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Baldauf S, Cantón Y, Tietjen B. Biocrusts intensify water redistribution and improve water availability to dryland vegetation: insights from a spatially-explicit ecohydrological model. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1179291. [PMID: 37448577 PMCID: PMC10337590 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1179291] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2023] [Accepted: 06/08/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Biocrusts are ecosystem engineers in drylands and structure the landscape through their ecohydrological effects. They regulate soil infiltration and evaporation but also surface water redistribution, providing important resources for vascular vegetation. Spatially-explicit ecohydrological models are useful tools to explore such ecohydrological mechanisms, but biocrusts have rarely been included in them. We contribute to closing this gap and assess how biocrusts shape spatio-temporal water fluxes and availability in a dryland landscape and how landscape hydrology is affected by climate-change induced shifts in the biocrust community. We extended the spatially-explicit, process-based ecohydrological dryland model EcoHyD by a biocrust layer which modifies water in- and outputs from the soil and affects surface runoff. The model was parameterized for a dryland hillslope in South-East Spain using field and literature data. We assessed the effect of biocrusts on landscape-scale soil moisture distribution, plant-available water and the hydrological processes behind it. To quantify the biocrust effects, we ran the model with and without biocrusts for a wet and dry year. Finally, we compared the effect of incipient and well-developed cyanobacteria- and lichen biocrusts on surface hydrology to evaluate possible paths forward if biocrust communities change due to climate change. Our model reproduced the runoff source-sink patterns typical of the landscape. The spatial differentiation of soil moisture in deeper layers matched the observed distribution of vascular vegetation. Biocrusts in the model led to higher water availability overall and in vegetated areas of the landscape and that this positive effect in part also held for a dry year. Compared to bare soil and incipient biocrusts, well-developed biocrusts protected the soil from evaporation thus preserving soil moisture despite lower infiltration while at the same time redistributing water toward downhill vegetation. Biocrust cover is vital for water redistribution and plant-available water but potential changes of biocrust composition and cover can reduce their ability of being a water source and sustaining dryland vegetation. The process-based model used in this study is a promising tool to further quantify and assess long-term scenarios of climate change and how it affects ecohydrological feedbacks that shape and stabilize dryland landscapes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Selina Baldauf
- Institute of Biology, Theoretical Ecology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Yolanda Cantón
- Department of Agronomy, University of Almería, Almería, Spain
- Research Centre for Scientific Collections from the University of Almería (CECOUAL), Almería, Spain
| | - Britta Tietjen
- Institute of Biology, Theoretical Ecology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), Berlin, Germany
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2
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Stanton DE, Ormond A, Koch NM, Colesie C. Lichen ecophysiology in a changing climate. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 2023; 110:e16131. [PMID: 36795943 DOI: 10.1002/ajb2.16131] [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: 08/26/2022] [Revised: 12/16/2022] [Accepted: 12/20/2022] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Lichens are one of the most iconic and ubiquitous symbioses known, widely valued as indicators of environmental quality and, more recently, climate change. Our understanding of lichen responses to climate has greatly expanded in recent decades, but some biases and constraints have shaped our present knowledge. In this review we focus on lichen ecophysiology as a key to predicting responses to present and future climates, highlighting recent advances and remaining challenges. Lichen ecophysiology is best understood through complementary whole-thallus and within-thallus scales. Water content and form (vapor or liquid) are central to whole-thallus perspectives, making vapor pressure differential (VPD) a particularly informative environmental driver. Responses to water content are further modulated by photobiont physiology and whole-thallus phenotype, providing clear links to a functional trait framework. However, this thallus-level perspective is incomplete without also considering within-thallus dynamics, such as changing proportions or even identities of symbionts in response to climate, nutrients, and other stressors. These changes provide pathways for acclimation, but their understanding is currently limited by large gaps in our understanding of carbon allocation and symbiont turnover in lichens. Lastly, the study of lichen physiology has mainly prioritized larger lichens at high latitudes, producing valuable insights but underrepresenting the range of lichenized lineages and ecologies. Key areas for future work include improving geographic and phylogenetic coverage, greater emphasis on VPD as a climatic factor, advances in the study of carbon allocation and symbiont turnover, and the incorporation of physiological theory and functional traits in our predictive models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel E Stanton
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, 140 Gortner Laboratory, 1479 Gortner Avenue, Saint Paul, MN, 55108, USA
