1. |
- Granath, Gustaf, et al.
(författare)
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Tradeoffs and scaling of functional traits in Sphagnum as drivers of carbon cycling in peatlands
- 2014
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Ingår i: Oikos. - : Wiley. - 0030-1299 .- 1600-0706. ; 123:7, s. 817-828
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Growth and decomposition of Sphagnum controls turnover of a large global store of soil organic carbon. We investigated variation in morphological and physiological traits of Sphagnum shoots, and related this variation to canopy variables relevant to peatland carbon cycling. We sampled Sphagnum along a bog plateau-swamp forest gradient and measured a suite of shoot traits and canopy variables. Major axes of variation were identified using principal component analysis and correlated with canopy variables such as growth, biomass and decomposition. We also examined scaling of shoot traits with one another and with canopy variables. Two distinct tradeoffs in shoot traits emerged. From dry to wet habitats, individual metabolic rates and capitulum size increased while numerical density decreased, leading to faster growth and elongation on an individual basis. From treed to open habitats, photosynthetic efficiency decreased and photosynthetic biomass increased, driving faster growth on an area basis and slower litter mass loss. The tradeoffs identified have important implications for peatlands undergoing climate-related changes in water and light availability. Sphagnum trait comparisons, combined with scaling analyses, offer a promising approach to understanding and predicting the effects of environmental change on peatland carbon cycling.
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2. |
- Bengtsson, Fia, 1986-, et al.
(författare)
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Environmental drivers of Sphagnum growth in peatlands across the Holarctic region
- 2021
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Ingår i: Journal of Ecology. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0022-0477 .- 1365-2745. ; 109:1, s. 417-431
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The relative importance of global versus local environmental factors for growth and thus carbon uptake of the bryophyte genusSphagnum-the main peat-former and ecosystem engineer in northern peatlands-remains unclear. We measured length growth and net primary production (NPP) of two abundantSphagnumspecies across 99 Holarctic peatlands. We tested the importance of previously proposed abiotic and biotic drivers for peatland carbon uptake (climate, N deposition, water table depth and vascular plant cover) on these two responses. Employing structural equation models (SEMs), we explored both indirect and direct effects of drivers onSphagnumgrowth. Variation in growth was large, but similar within and between peatlands. Length growth showed a stronger response to predictors than NPP. Moreover, the smaller and denserSphagnum fuscumgrowing on hummocks had weaker responses to climatic variation than the larger and looserSphagnum magellanicumgrowing in the wetter conditions. Growth decreased with increasing vascular plant cover within a site. Between sites, precipitation and temperature increased growth forS. magellanicum. The SEMs indicate that indirect effects are important. For example, vascular plant cover increased with a deeper water table, increased nitrogen deposition, precipitation and temperature. These factors also influencedSphagnumgrowth indirectly by affecting moss shoot density. Synthesis. Our results imply that in a warmer climate,S. magellanicumwill increase length growth as long as precipitation is not reduced, whileS. fuscumis more resistant to decreased precipitation, but also less able to take advantage of increased precipitation and temperature. Such species-specific sensitivity to climate may affect competitive outcomes in a changing environment, and potentially the future carbon sink function of peatlands.
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3. |
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4. |
- Bengtsson, Fia, 1986-
(författare)
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Functional Traits in Sphagnum
- 2019
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Peat mosses (Sphagnum) are ecosystem engineers that largely govern carbon sequestration in northern hemisphere peatlands. I investigated functional traits in Sphagnum species and addressed the questions: (I) Are growth, photosynthesis and decomposition and the trade-offs between these traits related to habitat or phylogeny?, (II) Which are the determinants of decomposition and are there trade-offs between metabolites that affect decomposition?, (III) How do macro-climate and local environment determine growth in Sphagnum across the Holarctic?, (IV) How does N2 fixation vary among different species and habitats?, (V) How do species from different microtopographic niches avoid or tolerate desiccation, and are leaf and structural traits adaptations to growth high above the water table?Photosynthetic rate and decomposition in laboratory conditions (innate growth and decay resistance) were related to growth and decomposition in their natural habitats. We found support for a trade-off between growth and decay resistance, but innate qualities translated differently to field responses in different species. There were no trade-offs between production of different decay-affecting metabolites. Their production is phylogenetically controlled, but their effects on decay are modified by nutrient availability in the habitat. Modelling growth of two species across the Holarctic realm showed that precipitation, temperature and vascular plant cover are the best predictors of performance, but responses were stronger for the wetter growing species. N2 fixation rates were positively related to moss decomposability, field decomposition and tissue phosphorus concentration. Hence, higher decomposition can lead to more nutrients available to N2-fixing microorganisms, while higher concentrations of decomposition-hampering metabolites may impede N2 fixation. A mesocosm experiment, testing effects of water level drawdown on water content and chlorophyll fluorescence, showed that either slow water loss or high maximum water holding capacity can lead to desiccation avoidance. Furthermore, leaf anatomical traits rather than structural traits affected the water economy.This thesis has advanced the emerging field of trait ecology in Sphagnum by comparing many species and revealing novel mechanisms and an ever more complex picture of Sphagnum ecology. In addition, the species-specific trait measurements of this work offers opportunities for improvements of peatland ecosystem models.
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5. |
- Bengtsson, Fia, et al.
(författare)
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Mechanisms behind species-specific water economy responses to water level drawdown in peat mosses
- 2020
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Ingår i: Annals of Botany. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0305-7364 .- 1095-8290. ; 126:2, s. 219-230
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background and AimsThe ecosystem engineers Sphagnum (peat mosses) are responsible for sequestering a large proportion of carbon in northern peatlands. Species may respond differently to hydrological changes, and water level changes may lead to vegetation shifts in peatlands, causing them to revert from sinks to sources of carbon. We aimed to compare species-specific responses to water level drawdown within Sphagnum, and investigate which traits affect water economy in this genus.MethodsIn a mesocosm experiment, we investigated how water level drawdown affected water content (WC) in the photosynthetically active apex of the moss and maximum quantum yield of photosystem II (i.e. Fv/Fm) of 13 Sphagnum species. Structural traits were measured, and eight anatomical traits were quantified from scanning electron microscopy micrographs.Key ResultsMixed-effects models indicated that at high water level, large leaves were the most influential predictor of high WC, and at low water level WC was higher in species growing drier in the field, with larger hyaline cell pore sizes and total pore areas associated with higher WC. Higher stem and peat bulk density increased WC, while capitulum mass per area and numerical shoot density did not. We observed a clear positive relationship between Fv/Fm and WC in wet-growing species.ConclusionsWhile we found that most hummock species had a relatively high water loss resistance, we propose that some species are able to maintain a high WC at drawdown by storing large amounts of water at a high water level. Our result showing that leaf traits are important warrants further research using advanced morphometric methods. As climate change may lead to more frequent droughts and thereby water level drawdowns in peatlands, a mechanistic understanding of species-specific traits and responses is crucial for predicting future changes in these systems.
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6. |
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7. |
- Campbell, Charles, 1982-
(författare)
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Sphagnum limits : Physiology, morphology and climate
- 2019
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Sphagnum is the most important plant genus in terms of terrestrial carbon cycling. It and the habitats it creates store an equivalent of ~68% of the CO2 in the atmosphere. The genus has little dispersal limitation and the mire habitats are functionally similar at global scales. Sphagnum species are limited by water deficit at local and biogeographic scales, but this alone is not sufficient to explain local and global scale species patterns. As Sphagnum shoots are long-lived they may be limited by stochastic periods of cold temperature. Within Europe, species are associated with climate gradients along north-south (cold-warm) and oceanic-continental (wet-dry) clines. Within mires, species are sorted along a moisture (hummock-hollow) gradient.In this thesis I examined species responses to and recovery from freezing (I). I compared species with different water level niches in traits related to water management of individual shoots and colonies (II). Using distribution modelling of GBIF data, I estimated how different aspects of climate contributed to Sphagnum species distributions in Europe (III). Combining the approaches in papers II and III, I modelled the climatic distributions of the parapatric species S. cuspidatum and S. lindbergii and assessed how traits of water economy varied across the distribution boundary (IV).Species responses to winter stress were largely allied to both their hydrological niche and geographic range. Generally, hollow species managed better than hummock species, but species from intermediate positions were less consistent in their response. Species associated with boreal regions were generally less affected than those from temperate regions. Hardening against low temperature was triggered by shorter days and cold nights. Cold temperatures during late autumn may be more important for Sphagnum limits than the minimum temperature during winter.Water-related traits split the species into two groups; hollows species with large capitula and hummock species with small capitula. However, inter- and intra-specific trait variation and trait trends along the hydrological gradient were not necessarily the same at the shoot and canopy scale. Some trait correlations were common to all species. Canopy traits, which were emergent traits of colonies of shoots, had the strongest trait associations with the species position along the hummock-hollow gradient.At the continental scale the distribution of most Sphagnum species could be successfully modelled by a combination of annual degree days and water balance and the degree of seasonality in these two variables. Individual species distributions were shaped more by the seasonality in degree days than in water balance.Across the distributional border of S. cuspidatum and S. lindbergii divergence in the measured traits was mostly seen in the capitula indicating that limits to Sphagnum species are strongly linked to the functioning of the capitulum. Capitulum mass of both species was lower in sympatry than in allopatry, even though the measured values were similar. Canopy traits most strongly separated the species though did not change across the species boundaries.In summary, Sphagnum species in general are limited by the availability of water. Low temperature, particularly during late autumn are probably decisive for the biogeographic limits and for the distribution of species along the hydrological gradient.
