scholarly journals Biodiversity promotes primary productivity and growing season lengthening at the landscape scale

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (38) ◽  
pp. 10160-10165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacqueline Oehri ◽  
Bernhard Schmid ◽  
Gabriela Schaepman-Strub ◽  
Pascal A. Niklaus
Keyword(s):  
Primary Productivity ◽  
Ecosystem Functioning ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Vascular Plant ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Landscape Scale ◽  
Species Pool ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Large Species ◽  
Growing Season Length

Experiments have shown positive biodiversity-ecosystem functioning (BEF) relationships in small plots with model communities established from species pools typically comprising few dozen species. Whether patterns found can be extrapolated to complex, nonexperimental, real-world landscapes that provide ecosystem services to humans remains unclear. Here, we combine species inventories from a large-scale network of 447 1-km2plots with remotely sensed indices of primary productivity (years 2000–2015). We show that landscape-scale productivity and its temporal stability increase with the diversity of plants and other taxa. Effects of biodiversity indicators on productivity were comparable in size to effects of other important drivers related to climate, topography, and land cover. These effects occurred in plots that integrated different ecosystem types (i.e., metaecosystems) and were consistent over vast environmental and altitudinal gradients. The BEF relations we report are as strong or even exceed the ones found in small-scale experiments, despite different community assembly processes and a species pool comprising nearly 2,000 vascular plant species. Growing season length increased progressively over the observation period, and this shift was accelerated in more diverse plots, suggesting that a large species pool is important for adaption to climate change. Our study further implies that abiotic global-change drivers may mediate ecosystem functioning through biodiversity changes.

scholarly journals The up-scaling of ecosystem functions in a heterogeneous world

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew M. Lohrer ◽  
Simon F. Thrush ◽  
Judi E. Hewitt ◽  
Casper Kraan
Keyword(s):  
Primary Productivity ◽  
Ecosystem Functioning ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Net Primary Productivity ◽  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Biodiversity Crisis ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Marine Habitats

Abstract Earth is in the midst of a biodiversity crisis that is impacting the functioning of ecosystems and the delivery of valued goods and services. However, the implications of large scale species losses are often inferred from small scale ecosystem functioning experiments with little knowledge of how the dominant drivers of functioning shift across scales. Here, by integrating observational and manipulative experimental field data, we reveal scale-dependent influences on primary productivity in shallow marine habitats, thus demonstrating the scalability of complex ecological relationships contributing to coastal marine ecosystem functioning. Positive effects of key consumers (burrowing urchins, Echinocardium cordatum) on seafloor net primary productivity (NPP) elucidated by short-term, single-site experiments persisted across multiple sites and years. Additional experimentation illustrated how these effects amplified over time, resulting in greater primary producer biomass (sediment chlorophyll a content) in the longer term, depending on climatic context and habitat factors affecting the strengths of mutually reinforcing feedbacks. The remarkable coherence of results from small and large scales is evidence of real-world ecosystem function scalability and ecological self-organisation. This discovery provides greater insights into the range of responses to broad-scale anthropogenic stressors in naturally heterogeneous environmental settings.

Exploring the variation in ecosystem scale methane fluxes and its drivers within a boreal mire complex

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Koffi Dodji Noumonvi ◽  
Joshua L. Ratcliffe ◽  
Mats Öquist ◽  
Mats B. Nilsson ◽  
Matthias Peichl
Keyword(s):  
Eddy Covariance ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Chemical Properties ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Atmospheric Methane ◽  
Flux Footprint ◽  
Growing Season Length ◽  
Methane Fluxes ◽  
Northern Peatlands

<p>Northern peatlands cover a small fraction of the earth’s land surface, and yet they are one of the most important natural sources of atmospheric methane. With climate change causing rising temperatures, changes in water balance and increased growing season length, peatland contribution to atmospheric methane concentration is likely to increase, justifying the increased attention given to northern peatland methane dynamics. Northern peatlands often occur as heterogeneous complexes characterized by hydromorphologically distinct features from < 1 m² to tens of km², with differing physical, hydrological and chemical properties. The more commonly understood small-scale variation between hummocks, lawns and hollows has been well explored using chamber measurements. Single tower eddy covariance measurements, with a typical 95% flux footprint of < 0.5 km², have been used to assess the ecosystem scale methane exchange. However, how representative single tower flux measurements are of an entire mire complex is not well understood. To address this knowledge gap, the present study takes advantage of a network of four eddy covariance towers located less than 3 km apart at four mires within a typical boreal mire complex in northern Sweden. The variation of methane fluxes and its drivers between the four sites will be explored at different temporal scales, i.e. half-hourly, daily and at a growing-season scale.</p>

scholarly journals Foundation species' overlap enhances biodiversity and multifunctionality from the patch to landscape scale in southeastern United States salt marshes

