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Field work sites in a Mediterranean shrubland at Garraf, Catalonia (Spain). Photo by: GEU

 

Global warming and reduced precipitation may trigger large-scale species losses and vegetation shifts in ecosystems around the world. However, the combined effects of temperature and precipitation are highly context-dependent. For example, both warming and decreased precipitation may increase the aridity of an already dry and warm habitat, thereby limiting plant growth. But, in cooler habitats not limited by water, warming may have positive effects on the vegetation (e.g. extending the growing season and promoting growth and reproduction) and decreasing precipitation may have little effect on plant growth.

In a new study in the journal New Phytologist authors conducted long-term (16 yr) nocturnal-warming (+0.6°C) and reduced precipitation (-20% soil moisture) experiments in a Mediterranean shrubland. Authors classified the species in the community into climatic niche groups (CNGs) using temperature and precipitation variables in order to determine community compositional change with respect to the different treatments.

“By applying a CNG approach to manipulation experiments, we provide valuable evidence that climatic niche distributions may be able to identify which species may be most vulnerable to shifts in these climate change factors either independently or in conjunction”, said Daijun Liu from CREAF-CSIC Barcelona.

This study indicates that the decline in the abundance of some climate sensitive species may be balanced by an increase in resistant species distributed in warmer or drier niches. “This was seen in our study with the delayed increase in species associated with dry climates in our drought treatment (e.g. Globularia alypum). Indeed, growing observational and experimental evidence suggests that communities are shifting towards a higher proportion of species associated with warmer climates in response to global warming”, said Prof. Josep Peñuelas from CREAF-CSIC Barcelona

“Therefore, evidence provided here from the CNG approach suggests that it may be possible to depict, on a global scale, how the magnitude of changes to either temperature and/or precipitation may affect those climate-sensitive species”, added Daijun Liu from CREAF-CSIC Barcelona.

The study findings indicate that when climatic distributions are combined with experiments, the resulting incorporation of local plant evolutionary strategies and their changing dynamics over time leads to predictable and informative shifts in community structure under independent climate change scenarios.

“We thus advocate the combined use of both manipulation experiments and the climatic niche principle to improve assessments of community responses to future climate change scenarios”, said Prof. Josep Peñuelas from CREAF-CSIC Barcelona.

 

Reference: Liu, D., Peñuelas, J., Ogaya, R., Estiarte, M., Tielbörger, K., Slowik, F., Yang, X., Bilton, M.C. 2018. Species selection under long-term experimental warming and drought explained by climatic distributions. New Phytologist (2018) 217: 1494–1506, doi: 10.1111/nph.1492.

 

 

Limiting water availability is a recurrent phenomenon and governs plant growth and phenology in arid, semi-arid and Mediterranean ecosystems. Moreover, in temperate, boreal and tropical ecosystems, sporadic prolonged dry periods can lead to water-limited conditions and can have far-reaching impacts on ecosystem carbon balance and structure.

In a new study in the journal New Phytologist authors investigate “agricultural droughts” characterized for having impacts on vegetation production, including seasonally recurring dry conditions.

Terrestrial primary production and carbon cycle impacts of droughts are commonly quantified using vapour pressure deficit data and remotely sensed greenness. However, soil moisture limitation is known to strongly affect plant physiology.

In this study, authors investigate light use efficiency, which means the ratio of gross primary production to absorbed light. Authors derive its fractional reduction due to soil moisture (fLUE), separated from vapour pressure deficit and greenness changes, using artificial neural networks trained on eddy covariance data, multiple soil moisture datasets and remotely sensed greenness.

“This analysis reveals substantial impacts of soil moisture alone that reduce gross primary production by up to 40% at sites located in sub-humid, semi-arid or arid regions. For sites in relatively moist climates, authors find, paradoxically, a muted fLUE response to drying soil, but reduced fLUE under wet conditions.