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8. |
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9. |
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10. |
- Colson, Daniel W., et al.
(författare)
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Six Decades of Changes in Pool Characteristics on a Concentric-Patterned Raised Bog
- 2023
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Ingår i: Ecosystems. - 1432-9840 .- 1435-0629.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Raised bogs are wetland ecosystems which, under the right climatic conditions, feature patterns of pool hollows and hummock ridges. The relative cover and the spatial arrangement of pool and ridge microforms are thought to be influential on peatland atmosphere carbon gas fluxes and plant biodiversity. The mechanisms responsible for the formation and maintenance of pools, and the stability of these features in response to warming climates, remain topics of ongoing research. We employed historical aerial imagery, combined with a contemporary uncrewed aerial vehicle survey, to study 61 years of changes in pools at a patterned raised bog in central Sweden. We used a pool inheritance method to track individual pools between image acquisition dates throughout the time series. These data show a rapid loss of open-water pool area during the study period, primarily due to overgrowth of open-water pools by Sphagnum. We postulate that these changes are driven by ongoing climate warming that is accelerating Sphagnum colonisation. Open-water pool area declined by 26.8% during the study period, equivalent to a loss of 1001 m2 y−1 across the 150-hectare site. This is contradictory to an existing theory that states pools are highly stable, once formed, and can only convert to a terrestrial state through catastrophic drainage. The pool inheritance analysis shows that smaller pools are liable to become completely terrestrialised and expire. Our findings form part of a growing body of evidence for the loss of open-water habitats in peatlands across the boreal and elsewhere.
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11. |
- Evans, Christopher, et al.
(författare)
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The impact of wildfire on biogeochemical fluxes and water quality in boreal catchments
- 2021
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Ingår i: Biogeosciences. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1726-4170 .- 1726-4189. ; 18, s. 3243-3261
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Wildfires are the major disturbance in boreal ecosystems and are of great importance for the biogeochemical cycles of carbon (C) and nutrients. However, these fire-induced impacts are hard to quantify and are rarely assessed together at an ecosystem level incorporating both aquatic and terrestrial environments. Following a wildfire in Sweden in an area with ongoing monitoring, we conducted a pre-fire (9 years) and post-fire (4 years) multi-catchment investigation of element losses (combustion and leaching) and impacts on water quality. Direct C and nitrogen (N) losses through combustion were ca. 4500 and 100 gm(-2), respectively. Net CO2 loss associated with soil and biomass respiration was similar to 150 g C m(-2) during the first year, but the ecosystem started to show net CO2 uptake in June 3 years post-fire. Aquatic C and N losses the first 12 months post-fire were 7 and 0.6 gm(-2), respectively. Hence, soil respiration comprised a non-negligible part of the post-fire C loss, whereas aquatic C losses were minor and did not increase post-fire. However, other elements (e.g. Ca, S) exhibited ecologically relevant increases in fluvial export and concentration with large peaks in the immediate post-fire period. The temporal dynamics of stream concentrations (Ca2+, Mg2+, K+,SO4-2, Cl-, NH4+, total organic N) suggest the presence of faster- and slower-release nutrient pools with half-lives of around 2 weeks and 4 months which we attribute to physicochemically and biologically mediated mobilization processes, respectively. Three years after the fire, it appears that dissolved fluxes of nutrients have largely returned to pre-fire conditions, but there is still net release of CO2.
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12. |
- Gage, H. J. M., et al.
(författare)
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Assessing moss transplant methods to enhance Sphagnum moss recovery in post-wildfire hydrophobic peat
- 2024
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Ingår i: Ecological Engineering. - : Elsevier. - 0925-8574 .- 1872-6992. ; 205
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Wildfire is the dominant disturbance in northern peatlands and can release large quantities of carbon to the atmosphere through combustion. Post-fire peat hydrophobicity can inhibit moss regeneration, thereby decreasing the potential for post-fire carbon sequestration. To investigate how to enhance post-fire recovery we assessed two moss restoration methods (plugs and fragments) in an Alberta poor fen two and three years following wildfire. We first characterized post-fire peat hydrophobicity and moss regeneration in four surface cover types: Severely Burned Feather moss hollows (SB-F), Severely Burned Sphagnum fuscum hummocks (SB-S), Lightly Burned S. fuscum hummocks (LB-S), and Lightly Burned Feather moss lawns (LB-F). Across burn severities, hydrophobicity was high in feather moss and relatively low in Sphagnum moss. Similarly, hydrophobicity increased with depth over the top several centimeters in feather moss, but not in Sphagnum moss surface cover. Peat hydrophobicity appears to limit post-fire regeneration. LB-S was the least hydrophobic of the four treatments and was the only cover type in which Sphagnum moss recovered to >10% surface area, though SB-F had marginal recovery of pioneer moss species. Consequently, we conducted experiments testing the success of moss plugs and fragments of varying moss species at LB-F and SB-F surface covers, which had high hydrophobicity and low post-fire moss recovery. Experimental results indicate that the species type used in transplants is less critical in their survival than the microenvironment into which they are transplanted (i.e., burn severity). Transplant success was slightly higher in plugs than fragments, and larger plug sizes (10–15 cm) were more successful than small plugs (<10 cm). Growth was greater in SB-F than LB-F surface cover, owing to differences in post-fire hydrophobicity, and thus moisture availability. We conclude that in appropriate areas post-fire, peatland management efforts could employ large mixed-moss or Sphagnum moss transplant units while accounting for pre-fire vegetation composition and burn severity to fast-track post-fire moss and ecosystem recovery.
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13. |
- Granath, Gustaf
(författare)
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Assessment of an integrated peat-harvesting and reclamation method: peatland-atmosphere carbon fluxes and vegetation recovery
- 2015
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Ingår i: Wetlands Ecology and Management. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0923-4861 .- 1572-9834. ; 23, s. 491-504
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We document a two-year experimental trial of a recently-developed integrated peat-harvesting and reclamation technique at a poor fen in northern Ontario, Canada. We removed and conserved the uppermost similar to 0.3 m of peat in blocks while deeper peat was harvested from the resultant pit. We allowed the extraction pit to flood with shallow groundwater, and then reclaimed the conserved surficial peat blocks by transplanting them into the flooded pit where they formed a low, floating mat. In the 2nd year after harvest average Sphagnum cover in our experimental plot was intermediate (similar to 25 %) between hummocks (similar to 100 %) and hollows (similar to 10 %) at an adjacent unharvested reference plot. Mean rates of Sphagnum productivity were greater in the experimental plot (65-86 g m(-2) month(-1)) than in the reference plot (45-55 g m(-2) month(-1)) for both hummock (S. fuscum) and lawn (S. magellanicum) species, although not significantly so, indicating that the transplant had no adverse effects on Sphagnum health. The inundated soil conditions in the trial pit prevented the large carbon dioxide emissions that are characteristic of many harvested peatlands. During the second growing season midday net ecosystem exchange at the experimental plot was similar to that at hollows in the reference plot. However, the anoxic soil conditions in the experimental plot led to highly elevated methane emissions in both years. Our results demonstrate that the method can enable rapid re-establishment of a healthy Sphagnum mat and carbon dioxide sequestration function in harvested peatlands, although the global warming potential of our experimental trial was high due to elevated methane emissions.
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14. |
- Granath, Gustaf, et al.
(författare)
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Direct physiological effects of nitrogen on Sphagnum : a greenhouse experiment
- 2012
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Ingår i: Functional Ecology. - : Wiley. - 0269-8463 .- 1365-2435. ; 26:2, s. 353-364
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- 1. Bogs are nutrient-poor peatland ecosystems that are sensitive to nitrogen (N) deposition. Production of peat mosses (i.e. the peat-forming genus Sphagnum) is known to decrease under elevated N deposition, but the causal mechanisms are poorly understood. 2. It is predicted that increased N deposition will cause changes in Sphagnum species composition, with fast-growing species benefiting from increased N availability in contrast to slow-growing species. Knowledge of species-specific responses to N availability can help us to understand interspecific competitive relationships. 3. We investigated the direct effects of N application on plant physiology in three Sphagnum species by exposing shoots to a range of N doses (corresponding to depositions of 0-5 6 g m) 2 year) 1), over 5 months, in a greenhouse experiment. The species investigated included one that grows high above the water-table (Sphagnum fuscum) and two that grow lower down (Sphagnum balticum and Sphagnum fallax). S. fuscum and S. balticum originate from ombrotrophic and S. fallax from minerotrophic environments. To estimate N responses, we measured the performance and light-capture kinetics of the photosynthetic apparatus (maximum photosynthetic rate and Fv/Fm), biomass production, shoot formation, and N and phosphorus (P) concentrations in the tissue. 4. Tissue nitrogen concentration generally increased with N application rate, and photosynthetic rate increased with N concentration, although S. balticum exhibited a unimodal response. With respect to production, a negative response to N application rate was found in S. fallax and S. fuscum (weak), while production in S. balticum was unrelated to application rate. S. fallax was the fastest-growing species, producing two to three times more biomass per shoot compared with the other species. 5. The mismatch between photosynthetic capacity and production could partly be explained by an increased N : P ratio following N application. Phosphorus limitation may not negatively affect photosynthetic capacity, but may hamper production. 6. The fast-growing species S. fallax is considered to benefit from increased N deposition, but we found a negative physiological response, suggesting stoichiometric constraints. Thus, we conclude that responses to N deposition cannot be predicted in a simple way from physiological traits related to growth rate without considering local environmental factors.
