Biogeography in the air: fungal diversity over land and oceans

Abstract. Biogenic aerosols are relevant for the Earth system, climate, and public health on local, regional, and global scales. Up to now, however, little is known about the diversity and biogeography of airborne microorganisms. We present the first DNA-based analysis of airborne fungi on global scales, showing pronounced geographic patterns and boundaries. In particular we find that the ratio of species richness between Basidiomycota and Ascomycota is much higher in continental air than in marine air. This may be an important difference between the "blue ocean" and "green ocean" regimes in the formation of clouds and precipitation, for which fungal spores can act as nuclei. Our findings also suggest that air flow patterns and the global atmospheric circulation are important for the understanding of global changes in biodiversity.

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Biogeography in the air: fungal diversity over land and oceans

Biogeosciences Discussions ◽

10.5194/bgd-8-7071-2011 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

pp. 7071-7096 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

J. Fröhlich-Nowoisky ◽

S. M. Burrows ◽

Z. Xie ◽

G. Engling ◽

P. A. Solomon ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fungal Spores ◽

Airborne Fungi ◽

Global Changes ◽

Earth System ◽

Airborne Microorganisms ◽

Geographic Patterns ◽

The Earth ◽

Global Atmospheric Circulation ◽

Biogenic Aerosols ◽

Marine Air

Abstract. Biogenic aerosols are relevant for the Earth system, climate, and public health on local, regional, and global scales. Up to now, however, little is known about the diversity and biogeography of airborne microorganisms. We present the first DNA-based analysis of airborne fungi on global scales, showing pronounced geographic patterns and boundaries. In particular we found that the ratio of species richness between Basidiomycota and Ascomycota is much higher in continental air than in marine air. This may be an important difference between the "blue ocean" and "green ocean" regimes in the formation of clouds and precipitation, for which fungal spores can act as nuclei. Our findings also suggest that air flow patterns and the global atmospheric circulation are important for the evolution of microbial ecology and for the understanding of global changes in biodiversity.

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How does the Earth system generate and maintain thermodynamic disequilibrium and what does it imply for the future of the planet?

Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society A Mathematical Physical and Engineering Sciences ◽

10.1098/rsta.2011.0316 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 370 (1962) ◽

pp. 1012-1040 ◽

Cited By ~ 40

Author(s):

Axel Kleidon

Keyword(s):

Free Energy ◽

Human Activity ◽

Climate Models ◽

Net Primary Productivity ◽

Second Law Of Thermodynamics ◽

Global Changes ◽

Earth System ◽

Geochemical Composition ◽

The Earth ◽

The Future

The Earth's chemical composition far from chemical equilibrium is unique in our Solar System, and this uniqueness has been attributed to the presence of widespread life on the planet. Here, I show how this notion can be quantified using non-equilibrium thermodynamics. Generating and maintaining disequilibrium in a thermodynamic variable requires the extraction of power from another thermodynamic gradient, and the second law of thermodynamics imposes fundamental limits on how much power can be extracted. With this approach and associated limits, I show that the ability of abiotic processes to generate geochemical free energy that can be used to transform the surface–atmosphere environment is strongly limited to less than 1 TW. Photosynthetic life generates more than 200 TW by performing photochemistry, thereby substantiating the notion that a geochemical composition far from equilibrium can be a sign for strong biotic activity. Present-day free energy consumption by human activity in the form of industrial activity and human appropriated net primary productivity is of the order of 50 TW and therefore constitutes a considerable term in the free energy budget of the planet. When aiming to predict the future of the planet, we first note that since global changes are closely related to this consumption of free energy, and the demands for free energy by human activity are anticipated to increase substantially in the future, the central question in the context of predicting future global change is then how human free energy demands can increase sustainably without negatively impacting the ability of the Earth system to generate free energy. This question could be evaluated with climate models, and the potential deficiencies in these models to adequately represent the thermodynamics of the Earth system are discussed. Then, I illustrate the implications of this thermodynamic perspective by discussing the forms of renewable energy and planetary engineering that would enhance the overall free energy generation and, thereby ‘empower’ the future of the planet.

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Plant physiological ecology and the global changes

Ciência e Agrotecnologia ◽

10.1590/s1413-70542012000300001 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 36 (3) ◽

pp. 253-269 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

João Paulo Rodrigues Alves Delfino Barbosa ◽

Serge Rambal ◽

Angela Maria Soares ◽

Florent Mouillot ◽

Joana Messias Pereira Nogueira ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physiological Ecology ◽

System Change ◽

Global Changes ◽

Earth System ◽

Real Effects ◽

Physiological Processes ◽

The Earth ◽

Plant Physiological Ecology ◽

Biophysical Processes ◽

And Function

The global changes are marked by alteration on the normal patterns of important biochemical and biophysical processes of the Earth. However, the real effects as well as the feedbacks of the global changes over vegetation are still unclear. Part of this uncertainty can be attributed to the inattention of stakeholders and scientists towards vegetation and its complex interrelations with the environment, which drive plant physiological processes in different space-time scales. Notwithstanding, some key subjects of the global changes could be better elucidated with a more plant physiological ecology approach. We discuss some issues related to this topic, going through some limitations of approaching vegetation as a static component of the biosphere as the other sub-systems of the Earth-system change. With this perspective, this review is an initial reflection towards the assessment of the role and place of vegetation structure and function in the global changes context. We reviewed the Earth-system and global changes terminology; attempted to illustrate key plant physiological ecology researches themes in the global changes context; consider approaching plants as complex systems in order to adequately quantify systems characteristics as sensibility, homeostasis, and vulnerability. Moreover, we propose insights that would allow vegetation studies and scaling procedures in the context of the Earth-system. We hope this review will assist researchers on their strategy to identify, understand and anticipate the potential effects of global changes over the most vulnerable vegetation processes from the leaf to the global levels.

