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Poquérusse J, Brown CL, Gaillard C, Doughty C, Dalén L, Gallagher AJ, Wooller M, Zimov N, Church GM, Lamm B, Hysolli E. Assessing contemporary Arctic habitat availability for a woolly mammoth proxy. Sci Rep 2024; 14:9804. [PMID: 38684726 PMCID: PMC11058768 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-60442-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2024] [Accepted: 04/23/2024] [Indexed: 05/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Interest continues to grow in Arctic megafaunal ecological engineering, but, since the mass extinction of megafauna ~ 12-15 ka, key physiographic variables and available forage continue to change. Here we sought to assess the extent to which contemporary Arctic ecosystems are conducive to the rewilding of megaherbivores, using a woolly mammoth (M. primigenius) proxy as a model species. We first perform a literature review on woolly mammoth dietary habits. We then leverage Oak Ridge National Laboratories Distributive Active Archive Center Global Aboveground and Belowground Biomass Carbon Density Maps to generate aboveground biomass carbon density estimates in plant functional types consumed by the woolly mammoth at 300 m resolution on Alaska's North Slope. We supplement these analyses with a NASA Arctic Boreal Vulnerability Experiment dataset to downgrade overall biomass estimates to digestible levels. We further downgrade available forage by using a conversion factor representing the relationship between total biomass and net primary productivity (NPP) for arctic vegetation types. Integrating these estimates with the forage needs of woolly mammoths, we conservatively estimate Alaska's North Slope could support densities of 0.0-0.38 woolly mammoth km-2 (mean 0.13) across a variety of habitats. These results may inform innovative rewilding strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Camille Gaillard
- School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, 86011, USA
| | - Chris Doughty
- School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, 86011, USA
| | - Love Dalén
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Centre for Palaeogenetics, Svante Arrhenius Väg 20C, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Bioinformatics and Genetics, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | - Matthew Wooller
- College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA
| | - Nikita Zimov
- North-East Science Station, Pacific Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Chersky, Russia
| | - George M Church
- Colossal Biosciences Inc, Austin, TX, 78701, USA
- Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Ben Lamm
- Colossal Biosciences Inc, Austin, TX, 78701, USA.
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Wang S, Chen X, Li W, Gong W, Wang Z, Cao W. Grazing exclusion alters soil methane flux and methanotrophic and methanogenic communities in alpine meadows on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1293720. [PMID: 38164400 PMCID: PMC10757936 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1293720] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2023] [Accepted: 12/04/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Grazing exclusion (GE) is an effective measure for restoring degraded grassland ecosystems. However, the effect of GE on methane (CH4) uptake and production remains unclear in dominant bacterial taxa, main metabolic pathways, and drivers of these pathways. This study aimed to determine CH4 flux in alpine meadow soil using the chamber method. The in situ composition of soil aerobic CH4-oxidizing bacteria (MOB) and CH4-producing archaea (MPA) as well as the relative abundance of their functional genes were analyzed in grazed and nongrazed (6 years) alpine meadows using metagenomic methods. The results revealed that CH4 fluxes in grazed and nongrazed plots were -34.10 and -22.82 μg‧m-2‧h-1, respectively. Overall, 23 and 10 species of Types I and II MOB were identified, respectively. Type II MOB comprised the dominant bacteria involved in CH4 uptake, with Methylocystis constituting the dominant taxa. With regard to MPA, 12 species were identified in grazed meadows and 3 in nongrazed meadows, with Methanobrevibacter constituting the dominant taxa. GE decreased the diversity of MPA but increased the relative abundance of dominated species Methanobrevibacter millerae from 1.47 to 4.69%. The proportions of type I MOB, type II MOB, and MPA that were considerably affected by vegetation and soil factors were 68.42, 21.05, and 10.53%, respectively. Furthermore, the structural equation models revealed that soil factors (available phosphorus, bulk density, and moisture) significantly affected CH4 flux more than vegetation factors (grass species number, grass aboveground biomass, grass root biomass, and litter biomass). CH4 flux was mainly regulated by serine and acetate pathways. The serine pathway was driven by soil factors (0.84, p < 0.001), whereas the acetate pathway was mainly driven by vegetation (-0.39, p < 0.05) and soil factors (0.25, p < 0.05). In conclusion, our findings revealed that alpine meadow soil is a CH4 sink. However, GE reduces the CH4 sink potential by altering vegetation structure and soil properties, especially soil physical properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shilin Wang
- Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecosystem, Ministry of Education, College of Pratacultural Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Xindong Chen
- Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecosystem, Ministry of Education, College of Pratacultural Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Wen Li
- Key Laboratory of Development of Forage Germplasm in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau of Qinghai Province, Qinghai Academy of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine of Qinghai University, Xining, China
| | - Wenlong Gong
- Institute of Grassland Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hohhot, China
| | - Zhengwen Wang
- Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecosystem, Ministry of Education, College of Pratacultural Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Wenxia Cao
- Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecosystem, Ministry of Education, College of Pratacultural Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou, China
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Leal Filho W, Dinis MAP, Nagy GJ, Fracassi U. On the (melting) rocks: Climate change and the global issue of permafrost depletion. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 903:166615. [PMID: 37640067 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166615] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2023] [Revised: 08/24/2023] [Accepted: 08/25/2023] [Indexed: 08/31/2023]
Abstract
This short communication reports on the pressures posed by climate change on permafrost. The phenomenon of the (melting) rocks, soil, and ground that host permafrost does not just concern a remote stretch of the Arctic north. It is a far larger area than most citizens may realise if looking at an ordinary map projection. Broadly distributed and crucial as it is for the Earth's climate, permafrost thawing due to climate change can affect or upend several aspects associated with life and prosperity on Earth, demanding far greater attention. The loss of permafrost is a global problem that requires a global solution. Greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) must be reduced to slow permafrost's thawing and negative impacts. As such, this short communication aims to catalyse a global debate on this climate change consequential issue, also providing specific suggestions for reducing the impacts of permafrost depletion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Walter Leal Filho
- Department of Natural Sciences, Manchester Metropolitan University, Chester Street, Manchester M1 5GD, UK; Research and Transfer Centre "Sustainable Development and Climate Change Management" Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Germany.
| | - Maria Alzira Pimenta Dinis
- UFP Energy, Environment and Health Research Unit (FP-ENAS), University Fernando Pessoa (UFP), Praça 9 de Abril 349, 4249-004 Porto, Portugal; Fernando Pessoa Research, Innovation and Development Institute (FP-I3ID), University Fernando Pessoa (UFP), Praça 9 de Abril 349, 4249-004 Porto, Portugal.
| | - Gustavo J Nagy
- Instituto de Ecología y Ciencias Ambientales, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República (FC-UdelaR), Iguá 4225, Montevideo, Uruguay.
| | - Umberto Fracassi
- Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Via di Vigna Murata, 605, 00143 Rome, Italy.
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Kruse S, Herzschuh U. Regional opportunities for tundra conservation in the next 1000 years. eLife 2022; 11:75163. [PMID: 35607894 PMCID: PMC9129881 DOI: 10.7554/elife.75163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2021] [Accepted: 04/26/2022] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The biodiversity of tundra areas in northern high latitudes is threatened by invasion of forests under global warming. However, poorly understood nonlinear responses of the treeline ecotone mean the timing and extent of tundra losses are unclear, but policymakers need such information to optimize conservation efforts. Our individual-based model LAVESI, developed for the Siberian tundra-taiga ecotone, can help improve our understanding. Consequently, we simulated treeline migration trajectories until the end of the millennium, causing a loss of tundra area when advancing north. Our simulations reveal that the treeline follows climate warming with a severe, century-long time lag, which is overcompensated by infilling of stands in the long run even when temperatures cool again. Our simulations reveal that only under ambitious mitigation strategies (relative concentration pathway 2.6) will ∼30% of original tundra areas remain in the north but separated into two disjunct refugia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan Kruse
- Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Ulrike Herzschuh
- Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Potsdam, Germany.,Institute of Environmental Sciences 6 and Geography, University of Potsdam, Potsdam-Golm, Germany.,Institute of 7 Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam-Golm, Germany
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Lovász L, Fages A, Amrhein V. Konik, Tarpan, European wild horse: An origin story with conservation implications. Glob Ecol Conserv 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01911] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
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Kristensen JA, Svenning JC, Georgiou K, Malhi Y. Can large herbivores enhance ecosystem carbon persistence? Trends Ecol Evol 2021; 37:117-128. [PMID: 34801276 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2021.09.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2021] [Revised: 09/18/2021] [Accepted: 09/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
There is growing interest in aligning the wildlife conservation and restoration agenda with climate change mitigation goals. However, the presence of large herbivores tends to reduce aboveground biomass in some open-canopy ecosystems, leading to the possibility that large herbivore restoration may negatively influence ecosystem carbon storage. Belowground carbon storage is often ignored in these systems, despite the wide recognition of soils as the largest actively-cycling terrestrial carbon pool. Here, we suggest a shift away from a main focus on vegetation carbon stocks, towards inclusion of whole ecosystem carbon persistence, in future assessments of large herbivore effects on long-term carbon storage. Failure to do so may lead to counterproductive biodiversity and climate impacts of land management actions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeppe A Kristensen
- Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3QY, UK; Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE) and Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.
| | - Jens-Christian Svenning
- Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE) and Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | | | - Yadvinder Malhi
- Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3QY, UK
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