| | - Amaris Ormond
- Global Change Institute, School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Crew Building, Alexander Crum Brown Road, Edinburgh, EH3 9FF, UK
| | - Natalia M Koch
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, 140 Gortner Laboratory, 1479 Gortner Avenue, Saint Paul, MN, 55108, USA
| | - Claudia Colesie
- Global Change Institute, School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Crew Building, Alexander Crum Brown Road, Edinburgh, EH3 9FF, UK
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Díaz-Martínez P, Panettieri M, García-Palacios P, Moreno E, Plaza C, Maestre FT. Biocrusts Modulate Climate Change Effects on Soil Organic Carbon Pools: Insights From a 9-Year Experiment. Ecosystems 2022; 26:585-596. [PMID: 37179798 PMCID: PMC10167156 DOI: 10.1007/s10021-022-00779-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2022] [Accepted: 07/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Accumulating evidence suggests that warming associated with climate change is decreasing the total amount of soil organic carbon (SOC) in drylands, although scientific research has not given enough emphasis to particulate (POC) and mineral-associated organic carbon (MAOC) pools. Biocrusts are a major biotic feature of drylands and have large impacts on the C cycle, yet it is largely unknown whether they modulate the responses of POC and MAOC to climate change. Here, we assessed the effects of simulated climate change (control, reduced rainfall (RE), warming (WA), and RE + WA) and initial biocrust cover (low (< 20%) versus high (> 50%)) on the mineral protection of soil C and soil organic matter quality in a dryland ecosystem in central Spain for 9 years. At low initial biocrust cover levels, both WA and RE + WA increased SOC, especially POC but also MAOC, and promoted a higher contribution of carbohydrates, relative to aromatic compounds, to the POC fraction. These results suggest that the accumulation of soil C under warming treatments may be transitory in soils with low initial biocrust cover. In soils with high initial biocrust cover, climate change treatments did not affect SOC, neither POC nor MAOC fraction. Overall, our results indicate that biocrust communities modulate the negative effect of climate change on SOC, because no losses of soil C were observed with the climate manipulations under biocrusts. Future work should focus on determining the long-term persistence of the observed buffering effect by biocrust-forming lichens, as they are known to be negatively affected by warming. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10021-022-00779-0.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paloma Díaz-Martínez
- Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, 28933 Madrid, Spain
- Instituto de Ciencias Agrarias (ICA), CSIC, Serrano 115 bis, 28006 Madrid, Spain
| | - Marco Panettieri
- Instituto de Ciencias Agrarias (ICA), CSIC, Serrano 115 bis, 28006 Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Eduardo Moreno
- Departamento de Química Agrícola y Bromatología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - César Plaza
- Instituto de Ciencias Agrarias (ICA), CSIC, Serrano 115 bis, 28006 Madrid, Spain
| | - Fernando T. Maestre
- Instituto Multidisciplinar Para el Estudio del Medio “Ramón Margalef”, Universidad de Alicante, Alicante, Spain
- Departamento de Ecología, Universidad de Alicante, Alicante, Spain
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4
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Raggio J, Pescador DS, Gozalo B, Ochoa V, Valencia E, Sancho LG, Maestre FT. Continuous monitoring of chlorophyll a fluorescence and microclimatic conditions reveals warming-induced physiological damage in biocrust-forming lichens. PLANT AND SOIL 2022; 482:261-276. [PMID: 36714192 PMCID: PMC9870970 DOI: 10.1007/s11104-022-05686-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2022] [Accepted: 08/31/2022] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Biocrust communities, which are important regulators of multiple ecosystem functions in drylands, are highly sensitive to climate change. There is growing evidence of the negative impacts of warming on the performance of biocrust constituents like lichens in the field. Here, we aim to understand the physiological basis behind this pattern. METHODS Using a unique manipulative climate change experiment, we monitored every 30 minutes and for 9 months the chlorophyll a fluorescence and microclimatic conditions (lichen surface temperature, relative moisture and photosynthetically active radiation) of Psora decipiens, a key biocrust constituent in drylands worldwide. This long-term monitoring resulted in 11,847 records at the thallus-level, which allowed us to evaluate the impacts of ~2.3 °C simulated warming treatment on the physiology of Psora at an unprecedented level of detail. RESULTS Simulated warming and the associated decrease in relative moisture promoted by this treatment negatively impacted the physiology of Psora, especially during the diurnal period of the spring, when conditions are warmer and drier. These impacts were driven by a mechanism based on the reduction of the length of the periods allowing net photosynthesis, and by declines in Yield and Fv/Fm under simulated warming. CONCLUSION Our study reveals the physiological basis explaining observed negative impacts of ongoing global warming on biocrust-forming lichens in the field. The functional response observed could limit the growth and cover of biocrust-forming lichens in drylands in the long-term, negatively impacting in key soil attributes such as biogeochemical cycles, water balance, biological activity and ability of controlling erosion. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11104-022-05686-w.
