| 1. |
- Kattge, Jens, et al.
(författare)
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TRY plant trait database - enhanced coverage and open access
- 2020
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Ingår i: Global Change Biology. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 1354-1013 .- 1365-2486. ; 26:1, s. 119-188
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Plant traits-the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants-determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait-based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits-almost complete coverage for 'plant growth form'. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait-environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives.
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| 2. |
- Burrascano, S., et al.
(författare)
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Where are we now with European forest multi-taxon biodiversity and where can we head to?
- 2023
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Ingår i: Biological Conservation. - 0006-3207. ; 284
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The European biodiversity and forest strategies rely on forest sustainable management (SFM) to conserve forest biodiversity. However, current sustainability assessments hardly account for direct biodiversity indicators. We focused on forest multi-taxon biodiversity to: i) gather and map the existing information; ii) identify knowledge and research gaps; iii) discuss its research potential. We established a research network to fit data on species, standing trees, lying deadwood and sampling unit description from 34 local datasets across 3591 sampling units. A total of 8724 species were represented, with the share of common and rare species varying across taxonomic classes: some included many species with several rare ones (e.g., Insecta); others (e.g., Bryopsida) were repre-sented by few common species. Tree-related structural attributes were sampled in a subset of sampling units (2889; 2356; 2309 and 1388 respectively for diameter, height, deadwood and microhabitats). Overall, multi-taxon studies are biased towards mature forests and may underrepresent the species related to other develop-mental phases. European forest compositional categories were all represented, but beech forests were over-represented as compared to thermophilous and boreal forests. Most sampling units (94%) were referred to a habitat type of conservation concern. Existing information may support European conservation and SFM stra-tegies in: (i) methodological harmonization and coordinated monitoring; (ii) definition and testing of SFM in-dicators and thresholds; (iii) data-driven assessment of the effects of environmental and management drivers on multi-taxon forest biological and functional diversity, (iv) multi-scale forest monitoring integrating in-situ and remotely sensed information.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Ratcliffe, S., et al.
(författare)
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Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning relations in European forests depend on environmental context
- 2017
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Ingår i: Ecology Letters. - : Wiley. - 1461-023X .- 1461-0248. ; 20:11, s. 1414-1426
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The importance of biodiversity in supporting ecosystem functioning is generally well accepted. However, most evidence comes from small-scale studies, and scaling-up patterns of biodiversity-ecosystem functioning (B-EF) remains challenging, in part because the importance of environmental factors in shaping B-EF relations is poorly understood. Using a forest research platform in which 26 ecosystem functions were measured along gradients of tree species richness in six regions across Europe, we investigated the extent and the potential drivers of context dependency of B-EF relations. Despite considerable variation in species richness effects across the continent, we found a tendency for stronger B-EF relations in drier climates as well as in areas with longer growing seasons and more functionally diverse tree species. The importance of water availability in driving context dependency suggests that as water limitation increases under climate change, biodiversity may become even more important to support high levels of functioning in European forests.
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| 6. |
- Sarneel, Judith M., et al.
(författare)
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Reading tea leaves worldwide : decoupled drivers of initial litter decomposition mass-loss rate and stabilization
- 2024
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Ingår i: Ecology Letters. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 1461-023X .- 1461-0248. ; 27:5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The breakdown of plant material fuels soil functioning and biodiversity. Currently, process understanding of global decomposition patterns and the drivers of such patterns are hampered by the lack of coherent large-scale datasets. We buried 36,000 individual litterbags (tea bags) worldwide and found an overall negative correlation between initial mass-loss rates and stabilization factors of plant-derived carbon, using the Tea Bag Index (TBI). The stabilization factor quantifies the degree to which easy-to-degrade components accumulate during early-stage decomposition (e.g. by environmental limitations). However, agriculture and an interaction between moisture and temperature led to a decoupling between initial mass-loss rates and stabilization, notably in colder locations. Using TBI improved mass-loss estimates of natural litter compared to models that ignored stabilization. Ignoring the transformation of dead plant material to more recalcitrant substances during early-stage decomposition, and the environmental control of this transformation, could overestimate carbon losses during early decomposition in carbon cycle models.