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15. |
- Granath, Gustaf
(författare)
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Effect of temperature and precipitation on linear increment of Sphagnum fuscum and S-magellanicum in Western Siberia
- 2017
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Ingår i: Russian Journal of Ecology. - 1067-4136 .- 1608-3334. ; 48, s. 203-211
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The linear increment of Sphagnum fuscum and S. magellanicum in ombrotrophic mires of Western Siberia has been measured during two years over a transect about 2500 km long extending from forest-steppe to forest-tundra. Along the latitudinal gradient, the increment of both species has proved to be correlated with annual average air temperature and, in S. magellanicum, also with annual precipitation. The determinants of their growth differ between the southern, central, and northern parts of the study region. At the regional level, the annual and summer precipitation plays a more important role than the average air temperature. The increment of S. fuscum in the southern part is positively correlated with the amount of precipitation and negatively correlated with summer temperature, whereas the situation in the central part is inverse. In S. magellanicum, the linear increment is directly dependent on the annual average temperature and annual and summer precipitation in the south and on the annual and summer precipitation in the north of Western Siberia. The dynamics of linear growth of both species in bog pine forests during the growing season are similar: its rate is the highest in June, when the linear increment of S. fuscum and S. magellanicum amounts to 60 and 85% of the annual total, respectively.
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16. |
- Granath, Gustaf, et al.
(författare)
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Environmental and taxonomic controls of carbon and oxygen stable isotope composition in Sphagnum across broad climatic and geographic ranges
- 2018
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Ingår i: Biogeosciences. - : Copernicus Publications. - 1726-4170 .- 1726-4189. ; 15:16, s. 5189-5202
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Rain-fed peatlands are dominated by peat mosses (Sphagnum sp.), which for their growth depend on nutrients, water and CO2 uptake from the atmosphere. As the isotopic composition of carbon (C-12(,)13) and oxygen (O-16(,)18) of these Sphagnum mosses are affected by environmental conditions, Sphagnum tissue accumulated in peat constitutes a potential long-term archive that can be used for climate reconstruction. However, there is inadequate understanding of how isotope values are influenced by environmental conditions, which restricts their current use as environmental and palaeoenvironmental indicators. Here we tested (i) to what extent C and O isotopic variation in living tissue of Sphagnum is speciesspecific and associated with local hydrological gradients, climatic gradients (evapotranspiration, temperature, precipitation) and elevation; (ii) whether the C isotopic signature can be a proxy for net primary productivity (NPP) of Sphagnum; and (iii) to what extent Sphagnum tissue delta O-18 tracks the delta O-18 isotope signature of precipitation. In total, we analysed 337 samples from 93 sites across North America and Eurasia us ing two important peat-forming Sphagnum species (S. magellanicum, S. fuscum) common to the Holarctic realm. There were differences in delta C-13 values between species. For S. magellanicum delta C-13 decreased with increasing height above the water table (HWT, R-2 = 17 %) and was positively correlated to productivity (R-2 = 7 %). Together these two variables explained 46 % of the between-site variation in delta C-13 values. For S. fuscum, productivity was the only significant predictor of delta C-13 but had low explanatory power (total R-2 = 6 %). For delta O-18 values, approximately 90 % of the variation was found between sites. Globally modelled annual delta O-18 values in precipitation explained 69 % of the between-site variation in tissue delta O-18. S. magellanicum showed lower delta O-18 enrichment than S. fuscum (-0.83 %0 lower). Elevation and climatic variables were weak predictors of tissue delta O-18 values after controlling for delta O-18 values of the precipitation. To summarize, our study provides evidence for (a) good predictability of tissue delta O-18 values from modelled annual delta O-18 values in precipitation, and (b) the possibility of relating tissue delta C-13 values to HWT and NPP, but this appears to be species-dependent. These results suggest that isotope composition can be used on a large scale for climatic reconstructions but that such models should be species-specific.
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17. |
- Granath, Gustaf, et al.
(författare)
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Evolution of niche preference in Sphagnum peat mosses
- 2015
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Ingår i: Evolution. - : Wiley. - 0014-3820 .- 1558-5646. ; 69:1, s. 90-103
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Peat mosses (Sphagnum) are ecosystem engineersspecies in boreal peatlands simultaneously create and inhabit narrow habitat preferences along two microhabitat gradients: an ionic gradient and a hydrological hummock-hollow gradient. In this article, we demonstrate the connections between microhabitat preference and phylogeny in Sphagnum. Using a dataset of 39 species of Sphagnum, with an 18-locus DNA alignment and an ecological dataset encompassing three large published studies, we tested for phylogenetic signal and within-genus changes in evolutionary rate of eight niche descriptors and two multivariate niche gradients. We find little to no evidence for phylogenetic signal in most component descriptors of the ionic gradient, but interspecific variation along the hummock-hollow gradient shows considerable phylogenetic signal. We find support for a change in the rate of niche evolution within the genusthe hummock-forming subgenus Acutifolia has evolved along the multivariate hummock-hollow gradient faster than the hollow-inhabiting subgenus Cuspidata. Because peat mosses themselves create some of the ecological gradients constituting their own habitats, the classic microtopography of Sphagnum-dominated peatlands is maintained by evolutionary constraints and the biological properties of related Sphagnum species. The patterns of phylogenetic signal observed here will instruct future study on the role of functional traits in peatland growth and reconstruction.
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18. |
- Granath, Gustaf
(författare)
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Hydrological feedbacks in northern peatlands
- 2015
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Ingår i: Ecohydrology. - : Wiley. - 1936-0584 .- 1936-0592. ; 8, s. 113-127
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Northern peatlands provide important global and regional ecosystem services (carbon storage, water storage, and biodiversity). However, these ecosystems face increases in the severity, areal extent and frequency of climate-mediated (e.g. wildfire and drought) and land-use change (e.g. drainage, flooding and mining) disturbances that are placing the future security of these critical ecosystem services in doubt. Here, we provide the first detailed synthesis of autogenic hydrological feedbacks that operate within northern peatlands to regulate their response to changes in seasonal water deficit and varying disturbances. We review, synthesize and critique the current process-based understanding and qualitatively assess the relative strengths of these feedbacks for different peatland types within different climate regions. We suggest that understanding the role of hydrological feedbacks in regulating changes in precipitation and temperature are essential for understanding the resistance, resilience and vulnerability of northern peatlands to a changing climate. Finally, we propose that these hydrological feedbacks also represent the foundation of developing an ecohydrological understanding of coupled hydrological, biogeochemical and ecological feedbacks. Copyright (c) 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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19. |
- Granath, Gustaf
(författare)
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Mitigating wildfire carbon loss in managed northern peatlands through restoration
- 2016
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Ingår i: Scientific Reports. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2045-2322. ; 6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Northern peatlands can emit large amounts of carbon and harmful smoke pollution during a wildfire. Of particular concern are drained and mined peatlands, where management practices destabilize an array of ecohydrological feedbacks, moss traits and peat properties that moderate water and carbon losses in natural peatlands. Our results demonstrate that drained and mined peatlands in Canada and northern Europe can experience catastrophic deep burns (>200 t C ha(-1) emitted) under current weather conditions. Furthermore, climate change will cause greater water losses in these peatlands and subject even deeper peat layers to wildfire combustion. However, the rewetting of drained peatlands and the restoration of mined peatlands can effectively lower the risk of these deep burns, especially if a new peat moss layer successfully establishes and raises peat moisture content. We argue that restoration efforts are a necessary measure to mitigate the risk of carbon loss in managed peatlands under climate change.
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20. |
- Granath, Gustaf, et al.