“We show that accounting for soil moisture effects, in addition to vapour pressure deficit, is critical for the estimation of vegetation production across the globe and to quantify drought impacts”, said Dr. Benjamin Dr. Stocker from CREAF-CSIC Barcelona.

fLUE identifies substantial drought impacts that are not captured when relying solely on vapour pressure deficit and greenness changes and, when seasonally recurring, are missed by traditional, anomaly-based drought indices. Counter to common assumptions, fLUE reductions are largest in drought-deciduous vegetation, including grasslands.

“Our results indicate that local hydrological conditions are important for understanding drought impacts on vegetation production, highlighting the necessity to account for soil moisture limitation in terrestrial primary production data products, especially for drought-related assessments”, said Prof. Josep Peñuelas from CREAF-CSIC Barcelona.

Reference: Stocker, B.D., Zscheischler, J., Keenan, T.F., Prentice, I.C., Peñuelas, J., Seneviratne, S.I. 2018. Quantifying soil moisture impacts on light use efficiency across biomes. New Phytologist (2018) 218: 1430–1449. doi: 10.1111/nph.15123. doi: 10.1111/nph.15123

 

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Seminars in Xiamen (CAS) and Beijing (Peking University)

 

Prof. Josep Penuelas visited China the first two weeks of May 2018 as grantee of the Distinguished Fellow of the Chinese Academy of Science.

During his stay Prof. Penuelas gave talks and conducted seminars in various centres: Institute of Urban Environment (CAS) in Xiamen, Nanjing Institute of Soil Sciences, Jiaxing Institute of Agricultural Sciences, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences (Peking University, Beijing), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research (CAS), Research Center for Eco-environmental Sciences (CAS) in Beijing. He also visited several field sites and farms where to initiate new studies of human genes, microbiota and pollutants  expansion. These meetings with colleagues and students of the different centres have been very enriching and have promoted cooperation between the ERC Synergy Imbalance-P project and current and future ecological and environmental research activities in China.

 

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Field sites in Nanjing Institute of Soil Sciences and Jiaxing Institute

 

 

 

El continente africano está encarando uno de los periodos más secos de las últimas 3 décadas y además continua sufriendo una fuerte deforestación. Los bosques y sabanas africanas han sido objeto de especial atención dado que tanto el cambio climático como las presiones en los usos del suelo han tenido grandes impactos en las reservas de carbono de su vegetación leñosa, con consecuencias inmediatas para el balance global de carbono.

En un nuevo estudio publicado en la revista Nature Ecology and Evolution los científicos han usado nuevos datos del espesor óptico de la vegetación obtenidos vía satélite y basados en microondas pasivas de baja frecuencia (L-VOD en su acrónimo en inglés) para cuantificar cambios en el contenido de carbono de las partes leñosas no enterradas de la vegetación del África sub-Sahariana, entre 2010 y 2016.

“Estudios recientes han mostrado que se ha subestimado fuertemente el número de árboles presentes en zonas áridas. Se ha omitido, así, la reserva de carbono que estos árboles suponen en las evaluaciones globales. El conocimiento de la cantidad, distribución y rotación de carbono en la vegetación africana es clave para comprender los efectos de la presión humana y del cambio climático, pero las carencias en los satélites radar y ópticos y la falta de inventarios de campo sistemáticos han generado una gran incertidumbre en la documentación de las reservas de carbono, y de sus cambios a largo plazo en el continente africano”, ha comentado el Dr. Martin Brandt de la Universidad de Copenhagen.

En este estudio, los autores aplican por primera vez la L:VOD para cuantificar las dinámicas inter-anuales de las reservas de carbono por encima del suelo para el periodo 2010-2016. “Presentamos un análisis temporal de patrones de ganancia y pérdida de carbono en diferentes zonas húmedas del África sub-sahariana en respuesta a la sequía sufrida los últimos años”, ha comentado el Dr. Martin Brandt de la Universidad de Copenhagen.

Se observó un cambio neto general en las reservas de carbono en zonas áridas de -0.07 PG C y -1 asociado a un aumento de la sequía, y un cambio neto de -0.03 Pg C y-1 en áreas húmedas. Estas tendencias reflejan una alta variabilidad inter-anual entre años muy húmedos (2011 y 2013; cambios netos de +0.33 y +1.13 Pg C) y un año muy seco (2015; cambio neto de -1.1 Pg C), asociados, respectivamente, a ganancias y pérdidas de carbono.

