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- Barnes, Andrew D., et al.
(author)
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Direct and cascading impacts of tropical land-use change on multi-trophic biodiversity
- 2017
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In: Nature Ecology and Evolution. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2397-334X. ; 1:10, s. 1511-1519
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The conversion of tropical rainforest to agricultural systems such as oil palm alters biodiversity across a large range of interacting taxa and trophic levels. Yet, it remains unclear how direct and cascading effects of land-use change simultaneously drive ecological shifts. Combining data from a multi-taxon research initiative in Sumatra, Indonesia, we show that direct and cascading land-use effects alter biomass and species richness of taxa across trophic levels ranging from microorganisms to birds. Tropical land use resulted in increases in biomass and species richness via bottom-up cascading effects, but reductions via direct effects. When considering direct and cascading effects together, land use was found to reduce biomass and species richness, with increasing magnitude at higher trophic levels. Our analyses disentangle the multifaceted effects of land-use change on tropical ecosystems, revealing that biotic interactions on broad taxonomic scales influence the ecological outcome of anthropogenic perturbations to natural ecosystems.
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| 2. |
- Clough, Yann, et al.
(author)
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Land-use choices follow profitability at the expense of ecological functions in Indonesian smallholder landscapes
- 2016
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In: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 7
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Smallholder-dominated agricultural mosaic landscapes are highlighted as model production systems that deliver both economic and ecological goods in tropical agricultural landscapes, but trade-offs underlying current land-use dynamics are poorly known. Here, using the most comprehensive quantification of land-use change and associated bundles of ecosystem functions, services and economic benefits to date, we show that Indonesian smallholders predominantly choose farm portfolios with high economic productivity but low ecological value. The more profitable oil palm and rubber monocultures replace forests and agroforests critical for maintaining above- and below-ground ecological functions and the diversity of most taxa. Between the monocultures, the higher economic performance of oil palm over rubber comes with the reliance on fertilizer inputs and with increased nutrient leaching losses. Strategies to achieve an ecological-economic balance and a sustainable management of tropical smallholder landscapes must be prioritized to avoid further environmental degradation.
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| 3. |
- Koehler, Birgit, et al.
(author)
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An in-depth look into tropical lowland forest soil : nitrogen-addition effects on the content of N2O, CO2 and CH4 ad N2O isotopic signatures down to 2-m depth
- 2012
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In: Biogeochemistry. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0168-2563 .- 1573-515X. ; 111:1-3, s. 695-713
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition is rapidly increasing in tropical regions. We investigated how a decade of experimental N addition (125 kg N ha−1 year−1) to a seasonal lowland forest affected depth distribution and contents of soil nitrous oxide (N2O), carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4), as well as natural abundance isotopic signatures of N2O, nitrate (NO3 −) and ammonium (NH4 +). In the control plots during dry season, we deduced limited N2O production by denitrification in the topsoil (0.05–0.40 m) as indicated by: ambient N2O concentrations and ambient 15N-N2O signatures, low water-filled pore space (35–60%), and similar 15N signatures of N2O and NO3 −. In the subsoil (0.40–2.00 m), we detected evidence of N2O reduction to N2 during upward diffusion, indicating denitrification activity. During wet season, we found that N2O at 0.05–2.00 m was mainly produced by denitrification with substantial further reduction to N2, as indicated by: lighter 15N-N2O than 15N-NO3 − throughout the profile, and increasing N2O concentrations with simultaneously decreasing 15N-N2O enrichment with depth. These interpretations were supported by an isotopomer map and by a positive correlation between 18O-N2O and 15N-N2O site preferences. Long-term N addition did not affect dry-season soil N2O-N contents, doubled wet-season soil N2O-N contents, did not affect 15N signatures of NO3 −, and reduced wet-season 15N signatures of N2O compared to the control plots. These suggest that the increased NO3 − concentrations have stimulated N2O production and decreased N2O-to-N2 reduction. Soil CO2-C contents did not differ between treatments, implying that N addition essentially did not influence soil C cycling. The pronounced seasonality in soil respiration was largely attributable to enhanced topsoil respiration as indicated by a wet-season increase in the topsoil CO2-C contents. The N-addition plots showed reduced dry-season soil CH4-C contents and threshold CH4 concentrations were reached at a shallower depth compared to the control plots, revealing an N-induced stimulation of methanotrophic activity. However, the net soil CH4 uptake rates remained similar between treatments possibly because diffusive CH4 supply from the atmosphere largely limited CH4 oxidation.
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| 7. |
- Koehler, Birgit, et al.