(författare)
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Nitrogen fertilization reduces wild berry production in boreal forests
- 2017
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Ingår i: Forest Ecology and Management. - : Elsevier BV. - 0378-1127 .- 1872-7042. ; 390, s. 119-126
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Nitrogen is the main limiting nutrient in temperate and boreal forests. Large-scale nitrogen fertilization has been suggested as a potential tool to enhance production and meet the increasing demand for wood products and biofuels. Here, we test the effect of N fertilization and thinning on berry (i.e., fruit) production and incidence of fungal pathogens along a latitudinal gradient in Sweden. We used an N fertilization (100-150 kg ha(-1)) and thinning experiment that was established between 1970 and 1980 in 30 pine forests, covering a latitudinal gradient stretching from southern to northern Sweden. We measured fruit production and disease incidence of fungal pathogens in bilberry and cowberry in the experimental plots (30 x 30 m), over two years (2014 and 2015), when the stands were between 67 and 85 years old. Nitrogen fertilization reduced fruit production for both species, while thinning had a positive effect. For cowberry, treatment effects on fruit production were mainly associated with changes in plant cover, while direct treatment effects altered fruit production in bilberry. Furthermore, N application increased disease incidence of the parasitic fungus Valdensia heterodoxa in bilberry and contributed to the reduced fruit production in the N treatment. In contrast, disease incidence of the main parasitic fungus in cow berry (snow-mold disease) was negatively affected by N. Thinning decreased disease incidence in bilberry, but tended to increase incidence in cowberry. For cowberry, disease incidence increased with latitude. Overall, our results suggest that the N-induced effect on fruit production in bilberry is partly associated with presence of the parasitic fungus, and largely due to unknown direct effects. For cowberry, reduction in fruit production is correlated with N-induced negative effects on plant cover. Large-scale fertilization will have an overall negative impact on fruit production, and given that fruit production is considered highly valuable in the context of ecosystem services and functioning, this reduction should be considered when forest management scenarios that include N fertilization are evaluated. Thinning on the other hand, can promote fruit production and may be used as a management tool to generate berry-rich forests. ( C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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21. |
- Granath, Gustaf
(författare)
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Peatland bryophyte responses to increased light from black spruce removal
- 2017
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Ingår i: Ecohydrology. - : Wiley. - 1936-0584 .- 1936-0592. ; 10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The ecohydrological impact of tree-canopy removal on moss and peat, which provide a principal carbon store, is just starting to be understood. Different mosses have contrasting contributions to carbon and water fluxes (e.g., Sphagnum fuscum, Pleurozium schreberi) and are strongly influenced by tree-canopy cover. Changes in tree-canopy cover may therefore lead to long-term shifts in species composition and associated ecohydrological function. However, the medium-term response to such disturbance, the associated lag in this transition to a new ecohydrological and biogeochemical regime, is not understood in detail. We investigate this medium-term (4years) ecohydrological, biogeochemical, and species compositional response to tree-canopy removal using a randomized plot design within a northern peatland. This is the only study to test for the influence of increased light alone. We demonstrate that changes in treatment plots 4years after tree-canopy removal were not significant. Notably, P.schreberi and S.fuscum remained within their respective plots post treatment, and there was no significant difference in plot resistance to evapotranspiration or carbon exchange. Results show that tree-canopy removal alone has little impact on bryophyte ecohydrology in the short or medium-term. This resistance to disturbance contrasts strongly with short-term changes observed within mineral soils, suggesting that concurrent shifts in the large scale hydrology induced within such disturbances are necessary to cause rapid ecohydrological transitions. Understanding this lagged response is critical to determine the strength of medium to long-term negative ecohydrological feedbacks within peatlands in addition to carbon and water fluxes on a decadal timescale in response to disturbance.
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22. |
- Granath, Gustaf
(författare)
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Peatland Bryophytes in a Changing Environment : Ecophysiological Traits and Ecosystem Function
- 2012
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Peatlands are peat forming ecosystems in which not fully decomposed plant material builds up the soil. The sequestration of carbon into peat is mainly associated with the bryophyte genus Sphagnum (peat mosses), which dominate and literally form most peatlands. The responses of Sphagnum to environmental change help us to understand peatland development and function and to predict future changes in a rapidly changing world. In this thesis, the overarching aim was to use ecophysiological traits to investigate mechanisms behind the response of Sphagnum to elevated N deposition, and, processes connected to ecosystem shift and ecosystem function of peatlands. Regarding elevated N deposition, three experiments were performed at different scales (country-wide to greenhouse). Independent of scale and species, apical tissue N concentration increased with increasing N input until N saturation was reached. Maximum photosynthetic rate, a trait evaluating photosynthetic capacity, increased with N input and could be well predicted by tissue N concentration. Thus, the physiological responses of Sphagnum to N deposition are often positive and I found no evidence of toxic effects. Production did, however, not increase with N input, and results of the N:P ratio suggested that P limitation, and possibly other elements, might hamper growth under high N input. The effect of P limitation was, in contrast to current view, most pronounced in fast growing species indicating species specific responses to nutrient imbalance. I explored the puzzling, but historically frequently occurring, rich fen to bog ecosystem shift; a shift from a species-rich ecosystem dominated by brown mosses, to a species-poor one with greater carbon storage that is Sphagnum-dominated. The bog-dwelling species of Sphagnum grew well, to our surprise, when in contact with rich fen water but was not a strong competitor compared to rich fen Sphagnum species. If submerged under rich fen water (high pH), the bog Sphagnum species died while rich fen species of Sphagnum were unaffected. These results show that differences in two physiological traits (growth rate and tolerance to flooding) among species, can explain when a peatland ecosystem shift might occur. In the last study, the function of peatlands was related to trade-offs between traits and allometric scaling in Sphagnum. Results suggested that growth strategies are determined by the distribution of Sphagnum relative to the water table in order to minimize periods with suboptimal hydration. Allometric analyses stressed the importance of resource allocation among and within shoots (apical part vs. stem), although the allocation patterns in Sphagnum were not always consistent with those of vascular plants. Interestingly, data indicated a trade-off between photosynthetic rate and decomposition rate among Sphagnum species.
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23. |
- Granath, Gustaf, et al.
(författare)
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Photosynthesis, growth, and decay traits in Sphagnum - a multispecies comparison
- 2016
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Ingår i: Ecology and Evolution. - : Wiley. - 2045-7758. ; 6, s. 3325-3341
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Peat mosses (Sphagnum) largely govern carbon sequestration in Northern Hemisphere peatlands. We investigated functional traits related to growth and decomposition in Sphagnum species. We tested the importance of environment and phylogeny in driving species traits and investigated trade-offs among them. We selected 15 globally important Sphagnum species, representing four sections (subgenera) and a range of peatland habitats. We measured rates of photosynthesis and decomposition in standard laboratory conditions as measures of innate growth and decay potential, and related this to realized growth, production, and decomposition in their natural habitats. In general, we found support for a trade-off between measures of growth and decomposition. However, the relationships are not strong, with r ranging between 0.24 and 0.45 for different measures of growth versus decomposition. Using photosynthetic rate to predict decomposition in standard conditions yielded R-2 = 0.20. Habitat and section (phylogeny) affected the traits and the trade-offs. In a wet year, species from sections Cuspidata and Sphagnum had the highest production, but in a dry year, differences among species, sections, and habitats evened out. Cuspidata species in general produced easily decomposable litter, but their decay in the field was hampered, probably due to near-surface anoxia in their wet habitats. In a principal components analysis, PCA, photosynthetic capacity, production, and laboratory decomposition acted in the same direction. The species were imperfectly clustered according to vegetation type and phylogeny, so that some species clustered with others in the same section, whereas others clustered more clearly with others from similar vegetation types. Our study includes a wider range of species and habitats than previous trait analyses in Sphagnum and shows that while the previously described growth-decay trade-off exists, it is far from perfect. We therefore suggest that our species-specific trait measures offer opportunities for improvements of peatland ecosystem models. Innate qualities measured in laboratory conditions translate differently to field responses. Most dramatically, fast-growing species could only realize their potential in a wet year. The same species decompose fast in laboratory, but their decomposition was more retarded in the field than that of other species. These relationships are crucial for understanding the long-term dynamics of peatland communities.
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24. |
- 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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25. |
- Granath, Gustaf, et al.
(författare)
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Physiological responses to nitrogen and sulphur addition and raised temperature in Sphagnum balticum
- 2009
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Ingår i: Oecologia. - New York : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0029-8549 .- 1432-1939. ; 161:3, s. 481-490
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Sphagnum, the main genus which forms boreal peat, is strongly affected by N and S deposition and raised temperature, but the physiological mechanisms behind the responses are largely unknown. We measured maximum photosynthetic rate (NPmax), maximum efficiency of photosystem II [variable fluorescence (F v)/maximum fluorescence yield (F m)] and concentrations of N, C, chlorophyll and carotenoids as responses to N and S addition and increased temperature in Sphagnum balticum (a widespread species in the northern peatlands) in a 12-year factorial experiment. NPmax did not differ between control (0.2 g N m−2 year−1) and high N (3.0 g N m−2 year−1), but was higher in the mid N treatment (1.5 g N m−2 year−1). N, C, carotenoids and chlorophyll concentration increased in shoot apices after N addition. F v/F m did not differ between N treatments. Increased temperature (+3.6°C) had a small negative effect on N concentration, but had no significant effect on NPmax or F v/F m. Addition of 2 g S m−2 year−1 showed a weak negative effect on NPmax and F v/F m. Our results suggest a unimodal response of NPmax to N addition and tissue N concentration in S. balticum, with an optimum N concentration for photosynthetic rate of ~13 mg N g−1. In conclusion, high S deposition may reduce photosynthetic capacity in Sphagnum, but the negative effects may be relaxed under high N availability. We suggest that previously reported negative effects on Sphagnum productivity under high N deposition are not related to negative effects on the photosynthetic apparatus, but differences in optimum N concentration among Sphagnum species may affect their competitive ability under different N deposition regimes.