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| 7. |
- van der Plas, F., et al.
(författare)
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Continental mapping of forest ecosystem functions reveals a high but unrealised potential for forest multifunctionality
- 2018
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Ingår i: Ecology Letters. - : Wiley. - 1461-023X .- 1461-0248. ; 21:1, s. 31-42
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Humans require multiple services from ecosystems, but it is largely unknown whether trade-offs between ecosystem functions prevent the realisation of high ecosystem multifunctionality across spatial scales. Here, we combined a comprehensive dataset (28 ecosystem functions measured on 209 forest plots) with a forest inventory dataset (105,316 plots) to extrapolate and map relationships between various ecosystem multifunctionality measures across Europe. These multifunctionality measures reflected different management objectives, related to timber production, climate regulation and biodiversity conservation/recreation. We found that trade-offs among them were rare across Europe, at both local and continental scales. This suggests a high potential for win-win' forest management strategies, where overall multifunctionality is maximised. However, across sites, multifunctionality was on average 45.8-49.8% below maximum levels and not necessarily highest in protected areas. Therefore, using one of the most comprehensive assessments so far, our study suggests a high but largely unrealised potential for management to promote multifunctional forests.
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| 8. |
- O'Neill, A., et al.
(författare)
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Reduced self-heating by strained silicon substrate engineering
- 2008
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Ingår i: Applied Surface Science. - : Elsevier BV. - 0169-4332 .- 1873-5584. ; 254:19, s. 6182-6185
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Substrate engineering innovations such as SOI and the use of Si/SiGe virtual substrates become necessary in order to maintain performance leverage of integrated circuits with continued scaling. The relevance of thermal effects in device design increases since the thermal conductivity of these new materials is poor. The electrical performance of devices fabricated on thin virtual substrates grown by two different techniques is presented. It is found that self-heating is reduced and that thermal resistance measurements agree with modelling predictions. The reduction in performance enhancement seen in many strained Si MOSFETs is found here to be largely due to self-heating effects, rather than parasitics or the loss of strain.
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| 13. |
- Abila, R., et al.
(författare)
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Oil extraction imperils Africa’s Great Lakes
- 2016
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Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 354:6312, s. 561-562
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- As the world's demands for hydrocarbons increase (1), remote areas previously made inaccessible by technological limitations are now being prospected for oil and gas deposits. Virtually unnoticed by the public, such activities are ongoing in the East African Great Lakes region, threatening these ecosystems famed for their hyper-diverse biota, including the unique adaptive radiations of cichlid fishes (2). Countries in the region see exploitation of hydrocarbon reserves as a vital economic opportunity. In the Lake Albert region of Uganda, for example, the government foresees a $3.6 billion oil profit per year starting in 2018—a sum almost as high as the country's current annual budget (3). However, oil extraction in the East African Great Lakes region poses grave risks to the environment and local communities.
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| 14. |
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| 15. |
- De Frenne, P., et al.
(författare)
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Atmospheric nitrogen deposition on petals enhances seed quality of the forest herb Anemone nemorosa
- 2018
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Ingår i: Plant Biology. - : Wiley. - 1435-8603 .- 1438-8677. ; 20:3, s. 619-626
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Elevated atmospheric input of nitrogen (N) is currently affecting plant biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. The growth and survival of numerous plant species is known to respond strongly to N fertilisation. Yet, few studies have assessed the effects of N deposition on seed quality and reproductive performance, which is an important life-history stage of plants. Here we address this knowledge gap by assessing the effects of atmospheric N deposition on seed quality of the ancient forest herb Anemone nemorosa using two complementary approaches. By taking advantage of the wide spatiotemporal variation in N deposition rates in pan-European temperate and boreal forests over 2years, we detected positive effects of N deposition on the N concentration (percentage N per unit seed mass, increased from 2.8% to 4.1%) and N content (total N mass per seed more than doubled) of A.nemorosa seeds. In a complementary experiment, we applied ammonium nitrate to aboveground plant tissues and the soil surface to determine whether dissolved N sources in precipitation could be incorporated into seeds. Although the addition of N to leaves and the soil surface had no effect, a concentrated N solution applied to petals during anthesis resulted in increased seed mass, seed N concentration and N content. Our results demonstrate that N deposition on the petals enhances bioaccumulation of N in the seeds of A.nemorosa. Enhanced atmospheric inputs of N can thus not only affect growth and population dynamics via root or canopy uptake, but can also influence seed quality and reproduction via intake through the inflorescences.