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Affiliation(s)
- José Raggio
- Departamento de Farmacología, Farmacognosia y Botánica, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - David S. Pescador
- Departamento de Farmacología, Farmacognosia y Botánica, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Móstoles, Madrid, Spain
| | - Beatriz Gozalo
- Instituto Multidisciplinar para el Estudio del Medio “Ramon Margalef”, Universidad de Alicante, Carretera de San Vicente del Raspeig s/n, 03690 San Vicente del Raspeig, Spain
| | - Victoria Ochoa
- Instituto Multidisciplinar para el Estudio del Medio “Ramon Margalef”, Universidad de Alicante, Carretera de San Vicente del Raspeig s/n, 03690 San Vicente del Raspeig, Spain
| | - Enrique Valencia
- Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Móstoles, Madrid, Spain
| | - Leopoldo G. Sancho
- Departamento de Farmacología, Farmacognosia y Botánica, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Fernando T. Maestre
- Instituto Multidisciplinar para el Estudio del Medio “Ramon Margalef”, Universidad de Alicante, Carretera de San Vicente del Raspeig s/n, 03690 San Vicente del Raspeig, Spain
- Departamento de Ecología, Universidad de Alicante, Carretera de San Vicente del Raspeig s/n, 03690 San Vicente del Raspeig, Spain
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Ladrón de Guevara M, Maestre FT. Ecology and responses to climate change of biocrust-forming mosses in drylands. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2022; 73:4380-4395. [PMID: 35553672 PMCID: PMC9291340 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erac183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2021] [Accepted: 05/09/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Interest in understanding the role of biocrusts as ecosystem engineers in drylands has substantially increased during the past two decades. Mosses are a major component of biocrusts and dominate their late successional stages. In general, their impacts on most ecosystem functions are greater than those of early-stage biocrust constituents. However, it is common to find contradictory results regarding how moss interactions with different biotic and abiotic factors affect ecosystem processes. This review aims to (i) describe the adaptations and environmental constraints of biocrust-forming mosses in drylands, (ii) identify their primary ecological roles in these ecosystems, and (iii) synthesize their responses to climate change. We emphasize the importance of interactions between specific functional traits of mosses (e.g. height, radiation reflectance, morphology, and shoot densities) and both the environment (e.g. climate, topography, and soil properties) and other organisms to understand their ecological roles and responses to climate change. We also highlight key areas that should be researched in the future to fill essential gaps in our understanding of the ecology and the responses to ongoing climate change of biocrust-forming mosses. These include a better understanding of intra- and interspecific interactions and mechanisms driving mosses' carbon balance during desiccation-rehydration cycles.