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26. |
- Granath, Gustaf
(författare)
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Post-fire ecohydrological conditions at peatland margins in different hydrogeological settings of the Boreal Plain
- 2017
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Ingår i: Journal of Hydrology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0022-1694 .- 1879-2707. ; 548, s. 741-753
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In the Boreal Plain of Canada, the margins of peatland ecosystems that regulate solute and nutrient fluxes between peatlands and adjacent mineral uplands are prone to deep peat burning. Whether post-fire carbon accumulation is able to offset large carbon losses associated with the deep burning at peatland margins is unknown. For this reason, we examined how post-fire hydrological conditions (i.e. water table depth and periodicity, soil tension, and surface moisture content) and depth of burn were associated with moss recolonization at the peatland margins of three sites. We then interpreted these findings using a hydrogeological systems approach, given the importance of groundwater in determining conditions in the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum in peatlands. Peatland margins dominated by local groundwater flow from adjacent peatland middles were characterized by dynamic hydrological conditions that, when coupled with lowered peatland margin surface elevations due to deep burning, produced two common hydrological states: 1) flooding during wet periods and 2) rapid water table declines during dry periods. These dynamic hydrological states were unfavorable to peatland moss recolonization and bryophytes typical of post-fire recovery in mineral uplands became established. In contrast, at a peatland margin where post-fire hydrological conditions were moderated by larger-scale groundwater flow, flooding and rapid water table declines were infrequent and, subsequently, greater peatland-dwelling moss recolonization was observed. We argue that peatland margins poorly connected to larger-scale groundwater flow are not only prone to deep burning but also lags in post-fire moss recovery. Consequently, an associated reduction in post-fire peat accumulation may occur and negatively affect the net carbon sink status and ecohydrological and biogeochemical function of these peatlands. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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27. |
- Granath, Gustaf, et al.
(författare)
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Rapid ecosystem shifts in peatlands : Linking plant physiology and succession
- 2010
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Ingår i: Ecology. - : Wiley. - 0012-9658 .- 1939-9170. ; 91:10, s. 3047-3056
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Stratigraphic records from peatlands suggest that the shift from a rich fen (calcareous fen) to an ombrotrophic bog can occur rapidly. This shift constitutes a switch from a species-rich ecosystem to a species-poor one with greater carbon storage. In this process, the invasion and expansion of acidifying bog species of Sphagnum (peat mosses) play a key role. To test under what conditions an acidifying bog species could invade a rich fen, we conducted three experiments, contrasting the bog species S. fucsum with the rich-fen species S. warnstorfii and S. teres. We first tested the effect of calcareous water by growing the three species at different constant height above the water table (HWT; 2, 7, and 14 cm) in a rich-fen pool and measured maximum photosynthetic rate and production and difference in length growth as an indicator of competition. In none of the species was the photosynthetic capacity negatively affected when placed at low HWT, but S. fuscum was a weaker competitor at low HWT. In our second experiment we transplanted the three species into microhabitats with different and naturally varying HWT in a rich fen. Here, S. fuscum nearly ceased to photosynthesize when transplanted to low HWT (brown moss carpet), while it performed similarly to the two rich-fen species at the intermediate level (S. warnstorfii hummock level). In contrast to S. fuscum, the rich-fen sphagna performed equally well in both habitats. The brown moss carpet was seasonally flooded, and in our third experiment we found that S. fuscum, but not S. teres, was severely damaged when submerged in rich-fen water. Our results suggest two thresholds in HWT affecting the ecosystem switch: one level that reduces the risk of submergence and a higher one that makes bog sphagna competitive against the rich-fen species.
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28. |
- Granath, Gustaf
(författare)
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Spatio-temporal trends of nitrogen deposition and climate effects on Sphagnum productivity in European peatlands
- 2014
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Ingår i: Environmental Pollution. - : Elsevier BV. - 0269-7491 .- 1873-6424. ; 187, s. 73–80-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- To quantify potential nitrogen (N) deposition impacts on peatland carbon (C) uptake, we explored temporal and spatial trends in N deposition and climate impacts on the production of the key peat forming functional group (Sphagnum mosses) across European peatlands for the period 1900-2050. Using a modelling approach we estimated that between 1900 and 1950 N deposition impacts remained limited irrespective of geographical position. Between 1950 and 2000 N deposition depressed production between 0 and 25% relative to 1900, particularly in temperate regions. Future scenarios indicate this trend will continue and become more pronounced with climate warming. At the European scale, the consequences for Sphagnum net C-uptake remained small relative to 1900 due to the low peatland cover in high-N areas. The predicted impacts of likely changes in N deposition on Sphagnum productivity appeared to be less than those of climate. Nevertheless, current critical loads for peatlands are likely to hold under a future climate. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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29. |
- Granath, Gustaf
(författare)
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Sustained Biogeochemical Impacts of Wildfire in a Mountain Lake Catchment
- 2017
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Ingår i: Ecosystems. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1432-9840 .- 1435-0629. ; 20, s. 813-829
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Wild and prescribed fires can cause severe deterioration in water quality, including increases in sediment, nutrients and dissolved organic carbon (DOC). Due to the unpredictability of wildfires, few studies have been able to employ before-after, control-intervention experimental designs, or to evaluate fire-induced water-quality changes in the context of long-term datasets. Here, we present data from a lake draining a moorland catchment in the United Kingdom, part of a 22-site, 25 year monitoring network, which experienced a major wildfire in 2011. The main water-quality response was a large, sustained increase in nitrate concentrations, sufficient to raise acidity and aluminium concentrations, effectively reversing over a decade of recovery from the effects of acid deposition. Concurrently, we observed a clear reduction in DOC concentrations, contrasting with prescribed fire studies from similar ecosystems (none based on before-after studies) that have suggested that burning causes DOC to increase. However, data from a downstream water supply reservoir do suggest a fire-induced change in DOC quality towards more soil-derived aromatic organic compounds, and lake sediment data suggest a large increase in particulate organic carbon. We conclude that the biogeochemical responses to wildfire in our moorland catchment were broadly similar to those observed in forest ecosystems elsewhere, but that historically high nitrogen deposition has made the ecosystem particularly susceptible to nitrate leaching and (re-)acidification. The observed reduction in DOC concentrations casts some doubt on the widely held view that prescribed burning in moorland systems has contributed to long-term DOC increases.
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30. |
- Granath, Gustaf, 1980-, et al.
(författare)
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Trade-offs in berry production and biodiversity under prescribed burning and retention regimes in boreal forests
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of Applied Ecology. - : Wiley. - 0021-8901 .- 1365-2664. ; 55:4, s. 1658-1667
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Green tree retention and prescribed burning are the practices used to mitigate negative effects of boreal forestry. Beside their effects on biodiversity, these practices should also promote non-timber forest products (NTFPs). We assessed: (1) how prescribed burning and tree retention influence NTFPs by examining the production of bilberry, Vaccinium myrtillus and cowberry, Vaccinium vitis-idaea; (2) if there are synergies or trade-offs in the delivery of these NTFPs in relation to the delivery of species richness, focusing on five groups of forest-dwelling species. We used a long-term experiment located in eastern Finland, with three different harvesting treatments: clear-cut logging, logging with retention patches and unlogged, which were combined with or without prescribed burning. Eleven years after the treatment application, we scored plant cover and berry production in different microhabitats within these treatments, while species richness data for five species groups (ground layer lichens and bryophytes, vascular plants, saproxylic beetles, pollinators?here bees and hoverflies) were collected at the stand level. Logging favoured cowberry production, particularly for plants growing in the vicinity of stumps. Logging was detrimental for cover and berry production of bilberry. Retention mitigated these negative effects slightly, but cover and berry production were still substantially lower compared to unlogged forests. Prescribed burning increased the cowberry production in retention patches and in unlogged forest. Bilberry production decreased with burning, except in unlogged forest where the effect was neutral. No single management treatment simultaneously favoured all values?NTFPs and richness?and trade-offs among values were common. Only bilberry production and beetle diversity were higher under retention forestry, or in unlogged stands, compared to logged stands. Prescribed burning favoured many values when performed in combination with retention forestry, or in unlogged stands, but different treatment combinations favoured different species groups. Synthesis and applications. Our results demonstrate that widely applied conservation practices in managed boreal forests are unlikely to benefit all ecosystem values everywhere. If high multifunctionality is desired, managing at a landscape scale, countering the local trade-offs among values, may be more appropriate than the stand-scale conservation practices commonly practiced today.
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31. |
- Granath, Gustaf, et al.
(författare)
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Variation in the abundance of fungal endophytes in fescue grasses along altitudinal and grazing gradients
- 2007
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Ingår i: Ecography. - : Wiley. - 0906-7590 .- 1600-0587. ; 30:3, s. 422-430
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Epichloë festucae, a common fungal symbiont of the genus Festuca (family Poaceae), can provide its host plant with protection against herbivores. However, infection might also be associated with a cost to its host plant. We examined the distribution of Epichloë festucae infection in natural populations of three fescue grasses, Festuca rubra, F. ovina and F. vivipara, on mountains in northern Sweden to determine whether infection frequency varied with reindeer Rangifertarandus grazing pressure and altitude. Two differently-scaled approaches were used: 1) infection frequency was measured at a local scale along ten elevational transects within a ca 400 km2 area and 2) infection frequency was measured on a regional scale along elevational transects on 17 mountains classified as having a history of high or low reindeer grazing pressure. Mean infection frequencies in F. rubra were 10% (vegetative tillers at a local scale), and 23% (flowering culms at a regional scale), and in F. ovina they were 13% (local scale) and 15% (regional scale). Endophyte infection frequency in F. vivipara, was, on average, 12% (local scale) and 37% (regional scale). In F. rubra, infection decreased significantly with increasing altitude at both the local and regional scale, and was positively correlated with grazing pressure. In F. ovina, an opposite trend was found at the regional scale: infection frequency increased significantly with increasing altitude, while no discernible distribution pattern was observed at the local scale. No elevational trends were observed in infection of F. vivipara. These patterns in the distribution of endophyte-infected grasses in non-agricultural ecosystems may be explained by both biotic (grazing) and abiotic factors (altitude). Differences in ecology and life history of the studied grass species may also be of importance for the different results observed among species.