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| 16. |
- Eeraerts, Maxime, et al.
(författare)
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Pollination deficits and their relation with insect pollinator visitation are cultivar-dependent in an entomophilous crop
- 2024
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Ingår i: Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment. - 0167-8809. ; 369
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Insects contribute considerably to global crop pollination, with pollination deficits being documented for multiple entomophilous or pollinator-dependent crops. Different cultivars of crops are being cultivated within and across production regions, so it is essential to understand the cultivar variability of pollination deficits. Here, we used a dataset from 286 sites from multiple production regions to develop a synthesis on pollination deficits in two widely cultivated highbush blueberry cultivars, ‘Bluecrop’ and ‘Duke’. Additionally, we determined if bee visitation or bee richness reduces pollination deficits in these cultivars. On average, neither cultivar showed pollination deficits regarding fruit set. However, for ‘Bluecrop’ we found pollination deficits for berry weight and seed set, which was not the case for ‘Duke’. Increasing total bee visitation reduced pollination deficits of both berry weight and seed set for ‘Bluecrop’. More specifically, a non-linear, negative exponential model best predicted this relation between bee visitation and pollination deficits. Our results highlight that pollination deficits and responses to pollinator visitation are variable between different cultivars of a single crop, which suggests opportunities to use certain cultivars that are less dependent on insect-mediated pollination in landscapes and regions where pollination services have been compromised. In addition, the non-linear response between bee visitation and pollination deficits suggests that optimal bee visitation rates need to be determined to improve pollination management and crop yield and to support accurate economic valuations of pollination services.
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| 17. |
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| 18. |
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| 19. |
- Kambach, S., et al.
(författare)
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How do trees respond to species mixing in experimental compared to observational studies?
- 2019
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Ingår i: Ecology and Evolution. - : Wiley. - 2045-7758. ; 9:19, s. 11254-11265
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- For decades, ecologists have investigated the effects of tree species diversity on tree productivity at different scales and with different approaches ranging from observational to experimental study designs. Using data from five European national forest inventories (16,773 plots), six tree species diversity experiments (584 plots), and six networks of comparative plots (169 plots), we tested whether tree species growth responses to species mixing are consistent and therefore transferrable between those different research approaches. Our results confirm the general positive effect of tree species mixing on species growth (16% on average) but we found no consistency in species-specific responses to mixing between any of the three approaches, even after restricting comparisons to only those plots that shared similar mixtures compositions and forest types. These findings highlight the necessity to consider results from different research approaches when selecting species mixtures that should maximize positive forest biodiversity and functioning relationships.
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| 20. |
- Moe, S. Jannicke, et al.
