| 1. |
- Granath, Gustaf, et al.
(författare)
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Photosynthetic performance in Sphagnum transplanted along a latitudinal nitrogen deposition gradient
- 2009
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Ingår i: Oecologia. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0029-8549 .- 1432-1939. ; 159:4, s. 705-715
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Increased N deposition in Europe has affected mire ecosystems. However, knowledge on the physiological responses is poor. We measured photosynthetic responses to increasing N deposition in two peatmoss species (Sphagnum balticum and Sphagnum fuscum) from a 3-year, north-south transplant experiment in northern Europe, covering a latitudinal N deposition gradient ranging from 0.28 g N m(-2) year(-1) in the north, to 1.49 g N m(-2) year(-1) in the south. The maximum photosynthetic rate (NPmax) increased southwards, and was mainly explained by tissue N concentration, secondly by allocation of N to the photosynthesis, and to a lesser degree by modified photosystem II activity (variable fluorescence/maximum fluorescence yield). Although climatic factors may have contributed, these results were most likely attributable to an increase in N deposition southwards. For S. fuscum, photosynthetic rate continued to increase up to a deposition level of 1.49 g N m(-2) year(-1), but for S. balticum it seemed to level out at 1.14 g N m(-2) year(-1). The results for S. balticum suggested that transplants from different origin (with low or intermediate N deposition) respond differently to high N deposition. This indicates that Sphagnum species may be able to adapt or physiologically adjust to high N deposition. Our results also suggest that S. balticum might be more sensitive to N deposition than S. fuscum. Surprisingly, NPmax was not (S. balticum), or only weakly (S. fuscum) correlated with biomass production, indicating that production is to a great extent is governed by factors other than the photosynthetic capacity.
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| 2. |
- Handa, I. Tanya, et al.
(författare)
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Consequences of biodiversity loss for litter decomposition across biomes
- 2014
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 509:7499, s. 218-221
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The decomposition of dead organic matter is a major determinant of carbon and nutrient cycling in ecosystems, and of carbon fluxes between the biosphere and the atmosphere(1-3). Decomposition is driven by a vast diversity of organisms that are structured in complex food webs(2,4). Identifying the mechanisms underlying the effects of biodiversity on decomposition is critical(4-6) given the rapid loss of species worldwide and the effects of this loss on human well-being(7-9). Yet despite comprehensive syntheses of studies on how biodiversity affects litter decomposition(4-6,10), key questions remain, including when, where and how biodiversity has a role and whether general patterns and mechanisms occur across ecosystems and different functional types of organism(4,9-12). Here, in field experiments across five terrestrial and aquatic locations, ranging from the subarctic to the tropics, we show that reducing the functional diversity of decomposer organisms and plant litter types slowed the cycling of litter carbon and nitrogen. Moreover, we found evidence of nitrogen transfer from the litter of nitrogen-fixing plants to that of rapidly decomposing plants, but not between other plant functional types, highlighting that specific interactions in litter mixtures control carbon and nitrogen cycling during decomposition. The emergence of this general mechanism and the coherence of patterns across contrasting terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems suggest that biodiversity loss has consistent consequences for litter decomposition and the cycling of major elements on broad spatial scales.
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| 3. |
- Li, Bingxi, et al.
(författare)
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Thaw pond development and initial vegetation succession in experimental plots at a Siberian lowland tundra site
- 2017
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Ingår i: Plant and Soil. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1573-5036 .- 0032-079X. ; 420:1-2, s. 147-162
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Permafrost degradation has the potential to change the Arctic tundra landscape. We observed rapid local thawing of ice-rich permafrost resulting in thaw pond formation, which was triggered by removal of the shrub cover in a field experiment. This study aimed to examine the rate of permafrost thaw and the initial vegetation succession after the permafrost collapse. Methods In the experiment, we measured changes in soil thaw depth, plant species cover and soil subsidence over nine years (2007–2015). Results After abrupt initial thaw, soil subsidence in the removal plots continued indicating further thawing ofpermafrost albeit at a much slower pace: 1 cm y−1 over 2012–2015 vs. 5 cm y−1 over 2007–2012. Grass cover strongly increased after the initial shrub removal, but later declined with ponding of water in the subsiding removal plots. Sedges established and expanded in the wetter removal plots. Thereby, the removal plots have become increasingly similar to nearby ‘natural’ thawponds. Conclusions The nine years of field observations in a unique shrub removal experiment at a Siberian tundra site document possible trajectories of small-scale permafrost collapse and the initial stage of vegetation recovery,which is essential knowledge for assessing future tundra landscape changes.
