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Xiang X, De K, Lin W, Feng T, Li F, Wei X. Effects of warming and nitrogen deposition on species and functional diversity of plant communities in the alpine meadow of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. PLoS One 2025; 20:e0319581. [PMID: 40127083 PMCID: PMC11932474 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0319581] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2024] [Accepted: 02/04/2025] [Indexed: 03/26/2025] Open
Abstract
Plant species and functional diversity play an important role in the stability and sustainability of grassland ecosystems. However, the changes and mechanisms of plant species and functional diversity under warming and nitrogen deposition are still unclear. In this study, we investigated the plant and soil characteristics of alpine meadows on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to explore the changes in species and functional diversity of plant communities under warming and nitrogen deposition, as well as their interrelationships and key determinants. The results showed that warming, nitrogen deposition, and their interactions had significant effects on plant species diversity (plant Shannon-Wiener index) and functional diversity (functional richness index, functional differentiation index, functional dispersion, and Rao's quadratic entropy index). With the increase of warming and nitrogen deposition, the Shannon-Wiener index of plants increased first and then decreased. The plant functional richness index, functional diversity index, functional dispersion index, and Rao's quadratic entropy index showed a decreasing trend. At the same time, with the increase in temperature and nitrogen deposition, the relationship between plant species diversity index and functional diversity index in the alpine meadow of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau gradually weakened. Redundancy analysis and structural equation modeling showed that both warming and nitrogen deposition had significant negative effects on the plant species diversity index and plant functional diversity index. Plant factors (Grasses importance value, leaf nitrogen weighted mean, specific leaf area-weighted mean, leaf area-weighted mean, and leaf weight weighted mean) and soil environmental factors (soil total nitrogen and soil carbon-nitrogen ratio) directly or indirectly affect plant community diversity under warming and nitrogen deposition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuemei Xiang
- College of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Qinghai University, Xining, Qinghai Province, China
| | - Kejia De
- College of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Qinghai University, Xining, Qinghai Province, China
| | - Weishan Lin
- College of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Qinghai University, Xining, Qinghai Province, China
| | - Tingxu Feng
- College of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Qinghai University, Xining, Qinghai Province, China
| | - Fei Li
- College of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Qinghai University, Xining, Qinghai Province, China
| | - Xijie Wei
- College of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Qinghai University, Xining, Qinghai Province, China
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Niu B, Fu G. Response of plant diversity and soil microbial diversity to warming and increased precipitation in alpine grasslands on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau - A review. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 912:168878. [PMID: 38029973 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168878] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2023] [Revised: 11/15/2023] [Accepted: 11/23/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023]
Abstract
Plant diversity and soil microbial diversity are closely related, and they maintain the health and stability of terrestrial ecosystems. As a hotspot region of global biodiversity research, both air temperature and precipitation of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau tend to increase in future. Based on an overview of the responses of grassland/alpine ecosystems to seasonal asymmetric warming and increased precipitation worldwide, we elaborated the advancements and uncertainties on the responses of plant diversity and soil microbial diversity to warming and increased precipitation in alpine grasslands on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau. The future research focus of plant diversity and soil microbial diversity in the alpine grasslands of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau under climate warming and increased precipitation was proposed. Generally, previous studies found that the responses of plant species diversity and soil microbial species diversity to warming and increased precipitation differed between alpine meadows and alpine steppes, but few studies focused on their responses to warming and increased precipitation in alpine desert steppes. Previous studies mainly focused on species diversity, although phylogenetic and functional diversities are also important aspects of biodiversity. Previous studies mainly explained responses of plant diversity and soil microbial diversity to warming and increased precipitation based on niche theory, although neutral theory is also the other important mechanism in regulating biodiversity. Moreover, previous studies almost ignored the coupling relationship between plant diversity and soil microbial diversity. Therefore, the following four aspects need to be strengthened, including the responses of plant diversity and soil microbial diversity to warming and increased precipitation in alpine desert steppes, the responses of plant and soil microbial phylogenetic diversity and functional diversity to warming and increased precipitation, combining the niche theory and neutral theory to examining the mechanism of biodiversity, and the coupling relationships between plant diversity and soil microbial diversity under warming and increased precipitation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ben Niu
- Lhasa Plateau Ecosystem Research Station, Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Gang Fu
- Lhasa Plateau Ecosystem Research Station, Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