(författare)
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Integrating climate model projections into environmental risk assessment : A probabilistic modeling approach
- 2024
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Ingår i: Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management. - 1551-3777 .- 1551-3793.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) convened a Pellston workshop in 2022 to examine how information on climate change could be better incorporated into the ecological risk assessment (ERA) process for chemicals as well as other environmental stressors. A major impetus for this workshop is that climate change can affect components of ecological risks in multiple direct and indirect ways, including the use patterns and environmental exposure pathways of chemical stressors such as pesticides, the toxicity of chemicals in receiving environments, and the vulnerability of species of concern related to habitat quality and use. This article explores a modeling approach for integrating climate model projections into the assessment of near- and long-term ecological risks, developed in collaboration with climate scientists. State-of-the-art global climate modeling and downscaling techniques may enable climate projections at scales appropriate for the study area. It is, however, also important to realize the limitations of individual global climate models and make use of climate model ensembles represented by statistical properties. Here, we present a probabilistic modeling approach aiming to combine projected climatic variables as well as the associated uncertainties from climate model ensembles in conjunction with ERA pathways. We draw upon three examples of ERA that utilized Bayesian networks for this purpose and that also represent methodological advancements for better prediction of future risks to ecosystems. We envision that the modeling approach developed from this international collaboration will contribute to better assessment and management of risks from chemical stressors in a changing climate. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2024;00:1-17. (c) 2023 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC). A SETAC workshop was organized in 2022 to address the integration of future projections from global climate models (GCMs) into environmental risk assessment models.The modeling approach presented is based on deriving on robust climate information with relevance for the assessment: future climate projections from ensembles of GCMs, regionally downscaled, and summarized by statistical properties.Three case studies in Norway, Australia, and the United States were used to show examples of quantification of climate change impacts on traditional risk assessment components such as chemical exposure and hazard, as well as on the vulnerability of assessment endpoints to other stressors.The case studies also demonstrated that probabilistic modeling methods such as Bayesian networks can be useful for integrating all quantified climate change impacts on risk components, together with estimated uncertainty, into a probabilistic risk characterization.
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| 21. |
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| 22. |
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| 23. |
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| 24. |
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| 25. |
- Staude, I. R., et al.
(författare)
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Directional turnover towards larger-ranged plants over time and across habitats
- 2022
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Ingår i: Ecology Letters. - : Wiley. - 1461-023X .- 1461-0248. ; 25:2, s. 466-82
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Species turnover is ubiquitous. However, it remains unknown whether certain types of species are consistently gained or lost across different habitats. Here, we analysed the trajectories of 1827 plant species over time intervals of up to 78 years at 141 sites across mountain summits, forests, and lowland grasslands in Europe. We found, albeit with relatively small effect sizes, displacements of smaller- by larger-ranged species across habitats. Communities shifted in parallel towards more nutrient-demanding species, with species from nutrient-rich habitats having larger ranges. Because these species are typically strong competitors, declines of smaller-ranged species could reflect not only abiotic drivers of global change, but also biotic pressure from increased competition. The ubiquitous component of turnover based on species range size we found here may partially reconcile findings of no net loss in local diversity with global species loss, and link community-scale turnover to macroecological processes such as biotic homogenisation.
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| 26. |
- Vanneste, Thomas, et al.
(författare)
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Contrasting microclimates among hedgerows and woodlands across temperate Europe
- 2020
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Ingår i: Agricultural and Forest Meteorology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0168-1923 .- 1873-2240. ; 281
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Hedgerows have the potential to facilitate the persistence and migration of species across landscapes, mostly due to benign microclimatic conditions. This thermal buffering function may become even more important in the future for species migration under climate change. Unfortunately, there is a lack of empirical studies quantifying the microclimate of hedgerows, particularly at broad geographical scales. Here we monitored sub-canopy temperatures using 168 miniature temperature sensors distributed along woodland-hedgerow transects, and spanning a 1600-km macroclimatic gradient across Europe. First, we assessed the variation in the temperature offset (that is, the difference between sub-canopy and corresponding macroclimate temperatures) for minimum, mean and maximum temperatures along the woodland-hedgerow transects. Next, we linked the observed patterns to macroclimate temperatures as well as canopy structure, overstorey composition and hedgerow characteristics. The sub-canopy versus macroclimate temperature offset was on average 0.10 degrees C lower in hedgerows than in woodlands. Minimum winter temperatures were consistently lower by 0.10 degrees C in hedgerows than in woodlands, while maximum summer temperatures were 0.80 degrees C higher, albeit mainly around the woodland-hedgerow ecotone. The temperature offset was often negatively correlated with macroclimate temperatures. The slope of this relationship was lower for maximum temperatures in hedgerows than in woodlands. During summer, canopy cover, tree height and hedgerow width had strong cooling effects on maximum mid-day temperatures in hedgerows. The effects of shrub height, shrub cover and shade-casting ability, however, were not significant. To our knowledge, this is the first study to quantify hedgerow microclimates along a continental-scale environmental gradient. We show that hedgerows are less efficient thermal insulators than woodlands, especially at high ambient temperatures (e.g. on warm summer days). This knowledge will not only result in better predictions of species distribution across fragmented landscapes, but will also help to elaborate efficient strategies for biodiversity conservation and landscape planning.
