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Article
| Open AccessTemperature alters the predator-prey size relationships and size-selectivity of Southern Ocean fish
Using prey size measurements from ten Southern Ocean lanternfish species sampled across >10° of latitude, this study shows that higher temperatures were associated with smaller fish and an overall decrease in the size of fish relative to their prey. Ocean warming may therefore alter the diversity and size structuring of trophic interactions, reducing the stability of marine ecosystems.
- Patrick Eskuche-Keith
- , Simeon L. Hill
- & Eoin J. O’Gorman
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Article
| Open AccessNutrient-induced acidification modulates soil biodiversity-function relationships
Nutrient enrichment is a major global change component. Here the authors show that soil acidification induced by nutrient enrichment, rather than changes in mineral nutrient and carbon availability, modulates soil biodiversity-function relationships
- Zhengkun Hu
- , Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo
- & Manqiang Liu
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Article
| Open AccessMeta-analysis shows the impacts of ecological restoration on greenhouse gas emissions
International initiatives set ambitious targets for ecological restoration. Here, the authors conduct a meta-analysis to quantify the impacts of ecological restoration on greenhouse gas emissions and find that forest, grassland, and wetland restoration reduce global warming potential.
- Tiehu He
- , Weixin Ding
- & Quanfa Zhang
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Article
| Open AccessFungal community composition predicts forest carbon storage at a continental scale
Soil microbial diversity and composition is thought to play a major role in elemental cycling. Here, the authors analyse a large dataset of soil microbiome and carbon data from European forests and find that soil fungal community composition is a strong predictor of carbon storage.
- Mark A. Anthony
- , Leho Tedersoo
- & Colin Averill
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Article
| Open AccessMarine heatwaves disrupt ecosystem structure and function via altered food webs and energy flux
This work leverages a new diet database and six long term monitoring efforts of 361 taxa to build comparable pre- and post-heatwave ecosystem models. The study provides empirical demonstration of changes in ecosystem-wide patterns of energy flux and biomass in response to marine heatwaves.
- Dylan G. E. Gomes
- , James J. Ruzicka
- & Joshua D. Stewart
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Article
| Open AccessWarming underpins community turnover in temperate freshwater and terrestrial communities
Predicting species responses to climate change may be complicated by the influence of other factors. Here, the authors report that warming is linked to terrestrial and freshwater community shifts towards warm-adapted species overall, but body size, thermal niche breadth, species richness and baseline temperature modulate the trends.
- Imran Khaliq
- , Christian Rixen
- & Anita Narwani
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Article
| Open AccessRemoval of detritivore sea cucumbers from reefs increases coral disease
Coral diseases are commonly sediment-associated. Here the authors conduct a field experiment in French Polynesia and Palmyra Atoll showing that removal of sea cucumbers that clean reef sediments while feeding increases coral disease.
- Cody S. Clements
- , Zoe A. Pratte
- & Mark E. Hay
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Article
| Open AccessPredation and spatial connectivity interact to shape ecosystem resilience to an ongoing regime shift
This study finds that habitat connectivity can increase resilience to ecosystem regime shifts. The authors used >7,000 fish samplings from the Baltic Sea to study a spatially propagating shift from an ecosystem dominated by predatory fish to one dominated by their prey, also finding that fish-eating seals and cormorants increased the risk of a shift.
- Agnes B. Olin
- , Ulf Bergström
- & Johan S. Eklöf
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Article
| Open AccessA slow-fast trait continuum at the whole community level in relation to land-use intensification
Although co-occurring species may differ widely in their response traits, coordinated functional trait shifts may emerge at the community level in response to environmental factors. Here, the authors use data from 150 grassland sites to identify a coordinated slow-fast strategy response to land-use intensification across above- and belowground taxa.
- Margot Neyret
- , Gaëtane Le Provost
- & Peter Manning
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Article
| Open AccessMapping the global distribution of C4 vegetation using observations and optimality theory
Due to fundamental anatomical and biochemical differences, C3 and C4 plant species tend to differ in their biogeography and response to climate change. Here, the authors use global observations and optimality theory to map patterns and temporal trends in C4 species distribution and the contribution of C4 plants to global photosynthesis.