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Xiao J, Yu C, Fu G. Response of Aboveground Net Primary Production, Species and Phylogenetic Diversity to Warming and Increased Precipitation in an Alpine Meadow. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 12:3017. [PMID: 37687264 PMCID: PMC10490440 DOI: 10.3390/plants12173017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2023] [Revised: 08/10/2023] [Accepted: 08/18/2023] [Indexed: 09/10/2023]
Abstract
The uncertain responses of aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) and plant diversity to climate warming and increased precipitation will limit our ability to predict changes in vegetation productivity and plant diversity under future climate change and further constrain our ability to protect biodiversity and ecosystems. A long-term experiment was conducted to explore the responses of ANPP, plant species, phylogenetic α-diversity, and community composition to warming and increased precipitation in an alpine meadow of the Northern Tibet from 2014 to 2019. Coverage, height, and species name were obtained by conventional community investigation methods, and ANPP was obtained using observed height and coverage. Open-top chambers with two different heights were used to simulate low- and high-level climate warming. The low- and high-level increased precipitation treatments were achieved by using two kinds of surface area funnel devices. The high-level warming reduced sedge ANPP (ANPPsedge) by 62.81%, species richness (SR) by 21.05%, Shannon by 13.06%, and phylogenetic diversity (PD) by 14.48%, but increased forb ANPP (ANPPforb) by 56.65% and mean nearest taxon distance (MNTD) by 33.88%. Species richness, Shannon, and PD of the high-level warming were 19.64%, 9.67%, and 14.66% lower than those of the low-level warming, respectively. The high-level warming-induced dissimilarity magnitudes of species and phylogenetic composition were greater than those caused by low-level warming. The low- rather than high-level increased precipitation altered species and phylogenetic composition. There were significant inter-annual variations of ANPP, plant species, phylogenetic α-diversity and community composition. Therefore, climate warming and increased precipitation had non-linear effects on ANPP and plant diversity, which were due to non-linear changes in temperature, water availability, and/or soil nutrition caused by warming and increased precipitation. The inter-annual variations of ANPP and plant diversity were stronger than the effects of warming and especially increased precipitation on ANPP and plant diversity. In terms of plant diversity conservation and related policy formulation, we should pay more attention to regions with greater warming, at least for the northern Tibet grasslands. Besides paying attention to the responses of ANPP and plant diversity to climate change, the large inter-annual changes of ANPP and plant diversity should be given great attention because the large inter-annual variation indicates the low temporal stability of ANPP and plant diversity and thus produces great uncertainty for the development of animal husbandry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianyu Xiao
- Lhasa Plateau Ecosystem Research Station, Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; (J.X.); (C.Y.)
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Chengqun Yu
- Lhasa Plateau Ecosystem Research Station, Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; (J.X.); (C.Y.)
| | - Gang Fu
- Lhasa Plateau Ecosystem Research Station, Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; (J.X.); (C.Y.)
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Hossain ML, Li J, Lai Y, Beierkuhnlein C. Long-term evidence of differential resistance and resilience of grassland ecosystems to extreme climate events. ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT 2023; 195:734. [PMID: 37231126 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-023-11269-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2022] [Accepted: 04/19/2023] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Grassland ecosystems are affected by the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme climate events (e.g., droughts). Understanding how grassland ecosystems maintain their functioning, resistance, and resilience under climatic perturbations is a topic of current concern. Resistance is the capacity of an ecosystem to withstand change against extreme climate, while resilience is the ability of an ecosystem to return to its original state after a perturbation. Using the growing season Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVIgs, an index of vegetation growth) and the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (a drought index), we evaluated the response, resistance, and resilience of vegetation to climatic conditions for alpine grassland, grass-dominated steppe, hay meadow, arid steppe, and semi-arid steppe in northern China for the period 1982-2012. The results show that NDVIgs varied significantly across these grasslands, with the highest (lowest) NDVIgs values in alpine grassland (semi-arid steppe). We found increasing trends of greenness in alpine grassland, grass-dominated steppe, and hay meadow, while there were no detectable changes of NDVIgs in arid and semi-arid steppes. NDVIgs decreased with increasing dryness from extreme wet to extreme dry. Alpine and steppe grasslands exhibited higher resistance to and lower resilience after extreme wet, while lower resistance to and higher resilience after extreme dry conditions. No significant differences in resistance and resilience of hay meadow under climatic conditions suggest the stability of this grassland under climatic perturbations. This study concludes that highly resistant grasslands under conditions of water surplus are low resilient, but low resistant ecosystems under conditions of water shortage are highly resilient.
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Affiliation(s)
- Md Lokman Hossain
- Department of Geography, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China
- Department of Biogeography, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstraße 30, 95447, Bayreuth, Germany
- Department of Environment Protection Technology, German University Bangladesh, Gazipur, Bangladesh
| | - Jianfeng Li
- Department of Geography, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China.