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32. |
- Gustafsson, Lena, et al.
(författare)
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Burn severity and soil chemistry are weak drivers of early vegetation succession following a boreal mega-fire in a production forest landscape
- 2021
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Ingår i: Journal of Vegetation Science. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 1100-9233 .- 1654-1103. ; 32:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Questions: Do burn severity and soil chemistry drive species and trait composition on recently burned clear-cuttings? Does the spatial distribution of common, easily dispersed colonizers vary with distance to fire perimeter?Location: A 13,000 ha production forest landscape in boreal southern Sweden burned in a wildfire in 2014.Methods: Vascular plants and bryophytes were recorded in permanent plots on clear-cuts two and five years following fire, covering a burn severity gradient. Soil carbon content (reflecting burn severity), pH and nutrients were measured at plot level. Trait data were retrieved from the BIEN and LEDA databases and analyzed using community-weighted mean (CWM) trait values. Statistical analyses included generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs), non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) and multivariate ANOVA.Results: Low burn severity resulted in higher frequency of legacy species (e.g. Vaccinium myrtillus), while high burn severity facilitated colonizing species (e.g. Senecio sylvaticus). Vegetation varied with soil chemistry, expressed through pH. Species composition changed between years and deviated from unburned clear-cuts. After five years the most common taxa on burned plots were the vascular plants Chamaenerion angustifolium, Betula spp. and Populus tremula and the bryophytes Ceratodon purpureus and Polytrichum juniperinum. CWM specific leaf area (SLA) decreased markedly with time and root buds increased with total carbon content in the soil (i.e., toward less severely burned plots), while soil pH was not associated with any studied trait. Chamaenerion angustifolium decreased with distance to the fire perimeter, while Ceratodon purpureus increased.Conclusions: Burn severity and soil pH weakly drive vegetation dynamics in the early phase following fire on clear-cuts, indicating a large influence of stochastic processes. Deciduous trees are common already after five years and their further expansion will affect light and nutrient availability. To understand future vegetation trajectories on burned clear-cuts, studies need to incorporate the light factor and links between tree species' identity and soil nutrient availability.
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33. |
- Gustafsson, Lena, et al.
(författare)
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Disturbance interval modulates the starting point for vegetation succession
- 2021
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Ingår i: Ecology. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0012-9658 .- 1939-9170. ; 102:9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Increased frequency and new types of disturbances caused by global change calls for deepened insights into possible alterations of successional pathways. Despite current interest in disturbance interactions there is a striking lack of studies focusing on the implication of decreasing times between disturbances. We surveyed forest-floor vegetation (vascular plants and bryophytes) in a Pinus sylvestris–dominated, even-aged production forest landscape, unique because of the presence of stands under a precisely dated disturbance interval gradient, ranging from 0 to 123 yr between clearcutting and a subsequent megafire. Despite a dominance of early-successional species in all burned stands 5 yr after fire, progression of succession was linked to time since the preceding clearcutting disturbance. This was most clearly seen in increased frequency with time since clearcutting of the dominant, late-successional dwarf shrub Vaccinium myrtillus, with surviving rhizomes as an important mechanism for postfire recovery. Our results demonstrate the role of legacy species as significant drivers of succession. We conclude that the starting point for succession is modulated by disturbance interval, so that shortened intervals risk reducing development towards late-successional stages. We suggest that a decrease in long successional sequences caused by more frequent disturbances may represent a general pattern, relevant also for other forest types and ecosystems.
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34. |
- Jorgensen, Karolina, et al.
(författare)
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Links between boreal forest management, soil fungal communities and below-ground carbon sequestration
- 2022
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Ingår i: Functional Ecology. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0269-8463 .- 1365-2435. ; 36:2, s. 392-405
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- 1. Forest management has a potential to alter below-ground carbon storage. However, the underlying mechanisms, and the relative importance of carbon input and decomposition in regulation of soil carbon dynamics are poorly understood. 2. We examined whether interactive effects of forest fertilization and thinning on carbon stocks in the topsoil of boreal forests were linked to changes in fungal community composition, biomass and enzyme activities, in a long-term fertilization and thinning experiment distributed across 29 Pinus sylvestris forests along a 1,300 km latitudinal transect in Sweden. 3. Nitrogen fertilization increased fungal biomass, particularly towards the north and mainly by promoting root-associated Ascomycetes, but the response was moderated by thinning. Fungal biomass correlated positively with carbon stocks in the organic topsoil. However, ectomycorrhizal Cortinarius species were reduced in abundance by fertilization and correlated negatively with carbon stocks. 4. Plausibly, increased soil carbon stocks after fertilization are linked to increased input of carbon in the form of root-associated mycelium combined with the loss of ectomycorrhizal decomposers within the genus Cortinarius. These fungal responses to fertilization may mediate a natural climate solution by promoting carbon sequestration in the organic topsoil, but the effect of fertilization may also be undesired from a biodiversity perspective.
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35. |
- Jörgensen, Karolina, et al.
(författare)
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Forest management to increase carbon sequestration in boreal Pinus sylvestris forests
- 2021
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Ingår i: Plant and Soil. - : Springer Nature. - 0032-079X .- 1573-5036. ; 466:1-2, s. 165-178
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background and aims Forest management towards increased carbon (C) sequestration has repeatedly been suggested as a “natural climate solution”. We evaluated the potential of altered management to increase C sequestration in boreal Pinus sylvestris forest plantations.Methods At 29 forest sites, distributed along a 1300 km latitudinal gradient in Sweden, we studied interactive effects of fertilization and thinning on accumulation of C in standing biomass and the organic horizon over a 40 year period.Results Abstention from thinning increased the total C stock by 50% on average. The increase was significant (14% on average) even when C in the removed timber was included in the total ecosystem C pool. Fertilization of thinned stands increased stocks similarly regardless of including (11%) or excluding (12%) removed biomass, and fertilization combined with abstention from thinning had a synergistic effect on C stocks that generated an increase of 79% (35% when removed timber was included in the C stock). A positive effect of fertilization on C stocks was observed along the entire gradient but was greater in relative terms at high latitudes. Fertilization also reduced soil respiration rates.Conclusion Taken together, our results suggest that changed forest management practices have major potential to increase the C sink of boreal forests. Although promising, these benefits should be evaluated against the undesired effects that such management can have on economic revenue, timber quality, biodiversity and delivery of other ecosystem services.
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36. |
- Koronatova, Natalia G., et al.
(författare)
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Weather Factors in Different Growing Periods Determine Inter-Annual Change in Growth of Four Sphagnum Species : Evidence from an Eight-Year Study
- 2022
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Ingår i: Wetlands (Wilmington, N.C.). - : Springer Nature. - 0277-5212 .- 1943-6246. ; 42:8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The growth of peat mosses is crucial for carbon uptake and storage in high latitude peatlands. Nevertheless, little is known on how variation in specific weather conditions affect Sphagnum functional traits and productivity. Using data from an eight-year study in a mire complex in the southern taiga of Western Siberia, we investigated how a suite of within-season weather conditions relates to Sphagnum growth. We collected weather data, and data on functional traits (length increment, increment biomass, capitulum numerical density and capitulum biomass) and net primary productivity of four Sphagnum species growing in raised bogs and poor fens. Overall, the most important factors were those related moisture conditions. Growing season averages of weather variables (e.g., precipitation and mean temperature) were often as good predictors of Sphagnum functional traits and productivity as early or late seasonal averages, but not necessarily for the same variables. The most sensitive traits to weather fluctuation were length increment (for S. magellanicum agg., S. angustifolium, S. fallax) and numerical density (for S. fuscum). Primary productivity of S. fuscum and S. magellanicum agg. were the highest under warm and wet conditions with S. fuscum being less sensitive to the weather; productivity of S. angustifolium increased under cool and wet conditions; and productivity of S. fallax was the highest under dry weather. Diversity in interspecific response to weather fluctuations may result in high peatland resistance towards environmental variability, and thereby maintaining a stable Sphagnum productivity in time across the mire complex.
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37. |
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38. |
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39. |
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40. |
- Limpens, J., et al.
(författare)
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Climatic modifiers of the response to nitrogen deposition in peat-forming Sphagnum mosses : a meta-analysis
- 2011
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Ingår i: New Phytologist. - : Wiley. - 0028-646X .- 1469-8137. ; 191:2, s. 496-507
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Peatlands in the northern hemisphere have accumulated more atmospheric carbon (C) during the Holocene than any other terrestrial ecosystem, making peatlands long-term C sinks of global importance. Projected increases in nitrogen (N) deposition and temperature make future accumulation rates uncertain. Here, we assessed the impact of N deposition on peatland C sequestration potential by investigating the effects of experimental N addition on Sphagnum moss. We employed meta-regressions to the results of 107 field experiments, accounting for sampling dependence in the data. We found that high N loading (comprising N application rate, experiment duration, background N deposition) depressed Sphagnum production relative to untreated controls. The interactive effects of presence of competitive vascular plants and high tissue N concentrations indicated intensified biotic interactions and altered nutrient stochiometry as mechanisms underlying the detrimental N effects. Importantly, a higher summer temperature (mean for July) and increased annual precipitation intensified the negative effects of N. The temperature effect was comparable to an experimental application of almost 4 g N m(-2) yr(-1) for each 1 degrees C increase. Our results indicate that current rates of N deposition in a warmer environment will strongly inhibit C sequestration by Sphagnum-dominated vegetation.
