Featured
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Article
| Open AccessPlanktonic microbial signatures of sinking particle export in the open ocean’s interior
Sinking of organic particles to the deep seafloor is fundamental to ocean carbon cycling. Here, the authors investigate prokaryotic communities in sinking and suspended particles, identifying depth-specific signatures of particle export and carbon cycling processes.
- Fuyan Li
- , Andrew Burger
- & Edward F. DeLong
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Article
| Open AccessAtlantic-origin water extension into the Pacific Arctic induced an anomalous biogeochemical event
The authors show that the appearance of anomalously low oxygen and acidified water on the Chukchi Plateau, a high-seas fishable area of the western Arctic Ocean, is associated with a change in basin-scale ocean circulation related to the recent sea ice loss.
- Shigeto Nishino
- , Jinyoung Jung
- & Sung-Ho Kang
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Article
| Open AccessDirect biological fixation provides a freshwater sink for N2O
Denitrification is still widely considered as the only natural sink for N2O here we show how direct biological fixation represents an alternative sink for this potent climate gas.
- Yueyue Si
- , Yizhu Zhu
- & Mark Trimmer
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Article
| Open AccessDissolved organic matter thiol concentrations determine methylmercury bioavailability across the terrestrial-marine aquatic continuum
Methylmercury is a strong neurotoxin that accumulates in aquatic biota. Here, the authors demonstrate that the concentration of thiol compounds associated with dissolved organic matter controls the bioavailability of methylmercury in aquatic systems
- Emily Seelen
- , Van Liem-Nguyen
- & Erik Björn
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Article
| Open AccessDynamic redox and nutrient cycling response to climate forcing in the Mesoproterozoic ocean
Regional ocean redox variability and associated nutrient cycling in the Mesoproterozoic can be explained by climate forcing at individual locations, rather than specific events or step-changes in global oceanic redox conditions.
- Yafang Song
- , Fred T. Bowyer
- & Simon W. Poulton
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Article
| Open AccessCalcium promotes persistent soil organic matter by altering microbial transformation of plant litter
Calcium drives soil organic carbon persistence through associations between organic compounds and minerals. Here, the authors expand the role of calcium by showing that it alters microbial conversion of plant carbon into persistent mineral fractions
- Itamar A. Shabtai
- , Roland C. Wilhelm
- & Johannes Lehmann
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Article
| Open AccessThe positive effect of plant diversity on soil carbon depends on climate
Soil carbon content is positively related with plant diversity in global grasslands, and this relationship is particularly strong in warm and arid climates. Plant diversity is related to soil carbon via the quality of organic matter.
- Marie Spohn
- , Sumanta Bagchi
- & Laura Yahdjian
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Article
| Open AccessHydrodynamic regimes modulate nitrogen fixation and the mode of diazotrophy in Lake Tanganyika
Understanding how N2 fixation is distributed in aquatic systems is key to enabling robust N-budgets. In a model ecosystem, Ehrenfels et al. find that the hydrodynamic regimes (stratification/upwelling) play a critical role in modulating N2 fixation.
- Benedikt Ehrenfels
- , Kathrin B. L. Baumann
- & Cameron M. Callbeck
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Article
| Open AccessMethylphosphonate-driven methane formation and its link to primary production in the oligotrophic North Atlantic
The origin of methane in oxic waters of the open ocean remains uncertain. This study documents methylphosphonate-driven methane formation in the tropical North Atlantic, providing insights into the ecological importance of phosphonates in the carbon cycle of the oligotrophic ocean.
- Jan N. von Arx
- , Abiel T. Kidane
- & Jana Milucka
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Article
| Open AccessWarming proportional to cumulative carbon emissions not explained by heat and carbon sharing mixing processes
This paper shows that the ratio of global warming to cumulative CO2 emissions is constant due to complex interactions of physical and biogeochemical processes, and not because heat and carbon are mixed into the ocean by similar processes.
- Nathan P. Gillett
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Article
| Open AccessOxygen respiration and polysaccharide degradation by a sulfate-reducing acidobacterium
Sulfate-reducing microorganisms are common in anoxic environments and represent an important link between the sulfur and carbon cycles. Here, Dyksma & Pester show that microbial sulfate reduction and aerobic respiration are not mutually exclusive in the same organism, sulfate reducers can mineralize organic polymers, and anaerobic mineralization of complex organic matter is not necessarily a multi-step process.
- Stefan Dyksma
- & Michael Pester
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Comment
| Open AccessDrought and heat reduce forest carbon uptake
Climate extremes threaten the land carbon sink and it is important to understand their impact in a changing climate. A recent study provides new insights on reduced forest carbon uptake during the severe 2022 drought and heatwave across Europe.