- Institute for Research and Continuing Education, Hong Kong Baptist University, Shenzhen, China.
| | - Yangchen Lai
- Department of Geography, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China
| | - Carl Beierkuhnlein
- Department of Biogeography, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstraße 30, 95447, Bayreuth, Germany
- BayCEER, Bayreuth Center for Ecology and Environmental Research, Universitätsstr. 30, 95447, Bayreuth, Germany
- GIB, Geographical Institute Bayreuth, Universitätsstr. 30, 95447, Bayreuth, Germany
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Han F, Yu C, Fu G. Non-growing/growing season non-uniform-warming increases precipitation use efficiency but reduces its temporal stability in an alpine meadow. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 14:1090204. [PMID: 36778684 PMCID: PMC9911657 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1090204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2022] [Accepted: 01/19/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
There are still uncertainties on the impacts of season-non-uniform-warming on plant precipitation use efficiency (PUE) and its temporal stability (PUEstability) in alpine areas. Here, we examined the changes of PUE and PUEstability under two scenes of non-growing/growing season non-uniform-warming (i.e., GLNG: growing-season-warming lower than non-growing-season-warming; GHNG: growing-season-warming higher than non-growing-season-warming) based on a five-year non-uniform-warming of non-growing/growing season experiment. The GLNG treatment increased PUE by 38.70% and reduced PUEstability by 50.47%, but the GHNG treatment did not change PUE and PUEstability. This finding was mainly due to the fact that the GLNG treatment had stronger influences on aboveground biomass (AGB), non-growing-season soil moisture (SMNG), temporal stability of AGB (AGBstability), temporal stability of non-growing-season air temperature (T a_NG_stability), temporal stability of growing-season vapor pressure deficit (VPDG_stability) and temporal stability of start of growing-season (SGSstability). Therefore, the warming scene with a higher non-growing-season-warming can have greater influences on PUE and PUEstability than the warming scene with a higher growing-season-warming, and there were possibly trade-offs between plant PUE and PUEstability under season-non-uniform-warming scenes in the alpine meadow.
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Koerner SE, Avolio ML, Blair JM, Knapp AK, Smith MD. Multiple global change drivers show independent, not interactive effects: a long-term case study in tallgrass prairie. Oecologia 2023; 201:143-154. [PMID: 36507971 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-022-05295-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2022] [Accepted: 11/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Ecosystems are faced with an onslaught of co-occurring global change drivers. While frequently studied independently, the effects of multiple global change drivers have the potential to be additive, antagonistic, or synergistic. Global warming, for example, may intensify the effects of more variable precipitation regimes with warmer temperatures increasing evapotranspiration and thereby amplifying the effect of already dry soils. Here, we present the long-term effects (11 years) of altered precipitation patterns (increased intra-annual variability in the growing season) and warming (1 °C year-round) on plant community composition and aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP), a key measure of ecosystem functioning in mesic tallgrass prairie. Based on past results, we expected that increased precipitation variability and warming would have additive effects on both community composition and ANPP. Increased precipitation variability altered plant community composition and increased richness, with no effect on ANPP. In contrast, warming decreased ANPP via reduction in grass stems and biomass but had no effect on the plant community. Contrary to expectations, across all measured variables, precipitation and warming treatments had no interactive effects. While treatment interactions did not occur, each treatment did individually impact a different component of the ecosystem (i.e., community vs. function). Thus, different aspects of the ecosystem may be sensitive to different global change drivers in mesic grassland ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sally E Koerner
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, 27412, USA.