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41. |
- Limpens, J., et al.
(författare)
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Glasshouse vs field experiments : do they yield ecologically similar results for assessing N impacts on peat mosses?
- 2012
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Ingår i: New Phytologist. - : Wiley. - 0028-646X .- 1469-8137. ; 195:2, s. 408-418
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Peat bogs have accumulated more atmospheric carbon (C) than any other terrestrial ecosystem today. Most of this C is associated with peat moss (Sphagnum) litter. Atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition can decrease Sphagnum production, compromising the C sequestration capacity of peat bogs. The mechanisms underlying the reduced production are uncertain, necessitating multifactorial experiments. We investigated whether glasshouse experiments are reliable proxies for field experiments for assessing interactions between N deposition and environment as controls on Sphagnum N concentration and production. We performed a meta-analysis over 115 glasshouse experiments and 107 field experiments. We found that glasshouse and field experiments gave similar qualitative and quantitative estimates of changes in Sphagnum N concentration in response to N application. However, glasshouse-based estimates of changes in production even qualitative assessments diverged from field experiments owing to a stronger N effect on production response in absence of vascular plants in the glasshouse, and a weaker N effect on production response in presence of vascular plants compared to field experiments. Thus, although we need glasshouse experiments to study how interacting environmental factors affect the response of Sphagnum to increased N deposition, we need field experiments to properly quantify these effects.
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42. |
- Lundgren, Andreas, et al.
(författare)
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Wild boar (Sus scrofa) has minor effects on soil nutrient and carbon dynamics
- 2023
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Ingår i: Ecoscience. - : Taylor & Francis. - 1195-6860 .- 2376-7626. ; 30:2, s. 84-96
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Wild boar populations have increased worldwide, but the consequences of their disturbances on boreal forest ecosystems are largely unknown. We investigated how wild boars affect soil processes in a Swedish boreal forest. We estimated effects on ecosystem functioning using phospholipid fatty acid analyses (PLFA) to characterise microbial groups, and by measuring soil respiration, soil carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) concentrations, as well as the availability of NO3- and NH4+. We compared samples collected inside wild boar enclosures with adjacent reference areas without wild boar disturbance. We found no difference in soil microbial composition, except for a consistently higher fungi:bacteria ratio in the enclosures. These results are contrary to our hypothesis that rooting raises nitrogen levels, which in turn result in more bacteria. Soil nutrient levels showed inconsistent patterns, suggesting that substrate changes - as opposed to nutrient changes - stimulated fungal growth. Soil respiration was lower in the enclosures, contradicting earlier findings suggesting increased soil CO2 emissions from wild boar rooting. Overall, our study suggests that increased wild boar abundance has a minor impact on soil processes in boreal forests. Future studies should determine if the modest impacts remain across time and boreal forests.
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43. |
- Mazziotta, Adriano, et al.
(författare)
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Scaling functional traits to ecosystem processes : Towards a mechanistic understanding in peat mosses
- 2019
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Ingår i: Journal of Ecology. - : Wiley. - 0022-0477 .- 1365-2745. ; 107:2, s. 843-859
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The role of trait trade-offs and environmental filtering in explaining the variability in functional traits and ecosystem processes has received considerable attention for vascular plants but less so for bryophytes. Thus, we do not know whether the same forces also shape the phenotypic variability of bryophytes. Here, we assess how environmental gradients and trade-offs shape functional traits and subsequently ecosystem processes for peat mosses (Sphagnum), a globally important plant genus for carbon accumulation. We used piecewise Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to understand how environmental gradients influence vital processes across levels of biological organization. We gathered data on functional traits for 15 globally important Sphagnum species covering a wide range of ecological preferences. Phenotypes lie along well-established axes of the plant economic spectrum characterizing trade-offs between vital physiological functions. Using SEM, we clarified the mechanisms of trait covariation and scaling to ecosystem processes. We tested whether peat mosses, like vascular plants, constrain trait variability between a fast turnover strategy based on resource acquisition via fast traits and processes, and a strategy of resource conservation, via slow traits and processes. We parameterized a process-based model estimating ecosystem processes linking environmental drivers with architectural and functional traits. In our SEM approach the amount of variance explained varied substantially (0.29 <= R-2 <= 0.82) among traits and processes in Sphagnum, and the model could predict some of them with high to intermediate accuracy for an independent dataset. R-2 variability was mainly explained by traits and species identity, and poorly by environmental filtering. Some Sphagnum species avoid the stress caused by periodic desiccation in hollows via resource acquisition based on fast photosynthesis and growth, while other species are adapted to grow high above the water-table on hummocks by slow physiological traits and processes to conserve resources. Synthesis.We contribute to a unified theory generating individual fitness, canopy dynamics and ecosystem processes from trait variation. As for vascular plants, the functional traits in the Sphagnum economic spectrum are linked into an integrated phenotypic network partly filtered by the environment and shaped by trade-offs in resource acquisition and conservation.
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44. |
- Moore, Paul A., et al.
(författare)
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Assessing the peatland hummock-hollow classification framework using high-resolution elevation models : implications for appropriate complexity ecosystem modeling
- 2019
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Ingår i: Biogeosciences. - : COPERNICUS GESELLSCHAFT MBH. - 1726-4170 .- 1726-4189. ; 16:18, s. 3491-3506
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The hummock-hollow classification framework used to categorize peatland ecosystem microtopography is pervasive throughout peatland experimental designs and current peatland ecosystem modeling approaches. However, identifying what constitutes a representative hummock-hollow pair within a site and characterizing hummock-hollow variability within or between peatlands remains largely unassessed. Using structure from motion (SfM), high-resolution digital elevation models (DEMs) of hummock-hollow microtopography were used to (1) examine how much area needs to be sampled to characterize site-level microtopographic variation; and (2) examine the potential role of microtopographic shape/structure on biogeochemical fluxes using plot-level data from nine northern peatlands. To capture 95% of site-level microtopographic variability, on average, an aggregate sampling area of 32 m(2) composed of 10 randomly located plots was required. Both site(i.e. transect data) and plot-level (i.e. SfM-derived DEM) results show that microtopographic variability can be described as a fractal at the submeter scale, where contributions to total variance are very small below a 0.5 m length scale. Microtopography at the plot level was often found to be non-bimodal, as assessed using a Gaussian mixture model (GMM). Our findings suggest that the non-bimodal distribution of microtopography at the plot level may result in an undersampling of intermediate topographic positions. Extended to the modeling domain, an underrepresentation of intermediate microtopographic positions is shown to lead to potentially large flux biases over a wide range of water table positions for ecosystem processes which are non-linearly related to water and energy availability at the moss surface. Moreover, our simple modeling results suggest that much of the bias can be eliminated by representing microtopography with several classes rather than the traditional two (i.e. hummock/hollow). A range of tools examined herein can be used to easily parameterize peatland models, from GMMs used as simple transfer functions to spatially explicit fractal landscapes based on simple power-law relations between microtopographic variability and scale.
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45. |
- Neovius, Martin, et al.
(författare)
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Risk of suicide and non-fatal self-harm after bariatric surgery: results from two matched cohort studies.
- 2018
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Ingår i: The lancet. Diabetes & endocrinology. - : Elsevier. - 2213-8595 .- 2213-8587. ; 6:3, s. 197-207
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Bariatric surgery reduces mortality, but might have adverse effects on mental health. We assessed the risk of suicide and self-harm after bariatric surgery compared with non-surgical obesity treatment.Suicide and non-fatal self-harm events retrieved from nationwide Swedish registers were examined in two cohorts. The non-randomised, prospective Swedish Obese Subjects (SOS) study compared bariatric surgery (n=2010; 1369 vertical-banded gastroplasty, 376 gastric banding, and 265 gastric bypass) with usual care (n=2037; recruitment 1987-2001). The second cohort consisted of individuals from the Scandinavian Obesity Surgery Registry (SOReg; n=20256 patients who had gastric bypass) matched to individuals treated with intensive lifestyle modification (n=16162; intervention 2006-13) on baseline BMI, age, sex, education level, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, history of self-harm, substance misuse, antidepressant use, anxiolytics use, and psychiatric health-care contacts.During 68528 person-years (median 18; IQR 14-21) in the SOS study, suicides or non-fatal self-harm events were higher in the surgery group (n=87) than in the control group (n=49; adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 1·78, 95% CI 1·23-2·57; p=0·0021); of these events, nine and three were suicides, respectively (3·06, 0·79-11·88; p=0·11). In analyses by primary procedure type, increased risk of suicide or non-fatal self-harm was identified for gastric bypass (3·48, 1·65-7·31; p=0·0010), gastric banding (2·43, 1·23-4·82; p=0·011), and vertical-banded gastroplasty (2·25, 1·37-3·71; p=0·0015) compared with controls. Out of nine deaths by suicide in the SOS surgery group, five occurred after gastric bypass (two primary and three converted procedures). During 149582 person-years (median 3·9; IQR 2·8-5·2), more suicides or non-fatal self-harm events were reported in the SOReg gastric bypass group (n=341) than in the intensive lifestyle group (n=84; aHR 3·16, 2·46-4·06; p<0·0001); of these events, 33 and five were suicides, respectively (5·17, 1·86-14·37; p=0·0017). In SOS, substance misuse during follow-up was recorded in 48% (39/81) of patients treated with surgery and 28% (13/47) of controls with non-fatal self-harm events (p=0·023). Correspondingly, substance misuse during follow-up was recorded in 51% (162/316) of participants in the SOReg gastric bypass group and 29% (23/80) of participants in the intensive lifestyle group with non-fatal self-harm events (p=0·0003). The risk of suicide and self-harm was not associated with poor weight loss outcome.Bariatric surgery was associated with suicide and non-fatal self-harm. However, the absolute risks were low and do not justify a general discouragement of bariatric surgery. The findings indicate a need for thorough preoperative psychiatric history assessment along with provision of information about increased risk of self-harm following surgery. Moreover, the findings call for postoperative surveillance with particular attention to mental health.US National Institutes of Health and Swedish Research Council.