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Oliveira MF, Maciel-Silva AS. Biological soil crusts and how they might colonize other worlds: insights from these Brazilian ecosystem engineers. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2022; 73:4362-4379. [PMID: 35522077 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erac162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2021] [Accepted: 04/17/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
When bryophytes, lichens, eukaryotic algae, cyanobacteria, bacteria, and fungi live interacting intimately with the most superficial particles of the soil, they form a complex community of organisms called the biological soil crust (BSC or biocrust). These biocrusts occur predominantly in drylands, where they provide important ecological services such as soil aggregation, moisture retention, and nitrogen fixation. Unfortunately, many BSC communities remain poorly explored, especially in the tropics. This review summarizes studies about BSCs in Brazil, a tropical megadiverse country, and shows the importance of ecological, physiological, and taxonomic knowledge of biocrusts. We also compare Brazilian BSC communities with others around the world, describe why BSCs can be considered ecosystem engineers, and propose their use in the colonization of other worlds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mateus Fernandes Oliveira
- Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Laboratório de Sistemática Vegetal, Departamento de Botânica, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Antônio Carlos, 6627, Pampulha, Belo Horizonte, MG, 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Adaíses Simone Maciel-Silva
- Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Laboratório de Sistemática Vegetal, Departamento de Botânica, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Antônio Carlos, 6627, Pampulha, Belo Horizonte, MG, 31270-901, Brazil
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7
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Employment of algae-based biological soil crust to control desertification for the sustainable development: A mini-review. ALGAL RES 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.algal.2022.102747] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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8
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Antoninka A, Chuckran PF, Mau RL, Slate ML, Mishler BD, Oliver MJ, Coe KK, Stark LR, Fisher KM, Bowker MA. Responses of Biocrust and Associated Soil Bacteria to Novel Climates Are Not Tightly Coupled. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:821860. [PMID: 35572693 PMCID: PMC9096946 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.821860] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2021] [Accepted: 03/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Climate change is expanding drylands even as land use practices degrade them. Representing ∼40% of Earth’s terrestrial surface, drylands rely on biological soil crusts (biocrusts) for key ecosystem functions including soil stability, biogeochemical cycling, and water capture. Understanding how biocrusts adapt to climate change is critical to understanding how dryland ecosystems will function with altered climate. We investigated the sensitivity of biocrusts to experimentally imposed novel climates to track changes in productivity and stability under both warming and cooling scenarios. We established three common gardens along an elevational-climate gradient on the Colorado Plateau. Mature biocrusts were collected from each site and reciprocally transplanted intact. Over 20 months we monitored visible species composition and cover, chlorophyll a, and the composition of soil bacterial communities using high throughput sequencing. We hypothesized that biocrusts replanted at their home site would show local preference, and biocrusts transplanted to novel environments would maintain higher cover and stability at elevations higher than their origin, compared to at elevations lower than their origin. We expected responses of the visible biocrust cover and soil bacterial components of the biocrust community to be coupled, with later successional taxa showing higher sensitivity to novel environments. Only high elevation sourced biocrusts maintained higher biocrust cover and community stability at their site of origin. Biocrusts from all sources had higher cover and stability in the high elevation garden. Later successional taxa decreased cover in low elevation gardens, suggesting successional reversal with warming. Visible community composition was influenced by both source and transplant environment. In contrast, soil bacterial community composition was not influenced by transplant environments but retained fidelity to the source. Thus, responses of the visible and soil bacterial components of the biocrust community were not coupled. Synthesis: Our results suggest biocrust communities are sensitive to climate change, and loss of species and function can be expected, while associated soil bacteria may be buffered against rapid change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anita Antoninka
- School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, United States
| | - Peter F Chuckran
- Department of Biological Sciences, Center for Ecosystem Science and Society (ECOSS), Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, United States
