scholarly journals The influence of soil properties and nutrients on conifer forest growth in Sweden, and the first steps in developing a nutrient availability metric

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Van Sundert ◽  
Joanna A. Horemans ◽  
Johan Stendahl ◽  
Sara Vicca
Keyword(s):  
Nutrient Availability ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Forest Growth ◽  
Organic Carbon Content ◽  
Conifer Forest ◽  
Growth Data ◽  
Soil Factors ◽  
Ecosystem Responses ◽  
Soil C ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract. The availability of nutrients regulates terrestrial carbon cycling and modifies ecosystem responses to environmental changes. Nonetheless, nutrient availability is often overlooked in climate-carbon cycle studies because it depends on the interplay of various soil factors that would ideally be comprised into one metric. Such a metric does not currently exist. Here, we used a Swedish forest inventory database that contains soil and tree growth data for > 2500 forests across Sweden to test which combination soil factors best explains variation in plant growth, and to take the first steps in developing a nutrient availability metric. For the latter, we started from a (yet unvalidated) metric for constraints on nutrient availability that was previously developed by IIASA (Laxenburg, Austria). This IIASA-metric was developed for crops and uses only indirect indicators of nutrient availability. Our analyses revealed that soil organic carbon content (SOC) and the soil carbon to nitrogen (C : N) ratio were the most important factors explaining variation in normalized (climate-independent) productivity. Normalized productivity increased with decreasing soil C : N ratio (R2 = 0.02–0.13), while SOC exhibited an empirical optimum (R2 = 0.05–0.15). The IIASA-metric was unrelated to normalized productivity (R2 = 0.00–0.01), because the soil factors under consideration were not well implemented, and because the C : N ratio was not included. We upgraded this metric by incorporating soil C : N and adjusting the relationship between SOC and nutrient availability in view of the observed relationship across our database. This upgraded metric explained a significant fraction of the variation (R2 = 0.03–0.21; depending on the applied method) and thus opens up new opportunities to further validate and improve it with other datasets, from forests and from other ecosystem types, to ultimately develop a generic global nutrient availability metric.

scholarly journals The influence of soil properties and nutrients on conifer forest growth in Sweden, and the first steps in developing a nutrient availability metric

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (11) ◽  
pp. 3475-3496 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Van Sundert ◽  
Joanna A. Horemans ◽  
Johan Stendahl ◽  
Sara Vicca
Keyword(s):  
Soil Properties ◽  
Tree Growth ◽  
Nutrient Availability ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Forest Productivity ◽  
Forest Growth ◽  
International Institute ◽  
Soil Factors ◽  
Potential Productivity ◽  
Soil C

Abstract. The availability of nutrients is one of the factors that regulate terrestrial carbon cycling and modify ecosystem responses to environmental changes. Nonetheless, nutrient availability is often overlooked in climate–carbon cycle studies because it depends on the interplay of various soil factors that would ideally be comprised into metrics applicable at large spatial scales. Such metrics do not currently exist. Here, we use a Swedish forest inventory database that contains soil data and tree growth data for > 2500 forests across Sweden to (i) test which combination of soil factors best explains variation in tree growth, (ii) evaluate an existing metric of constraints on nutrient availability, and (iii) adjust this metric for boreal forest data. With (iii), we thus aimed to provide an adjustable nutrient metric, applicable for Sweden and with potential for elaboration to other regions. While taking into account confounding factors such as climate, N deposition, and soil oxygen availability, our analyses revealed that the soil organic carbon concentration (SOC) and the ratio of soil carbon to nitrogen (C : N) were the most important factors explaining variation in “normalized” (climate-independent) productivity (mean annual volume increment – m3 ha−1 yr−1) across Sweden. Normalized forest productivity was significantly negatively related to the soil C : N ratio (R2 = 0.02–0.13), while SOC exhibited an empirical optimum (R2 = 0.05–0.15). For the metric, we started from a (yet unvalidated) metric for constraints on nutrient availability that was previously developed by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA – Laxenburg, Austria) for evaluating potential productivity of arable land. This IIASA metric requires information on soil properties that are indicative of nutrient availability (SOC, soil texture, total exchangeable bases – TEB, and pH) and is based on theoretical considerations that are also generally valid for nonagricultural ecosystems. However, the IIASA metric was unrelated to normalized forest productivity across Sweden (R2 = 0.00–0.01) because the soil factors under consideration were not optimally implemented according to the Swedish data, and because the soil C : N ratio was not included. Using two methods (each one based on a different way of normalizing productivity for climate), we adjusted this metric by incorporating soil C : N and modifying the relationship between SOC and nutrient availability in view of the observed relationships across our database. In contrast to the IIASA metric, the adjusted metrics explained some variation in normalized productivity in the database (R2 = 0.03–0.21; depending on the applied method). A test for five manually selected local fertility gradients in our database revealed a significant and stronger relationship between the adjusted metrics and productivity for each of the gradients (R2 = 0.09–0.38). This study thus shows for the first time how nutrient availability metrics can be evaluated and adjusted for a particular ecosystem type, using a large-scale database.