- Sebastian Wolf
- & Eugénie Paul-Limoges
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Article
| Open AccessTaphonomic experiments reveal authentic molecular signals for fossil melanins and verify preservation of phaeomelanin in fossils
Reconstructing original fossil colour provides insights into the behaviour of ancient animals but is challenging because phaeomelanin pigments have a poor fossil record. Here, the authors present experimental data that predict the composition of fossil melanins and support the molecular preservation of phaeomelanin in 10 million year old frogs.
- Tiffany S. Slater
- , Shosuke Ito
- & Maria E. McNamara
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Article
| Open AccessTemperature extremes of 2022 reduced carbon uptake by forests in Europe
Heat and moisture stress can reduce carbon uptake by forests. Here, the authors quantify this effect for the extreme 2022 European summer drought. The widespread reduction of photosynthesis exceeded the large local carbon release by intense fires.
- Auke M. van der Woude
- , Wouter Peters
- & Ingrid T. Luijkx
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Article
| Open AccessRadiolytically reworked Archean organic matter in a habitable deep ancient high-temperature brine
A deep, ancient, and uranium-rich brine in South Africa reveals evidence of radiolytically oxidized kerogen and C1–C3 hydrocarbons with abiotic isotopic signatures that support a low biomass microbial community over time.
- Devan M. Nisson
- , Clifford C. Walters
- & Tullis C. Onstott
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Article
| Open AccessMulti-heme cytochrome-mediated extracellular electron transfer by the anaerobic methanotroph ‘Candidatus Methanoperedens nitroreducens’
Anaerobic methanotrophic archaea play crucial roles in the methane cycle. Here, Zhang et al. provide experimental evidence supporting that multi-heme cytochromes mediate extracellular electron transfer for the reduction of metals and electrodes in these microorganisms.
- Xueqin Zhang
- , Georgina H. Joyce
- & Shihu Hu
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Article
| Open AccessThe origin of suspended particulate matter in the Great Barrier Reef
This multidisciplinary fingerprinting study, using isotopic, structural and genetic fingerprints, has shown that the suspended particulate matter in the Great Barrier Reef does not have terrestrial origin but produced locally by marine phytoplankton
- Mohammad Bahadori
- , Chengrong Chen
- & Tom Stevens
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Article
| Open AccessEarthquake-enhanced dissolved carbon cycles in ultra-deep ocean sediments
Earthquakes enhance dissolved carbon production and fuel the microbial activities in hadal trench subsurface sediments, and ultimately strengthen carbon accumulation and transformation in the subduction zones.
- Mengfan Chu
- , Rui Bao
- & Sarah Zellers
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Article
| Open AccessQuantifying thermal adaptation of soil microbial respiration
Soil microbial respiration responses to warming have important implications for biogeochemical feedbacks. Here, using data from temperature gradients, the authors show that the rate of thermal adaptation of soil microbial respiration is lower than the rate of warming despite large community changes.
- Charlotte J. Alster
- , Allycia van de Laar
- & Louis A. Schipper
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Article
| Open AccessEffects of drought and recovery on soil volatile organic compound fluxes in an experimental rainforest
Pugliese et al., show that severe drought and rewetting have a major impact on the capacity of rainforest soil to consume and emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs), affecting the atmospheric VOC budget and thereby atmospheric chemistry and climate.
- Giovanni Pugliese
- , Johannes Ingrisch
- & Jonathan Williams
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Article
| Open AccessSphagnum increases soil’s sequestration capacity of mineral-associated organic carbon via activating metal oxides
By employing large-scale comparisons across major terrestrial ecosystems and soil survey along Sphagnum gradients in distinct wetlands, Sphagnum is shown to act as an efficient rust engineer boosting the rusty carbon sink in wetlands
- Yunpeng Zhao
- , Chengzhu Liu
- & Xiaojuan Feng
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Article
| Open AccessMineral reactivity determines root effects on soil organic carbon
Root exudates can either promote or impede the formation of stable, mineral-associated soil organic carbon (MAOC). Yet, carbon stabilisation in MAOC is decoupled from changes in the total soil carbon pool, i.e., carbon sequestration.