“En el presente estudio demostramos, primero, la aplicabilidad de L-VOD para monitorear las pérdidas de carbono debidas a variaciones climáticas, y, segundo, la importancia de las reservas de carbono altamente dinámicas y vulnerables de las sabanas de zonas áridas para el balance global de carbono, a pesar de presentar relativamente bajas reservas de carbono por unidad de área”, ha comentado el Prof. Josep Peñuelas del CREAF-CSIC Barcelona.

Para los autores, este estudio destaca la importancia del monitoreo temporal tanto de la deforestación tropical como de las reservas de carbono en la vegetación leñosa de los ecosistemas de sabana para la evaluación de las reservas globales de carbono.

 

Referencia: Brandt, M., Wigneron, J., Chave, J., Tagesson, T., Penuelas, J., Ciais, P., Rasmussen, K., Tian, F., Mbow, C., Al-Yaari, A., Rodriguez-Fernandez, N., Schurgers, G., Zhang, W., Chang, J., Kerr, Y., Verger, A., Tucker, C., Mialon, A., Vang Rasmussen, L., Fan, L., Fensholt, R. 2018. Satellite passive microwaves reveal recent climate-induced carbon losses in African drylands. Nature Ecology & Evolution, doi: 10.1038/s41559-018-0530-6.

 

The African continent is facing one of the driest periods in the past three decades and continuing deforestation. The forests and savannahs of Africa have attracted particular attention because both climate change and land-use pressure have large impacts on the carbon stocks of woody vegetation, with immediate consequences for the global carbon balance.

In a new study in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution scientists used a new satellite data set based on vegetation optical depth derived from low frequency passive microwaves (L-VOD) to quantify annual aboveground woody carbon changes in sub-Saharan Africa between 2010 and 2016.

“Recent work showed that the number of trees in global drylands has been greatly underestimated: a carbon stock neglected in global assessments. Knowledge of the amount, distribution, and turnover of carbon in African vegetation is crucial for understanding the effects of human pressure and climate change, but the shortcomings of optical and radar satellite products and the lack of systematic field inventories have led to considerable uncertainty in documenting patterns of carbon stocks, and their long-term change over the African continent”, said Dr. Martin Brandt from University of Copenhagen.

In this study, authors apply for the first time L-VOD to quantify the inter-annual dynamics of aboveground carbon stocks for the period 2010-2016. “Based on calibrated relationships between L-VOD and an existing benchmark map we present and analyse temporal patterns of gains and losses in different humidity zones of sub-Saharan Africa in response to recent dry years”, said Dr. Martin Brandt from University of Copenhagen.

The overall net change in carbon stocks in drylands was -0.07 Pg C y-1 associated with drying trends, and a net change of -0.03 Pg C y-1 was observed in humid areas. These trends reflect a high inter-annual variability with very wet years (2011 and 2013; net changes +0.33 and +1.13 Pg C) and a very dry year (2015; net change -1.1 Pg C) associated with carbon gains and losses respectively.

“In this study we demonstrate, first, the applicability of L-VOD to monitor the dynamics of carbon loss and gain due to climate variations, and second, the importance of the highly dynamic and vulnerable carbon pool of dryland savannahs for the global carbon balance, despite the relatively low carbon stock per unit area”, said Prof. Josep Peñuelas from CREAF-CSIC Barcelona.

For the authors this study thereby highlights the importance of timely monitoring of both tropical deforestation and the highly dynamic woody carbon stocks of savannah ecosystems for assessments of global carbon stocks.

Journal Reference: Brandt, M., Wigneron, J., Chave, J., Tagesson, T., Penuelas, J., Ciais, P., Rasmussen, K., Tian, F., Mbow, C., Al-Yaari, A., Rodriguez-Fernandez, N., Schurgers, G., Zhang, W., Chang, J., Kerr, Y., Verger, A., Tucker, C., Mialon, A., Vang Rasmussen, L., Fan, L., Fensholt, R. 2018. Satellite passive microwaves reveal recent climate-induced carbon losses in African drylands. Nature Ecology & Evolution, doi: 10.1038/s41559-018-0530-6.