| | - Meghan L Avolio
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, John Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA
| | - John M Blair
- Division of Biology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 66506, USA
| | - Alan K Knapp
- Department of Biology and Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80253, USA
| | - Melinda D Smith
- Department of Biology and Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80253, USA
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Schmid JS, Huth A, Taubert F. Impact of mowing frequency and temperature on the production of temperate grasslands: explanations received by an individual‐based model. OIKOS 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.09108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Julia S. Schmid
- Dept of Ecological Modeling, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ Leipzig Germany
| | - Andreas Huth
- Dept of Ecological Modeling, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ Leipzig Germany
- Inst. for Environmental Systems Research, Dept of Mathematics/Computer Science, Univ. of Osnabrück Osnabrück Germany
| | - Franziska Taubert
- Dept of Ecological Modeling, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ Leipzig Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig Leipzig Germany
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8
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Hossain ML, Li J, Hoffmann S, Beierkuhnlein C. Biodiversity showed positive effects on resistance but mixed effects on resilience to climatic extremes in a long-term grassland experiment. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 827:154322. [PMID: 35257775 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.154322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2021] [Revised: 02/20/2022] [Accepted: 03/02/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the role of biodiversity in maintaining ecosystem functioning and stability under increasing frequency and magnitude of climatic extremes has fascinated ecologists for decades. Although growing evidence suggests that biodiversity affects ecosystem productivity and buffers ecosystem against climatic extremes, it remains unclear whether the stability of an ecosystem is caused by its resistance against disturbances or resilience towards perturbations or both. In attempting to explore how species richness affects resistance and resilience of above-ground net primary productivity (ANPP) against climatic extremes, we analyzed the grassland ANPP of the long-running (1997-2020) Bayreuth Biodiversity experiment in Germany. We used the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index to identify climatic conditions based on 5- and 7-class classifications of climatic conditions. Mixed-effects models and post-hoc test show that ANPP varied significantly among different intensities (e.g. moderate or extreme) and directions (e.g. dry or wet) of climatic conditions, with the highest ANPP in extreme wet and the lowest in extreme dry conditions. Resistance and resilience of ANPP to climatic extremes in different intensities were examined by linear-mixed effects models and we found that species richness increased ecosystem resistance against all dry and wet climatic extremes, but decreased ecosystem resilience towards all dry climatic extremes. Species richness had no effects on ecosystem resilience towards wet climatic extremes. When the five level of species richness treatment (i.e., 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16 species) were considered, the relationships between species richness and resistance and resilience of ANPP under extreme wet and dry conditions remained similar. Our study emphasizes that plant communities with greater species richness need to be maintained to stabilize ecosystem productivity and increase resistance against different climatic extremes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Md Lokman Hossain
- Department of Geography, Hong Kong Baptist University, Baptist University Road, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, China; Department of Biogeography, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstr. 30, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany; Department of Environment Protection Technology, German University Bangladesh, 1702 Gazipur, Bangladesh
| | - Jianfeng Li
- Department of Geography, Hong Kong Baptist University, Baptist University Road, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, China.
| | - Samuel Hoffmann
- Department of Biogeography, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstr. 30, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Carl Beierkuhnlein
- Department of Biogeography, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstr. 30, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany; BayCEER, Bayreuth Center for Ecology and Environmental Research, Universitätsstr. 30, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany
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Fu G, Shen ZX. Asymmetrical warming of growing/non-growing season increases soil respiration during growing season in an alpine meadow. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 812:152591. [PMID: 34954180 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152591] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2021] [Revised: 12/06/2021] [Accepted: 12/17/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Soil respiration (Rs) is an important carbon flux in the global carbon cycle, and understanding the influence of global warming on Rs is critical for precise prediction future climate change. Actually, global warming is expected to be seasonally asymmetric, however, it is still unclear on the response of Rs to asymmetrical warming of growing/non-growing season in alpine regions. In this study, an experiment with asymmetrical warming of growing/non-growing season (including three treatments, CK: control; GLNG: warming magnitude of growing season lower than non-growing season; GHNG: warming magnitude of growing season higher than non-growing season) was performed in an alpine meadow of the Northern Tibet since June 2015. The 'GLNG' and 'GHNG' treatments increased mean Rs by 71.22% (1.89 μmol CO2 m-2 s-1) and 34.32% (0.91 μmol CO2 m-2 s-1) during growing season in 2019, respectively. However, the 'GLNG' and 'GHNG' treatments did not significantly affect mean Rs during growing season in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, respectively. The variation coefficient of growing season mean Rs was 32.95% under the CK treatment in 2015-2019. Therefore, warming may have a lagging effect on Rs. The warming scene with a greater warming during non-growing season may have a stronger effect on Rs than the warming scene with a greater warming during growing season. Inter-annual variation of Rs may be greater than the warming effect on Rs in alpine meadows.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gang Fu
- Lhasa Plateau Ecosystem Research Station, Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
| | - Zhen-Xi Shen
- Lhasa Plateau Ecosystem Research Station, Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