- Guopeng Liang
- , John Stark
- & Bonnie Grace Waring
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Article
| Open AccessThe Marginal Ice Zone as a dominant source region of atmospheric mercury during central Arctic summertime
Oceanic evasion, which mainly occurs in the Marginal Ice Zone, is the main cause of the summertime maximum of gaseous elemental mercury in the central Arctic Ocean
- Fange Yue
- , Hélène Angot
- & Zhouqing Xie
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Article
| Open AccessA lignin-derived material improves plant nutrient bioavailability and growth through its metal chelating capacity
Biorefinery lignin waste has little value in the market. Here, Liu et al. find that water-soluble lignin, converted from sulfuric acid lignin, improves plant iron bioavailability and growth through a metal chelating capacity comparable to the metal chelator EDTA.
- Qiang Liu
- , Tsubasa Kawai
- & Baohai Li
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Article
| Open AccessRiver export of macro- and microplastics to seas by sources worldwide
Modelling of riverine plastic exports finds microplastics dominate in areas with many sewage systems and macroplastics where waste is mismanaged. In some areas both plastics are important. Reduction at source is needed.
- Maryna Strokal
- , Paul Vriend
- & Tim van Emmerik
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Article
| Open AccessMulti-proxy evidence for sea level fall at the onset of the Eocene-Oligocene transition
Sea level fall with the growth of the Antarctic Ice Sheet 34 million years ago, and the shift in nutrients and carbon from continental margins to the ocean, initially provided a negative feedback that slowed global cooling and ice sheet expansion.
- Marcelo A. De Lira Mota
- , Tom Dunkley Jones
- & James Bendle
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Article
| Open AccessMethane formation driven by light and heat prior to the origin of life and beyond
Abiotic methane and ethane formation routes in aqueous environments driven by light and heat are identified. The released hydrocarbons may have contributed to the chemical evolution of the atmosphere from prior to the origin of life until today.
- Leonard Ernst
- , Uladzimir Barayeu
- & Johannes G. Rebelein
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Matters Arising
| Open AccessOcean afforestation is a potentially effective way to remove carbon dioxide
- Wei-Lei Wang
- , Mar Fernández-Méndez
- & Minhan Dai
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Matters Arising
| Open AccessReply to: Ocean afforestation is a potentially effective way to remove carbon dioxide
- Lennart T. Bach
- , Veronica Tamsitt
- & Philip W. Boyd
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Article
| Open AccessSulfate triple-oxygen-isotope evidence confirming oceanic oxygenation 570 million years ago
Seawater sulfate in three different paleocontinents all became conspicuously depleted in 17O mass anomalously around 570 million years ago, confirming a global oceanic oxygenation event directly linked to the involvement of paleo-atmospheric O2.
- Haiyang Wang
- , Yongbo Peng
- & Huiming Bao
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Article
| Open AccessOverlooked riverine contributions of dissolved neodymium and hafnium to the Amazon estuary and oceans
The Amazon River Plume Nd and Hf isotopic signatures in the outer estuary are strongly influenced by the nearby Pará River, which plays an important role in supplying dissolved trace metals to the estuary and ocean.
- Antao Xu
- , Ed Hathorne
- & Martin Frank
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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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Article
| Open AccessRecurrent photic zone euxinia limited ocean oxygenation and animal evolution during the Ediacaran
Using Hg isotopes, the authors find that repeated invasion of toxic, H2S-rich water into the marine photic zone of the Ediacaran ocean may have inhibited the rise of oxygen and delayed the expansion of early animals.
- Wang Zheng
- , Anwen Zhou
- & Jiubin Chen
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Article
| Open AccessPre-aged terrigenous organic carbon biases ocean ventilation-age reconstructions in the North Atlantic
Ocean ventilation plays on global climate evolution. Here, the authors suggest that previously inferred poorly ventilated conditions in the North Atlantic were linked to enhanced pre-aged organic carbon input. Old organic carbon was mainly of terrigenous origin and exported by ice-rafting
- Jingyu Liu
- , Yipeng Wang
- & Rui Bao
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Article
| Open AccessPhoto-produced aromatic compounds stimulate microbial degradation of dissolved organic carbon in thermokarst lakes
The mechanism of photochemical and biological degradation of DOC is unclear, especially in thermokarst lakes. Here, the authors find that photo-produced aromatic compounds rather than aliphatic compounds stimulate the microbial degradation of DOC.
- Jie Hu
- , Luyao Kang
- & Leiyi Chen
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Article
| Open AccessDisentangling the impact of Atlantic Niño on sea-air CO2 flux
The response of sea-air CO2 flux to the Atlantic Niño variability shows a dipole pattern in the equatorial Atlantic characterized by a freshwater-induced anomaly in the western basin, and a sea surface temperature-induced anomaly in the central basin.