 

 

L’aforestació és un tipus de canvi en els usos del sòl inicialment destinat a la producció de fusta, la conservació d’aigua i sòl, incrementar l’emmagatzematge de carboni i la mitigació del canvi climàtic. Aquest estudi mostra com la reforestació canvia a més una variable clau del sòl, el seu pH. Fotografia: Pixabay

 

El pH del sòl, el qual mesura la seva acidesa o alcalinitat, està associat a moltes propietats dels sòls com ara l’equilibri iònic, les comunitats microbianes, o els continguts en matèria orgànica. El pH del sòl regula també els processos biogeoquímics del sòl i genera efectes en cascada sobre l’estructura i funcions dels ecosistemes terrestres.

L’aforestació ha sigut una eina àmpliament adoptada per tal d’incrementar el segrest de carboni dels sòls i millorar la preservació tant de l’aigua com del sòl. Tot i això, l’efecte de l’aforestació sobre el pH del sòl és encara poc conegut.

Un nou estudi realitzat per un equip internacional de científics i publicat a la revista Nature Communications, presenta els resultats de la seva recerca orientada a avaluar els canvis en el pH del sòl generats per l’aforestació (establir boscos a llocs on no n’hi ha hagut un des de feia molt de temps). Aquesta avaluació l’han realitzada mitjançant la presa de mostres emparellades en 549 localitats aforestades i 148 localitats de control del Nord de la Xina, considerant diferents espècies d’arbres i al llarg de gradient de pH del sòl.

Els autors han trobat una neutralització significativa del pH del sòl deguda a l’aforestació, que disminueix el pH en sòls relativament alcalins i incrementa el pH en sòls relativament àcids. El llindar del pH del sòl (TpH), el punt al quan l’aforestació canvia d’incrementar a disminuir el pH del sòl, són especifiques de cada espècie d’arbre, en un rang que va de 5.5 (Pinus karaiensis) a 7.3 (Populus spp) amb un promig de 6.3.

L’estudi permet una millor comprensió de com l’aforestació genera impactes en el pH del sòl al llarg d’un ampli rang de tipologies de sòl i d’aforestacions amb espècies diverses d’arbres. Aquesta comprensió és bàsica per desenvolupar estratègies de mitigació del canvi climàtic i de plans de sostenibilitat ecològica.

“El nostre estudi indica que l’aforestació, amb una apropiada selecció d’espècies d’arbres, té el potencial de mitigació de l’acidificació del sòl causada per la deposició àcida”, comenta el Dr. Songbai Hong del Sino-French Institute for Earth System Science, Peking University.

“Els resultats d’aquest estudi ens indiquen que l’aforestació pot modificar el pH del sòl si les espècies d’arbres i el pH inicial estan correctament ajustats, el què potencialment pot millorar la fertilitat del sòl i promoure la productivitat dels ecosistemes”, ha dit el Prof. Josep Peñuelas del CREAF-CSIC Barcelona.

Segons els autors, són necessaris més estudis de camp per tal de determinar quines són les millors espècies d’arbres per a l’aforestació segons les propietats del sòl, la disponibilitat d’aigua, la idoneïtat del clima, l’ecosistema i els objectius socioeconòmics.

Referencia: Hong, S., Piao, s., Chen, A., Liu, Y., Liu, L., Peng, S., Sardans, J., Sun, Y., Peñuelas, J., Zeng, H. 2017. Afforestation neutralizes soil pH. Nature Communications, (2018) 9:520. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-02970-1.

La aforestación es un tipo de cambio en los usos del suelo inicialmente destinado a la producción de madera, la conservación de agua y suelo, a incrementar el almacenaje de carbono y la mitigación del cambio climático. Este estudio muestra como la aforestación cambia además una variable clave del suelo, su pH. Fotografía: Pixabay

 

El pH del suelo, el cual mide su acidez o alcalinidad, está asociado a muchas propiedades de los suelos como el equilibrio iónico, las comunidades microbianas, o los contenidos en materia orgánica. El pH del suelo regula también los procesos biogeoquímicos del suelo y genera efectos en cascada sobre la estructura y funciones de los ecosistemas terrestres.