- Xiangzhong Luo
- , Haoran Zhou
- & Christopher J. Still
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Article
| Open AccessConsistent stoichiometric long-term relationships between nutrients and chlorophyll-a across shallow lakes
Nutrient limitation is a well-known control of phytoplankton growth, but predicting specific responses in individual lakes based on nutrient data alone has proven challenging. Here, the authors show that long-term signals of chlorophyll-a dynamics in shallow lakes can be captured based on stoichiometric effects of N and P concentrations along a continuum of total N:total P ratios.
- Daniel Graeber
- , Mark J. McCarthy
- & Thomas A. Davidson
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Article
| Open AccessSalinity causes widespread restriction of methane emissions from small inland waters
Small inland water bodies are widely seen as important sources of methane to the atmosphere. This study demonstrates that hardwater ecosystems emit less of this potent greenhouse gas than predicted due to complex biogeochemical controls
- Cynthia Soued
- , Matthew J. Bogard
- & Paige Kowal
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Article
| Open AccessSteeper size spectra with decreasing phytoplankton biomass indicate strong trophic amplification and future fish declines
Using a global synthesis of size spectra data from pelagic food webs, this study finds that size structure is not driven by temperature as often suggested, but by the nutrient status of the system. This means that modest phytoplankton declines projected for key fishing grounds at mid-latitudes will amplify into substantial reductions in the supportable biomass of fish.
- Angus Atkinson
- , Axel G. Rossberg
- & Constantin Frangoulis
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Article
| Open AccessClimate-driven invasion and incipient warnings of kelp ecosystem collapse
Climate change is redistributing species poleward, threatening widespread socio-ecological disruption as key tipping-points are exceeded. This study examines space-time dynamics of kelp ecosystem collapse over a 15-year period along the warming coastline of eastern Tasmania and shows that an early-warning signal of kelp ecosystem collapse is recognisable well-in-advance.
- Scott D. Ling
- & John P. Keane
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Article
| Open AccessLand management shapes drought responses of dominant soil microbial taxa across grasslands
Soil microbial communities are affected by climate extremes. Here, the authors impose experimental drought across 30 UK grasslands showing that bacteria and fungi exhibit drought resistance but that intensive management has a negative impact on fungi drought resilience.
- J. M. Lavallee
- , M. Chomel
- & R. D. Bardgett
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Article
| Open AccessUniversal microbial reworking of dissolved organic matter along environmental gradients
Soils combat climate change by storing carbon but lose considerable amounts of carbon into downstream waters. Here a general process for how microbes transform carbon across soil-to-stream to impact its persistence in the natural environment is demonstrated.
- Erika C. Freeman
- , Erik J. S. Emilson
- & Andrew J. Tanentzap
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Article
| Open AccessMicroplastic burden in marine benthic invertebrates depends on species traits and feeding ecology within biogeographical provinces
Microplastic uptake by animals is often assumed to reflect the level of contamination in the environment. Here, the authors compile a global inventory of individual microplastic body burden in benthic marine invertebrates and find that feeding mode and geographic location are more important predictors than environmental microplastic loading.
- Adam Porter
- , Jasmin A. Godbold
- & Tamara S. Galloway
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Article
| Open AccessEvolution of masting in plants is linked to investment in low tissue mortality
Factors behind interspecific variation in masting are unclear. Here, the authors show that, in 517 species of terrestrial perennial plants, masting is more frequent in species that have high stem tissue density, suggesting that stronger stress resistance may buffer against missed reproductive opportunities.
- Valentin Journé
- , Andrew Hacket-Pain
- & Michał Bogdziewicz
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Article
| Open AccessEarly warning signals have limited applicability to empirical lake data
Abrupt regime shifts could in theory be predicted from early warning signals. Here, the authors show that true critical transitions are challenging to classify in lake planktonic systems, due to mismatches between trophic levels, and reveal uneven performance of early warning signal detection methods.
- Duncan A. O’Brien
- , Smita Deb
- & Christopher F. Clements
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Article
| Open AccessDiurnal temperature range as a key predictor of plants’ elevation ranges globally
This study relates 88,000 elevation range sizes of vascular plants in 44 mountains to short-term and long-term temperature variation. The authors finding of decreasing elevation range sizes with greater diurnal temperature range supports a novel biodiversity hypothesis and indicates increased extinction risk of continental species.