- Shunya Koseki
- , Jerry Tjiputra
- & Noel S. Keenlyside
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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 AccessHydrogen and dark oxygen drive microbial productivity in diverse groundwater ecosystems
Microbes in ancient groundwaters can be very diverse and productive. Some microbes seem to produce oxygen in the dark, which others use to consume the greenhouse gas methane. Their metabolisms are relevant for groundwater health and global change.
- S. Emil Ruff
- , Pauline Humez
- & Marc Strous
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Comment
| Open AccessSmall watersheds may play a disproportionate role in arctic land-ocean fluxes
While over 99% of coastal arctic rivers drain small catchments, future projections of land-ocean fluxes are based on data from large rivers. We encourage inclusion of and increased focus on smaller catchments to support representative assessments of arctic ecosystem change.
- J. E. Vonk
- , N. J. Speetjens
- & A. E. Poste
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Article
| Open AccessGlobal warming accelerates soil heterotrophic respiration
Soil’s role in Earth’s carbon budget is uncertain. A new model links soil temperature and moisture to global soil respiration. Heterotrophic respiration has risen by 2% per decade since the 1980s, with a projected 40% increase by century end.
- Alon Nissan
- , Uria Alcolombri
- & Markus Holzner
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Article
| Open AccessTrajectories of freshwater microbial genomics and greenhouse gas saturation upon glacial retreat
Diverse microbial trajectories in carbon and nitrogen cycle processes represent a positive feedback loop of deglaciation on climate warming.
- Jing Wei
- , Laurent Fontaine
- & Alexander Eiler
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Article
| Open AccessAsymmetry of carbon sequestrations by plant and soil after forestation regulated by soil nitrogen
Linkage between plant and soil carbon dynamics after forestation remains uncertain and controversial. Here the authors show that soil nitrogen regulates the asymmetry of carbon sequestrations by plant and soil after forestation.
- Songbai Hong
- , Jinzhi Ding
- & Shilong Piao
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Article
| Open AccessCharacteristics of methane emissions from alpine thermokarst lakes on the Tibetan Plateau
Methane emission from thermokarst lakes in high-altitude permafrost regions is poorly understood. Here, authors explore the amount and origin of methane emissions and associated methanogenic microorganisms in thermokarst lakes on the Tibetan Plateau.
- Guibiao Yang
- , Zhihu Zheng
- & Yuanhe Yang
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Article
| Open AccessSoil organic carbon is a key determinant of CH4 sink in global forest soils
Soil organic carbon has a positive effect on the removal of methane in forest soils. Global forests are found to be larger sinks of methane than previously estimated when the influence of SOC is considered.
- Jaehyun Lee
- , Youmi Oh
- & Hojeong Kang
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Article
| Open AccessOverestimated nitrogen loss from denitrification for natural terrestrial ecosystems in CMIP6 Earth System Models
Nitrogen loss due to soil denitrification in global natural ecosystems is quantified using an isotope-benchmarking method, and is overestimated by almost two times in the current earth system models.
- Maoyuan Feng
- , Shushi Peng
- & Yi Xi
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Article
| Open AccessRubisco deactivation and chloroplast electron transport rates co-limit photosynthesis above optimal leaf temperature in terrestrial plants
Photosynthesis declines at mild temperatures in terrestrial plants. Here, the authors use published data to show that decline in photosynthetic CO2 assimilation rate with rising temperatures can be accounted for by Rubisco deactivation and declines in chloroplast electron transport rate.
- Andrew P. Scafaro
- , Bradley C. Posch
- & Owen K. Atkin
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Article
| Open AccessComparing ecosystem gaseous elemental mercury fluxes over a deciduous and coniferous forest
Forests are sinks for the neurotoxic mercury, but the sinks have large uncertainties. Our direct gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) exchange measurements show that GEM exchange includes complex patterns of multiple pathways to different ecosystem compartments varying over time
- Jun Zhou
- , Silas W. Bollen
- & Daniel Obrist
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Article
| Open AccessRegional and global impact of CO2 uptake in the Benguela Upwelling System through preformed nutrients
Consumption of biologically unused, ‘preformed’ nutrients in the Benguela Upwelling System drive a more efficient regional CO2 uptake, and can compensate for 20–68% of natural CO2 outgassing in the Southern Ocean’s Atlantic sector.
- Claire Siddiqui
- , Tim Rixen
- & Keshnee Pillay
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Article
| Open AccessWhat the geological past can tell us about the future of the ocean’s twilight zone
Combining geological evidence and modelling, Crichton and others find life in the ocean Twilight Zone (200 m to 1000 m depth) is vulnerable to warming due to lower food supply. High emissions may lead to severe depletion and extinction in this habitat
- Katherine A. Crichton
- , Jamie D. Wilson
- & Paul N. Pearson