| | - Rebecca L Mau
- Department of Biological Sciences, Center for Ecosystem Science and Society (ECOSS), Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, United States
| | - Mandy L Slate
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, United States
| | - Brent D Mishler
- Department of Integrative Biology, University and Jepson Herbaria, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Melvin J Oliver
- Interdisciplinary Plant Group, Division of Plant Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, United States
| | - Kirsten K Coe
- Department of Biology, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT, United States
| | - Llo R Stark
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, United States
| | - Kirsten M Fisher
- Department of Biological Sciences, California State University, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Matthew A Bowker
- School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, United States
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Decline in biological soil crust N-fixing lichens linked to increasing summertime temperatures. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2120975119. [PMID: 35412916 PMCID: PMC9169860 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2120975119] [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] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Across many global drylands, biocrusts form a protective barrier on the soil surface and fill many critical roles in these harsh yet fragile environments. Previous short-term research suggests that climate change and invasive plant introduction can damage and alter biocrust communities, yet few long-term observations exist. Using a globally unique long-term record of continuous biocrust surveys from a rare never-grazed, protected grassland on the US Colorado Plateau, we found lichen species diversity and cover to be negatively correlated with increasing summer air temperatures, while moss species showed more sensitivity to variation in precipitation and invasive grass cover. These results suggest that dryland systems may be at a critical tipping point where ongoing warming could result in biological soil crust degradation. Biological soil crusts (biocrusts), comprised of mosses, lichens, and cyanobacteria, are key components to many dryland communities. Climate change and other anthropogenic disturbances are thought to cause a decline in mosses and lichens, yet few long-term studies exist to track potential shifts in these sensitive soil-surface communities. Using a unique long-term observational dataset from a temperate dryland with initial observations dating back to 1967, we examine the effects of 53 y of observed environmental variation and Bromus tectorum invasion on biocrust communities in a grassland never grazed by domestic livestock. Annual observations show a steep decline in N-fixing lichen cover (dominated by Collema species) from 1996 to 2002, coinciding with a period of extended drought, with Collema communities never able to recover. Declines in other lichen species were also observed, both in number of species present and by total cover, which were attributed to increasing summertime temperatures. Conversely, moss species gradually gained in cover over the survey years, especially following a large Bromus tectorum invasion at the study onset (ca. 1996 to 2001). These results support a growing body of studies that suggests climate change is a key driver in changes to certain components of late-successional biocrust communities. Results here suggest that warming may partially negate decades of protection from disturbance, with biocrust communities reaching a vital tipping point. The accelerated rate of ongoing warming observed in this study may have resulted in the loss of lichen cover and diversity, which could have long-term implications for global temperate dryland ecosystems.
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10
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Fourteen years of continuous soil moisture records from plant and biocrust-dominated microsites. Sci Data 2022; 9:14. [PMID: 35058464 PMCID: PMC8776732 DOI: 10.1038/s41597-021-01111-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2021] [Accepted: 11/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Drylands cover ~41% of the terrestrial surface. In these water-limited ecosystems, soil moisture contributes to multiple hydrological processes and is a crucial determinant of the activity and performance of above- and belowground organisms and of the ecosystem processes that rely on them. Thus, an accurate characterisation of the temporal dynamics of soil moisture is critical to improve our understanding of how dryland ecosystems function and are responding to ongoing climate change. Furthermore, it may help improve climatic forecasts and drought monitoring. Here we present the MOISCRUST dataset, a long-term (2006–2020) soil moisture dataset at a sub-daily resolution from five different microsites (vascular plants and biocrusts) in a Mediterranean semiarid dryland located in Central Spain. MOISCRUST is a unique dataset for improving our understanding on how both vascular plants and biocrusts determine soil water dynamics in drylands, and thus to better assess their hydrological impacts and responses to ongoing climate change. Measurement(s) | soil moisture | Technology Type(s) | soil moisture sensors | Factor Type(s) | temporal interval | Sample Characteristic - Environment | semi-arid grassland | Sample Characteristic - Location | Central Spain |
