| 1. |
- MacLaren, Chloe, et al.
(författare)
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Long-term evidence for ecological intensification as a pathway to sustainable agriculture
- 2022
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Ingår i: Nature Sustainability. - : Nature Research. - 2398-9629. ; 5, s. 770-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Ecological intensification (EI) could help return agriculture into a ‘safe operating space’ for humanity. Using a novel application of meta-analysis to data from 30 long-term experiments from Europe and Africa (comprising 25,565 yield records), we investigated how field-scale EI practices interact with each other, and with N fertilizer and tillage, in their effects on long-term crop yields. Here we confirmed that EI practices (specifically, increasing crop diversity and adding fertility crops and organic matter) have generally positive effects on the yield of staple crops. However, we show that EI practices have a largely substitutive interaction with N fertilizer, so that EI practices substantially increase yield at low N fertilizer doses but have minimal or no effect on yield at high N fertilizer doses. EI practices had comparable effects across different tillage intensities, and reducing tillage did not strongly affect yields. © 2022, The Author(s)
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| 2. |
- Bauters, Marijn, et al.
(författare)
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Contrasting nitrogen fluxes in African tropical forests of the Congo Basin
- 2019
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Ingår i: Ecological Monographs. - : Wiley. - 0012-9615 .- 1557-7015. ; 89:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The observation of high losses of bioavailable nitrogen (N) and N richness in tropical forests is paradoxical with an apparent lack of N input. Hence, the current concept asserts that biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) must be a major N input for tropical forests. However, well-characterized N cycles are rare and geographically biased; organic N compounds are often neglected and soil gross N cycling is not well quantified. We conducted comprehensive N input and output measurements in four tropical forest types of the Congo Basin with contrasting biotic (mycorrhizal association) and abiotic (lowland–highland) environments. In 12 standardized setups, we monitored N deposition, throughfall, litterfall, leaching, and export during one hydrological year and completed this empirical N budget with nitrous oxide (N2O) flux measurement campaigns in both wet and dry season and insitu gross soil N transformations using 15N-tracing and numerical modeling. We found that all forests showed a very tight soil N cycle, with gross mineralization to immobilization ratios (M/I) close to 1 and relatively low gross nitrification to mineralization ratios (N/M). This was in line with the observation of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) dominating N losses for the most abundant, arbuscular mycorrhizal associated, lowland forest type, but in contrast with high losses of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) in all other forest types. Altogether, our observations show that different forest types in central Africa exhibit N fluxes of contrasting magnitudes and N-species composition. In contrast to many Neotropical forests, our estimated N budgets of central African forests are imbalanced by a higher N input than output, with organic N contributing significantly to the input-output balance. This suggests that important other losses that are unaccounted for (e.g., NOx and N2 as well as particulate N) might play a major role in the N cycle of mature African tropical forests.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Gerstung, M, et al.
(författare)
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The evolutionary history of 2,658 cancers
- 2020
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1476-4687 .- 0028-0836. ; 578:7793, s. 122-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Cancer develops through a process of somatic evolution1,2. Sequencing data from a single biopsy represent a snapshot of this process that can reveal the timing of specific genomic aberrations and the changing influence of mutational processes3. Here, by whole-genome sequencing analysis of 2,658 cancers as part of the Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium of the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA)4, we reconstruct the life history and evolution of mutational processes and driver mutation sequences of 38 types of cancer. Early oncogenesis is characterized by mutations in a constrained set of driver genes, and specific copy number gains, such as trisomy 7 in glioblastoma and isochromosome 17q in medulloblastoma. The mutational spectrum changes significantly throughout tumour evolution in 40% of samples. A nearly fourfold diversification of driver genes and increased genomic instability are features of later stages. Copy number alterations often occur in mitotic crises, and lead to simultaneous gains of chromosomal segments. Timing analyses suggest that driver mutations often precede diagnosis by many years, if not decades. Together, these results determine the evolutionary trajectories of cancer, and highlight opportunities for early cancer detection.
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| 5. |
- Wittwer, Raphaël A., et al.
(författare)
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Organic and conservation agriculture promote ecosystem multifunctionality
- 2021
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Ingår i: Science Advances. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 2375-2548. ; 7:34
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Ecosystems provide multiple services to humans. However, agricultural systems are usually evaluated on their productivity and economic performance, and a systematic and quantitative assessment of the multifunctionality of agroecosystems including environmental services is missing. Using a long-term farming system experiment, we evaluated and compared the agronomic, economic, and ecological performance of the most widespread arable cropping systems in Europe: Organic, conservation, and conventional agriculture. We analyzed 43 agroecosystem properties and determined overall agroecosystem multifunctionality. We show that organic and conservation agriculture promoted ecosystem multifunctionality, especially by enhancing regulating and supporting services, including biodiversity preservation, soil and water quality, and climate mitigation. In contrast, conventional cropping showed reduced multifunctionality but delivered highest yield. Organic production resulted in higher economic performance, thanks to higher product prices and additional support payments. Our results demonstrate that different cropping systems provide opposing services, enforcing the productivity-environmental protection dilemma for agroecosystem functioning.
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| 6. |
- Yu, Longfei, et al.
(författare)
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What can we learn from N2O isotope data? - Analytics, processes and modelling
- 2020
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Ingår i: Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry. - : Wiley. - 0951-4198 .- 1097-0231. ; 34:20
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The isotopic composition of nitrous oxide (N2O) provides useful information for evaluating N2O sources and budgets. Due to the co-occurrence of multiple N2O transformation pathways, it is, however, challenging to use isotopic information to quantify the contribution of distinct processes across variable spatiotemporal scales. Here, we present an overview of recent progress in N2O isotopic studies and provide suggestions for future research, mainly focusing on: analytical techniques; production and consumption processes; and interpretation and modelling approaches. Comparing isotope-ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) with laser absorption spectroscopy (LAS), we conclude that IRMS is a precise technique for laboratory analysis of N2O isotopes, while LAS is more suitable forin situ/inline studies and offers advantages for site-specific analyses. When reviewing the link between the N2O isotopic composition and underlying mechanisms/processes, we find that, at the molecular scale, the specific enzymes and mechanisms involved determine isotopic fractionation effects. In contrast, at plot-to-global scales, mixing of N2O derived from different processes and their isotopic variability must be considered. We also find that dual isotope plots are effective for semi-quantitative attribution of co-occurring N2O production and reduction processes. More recently, process-based N2O isotopic models have been developed for natural abundance and(15)N-tracing studies, and have been shown to be effective, particularly for data with adequate temporal resolution. Despite the significant progress made over the last decade, there is still great need and potential for future work, including development of analytical techniques, reference materials and inter-laboratory comparisons, further exploration of N2O formation and destruction mechanisms, more observations across scales, and design and validation of interpretation and modelling approaches. Synthesizing all these efforts, we are confident that the N2O isotope community will continue to advance our understanding of N2O transformation processes in all spheres of the Earth, and in turn to gain improved constraints on regional and global budgets.
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