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Ergosterol, arabitol and mannitol as tracers for biogenic aerosols in the eastern Mediterranean

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ◽

10.5194/acp-11-829-2011 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 829-839 ◽

Cited By ~ 77

Author(s):

N. Burshtein ◽

N. Lang-Yona ◽

Y. Rudich

Keyword(s):

Trajectory Analysis ◽

Eastern Mediterranean ◽

Fungal Spores ◽

Eastern Mediterranean Region ◽

Inorganic Ions ◽

Airborne Fungi ◽

Back Trajectory ◽

Back Trajectory Analysis ◽

Biogenic Aerosols ◽

Chemical Biomarkers

Abstract. Aerosols containing biological components can have a significant effect on human health by causing primarily irritation, infection and allergies. Specifically, airborne fungi can cause a wide array of adverse responses in humans depending on the type and quantity present. In this study we used chemical biomarkers for analyzing fungi-containing aerosols in the eastern Mediterranean region during the year 2009 in order to quantify annual fungal abundances. The prime marker for fungi used in this study was ergosterol, and its concentrations were compared with those of mannitol and arabitol which were recently suggested to also correlate with fungal spores concentrations (Bauer et al., 2008a). Back trajectory analysis, inorganic ions, humidity and temperature were used in an attempt to identify sources as well as the dependence on seasonal and environmental conditions. We found that the ambient concentrations of ergosterol, arabitol and mannitol range between 0 and 2.73 ng m−3, 1.85 and 58.27 ng m−3, 5.57 and 138.03 ng m−3, respectively. The highest levels for all biomarkers were during the autumn, probably from local terrestrial sources, as deduced from the inorganic ions and back trajectory analysis. Significant correlations were observed between arabitol and mannitol during the entire year except for the winter months. Both sugars correlated with ergosterol only during the spring and autumn. We conclude that mannitol and arabitol might not be specific biomarkers for fungi and that the observed correlations during spring and autumn may be attributed to high levels of vegetation during spring blossoms and autumn decomposing.

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6. Projection

Earth System Science: A Very Short Introduction ◽

10.1093/actrade/9780198718871.003.0006 ◽

2016 ◽

pp. 91-106

Author(s):

Tim Lenton

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Human Activities ◽

Global Changes ◽

Earth System ◽

System Models ◽

The Earth ◽

The Future ◽

Earth System Models ◽

Specific Challenge

Where is the Earth system heading in the Anthropocene? To even begin to answer this question requires a model of how the Earth system works, and the answer depends on our collective activities as a species, and how the Earth system responds to those. The model’s role is to forecast the consequences of different assumptions about future human activities. ‘Projection’ introduces ‘Earth system models’ and some of the crucial assumptions that go into using them to forecast the future. It outlines their projections, going from shorter to longer timescales, and from the specific challenge of projecting climate change to the broader challenge of exploring other global changes.

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Ergosterol, arabitol and mannitol as tracers for biogenic aerosols in the Eastern Mediterranean

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions ◽

10.5194/acpd-10-27725-2010 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 10 (11) ◽

pp. 27725-27758 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

N. Burshtein ◽

N. Lang Yona ◽

Y. Rudich

Keyword(s):

Trajectory Analysis ◽

Eastern Mediterranean ◽

Fungal Spores ◽

Eastern Mediterranean Region ◽

Inorganic Ions ◽

Airborne Fungi ◽

Back Trajectory ◽

Back Trajectory Analysis ◽

Biogenic Aerosols ◽

Chemical Biomarkers

Abstract. Aerosols containing biological components can have a significant effect on human health by causing primarily irritation, infection and allergies. Specifically, airborne fungi can cause a wide array of adverse responses in humans depending on the type and quantity present. In this study we used chemical biomarkers for analyzing fungi-containing aerosols in the eastern Mediterranean region during the year 2009 in order to quantify annual fungal abundances. The prime marker for fungi used in this study was ergosterol, and its concentrations were compared with those of mannitol and arabitol, which were recently suggested to also correlate with fungal spores concentrations (Bauer et al., 2008a). Back trajectory analysis, inorganic ions, humidity and temperature were used in an attempt to identify sources as well as the dependence on seasonal and environmental conditions. We found that the ambient concentrations of ergosterol, arabitol and mannitol range between 0 and 2.73 ng m−3, 1.85 and 58.27 ng m−3, 5.57 and 138.03 ng m−3, respectively. The highest levels for all biomarkers were during the autumn, probably from local terrestrial sources, as deduced from the inorganic ions and back trajectory analysis. Significant correlations were observed between arabitol and mannitol during the entire year except for the winter months. Both sugars correlated with ergosterol only during the spring and autumn. We conclude that mannitol and arabitol might not be specific biomarkers for fungi and that the observed correlations during spring and autumn may be attributed to high levels of vegetation during spring blossoms and autumn decomposition.

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