Past testate amoeba communities in landslide mountain fens (Polish Carpathians): The relationship between shell types and sediment

The Holocene ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 095968362199464
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Marcisz ◽  
Krzysztof Buczek ◽  
Mariusz Gałka ◽  
Włodzimierz Margielewski ◽  
Matthieu Mulot ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Testate Amoebae ◽  
Mineral Matter ◽  
Testate Amoeba ◽  
Run Off ◽  
Number Of Factors ◽  
Depth To Water Table ◽  
Polish Carpathians ◽  
The Relationship

Landslide mountain fens formed in landslide depressions are dynamic environments as their development is disturbed by a number of factors, for example, landslides, slopewash, and surface run-off. These processes lead to the accumulation of mineral material and wood in peat. Disturbed peatlands are interesting archives of past environmental changes, but they may be challenging for providing biotic proxy-based quantitative reconstructions. Here we investigate long-term changes in testate amoeba communities from two landslide mountain fens – so far an overlooked habitat for testate amoeba investigations. Our results show that abundances of testate amoebae are extremely low in this type of peatlands, therefore not suitable for providing quantitative depth-to-water table reconstructions. However, frequent shifts of dominant testate amoeba species reflect dynamic lithological situation of the studied fens. We observed that high and stable mineral matter input into the peatlands was associated with high abundances of species producing agglutinated (xenosomic) as well as idiosomic shells which prevailed in the testate amoeba communities in both analyzed profiles. This is the first study that explores testate amoebae of landslide mountain fens in such detail, providing novel information about microbial communities of these ecosystems.

scholarly journals Modeling the Radial Stem Growth of the Pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) Forests Using the Satellite-Derived NDVI and LST (MODIS/AQUA) Data

Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 12
Author(s):  
Yulia Ivanova ◽  
Anton Kovalev ◽  
Vlad Soukhovolsky
Keyword(s):  
Land Surface ◽  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Normalized Difference Vegetation Index ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Stem Growth ◽  
Forest Growth ◽  
Parabolic Approximation ◽  
New Approach ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Tree Increment

The paper considers a new approach to modeling the relationship between the increase in woody phytomass in the pine forest and satellite-derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Land Surface Temperature (LST) (MODIS/AQUA) data. The developed model combines the phenological and forest growth processes. For the analysis, NDVI and LST (MODIS) satellite data were used together with the measurements of tree-ring widths (TRW). NDVI data contain features of each growing season. The models include parameters of parabolic approximation of NDVI and LST time series transformed using principal component analysis. The study shows that the current rate of TRW is determined by the total values of principal components of the satellite indices over the season and the rate of tree increment in the preceding year.