- Arnaud Gallou
- , Alistair S. Jump
- & John-Arvid Grytnes
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Article
| Open AccessIncreased photosynthesis during spring drought in energy-limited ecosystems
Ecosystem productivity generally declines under drought. Here, the authors show that spring droughts are linked to increases in gross primary productivity in energy-limited ecosystems in the Northern Hemisphere, and that terrestrial biosphere models tend not to capture this.
- David L. Miller
- , Sebastian Wolf
- & Trevor F. Keenan
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Article
| Open AccessEcophysiological adaptations shape distributions of closely related trees along a climatic moisture gradient
Energetic tradeoffs help determine where individual traits confer a competitive advantage. Here, the authors grow ten Eucalyptus species at four common gardens along a rainfall gradient and show that 50 traits mostly vary as predicted, and that species in their native ranges generally outperform others in height growth.
- Duncan D. Smith
- , Mark A. Adams
- & Thomas J. Givnish
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Article
| Open AccessComposition of cetacean communities worldwide shapes their contribution to ocean nutrient cycling
Cetaceans such as dolphins and whales contribute to the cycling of essential nutrients in the surface ocean through defecation. Using a bioenergetic modelling approach, this study shows that the contribution of different cetaceans is heterogeneous both in terms of quantity and in quality, as the nutrient cocktails they release reflect the physiology and ecology of each species.
- Lola Gilbert
- , Tiphaine Jeanniard-du-Dot
- & Jérôme Spitz
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Article
| Open AccessSustainable reference points for multispecies coral reef fisheries
The sustainability of the majority of multispecies reef fisheries around the globe remains unassessed. This study provides context-specific sustainable reference points for coral reef fish using environmental conditions. Using these reference points, they show that most reef fish stocks have failed at least one fisheries sustainability benchmark.
- Jessica Zamborain-Mason
- , Joshua E. Cinner
- & Sean R. Connolly
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Article
| Open AccessExperimental impacts of grazing on grassland biodiversity and function are explained by aridity
Experimental evidence on the long-term impacts of livestock grazing on biodiversity and function is limited. Here, the authors show that grazing impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem functions are aggravated with aridity using experimental sites across an aridity gradient.
- Minna Zhang
- , Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo
- & Ling Wang
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Article
| Open AccessWidespread and complex drought effects on vegetation physiology inferred from space
Vegetation resilience to drought is underlain by plant physiological responses. Here, the authors combine remote sensing data, explainable machine learning and model simulations to map global vegetation responses to drought linked to physiological processes such as stomatal regulation and light use efficiency.
- Wantong Li
- , Javier Pacheco-Labrador
- & Rene Orth
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Article
| Open AccessLeaf-level coordination principles propagate to the ecosystem scale
It is unclear whether trait trade-offs and optimality principles observed at the individual level scale up to the ecosystem level. Here, the authors show that plant trait coordination principles also predict patterns between community-level traits and ecosystem-scale processes.
- Ulisse Gomarasca
- , Mirco Migliavacca
- & Markus Reichstein
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Perspective
| Open AccessUnlocking complex soil systems as carbon sinks: multi-pool management as the key
Increasing C storage in mineral-associated organic matter is insufficient due to diverse, environmentally specific persistent soil organic matter formation. Context-dependent management strategies highlighting the importance of particulate organic matter are necessary.
- Gerrit Angst
- , Kevin E. Mueller
- & Carsten W. Mueller
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Article
| Open AccessNorthern expansion is not compensating for southern declines in North American boreal forests
Boreal forests are expanding at high latitudes yet declining at their southern boundaries. Here, the authors show that such trends are not symmetrical in North America, where poleward expansion of boreal forests did not offset southern declines often linked to wildfires and logging.
- Ronny Rotbarth
- , Egbert H. Van Nes
- & Milena Holmgren
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Article
| Open AccessContrasting geochemical and fungal controls on decomposition of lignin and soil carbon at continental scale
Lignin’s contribution to soil organic carbon (SOC) is contentious. The authors find a decoupling of lignin and SOC decomposition and their contrasting relationships with geochemical and microbial factors, addressing a long-standing controversy.
