ingår i: Journal of living architecture. - : Green Roofs for Healthy Cities. ; 7, s. 27-64
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Since the year 2000, green roof and living architecture research has progressed significantly in North America. For future growth in the implementation of living architecture, there is still a great need for additional and expanded research on green roofs and as yet undefined innovative J. of Living Arch 7(1) Feature 28 green infrastructure. This paper provides an overview of priority topics that have been critical to past success in green roofs, and those that are promising but need future investment, including urban heat island (UHI), energy savings, stormwater (quantity and quality), substrates, carbon budgets, plants, biodiversity, ecomimicry, biodispersal, long-term dynamics, urban food production, synergy with solar panels and financing green solutions.
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| 7. |
- Buffam, Ishi, et al.
(författare)
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Influence of the Landscape Template on Chemical and Physical Habitat for Brown Trout Within a Boreal Stream Network
- 2021
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Water. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2624-9375. ; 3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We used the distribution of stream-dwelling brown trout (Salmo trutta) in a 67 km(2) boreal catchment to explore the importance of environmental organizing factors at a range of spatial scales, including whole-catchment characteristics derived from map data, and stream reach chemical and physical characteristics. Brown trout were not observed at any sites characterized by pH < 5.0 during the spring snowmelt episode, matching published toxicity thresholds. Brown trout distributions were patchy even in less acidic regions of the stream network, positively associated with glaciofluvial substrate and negatively associated with fine sand/silty sediments. A multivariate model including only whole-catchment characteristics explained 43% of the variation in brown trout densities, while models with local site physical habitat characteristics or local stream chemistry explained 33 and 25%, respectively. At the stream reach scale, physical habitat apparently played a primary role in organizing brown trout distributions in this stream network, with acidity placing an additional restriction by excluding brown trout from acidic headwater streams. Much of the strength of the catchment characteristics-fish association could be explained by the correlation of catchment-scale landscape characteristics with local stream chemistry and site physical characteristics. These results, consistent with the concept of multiple hierarchical environmental filters regulating the distribution of this fish species, underline the importance of considering a range of spatial scales and both physical and chemical environments when attempting to manage or restore streams for brown trout.
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| 8. |
- Buffam, Ishi, et al.
(författare)
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Landscape-scale variability of acidity and dissolved organic carbon during spring flood in a boreal stream network
- 2007
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research. - 0148-0227 .- 2156-2202. ; 112
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Acidity is well known to influence stream biota, but the less well-studied spatial and temporal distributions of acidity are likely to play a larger ecological role than average values. We present data on spatial variability of chemical parameters contributing to acidity during winter baseflow and spring flood periods in Krycklan, a fourth-order boreal stream network in northern Sweden. Fifteen stream sites were monitored in subcatchments spanning 3 orders of magnitude in size and representing a wide range of percent wetland. At baseflow, pH ranged from 3.9 to 6.5 at the different sites. Baseflow dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration varied by an order of magnitude and was positively correlated with subcatchment percent wetland, resulting in high spatial variability in dissociated organic acids (OA(-)). During spring flood, DOC and OA(-) increased in forested sites and decreased in wetland sites, resulting in reduced spatial variability in their concentrations. In contrast, base cations and strong acid anions diluted throughout the stream network, resulting in decreased acid neutralizing capacity (ANC) at all sites. The spatial variability of base cations increased slightly with high flow. As a result of the changes in OA(-) and ANC, pH dropped at all but the most acidic site, giving a slightly narrowed pH range during spring flood (4.2-6.1). The transition from winter to spring flood stream chemistry could largely be explained by: (1) a shift from mineral to upper riparian organic soil flow paths in forested catchments and (2) dilution of peat water with snowmelt in wetland catchments.
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
- Buffam, Ishi, et al.
(författare)
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Priorities and barriers for urban ecosystem service provision: A comparison of stakeholder perspectives from three cities
- 2022
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Sustainable Cities. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2624-9634. ; 4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Urban Green Infrastructure (UGI) can provide many needed ecosystem services (ES) to help address challenges like biodiversity loss and climate change while contributing to the health and wellbeing of urban inhabitants. In order to optimize UGI for a given city, a first step is to assess the local ES needs and the potential barriers to ES provision. However, it is not known how consistent these needs and barriers are among cities in different settings. To help address this knowledge gap, the aim of this study was to assess ES priorities and existing barriers to ES provision for three cities varying in socioeconomic, cultural and climatic setting: Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Cincinnati (USA) and Malmö (Sweden). In case studies of each of the three cities, we carried out workshops with key stakeholders and collected their assessments of both current provision of ES from UGI and future priorities. The workshops were followed by expert stakeholder interviews aimed at highlighting existing barriers to ES provision. In spite of the different urban contexts, expressed ES priorities were similar among the cities, with the highest cross-cutting priorities being climate change adaptation, stormwater runoff management and water quality, mental and physical health, biodiversity, and provision of local food. Stakeholder-expressed barriers to ES provision were also broadly similar among cities, falling into three main categories: structural pressures, gaps in governance, and lack of ecological awareness and vision. Our results suggest that certain key ES priorities and barriers may apply broadly to cities regardless of climatic or socio-cultural context. These generic needs can help direct the focus of future studies, and imply a clear benefit to international, even cross-continental study and knowledge-exchange among practitioners and researchers working with UGI.
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