Climate variability and community stability in Mediterranean shrublands: the role of functional diversity and soil environment

Chapter 10 “Environmental DNA for functional diversity” discusses the potential of environmental DNA to assess functional diversity. It first focuses on DNA metabarcoding and discusses the extent to which this approach can be used and/or optimized to retrieve meaningful information on the functions of the target community. This knowledge usually involves coarsely defined functional groups (e.g., woody, leguminous, graminoid plants; shredders or decomposer soil organisms; pathogenicity or decomposition role of certain microorganisms). Chapter 10 then introduces metagenomics and metatranscriptomics approaches, their advantages, but also the challenges and solutions to appropriately sampling, sequencing these complex DNA/RNA populations. Chapter 10 finally presents several strategies and software to analyze metagenomes/metatranscriptomes, and discusses their pros and cons.

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Reprint of: Tree-tree interactions and crown complementarity: the role of functional diversity and branch traits for canopy packing

Basic and Applied Ecology ◽

10.1016/j.baae.2021.01.010 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Michaela Hildebrand ◽

Maria D. Perles-Garcia ◽

Matthias Kunz ◽

Werner Härdtle ◽

Goddert von Oheimb ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Functional Diversity

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Role of Biochar in Improving Sandy Soil Water Retention and Resilience to Drought

Water ◽

10.3390/w13040407 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (4) ◽

pp. 407

Author(s):

Ling Li ◽

Yong-Jiang Zhang ◽

Abigayl Novak ◽

Yingchao Yang ◽

Jinwu Wang

Keyword(s):

Climate Variability ◽

Sandy Soil ◽

Water Retention ◽

Sandy Soils ◽

Crop Productivity ◽

Future Research ◽

Soil Water Retention ◽

The World ◽

Water Holding

In recent years, plants in sandy soils have been impacted by increased climate variability due to weak water holding and temperature buffering capacities of the parent material. The projected impact spreads all over the world, including New England, USA. Many regions of the world may experience an increase in frequency and severity of drought, which can be attributed to an increased variability in precipitation and enhanced water loss due to warming. The overall benefits of biochar in environmental management have been extensively investigated. This review aims to discuss the water holding capacity of biochar from the points of view of fluid mechanics and propose several prioritized future research topics. To understand the impacts of biochar on sandy soils in-depth, sandy soil properties (surface area, pore size, water properties, and characteristics) and how biochar could improve the soil quality as well as plant growth, development, and yield are reviewed. Incorporating biochar into sandy soils could result in a net increase in the surface area, a stronger hydrophobicity at a lower temperature, and an increase in the micropores to maximize gap spaces. The capability of biochar in reducing fertilizer drainage through increasing water retention can improve crop productivity and reduce the nutrient leaching rate in agricultural practices. To advance research in biochar products and address the impacts of increasing climate variability, future research may focus on the role of biochar in enhancing soil water retention, plant water use efficiency, crop resistance to drought, and crop productivity.

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First comparison of quantitative estimates of termite biomass and abundance reveals strong intercontinental differences

Journal of Tropical Ecology ◽

10.1017/s0266467413000898 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 30 (2) ◽

pp. 143-152 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

Cecilia A.L. Dahlsjö ◽

Catherine L. Parr ◽

Yadvinder Malhi ◽

Homathevi Rahman ◽

Patrick Meir ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Functional Groups ◽

Functional Diversity ◽

Ecosystem Processes ◽

Global Scale ◽

Species Density ◽

Abundance Data ◽

Standardized Protocol ◽

Biogeographical Distribution ◽

Belt Transect

Abstract:Termite species and functional groups differ among regions globally (the functional-diversity anomaly). Here we investigate whether similar differences in biomass and abundance of termites occur among continents. Biomass and abundance data were collected with standardized sampling in Cameroon, Malaysia and Peru. Data from Peru were original to this study, while data from Cameroon and Malaysia were compiled from other sources. Species density data were sampled using a standardized belt transect (100 × 2 m) while the biomass and abundance measurements were sampled using a standardized protocol based on 2 × 2-m quadrats. Biomass and abundance data confirmed patterns found for species density and thus the existence of the functional diversity anomaly: highest estimates for biomass and abundance were found in Cameroon (14.5 ± 7.90 g m−2 and 1234 ± 437 ind m−2) followed by Malaysia (0.719 ± 0.193 g m−2 and 327 ± 72 ind m−2) and then Peru (0.345 ± 0.103 g m−2 and 130 ± 39 ind m−2). The biomass and abundance for each functional group were significantly different across sites for most termite functional groups. Biogeographical distribution of lineages was the primary cause for the functional diversity anomaly with true soil-feeding termites dominating in Cameroon and the absence of fungus-growing termites from Peru. These findings are important as the biomass and abundance of functional groups may be linked to ecosystem processes. Although this study allowed for comparisons between data from different regions further comparable data are needed to enhance the understanding of the role of termites in ecosystem processes on a global scale.

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Regulation of clathrin coat assembly by Eps15 homology domain–mediated interactions during endocytosis

Molecular Biology of the Cell ◽

10.1091/mbc.e11-04-0380 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 23 (4) ◽

pp. 687-700 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Ryohei Suzuki ◽

Junko Y. Toshima ◽

Jiro Toshima

Keyword(s):

Functional Diversity ◽

Protein Interaction ◽

Interaction Domain ◽

Protein Protein Interaction ◽

Molecular Events ◽

Biological Studies ◽

Eh Domain ◽

Actin Patch ◽

Lines Of Evidence

Clathrin-mediated endocytosis involves a coordinated series of molecular events regulated by interactions among a variety of proteins and lipids through specific domains. One such domain is the Eps15 homology (EH) domain, a highly conserved protein–protein interaction domain present in a number of proteins distributed from yeast to mammals. Several lines of evidence suggest that the yeast EH domain–containing proteins Pan1p, End3p, and Ede1p play important roles during endocytosis. Although genetic and cell-biological studies of these proteins suggested a role for the EH domains in clathrin-mediated endocytosis, it was unclear how they regulate clathrin coat assembly. To explore the role of the EH domain in yeast endocytosis, we mutated those of Pan1p, End3p, or Ede1p, respectively, and examined the effects of single, double, or triple mutation on clathrin coat assembly. We found that mutations of the EH domain caused a defect of cargo internalization and a delay of clathrin coat assembly but had no effect on assembly of the actin patch. We also demonstrated functional redundancy among the EH domains of Pan1p, End3p, and Ede1p for endocytosis. Of interest, the dynamics of several endocytic proteins were differentially affected by various EH domain mutations, suggesting functional diversity of each EH domain.

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