(author)
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Immediate and long-term nitrogen oxide emissions from tropical forest soils exposed to elevated nitrogen input
- 2009
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In: Global Change Biology. - : Wiley. - 1354-1013 .- 1365-2486. ; 15:8, s. 2049-2066
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Tropical nitrogen (N) deposition is projected to increase substantially within the coming decades. Increases in soil emissions of the climate-relevant trace gases NO and N2O are expected, but few studies address this possibility. We used N addition experiments to achieve N-enriched conditions in contrasting montane and lowland forests and assessed changes in the timing and magnitude of soil N-oxide emissions. We evaluated transitory effects, which occurred immediately after N addition, and long-term effects measured at least 6 weeks after N addition. In the montane forest where stem growth was N limited, the first-time N additions caused rapid increases in soil N-oxide emissions. During the first 2 years of N addition, annual N-oxide emissions were five times (transitory effect) and two times (long-term effect) larger than controls. This contradicts the current assumption that N-limited tropical montane forests will respond to N additions with only small and delayed increases in soil N-oxide emissions. We attribute this fast and large response of soil N-oxide emissions to the presence of an organic layer (a characteristic feature of this forest type) in which nitrification increased substantially following N addition. In the lowland forest where stem growth was neither N nor phosphorus (P) limited, the first-time N additions caused only gradual and minimal increases in soil N-oxide emissions. These first N additions were completed at the beginning of the wet season, and low soil water content may have limited nitrification. In contrast, the 9- and 10-year N-addition plots displayed instantaneous and large soil N-oxide emissions. Annual N-oxide emissions under chronic N addition were seven times (transitory effect) and four times (long-term effect) larger than controls. Seasonal changes in soil water content also caused seasonal changes in soil N-oxide emissions from the 9- and 10-year N-addition plots. This suggests that climate change scenarios, where rainfall quantity and seasonality change, will alter the relative importance of soil NO and N2O emissions from tropical forests exposed to elevated N deposition.
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| 8. |
- Veldkamp, Edzo, et al.
(author)
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Indications of nitrogen-limited methane uptake in tropical forest soils
- 2013
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In: Biogeosciences. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1726-4170 .- 1726-4189. ; 10:8, s. 5367-5379
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Abstract: It is estimated that tropical forest soils contribute 6.2 Tg yr(-1) (28 %) to global methane (CH4) uptake, which is large enough to alter CH4 accumulation in the atmosphere if significant changes would occur to this sink. Elevated deposition of inorganic nitrogen (N) to temperate forest ecosystems has been shown to reduce CH4 uptake in forest soils, but almost no information exists from tropical forest soils even though projections show that N deposition will increase substantially in tropical regions. Here we report the results from two long-term, ecosystem-scale experiments in which we assessed the impact of chronic N addition on soil CH4 fluxes from two old-growth forests in Panama: (1) a lowland, moist (2.7 m yr(-1) rainfall) forest on clayey Cambisol and Nitisol soils with controls and N-addition plots for 9-12yr, and (2) a montane, wet (5.5 m yr(-1) rainfall) forest on a sandy loam Andosol soil with controls and N-addition plots for 1-4 yr. We measured soil CH4 fluxes for 4 yr (2006-2009) in four replicate plots (40 m x 40 m each) per treatment using vented static chambers (four chambers per plot). CH4 fluxes from the lowland control plots and the montane control plots did not differ from their respective N-addition plots. In the lowland forest, chronic N addition did not lead to inhibition of CH4 uptake; instead, a negative correlation of CH4 fluxes with nitrate (NO3-) concentrations in the mineral soil suggests that increased NO3- levels in N-addition plots had stimulated CH4 consumption and/or reduced CH4 production. In the montane forest, chronic N addition also showed negative correlation of CH4 fluxes with ammonium concentrations in the organic layer, which suggests that CH4 consumption was N limited. We propose the following reasons why such N-stimulated CH4 consumption did not lead to statistically significant CH4 uptake: (1) for the lowland forest, this was caused by limitation of CH4 diffusion from the atmosphere into the clayey soils, particularly during the wet season, as indicated by the strong positive correlations between CH4 fluxes and water-filled pore space (WFPS); (2) for the montane forest, this was caused by the high WFPS in the mineral soil throughout the year, which may not only limit CH4 diffusion from the atmosphere into the soil but also favour CH4 production; and (3) both forest soils showed large spatial and temporal variations of CH4 fluxes. We conclude that in these extremely different tropical forest ecosystems there were indications of N limitation on CH4 uptake. Based on these findings, it is unlikely that elevated N deposition on tropical forest soils will lead to a rapid reduction of CH4 uptake.
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