scholarly journals Forecasting Agroforestry Ecosystem Services Provision in Urban Regeneration Projects: Experiences and Perspectives from Milan

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2434 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ambrogio Zanzi ◽  
Federico Andreotti ◽  
Valentina Vaglia ◽  
Sumer Alali ◽  
Francesca Orlando ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Food System ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Urban Food System ◽  
Notable Increase ◽  
Living Fences ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Pollution Removal ◽  
The Relationship

The expansion of urban agglomerates is causing significant environmental changes, while the demand and need for sustainability keep on growing. In this context, urban and peri-urban agriculture can play a crucial role, mainly if associated with an agroecological approach. Indeed, the extensive use of living fences and tree rows can improve the environmental quality, assuring ecosystem services (ES), developing a sustainable urban food system and increasing local productions and the related socio-economic improvements. This study aims to assess the benefits of an agroecological requalification of a dismissed peri-urban area in the South Milan Agricultural Regional Park (Italy), by evaluating two possible scenarios, both involving planting trees and shrubs in that area. The software I-Tree Eco simulates the ecosystem services provision of planting new hedgerows, evaluating the benefits over 30 years. The study underlines the difference between the two scenarios and how the planted area becomes an essential supplier of regulating ecosystem services for the neighbourhoods, increasing carbon storage and air pollution removal. Results were then analysed with a treemap, to better investigate and understand the relationship between the different ecosystem services, showing a notable increase in carbon sequestration at the end of the simulation (at year 30). The study shows a replicable example of a methodology and techniques that can be used to assess the ES in urban and peri-urban environments.

scholarly journals The effect of a nighttime zoo event on spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi) behavior

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darby Proctor ◽  
Michelle Smurl
Keyword(s):  
Nonhuman Primates ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Behavioral Changes ◽  
Physiological Data ◽  
Spider Monkeys ◽  
Normal Operating ◽  
Late Night ◽  
Behavioral Observations ◽  
Zoo Animals ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract The relationship between zoo animals, particularly nonhuman primates, and visitors is complex and varies by species. Adding complexity to this relationship is the trend for zoos to host events outside of normal operating hours. Here, we explored whether a late-night haunted-house style event influenced the behavior of spider monkeys. We conducted behavioral observations both on event nights and nights without the event. The spider monkeys were active and outside more frequently on event nights compared to the control nights indicating that their typical nighttime behavior was altered. However, it is difficult to definitively conclude whether the behavioral changes were a result of the event being aversive or enriching. Our findings suggest that zoos should conduct behavioral observations of and collect physiological data from their animals, especially if they are sensitive to environmental changes, when implementing new events, including those occurring outside of normal operating hours to ensure high levels of animal welfare.

The impact of executives’ perceptions of environmental threats and organizational slack on innovation strategies

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 216-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chengyuan Wang ◽  
Biao Luo ◽  
Yong Liu ◽  
Zhengyun Wei
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Theory ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Ordinary Least Squares ◽  
Organizational Slack ◽  
Least Squares Regression ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Environmental Threats ◽  
Innovation Strategies ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose The paper aims to study the relationship between executives’ perceptions of environmental threats and innovation strategies and investigate the moderating effect of contextual factor (i.e. organizational slack) on such relations. It proposes a dualistic relationship between executives’ perceptions of environmental threats and innovation strategies, in which different perceptions of environmental threats will lead to corresponding innovation strategies, and dyadic organizational slack can promote such processes. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on a survey with 163 valid questionnaires, which were all completed by executives. Hierarchical ordinary least-squares regression analysis is used to test the hypotheses proposed in this paper. Findings The paper provides empirical insights about that executives tend to choose exploratory innovation when they perceive environmental changes as likely loss threats, yet adopt exploitative innovation when perceiving control-reducing threats. Furthermore, unabsorbed slack (e.g. financial redundancy) positively moderates both relationships, while absorbed slack (e.g. operational redundancy) merely positively influences the relationship between the perception of control-reducing threats and exploitative innovation. Originality/value The paper bridges the gap between organizational innovation and cognitive theory by proposing a dualistic relationship between executives’ perceptions of environmental threats and innovation strategies. The paper further enriches innovation studies by jointly considering both subjective and objective influence factors of innovation and argues that organizational slack can moderate such dualistic relationship.