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| 27. |
- Vanneste, Thomas, et al.
(författare)
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Plant diversity in hedgerows and road verges across Europe
- 2020
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Ingår i: Journal of Applied Ecology. - : Wiley. - 0021-8901 .- 1365-2664. ; 57:7, s. 1244-1257
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Linear landscape elements such as hedgerows and road verges have the potential to mitigate the adverse effects of habitat fragmentation and climate change on species, for instance, by serving as a refuge habitat or by improving functional connectivity across the landscape. However, so far this hypothesis has not been evaluated at large spatial scales, preventing us from making generalized conclusions about their efficacy and implementation in conservation policies. Here, we assessed plant diversity patterns in 336 vegetation plots distributed along hedgerows and road verges, spanning a macro-environmental gradient across temperate Europe. We compared herb-layer species richness and composition in these linear elements with the respective seed-source (core) habitats, that is, semi-natural forests and grasslands. Next, we assessed how these differences related to several environmental drivers acting either locally, at the landscape level or along the studied macro-ecological gradient. Across all regions, about 55% of the plant species were shared between forests and hedgerows, and 52% between grasslands and road verges. Habitat-specialist richness was 11% lower in the linear habitats than in the core habitats, while generalist richness was 14% higher. The difference in floristic composition between both habitat types was mainly due to species turnover, and not nestedness. Most notably, forest-specialist richness in hedgerows responded positively to tree cover, tree height and the proportion of forests in the surrounding landscape, while generalist richness was negatively affected by tree height and buffering effect of trees on subcanopy temperatures. Grassland and road verge diversity was mainly influenced by soil properties, with positive effects of basic cation levels on the number of specialists and those of bioavailable soil phosphorus on generalist diversity. Synthesis and applications. We demonstrate that linear landscape elements provide a potential habitat for plant species across Europe, including slow-colonizing specialists. Additionally, our results stress the possibility for land managers to modify local habitat features (e.g. canopy structure, subcanopy microclimate, soil properties, mowing regime) through management practices to enhance the colonization success of specialists in these linear habitats. These findings underpin the management needed to better conserving the biodiversity of agricultural landscapes across broad geographical scales.
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| 28. |
- Verheyen, Kris, et al.
(författare)
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201 Combining Biodiversity Resurveys across Regions to Advance Global Change Research
- 2017
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Ingår i: BioScience. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0006-3568 .- 1525-3244. ; 67:1, s. 73-83
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- More and more ecologists have started to resurvey communities sampled in earlier decades to determine long-term shifts in community composition and infer the likely drivers of the ecological changes observed. However, to assess the relative importance of and interactions among multiple drivers, joint analyses of resurvey data from many regions spanning large environmental gradients are needed. In this article, we illustrate how combining resurvey data from multiple regions can increase the likelihood of driver orthogonality within the design and show that repeatedly surveying across multiple regions provides higher representativeness and comprehensiveness, allowing us to answer more completely a broader range of questions. We provide general guidelines to aid the implementation of multiregion resurvey databases. In so doing, we aim to encourage resurvey database development across other community types and biomes to advance global environmental change research.
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