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Fang C, Chen H, Castillo-Díaz D, Wen B, Cao KF, Goodale UM. Regeneration and Endogenous Phytohormone Responses to High-Temperature Stress Drive Recruitment Success in Hemiepiphytic Fig Species. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2021; 12:754207. [PMID: 34912356 PMCID: PMC8666629 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2021.754207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2021] [Accepted: 10/25/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Exposure to high-temperature stress (HTS) during early regeneration in plants can profoundly shape seed germination, seedling growth, and development, thereby providing stress resilience. In this study, we assessed how the timing of HTS, which was implemented as 8 h in 40°C, could affect the early regeneration stages and phytohormone concentration of four hemiepiphytic (Hs) and four non-hemiepiphytic (NHs) Ficus species. Their seed germination, seedling emergence, and seedling survival probabilities and the concentrations of three endogenous phytohormones, abscisic acid (ABA), indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), and salicylic acid (SA) were assessed after HTS imposed during imbibition, germination, and emergence. In both groups, seeds were more sensitive to HTS in the early regeneration process; stress experienced during imbibition affected emergence and survival, and stress experienced during germination affected subsequent emergence. There was no effect from HTS when received after emergence. Survival was highest in hemiepiphytes regardless of the HTS treatment. The phytohormones showed growth form- and regeneration stage-specific responses to HTS. Due to the HTS treatment, both SA and ABA levels decreased in non-hemiepiphytes during imbibition and germination; during germination, IAA increased in hemiepiphytes but was reduced in non-hemiepiphytes. Due to the HTS treatment experienced during emergence ABA and IAA concentrations were greater for hemiepiphytes but an opposite effect was seen in the two growth forms for the SA concentration. Our study showed that the two growth forms have different strategies for regulating their growth and development in the early regeneration stages in order to respond to HTS. The ability to respond to HTS is an ecologically important functional trait that allows plant species to appropriately time their seed germination and seedling development. Flexibility in modulating species regeneration in response to HTS in these subtropical and tropical Ficus species could provide greater community resilience under climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chuangwei Fang
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Forestry Ecology and Conservation, College of Forestry, Guangxi University, Nanning, China
| | - Huayang Chen
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Forestry Ecology and Conservation, College of Forestry, Guangxi University, Nanning, China
- State Key Laboratory of Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources, College of Forestry, Guangxi University, Nanning, China
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Seed Conservation Specialist Group, Species Survival Commission, International Union for Conservation of Nature, Gland, Switzerland
| | - Diana Castillo-Díaz
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Forestry Ecology and Conservation, College of Forestry, Guangxi University, Nanning, China
- State Key Laboratory of Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources, College of Forestry, Guangxi University, Nanning, China
- Seed Conservation Specialist Group, Species Survival Commission, International Union for Conservation of Nature, Gland, Switzerland
| | - Bin Wen
- Center for Integrative Conservation, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Kun-Fang Cao
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Forestry Ecology and Conservation, College of Forestry, Guangxi University, Nanning, China
- State Key Laboratory of Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources, College of Forestry, Guangxi University, Nanning, China
| | - Uromi Manage Goodale
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Forestry Ecology and Conservation, College of Forestry, Guangxi University, Nanning, China
- State Key Laboratory of Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources, College of Forestry, Guangxi University, Nanning, China
- Seed Conservation Specialist Group, Species Survival Commission, International Union for Conservation of Nature, Gland, Switzerland
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Plant Species Richness in Multiyear Wet and Dry Periods in the Chihuahuan Desert. CLIMATE 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/cli9080130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
In drylands, most studies of extreme precipitation events examine effects of individual years or short-term events, yet multiyear periods (>3 y) are expected to have larger impacts on ecosystem dynamics. Our goal was to take advantage of a sequence of multiple long-term (4-y) periods (dry, wet, average) that occurred naturally within a 26-y time frame to examine responses of plant species richness to extreme rainfall in grasslands and shrublands of the Chihuahuan Desert. Our hypothesis was that richness would be related to rainfall amount, and similar in periods with similar amounts of rainfall. Breakpoint analyses of water-year precipitation showed five sequential periods (1993–2018): AVG1 (mean = 22 cm/y), DRY1 (mean = 18 cm/y), WET (mean = 30 cm/y), DRY2 (mean = 18 cm/y), and AVG2 (mean = 24 cm/y). Detailed analyses revealed changes in daily and seasonal metrics of precipitation over the course of the study: the amount of nongrowing season precipitation decreased since 1993, and summer growing season precipitation increased through time with a corresponding increase in frequency of extreme rainfall events. This increase in summer rainfall could explain the general loss in C3 species after the wet period at most locations through time. Total species richness in the wet period was among the highest in the five periods, with the deepest average storm depth in the summer and the fewest long duration (>45 day) dry intervals across all seasons. For other species-ecosystem combinations, two richness patterns were observed. Compared to AVG2, AVG1 had lower water-year precipitation yet more C3 species in upland grasslands, creosotebush, and mesquite shrublands, and more C4 perennial grasses in tarbush shrublands. AVG1 also had larger amounts of rainfall and more large storms in fall and spring with higher mean depths of storm and lower mean dry-day interval compared with AVG2. While DRY1 and DRY2 had the same amount of precipitation, DRY2 had more C4 species than DRY1 in creosote bush shrublands, and DRY1 had more C3 species than DRY2 in upland grasslands. Most differences in rainfall between these periods occurred in the summer. Legacy effects were observed for C3 species in upland grasslands where no significant change in richness occurred from DRY1 to WET compared with a 41% loss of species from the WET to DRY2 period. The opposite asymmetry pattern was found for C4 subdominant species in creosote bush and mesquite shrublands, where an increase in richness occurred from DRY1 to WET followed by no change in richness from WET to DRY2. Our results show that understanding plant biodiversity of Chihuahuan Desert landscapes as precipitation continues to change will require daily and seasonal metrics of rainfall within a wet-dry period paradigm, as well as a consideration of species traits (photosynthetic pathways, lifespan, morphologies). Understanding these relationships can provide insights into predicting species-level dynamics in drylands under a changing climate.