2015 ◽  
Vol 282 (1811) ◽  
pp. 20150421 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Angelini ◽  
Tjisse van der Heide ◽  
John N. Griffin ◽  
Joseph P. Morton ◽  
Marlous Derksen-Hooijberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Salt Marshes ◽  
Ecosystem Functioning ◽  
Southeastern United States ◽  
Landscape Scale ◽  
Foundation Species ◽  
Water Infiltration ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Species Overlap ◽  
Ecosystem Multifunctionality

Although there is mounting evidence that biodiversity is an important and widespread driver of ecosystem multifunctionality, much of this research has focused on small-scale biodiversity manipulations. Hence, which mechanisms maintain patches of enhanced biodiversity in natural systems and if these patches elevate ecosystem multifunctionality at both local and landscape scales remain outstanding questions. In a 17 month experiment conducted within southeastern United States salt marshes, we found that patches of enhanced biodiversity and multifunctionality arise only where habitat-forming foundation species overlap—i.e. where aggregations of ribbed mussels ( Geukensia demissa ) form around cordgrass ( Spartina alterniflora ) stems. By empirically scaling up our experimental results to the marsh platform at 12 sites, we further show that mussels—despite covering only approximately 1% of the marsh surface—strongly enhance five distinct ecosystem functions, including decomposition, primary production and water infiltration rate, at the landscape scale. Thus, mussels create conditions that support the co-occurrence of high densities of functionally distinct organisms within cordgrass and, in doing so, elevate salt marsh multifunctionality from the patch to landscape scale. Collectively, these findings suggest that patterns in foundation species' overlap drive variation in biodiversity and ecosystem functioning within and across natural ecosystems. We therefore argue that foundation species should be integrated in our conceptual understanding of forces that moderate biodiversity–ecosystem functioning relationships, approaches for conserving species diversity and strategies to improve the multifunctionality of degraded ecosystems.

scholarly journals A common soil temperature threshold for the upper limit of alpine grasslands in European mountains

Alpine Botany ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 131 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Bürli ◽  
Jean-Paul Theurillat ◽  
Manuela Winkler ◽  
Andrea Lamprecht ◽  
Harald Pauli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Temperature ◽  
Vascular Plant ◽  
Plant Cover ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Temperature Threshold ◽  
Season Length ◽  
Alpine Grasslands ◽  
Growing Season Length ◽  
Upper Limit

AbstractWhile climatic research about treeline has a long history, the climatic conditions corresponding to the upper limit of closed alpine grasslands remain poorly understood. Here, we propose a climatic definition for this limit, the ‘grassline’, in analogy to the treeline, which is based on the growing season length and the soil temperature. Eighty-seven mountain summits across ten European mountain ranges, covering three biomes (boreal, temperate, Mediterranean), were inventoried as part of the GLORIA project. Vascular plant cover was estimated visually in 326 plots of 1 × 1 m. Soil temperatures were measured in situ for 2–7 years, from which the length of the growing season and mean temperature were derived. The climatic conditions corresponding to 40% plant cover were defined as the thresholds for alpine grassland. Closed vegetation was present in locations with a mean growing season soil temperature warmer than 4.9 °C, or a minimal growing season length of 85 days, with the growing season defined as encompassing days with daily mean ≥ 1 °C. Hence, the upper limit of closed grasslands was associated with a mean soil temperature close to that previously observed at the treeline, and in accordance with physiological thresholds to growth in vascular plants. In contrast to trees, whose canopy temperature is coupled with air temperature, small-stature alpine plants benefit from the soil warmed by solar radiation and consequently, they can grow at higher elevations. Since substrate stability is necessary for grasslands to occur at their climatic limit, the grassline rarely appears as a distinct linear feature.

scholarly journals Impacts of species richness on productivity in a large-scale subtropical forest experiment

Science ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 362 (6410) ◽  
pp. 80-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuanyuan Huang ◽  
Yuxin Chen ◽  
Nadia Castro-Izaguirre ◽  
Martin Baruffol ◽  
Matteo Brezzi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Primary Productivity ◽  
Ecosystem Functioning ◽  
Phylogenetic Diversity ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Subtropical Forest ◽  
Species Loss ◽  
Shrub Species ◽  
Mitigate Climate Change ◽  
Functional And Phylogenetic Diversity

Biodiversity experiments have shown that species loss reduces ecosystem functioning in grassland. To test whether this result can be extrapolated to forests, the main contributors to terrestrial primary productivity, requires large-scale experiments. We manipulated tree species richness by planting more than 150,000 trees in plots with 1 to 16 species. Simulating multiple extinction scenarios, we found that richness strongly increased stand-level productivity. After 8 years, 16-species mixtures had accumulated over twice the amount of carbon found in average monocultures and similar amounts as those of two commercial monocultures. Species richness effects were strongly associated with functional and phylogenetic diversity. A shrub addition treatment reduced tree productivity, but this reduction was smaller at high shrub species richness. Our results encourage multispecies afforestation strategies to restore biodiversity and mitigate climate change.