- Wenjuan Huang
- , Wenjuan Yu
- & Steven J. Hall
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Article
| Open AccessEarly indicators of tidal ecosystem shifts in estuaries
Transitions from bare tidal flats to vegetated marshes are an example of shift between alternative stable ecosystem states. Here, the authors use remote sensing and modelling to quantify three stages in tidal flat evolution and identify early warning signals.
- Gregory S. Fivash
- , Stijn Temmerman
- & Tjeerd J. Bouma
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Article
| Open AccessMarine ecosystem shifts with deglacial sea-ice loss inferred from ancient DNA shotgun sequencing
Ecosystem responses to prehistoric sea-ice loss are poorly known. Using marine sedimentary ancient DNA form the Bering Sea covering the last ~20,000 years, this study reveals a transition from a sea ice-adapted ecosystem, characterized by diatoms, copepods and codfish, to an ice-free Holocene with cyanobacteria, salmon and herring.
- Heike H. Zimmermann
- , Kathleen R. Stoof-Leichsenring
- & Ulrike Herzschuh
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Article
| Open AccessLitter accumulation and fire risks show direct and indirect climate-dependence at continental scale
Compiled data on litterfall and litter in eucalypt forests and woodlands for the Australian continent shows that litter mass can be robustly predicted using just three independent variables – time, aridity and litterfall quality
- Mark A. Adams
- & Mathias Neumann
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Article
| Open AccessContribution of tree community structure to forest productivity across a thermal gradient in eastern Asia
The link between forest productivity, species diversity and climate remains contentious. Here, Kohyama et al. examine stand productivity and tree diversity in old-growth forests from Japan to Indonesia, showing that warmer sites are more productive, largely due to small-biomass species.
- Tetsuo I. Kohyama
- , Douglas Sheil
- & Takashi S. Kohyama
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Review Article
| Open AccessMonitoring and modelling marine zooplankton in a changing climate
Zooplankton are a critical link to higher trophic levels and play an important role in global biogeochemical cycles. This Review examines key responses of zooplankton to ocean warming, highlights key knowledge and geographic gaps that need to be addressed, and discusses how better use of observations and long-term zooplankton monitoring programmes can help fill these gaps.
- Lavenia Ratnarajah
- , Rana Abu-Alhaija
- & Lidia Yebra
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Article
| Open AccessSalp blooms drive strong increases in passive carbon export in the Southern Ocean
Gelatinous bloom-forming zooplankton—salps—alter microbial communities and quintuple the flux of sinking particles from the surface to the deep, strongly enhancing the ability of the ocean to sequester CO2.
- Moira Décima
- , Michael R. Stukel
- & Matt Pinkerton
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Article
| Open AccessBimodality and alternative equilibria do not help explain long-term patterns in shallow lake chlorophyll-a
Shallow lakes have long been considered an example of alternative equilibria in ecological systems. Here, the authors combine empirical data and simulations to show that the relationship of shallow lake chlorophyll-a with nutrient enrichment does not fit the theory of alternative stable states.
- Thomas A. Davidson
- , Carl D. Sayer
- & Daniel Graeber
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Article
| Open AccessBioenergetic control of soil carbon dynamics across depth
The high persistence of deep soil carbon is controlled by bioenergetic constraints of decomposers resulting from the poor energy quality of soil carbon together with the lack of energy supply by roots due to their low density at depth
- Ludovic Henneron
- , Jerôme Balesdent
- & Sébastien Fontaine
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Article
| Open AccessGlobal distribution and climate sensitivity of the tropical montane forest nitrogen cycle
Tropical montane forests harbor a disproportionately large fraction of the global tropical forest soil N pool. Elevational increases in soil N and decreases in δ15N are largely driven by temperature, suggesting sensitivity of this N pool to warming.