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| 4. |
- Lichtenberg, Elinor M., et al.
(författare)
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A global synthesis of the effects of diversified farming systems on arthropod diversity within fields and across agricultural landscapes
- 2017
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Ingår i: Global Change Biology. - : Wiley. - 1354-1013 .- 1365-2486. ; 23:11, s. 4946-4957
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Agricultural intensification is a leading cause of global biodiversity loss, which can reduce the provisioning of ecosystem services in managed ecosystems. Organic farming and plant diversification are farm management schemes that may mitigate potential ecological harm by increasing species richness and boosting related ecosystem services to agroecosystems. What remains unclear is the extent to which farm management schemes affect biodiversity components other than species richness, and whether impacts differ across spatial scales and landscape contexts. Using a global metadataset, we quantified the effects of organic farming and plant diversification on abundance, local diversity (communities within fields), and regional diversity (communities across fields) of arthropod pollinators, predators, herbivores, and detritivores. Both organic farming and higher in-field plant diversity enhanced arthropod abundance, particularly for rare taxa. This resulted in increased richness but decreased evenness. While these responses were stronger at local relative to regional scales, richness and abundance increased at both scales, and richness on farms embedded in complex relative to simple landscapes. Overall, both organic farming and in-field plant diversification exerted the strongest effects on pollinators and predators, suggesting these management schemes can facilitate ecosystem service providers without augmenting herbivore (pest) populations. Our results suggest that organic farming and plant diversification promote diverse arthropod metacommunities that may provide temporal and spatial stability of ecosystem service provisioning. Conserving diverse plant and arthropod communities in farming systems therefore requires sustainable practices that operate both within fields and across landscapes.
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| 5. |
- Nijp, Jelmer J., et al.
(författare)
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Including hydrological self-regulating processes in peatland models : effects on peatmoss drought projections
- 2017
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Ingår i: Science of the Total Environment. - : Elsevier. - 0048-9697 .- 1879-1026. ; 580, s. 1389-1400
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The water content of the topsoil is one of the key factors controlling biogeochemical processes, greenhouse gas emissions and biosphere - atmosphere interactions in many ecosystems, particularly in northern peatlands. In these wetland ecosystems, the water content of the photosynthetic active peatmoss layer is crucial for ecosystem functioning and carbon sequestration, and is sensitive to future shifts in rainfall and drought characteristics. Current peatland models differ in the degree in which hydrological feedbacks are included, but how this affects peatmoss drought projections is unknown. The aim of this paper was to systematically test whether the level of hydrological detail in models could bias projections of water content and drought stress for peatmoss in northern peatlands using downscaled projections for rainfall and potential evapotranspiration in the current (1991-2020) and future climate (2061-2090). We considered four model variants that either include or exclude moss (rain)water storage and peat volume change, as these are two central processes in the hydrological self-regulation of peatmoss carpets. Model performance was validated using field data of a peatland in northern Sweden. Including moss water storage as well as peat volume change resulted in a significant improvement of model performance, despite the extra parameters added. The best performance was achieved if both processes were included. Including moss water storage and peat volume change consistently reduced projected peatmoss drought frequency with >50%, relative to the model excluding both proces'ses. Projected peatmoss drought frequency in the growing season was 17% smaller under future climate than current climate, but was unaffected by including the hydrological self-regulating processes. Our results suggest that ignoring these two fine-scale processes important in hydrological self-regulation of northern peatlands will have large consequences for projected climate change impact on ecosystem processes related to topsoil water content, such as greenhouse gas emissions. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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