La aforestación ha sido una herramienta ampliamente adoptada para incrementar la retención de carbono de los suelos y mejorar la preservación tanto del agua como del suelo. A pesar de ello, el efecto de la aforestación sobre el pH del suelo es todavía poco conocido.

Un nuevo estudio realizado por un equipo internacional de científicos y publicado en la revista Nature Communications, presenta los resultados de su investigación orientada a evaluar los cambios en el pH del suelo generados por la aforestación (establecimiento de bosques en lugares en los que desde hacía mucho tiempo no había ninguno). Esta evaluación se ha realizado mediante la toma de muestras emparejadas en 549 localidades aforestadas y 148 localidades de control del Norte de la China, teniendo en cuenta diferentes especies de árboles y a lo largo de un gradiente de pH del suelo.

Los autores han hallado una neutralización significativa del pH del suelo debida a la aforestación, de este modo, la aforestación disminuye el pH en suelos relativamente alcalinos e incrementa en suelos relativamente ácidos. El umbral del pH del suelo (TpH), el punto en el cual la aforestación cambia de incrementar a disminuir el pH del suelo, es específico de cada especie de árbol, con un rango que va de 5.5 (Pinus karaiensis) a 7.3 (Populus spp), y un promedio de 6.3.

El estudio permite una mejor comprensión de cómo la aforestación genera impactos en el pH del suelo a lo largo de un amplio rango de tipologías de suelo y de aforestaciones con diferentes especies de árboles. Esta comprensión es básica para poder desarrollar estrategias de mitigación del cambio climático y de planes de sostenibilidad ecológica.

“Nuestro estudio indica que la aforestación, con una apropiada selección de especies de árboles, tiene el potencial de mitigación de la acidificación del suelo causada por la deposición ácida”, comenta el Dr. Songbai Hong del Sino-French Institute for Earth System Science, Peking University.

“Nuestros resultados indican que la aforestación puede modificar el pH del suelo si las especies de árboles y el pH inicial están correctamente ajustados, lo que potencialmente puede mejorar además la fertilidad del suelo y promover la productividad del ecosistema”, comenta el Prof. Josep Peñuelas del CREAF-CSIC Barcelona.

Según los autores, son necesarios más estudios de campo para poder determinar cuáles son las mejores especies de árboles para la aforestación según las propiedades del suelo, la disponibilidad de agua, la idoneidad del clima, el ecosistema y los objetivos socioeconómicos.

Referencia: Hong, S., Piao, s., Chen, A., Liu, Y., Liu, L., Peng, S., Sardans, J., Sun, Y., Peñuelas, J., Zeng, H. 2017. Afforestation neutralizes soil pH. Nature Communications, (2018) 9:520. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-02970-1.

Afforestation is a type of land use change project primarily designated for wood production, soil and water conservation, increasing carbon storage and mitigating climate change. This study shows that afforestation changes, moreover, soil pH, that is a key soil variable. Photo by: Pixabay

 

Soil pH, which measures the acidity or alkalinity of soils, is associated with many soil properties such as hydrolysis equilibrium of ions, microbial communities, and organic matter contents. Soil pH regulates soil biogeochemical processes and has cascading effects on terrestrial ecosystem structure and functions.

Afforestation has been widely adopted to increase terrestrial carbon sequestration and enhance water and soil preservation. However, the effect of afforestation on soil pH is still poorly understood and inconclusive.

In a new study in the journal Nature Communications scientists investigate the afforestation-caused soil pH changes with pairwise samplings from 549 afforested and 148 control plots in northern China, across different tree species and soil pH gradient.

Authors find significant soil pH neutralization by afforestation—afforestation lowers pH in relatively alkaline soils but raises pH in relatively acid soils. The soil pH thresholds (TpH), the point when afforestation changes from increasing to decreasing soil pH, are species-specific, ranging from 5.5 (Pinus koraiensis) to 7.3 (Populus spp.) with a mean of 6.3.