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Schuchardt MA, Berauer BJ, Heßberg A, Wilfahrt P, Jentsch A. Drought effects on montane grasslands nullify benefits of advanced flowering phenology due to warming. Ecosphere 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3661] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Max A. Schuchardt
- Department of Disturbance Ecology Bayreuth Center of Ecology and Environmental Research University of Bayreuth Bayreuth Germany
| | - Bernd J. Berauer
- Department of Disturbance Ecology Bayreuth Center of Ecology and Environmental Research University of Bayreuth Bayreuth Germany
- Department of Plant Ecology Institute of Landscape and Plant Ecology University of Hohenheim Hohenheim Germany
| | - Andreas Heßberg
- Department of Disturbance Ecology Bayreuth Center of Ecology and Environmental Research University of Bayreuth Bayreuth Germany
| | - Peter Wilfahrt
- Department of Disturbance Ecology Bayreuth Center of Ecology and Environmental Research University of Bayreuth Bayreuth Germany
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior University of Minnesota St. Paul Minnesota USA
| | - Anke Jentsch
- Department of Disturbance Ecology Bayreuth Center of Ecology and Environmental Research University of Bayreuth Bayreuth Germany
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13
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Felton AJ, Slette IJ, Smith MD, Knapp AK. Precipitation amount and event size interact to reduce ecosystem functioning during dry years in a mesic grassland. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2020; 26:658-668. [PMID: 31386797 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14789] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2019] [Accepted: 07/19/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Ongoing intensification of the hydrological cycle is altering rainfall regimes by increasing the frequency of extreme wet and dry years and the size of individual rainfall events. Despite long-standing recognition of the importance of precipitation amount and variability for most terrestrial ecosystem processes, we lack understanding of their interactive effects on ecosystem functioning. We quantified this interaction in native grassland by experimentally eliminating temporal variability in growing season rainfall over a wide range of precipitation amounts, from extreme wet to dry conditions. We contrasted the rain use efficiency (RUE) of above-ground net primary productivity (ANPP) under conditions of experimentally reduced versus naturally high rainfall variability using a 32-year precipitation-ANPP dataset from the same site as our experiment. We found that increased growing season rainfall variability can reduce RUE and thus ecosystem functioning by as much as 42% during dry years, but that such impacts weaken as years become wetter. During low precipitation years, RUE is lowest when rainfall event sizes are relatively large, and when a larger proportion of total rainfall is derived from large events. Thus, a shift towards precipitation regimes dominated by fewer but larger rainfall events, already documented over much of the globe, can be expected to reduce the functioning of mesic ecosystems primarily during drought, when ecosystem processes are already compromised by low water availability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew J Felton
- Department of Biology and Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
- Department of Wildland Resources and The Ecology Center, Utah State University, Logan, UT, USA
| | - Ingrid J Slette
- Department of Biology and Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Melinda D Smith
- Department of Biology and Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Alan K Knapp
- Department of Biology and Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
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14
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Kreyling J, Grant K, Hammerl V, Arfin-Khan MAS, Malyshev AV, Peñuelas J, Pritsch K, Sardans J, Schloter M, Schuerings J, Jentsch A, Beierkuhnlein C. Winter warming is ecologically more relevant than summer warming in a cool-temperate grassland. Sci Rep 2019; 9:14632. [PMID: 31601976 PMCID: PMC6787088 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-51221-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2019] [Accepted: 09/23/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Climate change affects all seasons, but warming is more pronounced in winter than summer at mid- and high latitudes. Winter warming can have profound ecological effects, which are rarely compared to the effects of summer warming, and causal explanations are not well established. We compared mild aboveground infrared warming in winter to warming in summer in a semi-natural, cool-temperate grassland in Germany for four years. Aboveground plant biomass increased following winter warming (+18%) and was unaffected by summer warming. Winter warming affected the composition of the plant community more than summer warming, favoring productive species. Winter warming increased soil respiration more than summer warming. Prolonged growing seasons and changes in plant-community composition accounted for the increased aboveground biomass production. Winter warming stimulated ecological processes, despite causing frost damage to plant roots and microorganisms during an extremely cold period when warming reduced the thermal insulation provided by snow. Future warming beyond such intermittent frosts may therefore further increase the accelerating effects of winter warming on ecological processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juergen Kreyling
- Greifswald University, Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, Experimental Plant Ecology, Soldmannstraße 15, D-17487, Greifswald, Germany.