Tree growth across the Nepal Himalaya during the last four centuries

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 478-495 ◽  
Author(s):  
UK Thapa ◽  
S St. George ◽  
DK Kharal ◽  
NP Gaire
Keyword(s):  
Tree Ring ◽  
Tree Growth ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Ring Width ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Forest Growth ◽  
Tree Ring Width ◽  
Early 19Th Century ◽  
Tree Ring Data ◽  
Instrumental Records

The climate of Nepal has changed rapidly over the recent decades, but most instrumental records of weather and hydrology only extend back to the 1980s. Tree rings can provide a longer perspective on recent environmental changes, and since the early 2000s, a new round of field initiatives by international researchers and Nepali scientists have more than doubled the size of the country’s tree-ring network. In this paper, we present a comprehensive analysis of the current tree-ring width network for Nepal, and use this network to estimate changes in forest growth nation-wide during the last four centuries. Ring-width chronologies in Nepal have been developed from 11 tree species, and half of the records span at least 290 years. The Nepal tree-ring width network provides a robust estimate of annual forest growth over roughly the last four centuries, but prior to this point, our mean ring-width composite fluctuates wildly due to low sample replication. Over the last four centuries, two major events are prominent in the all-Nepal composite: (i) a prolonged and widespread growth suppression during the early 1800s; and (ii) heightened growth during the most recent decade. The early 19th century decline in tree growth coincides with two major Indonesian eruptions, and suggests that short-term disturbances related to climate extremes can exert a lasting influence on the vigor of Nepal’s forests. Growth increases since AD 2000 are mainly apparent in high-elevation fir, which may be a consequence of the observed trend towards warmer temperatures, particularly during winter. This synthesis effort should be useful to establish baselines for tree-ring data in Nepal and provide a broader context to evaluate the sensitivity or behavior of this proxy in the central Himalayas.

scholarly journals Monitoring studies should consider temporal variability to reveal relations between cyanobacterial abundance and environmental variables

2015 ◽  
Vol 87 (3) ◽  
pp. 1717-1726 ◽  
Author(s):  
JULIANA WOJCIECHOWSKI ◽  
ANDRÉ A. PADIAL
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Variability ◽  
Environmental Variables ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Environmental Variability ◽  
Time Lag ◽  
Cyanobacteria Blooms ◽  
Environment Variables ◽  
Sampling Points ◽  
The Relationship

One of the main goals of monitoring cyanobacteria blooms in aquatic environments is to reveal the relationship between cyanobacterial abundance and environmental variables. Studies typically correlate data that were simultaneously sampled. However, samplings occur sparsely over time and may not reveal the short-term responses of cyanobacterial abundance to environmental changes. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that stronger cyanobacteria x environment relationships in monitoring are found when the temporal variability of sampling points is incorporated in the statistical analyses. To this end, we investigated relationships between cyanobacteria and seven environmental variables that were sampled twice yearly for three years across 11 reservoirs, and data from an intensive monitoring in one of these reservoirs. Poor correlations were obtained when correlating data simultaneously sampled. In fact, the 'highly recurrent' role of phosphorus in cyanobacteria blooms is not properly observed in all sampling periods. On the other hand, the strongest correlation values for the total phosphorus x cyanobacteria relationship were observed when we used the variation of sampling points. We have also shown that environment variables better explain cyanobacteria when a time lag is considered. We conclude that, in cyanobacteria monitoring, the best approach to reveal determinants of cyanobacteria blooms is to consider environmental variability.

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