- Justin D. Gay
- , Bryce Currey
- & E. N. J. Brookshire
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Article
| Open AccessIntensive grassland management disrupts below-ground multi-trophic resource transfer in response to drought
Land use intensification could make soil food webs less able to recover from drought. Here, the authors find that intensive grassland management impairs recent photosynthate flux to roots and soil biota after drought, whereas extensive grassland management buffers the legacy of drought.
- Mathilde Chomel
- , Jocelyn M. Lavallee
- & Richard D. Bardgett
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Article
| Open AccessVegetation type is an important predictor of the arctic summer land surface energy budget
An international team of researchers finds high potential for improving climate projections by a more comprehensive treatment of largely ignored Arctic vegetation types, underscoring the importance of Arctic energy exchange measuring stations.
- Jacqueline Oehri
- , Gabriela Schaepman-Strub
- & Scott D. Chambers
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Article
| Open AccessBlue and green food webs respond differently to elevation and land use
Aquatic (blue) and terrestrial (green) food webs are part of the same landscape, but it remains unclear whether they respond similarly to shared environmental gradients. Using long-term monitoring data from Switzerland and a metaweb approach, this study reveals how inferred blue and green food webs exhibit different properties along an elevation gradient and among land-use types.
- Hsi-Cheng Ho
- , Jakob Brodersen
- & Florian Altermatt
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Article
| Open AccessGlobal systematic review with meta-analysis shows that warming effects on terrestrial plant biomass allocation are influenced by precipitation and mycorrhizal association
Biomass allocation in plants is fundamental for understanding and predicting terrestrial carbon storage. Here, the authors conduct a meta-analysis showing that warming effect on plant root:shoot is influenced by precipitation and the type of mycorrhizal fungi associated.
- Lingyan Zhou
- , Xuhui Zhou
- & Madhav P. Thakur
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Article
| Open AccessIncreasing sensitivity of dryland vegetation greenness to precipitation due to rising atmospheric CO2
Changes in vegetation responses to precipitation may be hydroclimate dependent. Here the authors reveal contrasting trends of vegetation sensitivity to precipitation in drylands vs. wetter ecosystems over the last 4 decades and identify increased CO2 as a major contributing factor.
- Yao Zhang
- , Pierre Gentine
- & Trevor F. Keenan
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Article
| Open AccessPleistocene drivers of Northwest African hydroclimate and vegetation
Plant-wax isotope and dust flux records reveal that the long-term variability of the Northwest African monsoon is controlled by tropical solar radiation gradients. Grasslands expand into the Sahara during strong monsoons, but the ultimate composition of the ecosystem is controlled by CO2.
- Nicholas A. O’Mara
- , Charlotte Skonieczny
- & Pratigya J. Polissar
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Article
| Open AccessTrophic position of Otodus megalodon and great white sharks through time revealed by zinc isotopes
Here the authors demonstrate the use of zinc isotopes (δ66Zn) to geochemically assess trophic levels in extant and extinct sharks. They show that the Neogene megatooth shark (Otodus megalodon) and the great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) occupied a similar trophic level.
- Jeremy McCormack
- , Michael L. Griffiths
- & Thomas Tütken
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Article
| Open AccessHuman-ignited fires result in more extreme fire behavior and ecosystem impacts
‘Human-caused fires and natural fires could have different impacts. Here the authors report a geospatial analysis of lightning-ignited and human-ignited fires in California between 2012 and 2018, finding that the latter were more likely to develop under extreme conditions with larger ecosystem impacts.’
- Stijn Hantson
- , Niels Andela
- & James T. Randerson
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Article
| Open AccessField-based tree mortality constraint reduces estimates of model-projected forest carbon sinks
Here the authors use broad-scale tree mortality data to estimate biomass loss, constraining uncertainty of projected forest net primary productivity in 6 models, finding weaker tropical forest carbon sinks with climate change.
- Kailiang Yu
- , Philippe Ciais
- & Ashley P. Ballantyne
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Article
| Open AccessFast-decaying plant litter enhances soil carbon in temperate forests but not through microbial physiological traits
Mineral-associated soil carbon buildup is poorly explained by microbial necromass production (a common hypothesis). During litter decomposition, these processes are decoupled by priming effects and alternate soil carbon formation pathways
- Matthew E. Craig
- , Kevin M. Geyer
- & Richard P. Phillips