| | - Kerstin Grant
- University of Bayreuth, BayCEER, Disturbance Ecology, D-95440, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Verena Hammerl
- Helmholtz Zentrum München, Research Unit Comparative Microbiome Analysis, Ingolstädter Landstr. 1, 85764, Oberschleissheim, Germany
| | - Mohammed A S Arfin-Khan
- University of Bayreuth, BayCEER, Disturbance Ecology, D-95440, Bayreuth, Germany.,Department of Forestry and Environmental Science, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, 3114, Bangladesh
| | - Andrey V Malyshev
- Greifswald University, Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, Experimental Plant Ecology, Soldmannstraße 15, D-17487, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Josep Peñuelas
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Bellaterra, Catalonia, 08193, Spain.,CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Catalonia, 08193, Spain
| | - Karin Pritsch
- Helmholtz Zentrum München, Institute of Biochemical Plant Pathology, Ingolstaedter Landstr. 1, 85764, Oberschleißheim, Germany
| | - Jordi Sardans
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Bellaterra, Catalonia, 08193, Spain.,CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Catalonia, 08193, Spain
| | - Michael Schloter
- Helmholtz Zentrum München, Research Unit Comparative Microbiome Analysis, Ingolstädter Landstr. 1, 85764, Oberschleissheim, Germany
| | - Jan Schuerings
- University of Bayreuth, BayCEER, Disturbance Ecology, D-95440, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Anke Jentsch
- University of Bayreuth, BayCEER, Disturbance Ecology, D-95440, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Carl Beierkuhnlein
- University of Bayreuth, BayCEER, Biogeography, D-95440, Bayreuth, Germany
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15
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Hammerl V, Kastl EM, Schloter M, Kublik S, Schmidt H, Welzl G, Jentsch A, Beierkuhnlein C, Gschwendtner S. Influence of rewetting on microbial communities involved in nitrification and denitrification in a grassland soil after a prolonged drought period. Sci Rep 2019; 9:2280. [PMID: 30783152 PMCID: PMC6381133 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-38147-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2018] [Accepted: 12/18/2018] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The frequency of extreme drought and heavy rain events during the vegetation period will increase in Central Europe according to future climate change scenarios, which will affect the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems in multiple ways. In this study, we simulated an extreme drought event (40 days) at two different vegetation periods (spring and summer) to investigate season-related effects of drought and subsequent rewetting on nitrifiers and denitrifiers in a grassland soil. Abundance of the microbial groups of interest was assessed by quantification of functional genes (amoA, nirS/nirK and nosZ) via quantitative real-time PCR. Additionally, the diversity of ammonia-oxidizing archaea was determined based on fingerprinting of the archaeal amoA gene. Overall, the different time points of simulated drought and rewetting strongly influenced the obtained response pattern of microbial communities involved in N turnover as well as soil ammonium and nitrate dynamics. In spring, gene abundance of nirS was irreversible reduced after drought whereas nirK and nosZ remained unaffected. Furthermore, community composition of ammonia-oxidizing archaea was altered by subsequent rewetting although amoA gene abundance remained constant. In contrast, no drought/rewetting effects on functional gene abundance or diversity pattern of nitrifying archaea were observed in summer. Our results showed (I) high seasonal dependency of microbial community responses to extreme events, indicating a strong influence of plant-derived factors like vegetation stage and plant community composition and consequently close plant-microbe interactions and (II) remarkable resistance and/or resilience of functional microbial groups involved in nitrogen cycling to extreme weather events what might indicate that microbes in a silty soil are better adapted to stress situations as expected.