Machine-accessible metadata file describing the reported data: 10.6084/m9.figshare.16951723
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11
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Sánchez AM, Peralta AML, Luzuriaga AL, Prieto M, Escudero A. Climate change and biocrust disturbance synergistically decreased taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity in annual communities on gypsiferous soils. OIKOS 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.08809] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ana M. Sánchez
- Area of Biodiversity and Conservation, Rey Juan Carlos Univ. Madrid Spain
| | - Ana M. L. Peralta
- Area of Biodiversity and Conservation, Rey Juan Carlos Univ. Madrid Spain
| | | | - María Prieto
- Area of Biodiversity and Conservation, Rey Juan Carlos Univ. Madrid Spain
| | - Adrián Escudero
- Area of Biodiversity and Conservation, Rey Juan Carlos Univ. Madrid Spain
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12
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Lan S, Wu L, Adessi A, Hu C. Cyanobacterial persistence and influence on microbial community dynamics over 15 years in induced biocrusts. Environ Microbiol 2021; 24:66-81. [PMID: 34816560 DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.15853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2021] [Accepted: 11/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Biocrusts provide numerous ecological functions in drylands. Recovering biocrusts via cyanobacterial inoculation recently gathered interest for ecological restoration, yet it still lacks long-term experiments to unravel biocrust community dynamics. To examine how cyanobacterial inoculants influenced local microbial community and biocrust development, we observed a 2 km2 (Qubqi Desert, China) inoculation experiment after 10 and 15 years, following biocrust formation. Our results revealed that biocrust development was in line with ecological regime shift, providing evidence for biocrust community succession, from cyanobacteria- to moss-dominated types. Associated with biocrust development, microbial communities differed significantly with less specialists compared to shifting sands. Cyanobacterial community analysis showed that Microcoleus vaginatus and Scytonema javanicum are an ideal inoculating model, as they were still dominating the community after 15 years since inoculation, while other nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria occurred profusely with biocrust development. Biocrust community composition combined with thickness, Chl-a and exopolysaccharide measurements revealed the large variation of cyanobacterial ecological functions along biocrust development, suggesting a main function shift: from carbon fixation associated with exopolysaccharide secretion in bare sandy soils to nitrogen fixation in developed biocrusts. This large-scale field study verifies that cyanobacterial inoculation accelerates biocrust development and forwards succession, shaping the biocrust community composition over a long time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shubin Lan
- Key Laboratory of Algal Biology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - Li Wu
- School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, 430070, China
| | - Alessandra Adessi
- Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry, University of Florence, Florence, 50144, Italy
| | - Chunxiang Hu
- Key Laboratory of Algal Biology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430072, China
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13
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Blanco‐Sacristán J, Panigada C, Gentili R, Tagliabue G, Garzonio R, Martín MP, Ladrón de Guevara M, Colombo R, Dowling TPF, Rossini M. UAV RGB, thermal infrared and multispectral imagery used to investigate the control of terrain on the spatial distribution of dryland biocrust. EARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS 2021; 46:2466-2484. [PMID: 34690397 PMCID: PMC8518773 DOI: 10.1002/esp.5189] [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: 11/09/2020] [Revised: 06/16/2021] [Accepted: 06/17/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Biocrusts (topsoil communities formed by mosses, lichens, bacteria, fungi, algae, and cyanobacteria) are a key biotic component of dryland ecosystems. Whilst climate patterns control the distribution of biocrusts in drylands worldwide, terrain and soil attributes can influence biocrust distribution at landscape scale. Multi-source unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) imagery was used to map and study biocrust ecology in a typical dryland ecosystem in central Spain. Red, green and blue (RGB) imagery was processed using structure-from-motion techniques to map terrain attributes related to microclimate and terrain stability. Multispectral imagery was used to produce accurate maps (accuracy > 80%) of dryland ecosystem components (vegetation, bare soil and biocrust composition). Finally, thermal infrared (TIR) and multispectral imagery was used to calculate the apparent thermal inertia (ATI) of soil and to evaluate how ATI was related to