Featured
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Research Briefing |
Soil mosses provide critical ecosystem services across the globe
Field studies reveal that carbon sequestration, nutrient cycling, organic matter decomposition and soil-borne plant pathogen control are greater in soils beneath mosses than in unvegetated soils. Based on these studies, modelling shows the likely extent of soil moss cover and underlines its value to the planet.
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Article
| Open Access
Global patterns of water storage in the rooting zones of vegetation
Global estimations of the water-storage capacity in the rooting zone from satellite data reveal plant access to deep water across a third of Earth’s vegetated surface.
- Benjamin D. Stocker
- , Shersingh Joseph Tumber-Dávila
- & Robert B. Jackson
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Article
| Open Access
Shifts in vegetation activity of terrestrial ecosystems attributable to climate trends
An analysis fusing satellite data with a process-based model of plant growth attributes changes in vegetation activity across terrestrial ecosystems to climatic changes.
- Steven I. Higgins
- , Timo Conradi
- & Edward Muhoko
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Perspective |
Formation of necromass-derived soil organic carbon determined by microbial death pathways
Microbial death pathways affect the quantity and composition of microbial necromass and its associated soil organic carbon.
- Tessa Camenzind
- , Kyle Mason-Jones
- & Johannes Lehmann
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Article |
Soil organic matter formation and loss are mediated by root exudates in a temperate forest
The amount and composition of carbon compounds released from plant roots into soil influences soil carbon formation and loss, according to an artificial root exudate experiment using intact soil cores from a temperate forest.
- Nikhil R. Chari
- & Benton N. Taylor
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Perspective |
Confronting the water potential information gap
Continuous and discoverable observations of water potential could vastly improve understanding of biophysical processes throughout the soil–plant–atmosphere continuum and are achievable thanks to recent technological advances.
- Kimberly A. Novick
- , Darren L. Ficklin
- & Jeffrey D. Wood
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Article |
Global carbon dioxide efflux from rivers enhanced by high nocturnal emissions
Failing to account for emission differences between day and night will lead to an underestimate of global CO2 emissions from rivers by up to 0.55 PgC yr–1, according to analyses of high-frequency CO2 measurements.
- Lluís Gómez-Gener
- , Gerard Rocher-Ros
- & Ryan A. Sponseller
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News & Views |
Earth’s soil harbours ancient carbon
Organic carbon in the top metre of Earth’s soils is far older than previously thought, averaging 4,800 years old. These radiocarbon-derived age estimates require us to recalibrate our expectations of ecosystem gains and losses of carbon.
- Sharon A. Billings
- & Lígia F. T. de Souza
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Matters Arising |
Complexities between plants and the atmosphere
- Bin Wang
- , Herman H. Shugart
- & Manuel T. Lerdau
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Article |
Higher resilience to climatic disturbances in tropical vegetation exposed to more variable rainfall
Tropical forests and savannah are more resilient to climate disturbances when they have been exposed to higher rainfall variability in the long-term past, finds an analysis of Brazilian rainfall and tree-cover observations.
- Catrin Ciemer
- , Niklas Boers
- & Ricarda Winkelmann
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Article |
Low buffering capacity and slow recovery of anthropogenic phosphorus pollution in watersheds
Watersheds have a low buffering capacity for phosphorus inputs, and their recovery from phosphorus pollution can take over 2,000 years, according to an analysis of phosphorus data from a large North American river.
- J. -O. Goyette
- , E. M. Bennett
- & R. Maranger
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News & Views |
Intercepted by lichens
Rainfall interception by vegetation is an underappreciated part of the terrestrial hydrological cycle. Numerical modelling shows that non-vascular plants, such as lichens, substantially increase the interception capacity of the land surface.
- Hubert H. G. Savenije
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Article |
Significant contribution of non-vascular vegetation to global rainfall interception
Non-vascular vegetation, such as mosses and lichens, can intercept and evaporate substantial amounts of precipitation at a global scale, suggest numerical simulations and comparisons to field observations.