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Affiliation(s)
- Verena Hammerl
- Research Unit Comparative Microbiome Analysis - Helmholtz Zentrum München, Ingolstädter Landstr. 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany
- Chair for Soil Ecology - Technische Universität München, Ingolstädter Landstr. 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Eva-Maria Kastl
- Research Unit Comparative Microbiome Analysis - Helmholtz Zentrum München, Ingolstädter Landstr. 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Michael Schloter
- Research Unit Comparative Microbiome Analysis - Helmholtz Zentrum München, Ingolstädter Landstr. 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Susanne Kublik
- Research Unit Comparative Microbiome Analysis - Helmholtz Zentrum München, Ingolstädter Landstr. 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Holger Schmidt
- Institute of Natural Sciences - Universität Koblenz Landau, Campus Koblenz, Universitätsstraße 1, 56070, Koblenz, Germany
| | - Gerhard Welzl
- Research Unit Comparative Microbiome Analysis - Helmholtz Zentrum München, Ingolstädter Landstr. 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Anke Jentsch
- Disturbance Ecology - University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstr. 30, 95447, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Carl Beierkuhnlein
- Chair of Biogeography - University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstr. 30, 95447, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Silvia Gschwendtner
- Research Unit Comparative Microbiome Analysis - Helmholtz Zentrum München, Ingolstädter Landstr. 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany.
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16
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Fu G, Zhang HR, Sun W. Response of plant production to growing/non-growing season asymmetric warming in an alpine meadow of the Northern Tibetan Plateau. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2019; 650:2666-2673. [PMID: 30296774 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.09.384] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2018] [Revised: 09/27/2018] [Accepted: 09/29/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
A field growing/non-growing season asymmetric warming experiment (C: control, i.e., no warming in the entire year; GLNG: growing season warming lower than non-growing season warming; GHNG: growing season warming higher than non-growing season warming) was conducted in an alpine meadow of the Northern Tibetan Plateau in early June 2015. The effects of growing/non-growing season asymmetric warming on the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), soil adjusted vegetation index (SAVI), aboveground biomass (AGB) and gross primary production (GPP) in 2015-2017 were examined. The 'GLNG' and 'GHNG' treatments significantly increased the annual mean air temperature (Ta) by 2.95 °C and 2.76 °C, and the vapor pressure deficit (VPD) by 0.23 kPa and 0.28 kPa but significantly reduced the annual mean soil moisture (SM) by 0.02 m3 m-3 and 0.02 m3 m-3 respectively; however, changes in the annual mean Ta, VPD and SM were the same between the 'GLNG' and 'GHNG' treatments over the three years in 2015-2017. There were no significant differences in the SAVI and GPP among the 'C', 'GLNG' and 'GHNG' treatments over the three growing seasons in 2015-2017. The 'GLNG' and 'GHNG' treatments did not significantly affect the NDVI and AGB compared to 'C', whereas the NDVI and AGB under the 'GLNG' treatment were significantly greater than those under the 'GHNG' treatment over the three growing seasons in 2015-2017. The significant differences in NDVI and AGB between the 'GLNG' and 'GHNG' treatments may be attributed to the different effects under the 'GLNG' and 'GHNG' treatments on the non-growing season Ta, growing season water availability and soil nitrogen availability. Therefore, the non-growing season with a higher warming magnitude may have stronger effects on the aboveground plant production than did the growing season with a higher warming magnitude in the alpine meadow of the Northern Tibetan Plateau.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gang Fu
- Lhasa Plateau Ecosystem Research Station, Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Hao Rui Zhang
- Lhasa Plateau Ecosystem Research Station, Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Wei Sun
- Lhasa Plateau Ecosystem Research Station, Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
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17
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Ratajczak Z, Carpenter SR, Ives AR, Kucharik CJ, Ramiadantsoa T, Stegner MA, Williams JW, Zhang J, Turner MG. Abrupt Change in Ecological Systems: Inference and Diagnosis. Trends Ecol Evol 2018; 33:513-526. [PMID: 29784428 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2018.04.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 94] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2018] [Revised: 04/21/2018] [Accepted: 04/23/2018] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Abrupt ecological changes are, by definition, those that occur over short periods of time relative to typical rates of change for a given ecosystem. The potential for such changes is growing due to anthropogenic pressures, which challenges the resilience of societies and ecosystems. Abrupt ecological changes are difficult to diagnose because they can arise from a variety of circumstances, including rapid changes in external drivers (e.g., climate, or resource extraction), nonlinear responses to gradual changes in drivers, and interactions among multiple drivers and disturbances. We synthesize strategies for identifying causes of abrupt ecological change and highlight instances where abrupt changes are likely. Diagnosing abrupt changes and inferring causation are increasingly important as society seek to adapt to rapid, multifaceted environmental changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zak Ratajczak
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
| | - Stephen R Carpenter
- Center for Limnology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Anthony R Ives
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | | | - Tanjona Ramiadantsoa
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - M Allison Stegner
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - John W Williams
- Department of Geography and Center for Climatic Research, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Jien Zhang
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Monica G Turner
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
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