scholarly journals A large-scale perspective for managing prairie avifauna assemblages across the western US: influences of habitat, land ownership and latitude

PeerJ ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. e2879 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria J. Dreitz ◽  
Lani T. Stinson ◽  
Beth A. Hahn ◽  
Jason D. Tack ◽  
Paul M. Lukacs
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
The United States ◽  
Habitat Diversity ◽  
Land Ownership ◽  
Landscape Scale ◽  
Individual Species ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Population Declines ◽  
Avian Assemblages

Future demands for increased food production are expected to have severe impacts on prairie biodiversity and ecosystem integrity. Prairie avifauna of North America have experienced drastic population declines, prompting numerous conservation efforts, which have been informed primarily by small-scale studies. We applied a large-scale perspective that integrates scale dependency in avian responses by analyzing observations of 20 prairie bird species (17 grassland obligates and three sagebrush obligate species) from 2009–2012 in the western prairie region of the United States. We employed a multi-species model approach to examine the relationship of land ownership, habitat, and latitude to landscape-scale species richness. Our findings suggest that patterns and processes influencing avian assemblages at the focal-scale (e.g., inference at the sampling unit) may not function at the landscape-scale (e.g., inference amongst sampling units). Individual species responses to land ownership, habitat and latitude were highly variable. The broad spatial extent of our study demonstrates the need to include lands in private ownership to assess biodiversity and the importance of maintaining habitat diversity to support avian assemblages. Lastly, focal-scale information can document species presence within a study area, but landscape-scale information provides an essential complement to inform conservation actions and policies by placing local biodiversity in the context of an entire region, landscape or ecosystem.

scholarly journals PENDAPATAN USAHATANI BAYAM DI DESA CIARUTEUN ILIR KECAMATAN CIBUNGBULANG KABUPATEN BOGOR JAWA BARAT

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-174
Author(s):  
Pratica Dewi ◽  
Anna Fariyanti
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
High Price ◽  
Farm Income ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Pests And Diseases ◽  
Cropping Season ◽  
Farm Efficiency ◽  
Small Scale Farmers

Spinach as an economic crop is known as the king of vegetables and loved by the whole society. The purpose of this research was to analyze spinach farm income, level of farm efficiency, return to labor and return to capital. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistic methods, farm income analysis, and R/C ratio using a sample of 30 large-scale farmers and 30 small-scale farmers. The result showed that the income of large-scale farmers were greater than that of small-scale farmers in dry (September-October 2013) and rainy (February-March 2014) cropping season. Meanwhile, the income of small-scale and large-scale farmers in the rainy season was higher than in the dry season because of the high price of spinach. R/C ratio of spinach farming was greater than one. The R/C ratio indicated that spinach farming was efficient. Based on the return to labor and return to capital, it can be concluded that the farmers´decision to grow spinach in Ciaruteun Ilir Village was right.Farmers should be responsive to the growing season and the creation of value-added spinach, and the plastic hood should be made to protect the spinach plants from pests and diseases.

scholarly journals Global-scale pattern of peatland <i>Sphagnum</i> growth driven by photosynthetically active radiation and growing season length

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 2169-2196 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Loisel ◽  
A. V. Gallego-Sala ◽  
Z. Yu
Keyword(s):  
Photosynthetically Active Radiation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Peat Moss ◽  
Season Length ◽  
Global Pattern ◽  
Active Radiation ◽  
Growing Season Length ◽  
Growing Seasons ◽  
Bioclimatic Variables

Abstract. High-latitude peatlands contain about one third of the world's soil organic carbon, most of which is derived from partly decomposed Sphagnum (peat moss) plants. We conducted a meta-analysis based on a global dataset of Sphagnum growth measurements collected from published literature to investigate the effects of bioclimatic variables on Sphagnum growth. Analysis of variance and general linear models were used to relate Sphagnum magellanicum and S. fuscum growth rates to photosynthetically active radiation integrated over the growing season (PAR0) and a moisture index. We found that PAR0 was the main predictor of Sphagnum growth for the global dataset, and effective moisture was only correlated with moss growth at continental sites. The strong correlation between Sphagnum growth and PAR0 suggests the existence of a global pattern of growth, with slow rates under cool climate and short growing seasons, highlighting the important role of temperature and growing season length in explaining peatland biomass production. Large-scale patterns of cloudiness during the growing season might also limit moss growth. Although considerable uncertainty remains over the carbon balance of peatlands under a changing climate, our results suggest that increasing PAR0 as a result of global warming and lengthening growing seasons could promote Sphagnum growth. Assuming that production and decomposition have the same sensitivity to temperature, this enhanced growth could lead to greater peat-carbon sequestration, inducing a negative feedback to climate change.

Small-Scale Science to Large-Scale Profession

2000 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 396-398
Author(s):  
Roger Smith
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Small Scale
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document