- Philipp Porada
- , John T. Van Stan II
- & Axel Kleidon
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Article |
A global analysis of terrestrial plant litter dynamics in non-perennial waterways
Rewetting of plant litter accumulated in dry riverbeds releases pulses of CO2, reveals a global analysis of intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams.
- T. Datry
- , A. Foulquier
- & A. Zoppini
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Article |
Continental-scale decrease in net primary productivity in streams due to climate warming
An increase in stream temperature leads to a convergence of metabolic balance, overall decline in net ecosystem productivity, and higher CO2 emissions from streams, according to analyses of temperature sensitivity of stream metabolism across six biomes.
- Chao Song
- , Walter K. Dodds
- & Ford Ballantyne IV
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News & Views |
Warming from freezing soils
Freezing and thawing of soils leads to large pulses of nitrous oxide release. An empirical model shows that cropland winter nitrous oxide emissions are substantial, calling for a revision of the global nitrous oxide budget.
- Klaus Butterbach-Bahl
- & Benjamin Wolf
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Progress Article |
Substantial role of macroalgae in marine carbon sequestration
Marine macroalgae are dominant primary producers in coastal zones. A review of the published literature suggests that macroalgae may play an important role in carbon sequestration.
- Dorte Krause-Jensen
- & Carlos M. Duarte
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Letter |
Biomass production efficiency controlled by management in temperate and boreal ecosystems
Some of the energy from photosynthesis is used in production of biomass. An analysis of plant productivity measurements reveals that site management is the main factor controlling how efficiently plants produce biomass, not fertility.
- M. Campioli
- , S. Vicca
- & I. A. Janssens
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Letter |
Sources of and processes controlling CO2 emissions change with the size of streams and rivers
Rivers and streams are key sources of CO2. Estimated emissions and aquatic productivity from across the US show that small streams predominantly emit CO2 produced in soils, but the contribution from aquatic metabolism increases with river size.
- E. R. Hotchkiss
- , R. O. Hall Jr
- & J. Karlsson
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Editorial |
Ecology in a changing climate
Complex ecological and evolutionary controls of forest dynamics make projecting the future difficult.
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Letter |
Persistence of dissolved organic matter in lakes related to its molecular characteristics
Organic matter’s molecular structure has been thought to influence its decomposition. Analyses of dissolved organic carbon in Swedish lakes found that aliphatic and N-containing compounds persisted, while oxidized aromatic compounds were lost.
- Anne M. Kellerman
- , Dolly N. Kothawala
- & Lars J. Tranvik
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Article |
Landscape biogeochemistry reflected in shifting distributions of chemical traits in the Amazon forest canopy
The controls on plant functional diversity are unclear. Analysis of spectral data from the tree canopy in the Amazonian lowlands implies that plant functional traits are influenced by nutrient supply, which in turn varies with topography.
- Gregory P. Asner
- , Christopher B. Anderson
- & Felipe Sinca
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News & Views |
Fire evolution split by continent
Boreal forest fires tend to be more intense and lethal in North America than Eurasia. Differences in tree species composition explain these differences in fire regime, and lead to contrasting feedbacks to climate.
- Mike Flannigan
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News & Views |
Old carbon mobilized
Soil contains aged organic carbon that can be hundreds or thousands of years old. Human disturbance in small and large watersheds is mobilizing some of this fossil carbon from soils to aquatic systems.
- Chris Evans
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Article |
Functional diversity of marine ecosystems after the Late Permian mass extinction event
At least two-thirds of marine genera died out during the end-Permian mass extinction about 252 million years ago. An analysis of extinct and surviving taxa shows no substantial loss in global functional diversity, although there were significant losses in some settings such as tropical reefs.
- William J. Foster
- & Richard J. Twitchett
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Commentary |
Where the genes flow
Particles of organic matter in the ocean host diverse communities of microorganisms. These particles may serve as hotspots of bacterial gene exchange, creating opportunities for microbial evolution.
- Frank J. Stewart
Dominant role of soil moisture in mediating carbon and water fluxes in dryland ecosystems
Links between life and landscapes