The study provides improved understandings on how afforestation impacts soil pH across a broad range of soil types and afforestation tree species, which is critical for developing climate change mitigation strategies and ecological sustainability plans.

“Our study indicates that afforestation has the potential to alleviate soil acidification caused by enhanced acidic deposition with the appropriate selection of tree species and thus could further increase ecosystem productivity and carbon sequestration”, said Dr. Songbai Hong from Sino-French Institute for Earth System Science, Peking University.

 

“Our findings indicate that afforestation can modify soil pH if tree species and initial pH are properly matched, which may potentially improve soil fertility and promote ecosystem productivity”, said Prof. Josep Peñuelas from CREAF-CSIC Barcelona.

According to the authors, further field studies are still needed to determine best tree species for afforestation according to soil properties, water availability and climate suitability, and designated ecosystem and socioeconomic goals.

Journal Reference: Hong, S., Piao, s., Chen, A., Liu, Y., Liu, L., Peng, S., Sardans, J., Sun, Y., Peñuelas, J., Zeng, H. 2017. Afforestation neutralizes soil pH. Nature Communications, (2018) 9:520. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-02970-1.

 

Large herbivores are a major agent in ecosystems, influencing vegetation structure and carbon and nutrient flows (shattering woody vegetation and consuming large amounts of foliage). Despite the non-negligible ecological impacts of large herbivores, most of the current DGVMs, or land surface models that include a dynamic vegetation module, lack explicit representation of large herbivores and their interactions with vegetation.

During the last glacial period, the steppe-tundra ecosystem prevailed on the unglaciated northern lands, hosting a high diversity and density of megafaunal herbivores. The apparent discrepancy between the late Pleistocene dry and cold climates and the abundant herbivorous fossil fauna found in the mammoth steppe biome has provoked long-standing debates, termed as “productivity paradox” by some paleontologists.

In a new study in the journal Nature Ecology and -Evolution scientists, aiming to address the productivity paradox, incorporated a grazing module in the ORCHIDEE-MICT DGVM model. “This grazing module is based on physiological and demographic equations for wild large grazers, describing grass forage intake and metabolic rates dependent on body size, and demographic parameters describing the reproduction and mortality rates of large grazers”, explained Dr. Dan Zhu from the Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement, LSCE CEA CNRS UVSQ, France.

In the study authors also extended the modelling domain to the globe for two distinct periods, present-day and the last glacial maximum (ca. 21 ka BP). The present-day results of potential grazer biomass, combined with an empirical land use map, infer a reduction of wild grazer biomass by 79-93% due to anthropogenic land replacement over natural grasslands.

For the last glacial maximum, authors find that the larger mean body size of mammalian herbivores than today is the crucial clue to explain the productivity paradox, due to a more efficient exploitation of grass production by grazers with a larger-body size. Evidences from fossil and extant mammal species have shown a long-term trend towards increasing body size in mammals throughout the Cenozoic, this indicates selective advantages of larger body sizes, such as larger guts of herbivores that allow microbes to break down low-quality plant materials, and higher tolerance to coldness and starvation. “Our results show quantitatively the importance of body size to explain the productivity paradox, as a larger-body size enables grazers to live on the mammoth steppe in substantial densities during the LGM, despite colder temperatures and shorter growing seasons than today”, said Dr. Philippe Ciais from the Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement, LSCE CEA CNRS UVSQ, France.

For the authors large herbivores might have fundamentally modified Pleistocene ecosystems; therefore, “to bring them into large-scale land surface models would help us better understand the intricate interactions among climate, plants and animals that shaped the biosphere”, said Prof. Josep Peñuelas from CREAF-CSIC Barcelona.

Journal Reference: Zhu, D., CIiais, P., Chang, J., Krinner, G., Peng, S., Viovy, N., Peñuelas, J., Zimov, S. 2018. The large mean body size of mammalian herbivores explains the productivity paradox during the last glacial maximum. Nature Ecology & Evolution