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46. |
- Peacock, Mike, et al.
(författare)
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Significant Emissions From Forest Drainage Ditches : An Unaccounted Term in Anthropogenic Greenhouse Gas Inventories?
- 2021
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research - Biogeosciences. - : American Geophysical Union (AGU). - 2169-8953 .- 2169-8961. ; 126:10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Forestry is a natural climate solution for removing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and reaching net zero emissions. Managed boreal forests typically have extensive drainage ditch networks, and these can be hotspots of anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, potentially offsetting the terrestrial carbon gain. However, there is a lack of data detailing GHG emissions from ditches on mineral soils, where most boreal forestry occurs. Here, we address this knowledge gap using two approaches. First, we conducted a synoptic campaign to measure summer GHG fluxes from 109 boreal forest ditches draining mineral soils within one local region. We found a clear control of ditch water level on methane (CH4), with zero emissions from dry ditches and variable, but often high, emissions from water-filled ditches. Almost all ditches acted as sources of CO2, regardless of water status. Second, we reanalyzed a published data set of boreal forest ditches and streams across three regions where GHG concentrations had been repeatedly measured and detailed catchment information was available. Within this data set we categorized 76 ditches into mineral and peatland catchments and detected no difference in mean CH4 and CO2 concentrations between the two soil types. GHG emissions from ditches draining mineral forest soils can be as large as those from peatland forest ditches. Using literature values for forest GHG uptake we demonstrate that ditch CH4 emissions are particularly important and can offset the terrestrial CH4 uptake. Ignoring ditch emissions, which are anthropogenic in origin, will lead to incorrect estimates of the landscape-scale forest GHG budget.
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47. |
- Pedrotti, E., et al.
(författare)
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Fine-scale dynamics and community stability in boreal peatlands : revisiting a fen and a bog in Sweden after 50 years
- 2014
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Ingår i: Ecosphere. - 2150-8925 .- 2150-8925. ; 5:10, s. 133-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Multi-decadal studies of community and ecosystemdynamics are rare; however, this time frame is most relevant for assessing the impact of anthropogenic influences and climate change on ecosystems. For this reason, we investigated changes in vegetation and microtopography over 52 years in two contrasting mire ecosystems, one ombrotrophic (bog) and one minerotrophic (fen), representing different successional stages and contrasting hydrological settings. In both peatlands, floristic composition was recorded in the same permanent plots (n = 55-56, 0.25 m(2)) in both 1960 and 2012 and microtopography was mapped over a large area (ca. 2500 m(2)) that encompassed these same plots. We quantified and compared the community-level changes and internal spatial dynamics, tested associations between pH/microtopography and community/species change, and examined how the area and location of hummock microforms had changed over time. The bog exhibited little site level change in vegetation, where few species changed significantly in cover and plot frequency. However, detailed analyses revealed some large within-plot changes over time in the bog, illustrating that bogs can be highly dynamic systems at a fine scale. In contrast, the rich fen experienced a clear directional change; specifically, bryophyte abundance decreased by 70% and brown mosses were almost extinct. Although pH had decreased over time at the rich fen, this decrease at the plot-level was not associated with the decline of brown moss abundance. The microtopographic structure did not change substantially at the bog where similar to 70% was covered by lawn/hummocks; however, in the rich fen hummocks expanded (from 10% to 16% cover) and moved or expanded down slope. Our study suggests, that at the site-level, the bog ecosystem was more resistant to environmental changes over time compared to the rich fen, as evidenced by shifts in vegetation and microtopography. The contrasting scales of vegetation dynamics observed within a bog (i.e., within-plot changes vs. site-level) indicate that plant-environment feedbacks contribute to the peatland level stability. While in rich fens, internal feedbacks may be weaker and the ecosystem's vegetation and microtopographic structure are vulnerable to shifting hydrological fluxes.
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48. |
- Perez-Izquierdo, Leticia, et al.
(författare)
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Crown-fire severity is more important than ground-fire severity in determining soil fungal community development in the boreal forest
- 2021
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Ingår i: Journal of Ecology. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0022-0477 .- 1365-2745. ; 109:1, s. 504-518
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Wildfire shapes the structure, dynamic and functioning of boreal forests. With predicted warmer and drier summers, increased incidence and intensity of crown-fires may affect plant-soil interactions with consequences for post-fire fertility and forest productivity. We assessed how severity of crown- and ground-fire in boreal pine forests affected post-fire responses of soil fungal communities and their associated enzyme activities, and how variation in fire severity interacts with salvage (post-fire) logging in impacting soil fungi. Crown fire-induced tree mortality had a stronger impact on fungal biomass and community composition than did ground-fire-induced loss of soil organic matter. Severe crown-fire led to replacement of ectomycorrhizal- and litter-associated fungi by stress-tolerant ascomycetes. Elevated activities of hydrolytic enzymes in burned areas were correlated with root-associated ascomycetes and moulds, suggesting opportunistic exploitation of labile organic substrates. Fire did not, however, increase the abundance of more potent basidiomycete decomposers in the organic layer, nor did it enhance organic matter oxidation by fungal peroxidases, indicating that the potential for major post-fire losses of carbon due to stimulated decomposition is limited. Rather, peroxidase activity was low in burned areas, likely reflecting the absence of ectomycorrhizal fungi. Post-fire salvage logging induced larger shifts in fungal communities in areas with low crown-fire severity. Synthesis. Historically, boreal pine forests have been shaped by low-severity ground-fires. Our study highlights a risk that increasing occurrence of high-severity crown-fire as climate warms will have detrimental effects on mycorrhizal-mediated functions that are pivotal for maintaining organic matter turnover, soil fertility and forest resilience.
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49. |
- Pérez-Izquierdo, Leticia, et al.
(författare)
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Fire severity as a key determinant of aboveground and belowground biological community recovery in managed even-aged boreal forests
- 2023
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Ingår i: Ecology and Evolution. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 2045-7758. ; 13:5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Changes in fire regime of boreal forests in response to climate warming are expected to impact postfire recovery. However, quantitative data on how managed forests sustain and recover from recent fire disturbance are limited.Two years after a large wildfire in managed even-aged boreal forests in Sweden, we investigated how recovery of aboveground and belowground communities, that is, understory vegetation and soil microbial and faunal communities, responded to variation in the severity of soil (i.e., consumption of soil organic matter) and canopy fires (i.e., tree mortality).While fire overall enhanced diversity of understory vegetation through colonization of fire adapted plant species, it reduced the abundance and diversity of soil biota. We observed contrasting effects of tree- and soil-related fire severity on survival and recovery of understory vegetation and soil biological communities. Severe fires that killed overstory Pinus sylvestris promoted a successional stage dominated by the mosses Ceratodon purpureus and Polytrichum juniperinum, but reduced regeneration of tree seedlings and disfavored the ericaceous dwarf-shrub Vaccinium vitis-idaea and the grass Deschampsia flexuosa. Moreover, high tree mortality from fire reduced fungal biomass and changed fungal community composition, in particular that of ectomycorrhizal fungi, and reduced the fungivorous soil Oribatida. In contrast, soil-related fire severity had little impact on vegetation composition, fungal communities, and soil animals. Bacterial communities responded to both tree- and soil-related fire severity.Synthesis: Our results 2 years postfire suggest that a change in fire regime from a historically low-severity ground fire regime, with fires that mainly burns into the soil organic layer, to a stand-replacing fire regime with a high degree of tree mortality, as may be expected with climate change, is likely to impact the short-term recovery of stand structure and above- and belowground species composition of even-aged P. sylvestris boreal forests.
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50. |
- Piatkowski, Bryan T., et al.
(författare)
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Draft Metagenome Sequences of the Sphagnum (Peat Moss) Microbiome from Ambient and Warmed Environments across Europe
- 2022
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Ingår i: Microbiology Resource Announcements. - : American Society for Microbiology. - 2576-098X. ; 11:10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present 49 metagenome assemblies of the microbiome associated with Sphagnum (peat moss) collected from ambient, artificially warmed, and geothermally warmed conditions across Europe. These data will enable further research regarding the impact of climate change on plant-microbe symbiosis, ecology, and ecosystem functioning of northern peatland ecosystems.
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