soil moisture (r 2 = 0.83). The relationship between soil properties and UAV-derived variables was first evaluated at the field plot level. Then, the maps obtained were used to explore the relationship between biocrusts and terrain attributes at ecosystem level through a redundancy analysis. The most significant variables that explain biocrust distribution are: ATI (34.4% of variance, F = 130.75; p < 0.001), Elevation (25.8%, F = 97.6; p < 0.001), and potential solar incoming radiation (PSIR) (52.9%, F = 200.1; p < 0.001). Differences were found between areas dominated by lichens and mosses. Lichen-dominated biocrusts were associated with areas with high slopes and low values of ATI, with soil characterized by a higher amount of soluble salts, and lower amount of organic carbon, total phosphorus (Ptot) and total nitrogen (Ntot). Biocrust-forming mosses dominated lower and moister areas, characterized by gentler slopes and higher values of ATI with soils with higher contents of organic carbon, Ptot and Ntot. This study shows the potential to use UAVs to improve our understanding of drylands and to evaluate the control that the terrain has on biocrust distribution.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Cinzia Panigada
- Remote Sensing of Environmental Dynamics LabUniversity of Milano‐BicoccaMilanItaly
| | - Rodolfo Gentili
- Remote Sensing of Environmental Dynamics LabUniversity of Milano‐BicoccaMilanItaly
| | - Giulia Tagliabue
- Remote Sensing of Environmental Dynamics LabUniversity of Milano‐BicoccaMilanItaly
| | - Roberto Garzonio
- Remote Sensing of Environmental Dynamics LabUniversity of Milano‐BicoccaMilanItaly
| | - M. Pilar Martín
- Environmental remote sensing and spectroscopy laboratory (SpecLab)Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)MadridSpain
| | - Mónica Ladrón de Guevara
- Universidad Rey Juan CarlosMóstolesSpain
- Centre for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications, CREAF‐CSIC‐UABBarcelonaSpain
| | - Roberto Colombo
- Remote Sensing of Environmental Dynamics LabUniversity of Milano‐BicoccaMilanItaly
| | - Thomas P. F. Dowling
- United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring CentreCambridgeUK
| | - Micol Rossini
- Remote Sensing of Environmental Dynamics LabUniversity of Milano‐BicoccaMilanItaly
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14
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Concostrina-Zubiri L, Valencia E, Ochoa V, Gozalo B, Mendoza BJ, Maestre FT. Species-specific effects of biocrust-forming lichens on soil properties under simulated climate change are driven by functional traits. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2021; 230:101-115. [PMID: 33314177 DOI: 10.1111/nph.17143] [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: 07/21/2020] [Accepted: 11/30/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Biocrusts are key drivers of ecosystem functioning in drylands, yet our understanding of how climate change will affect the chemistry of biocrust-forming species and their impacts on carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling is still very limited. Using a manipulative experiment conducted with common biocrust-forming lichens with distinct morphology and chemistry (Buellia zoharyi, Diploschistes diacapsis, Psora decipiens and Squamarina lentigera), we evaluated changes in lichen total and isotopic C and N and several soil C and N variables after 50 months of simulated warming and rainfall reduction. Climate change treatments reduced δ13 C and the C : N ratio in B. zoharyi, and increased δ15 N in S. lentigera. Lichens had species-specific effects on soil dissolved organic N (DON), NH4+ , β-glucosidase and acid phosphatase activity regardless of climate change treatments, while these treatments changed how lichens affected several soil properties regardless of biocrust species. Changes in thallus δ13 C, N and C : N drove species-specific effects on dissolved organic nitrogen (DON), NH4+ , β-glucosidase and acid phosphatase activity. Our findings indicate that warmer and drier conditions will alter the chemistry of biocrust-forming lichens, affecting soil nutrient cycling, and emphasize their key role as modulators of climate change impacts in dryland soils.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Concostrina-Zubiri
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departamento de Biología, Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/Tulipán s/n, Móstoles, 28933, Spain
| | - Enrique Valencia
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departamento de Biología, Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/Tulipán s/n, Móstoles, 28933, Spain
| | - Victoria Ochoa
- Instituto Multidisciplinar para el Estudio del Medio 'Ramon Margalef', Edificio Nuevos Institutos, Universidad de Alicante, Carretera de San Vicente del Raspeig s/n, San Vicente del Raspeig, 03690, Spain
| | - Beatriz Gozalo
- Instituto Multidisciplinar para el Estudio del Medio 'Ramon Margalef', Edificio Nuevos Institutos, Universidad de Alicante, Carretera de San Vicente del Raspeig s/n, San Vicente del Raspeig, 03690, Spain
| | - Betty J Mendoza
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departamento de Biología, Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/Tulipán s/n, Móstoles, 28933, Spain
| | - Fernando T Maestre
- Instituto Multidisciplinar para el Estudio del Medio 'Ramon Margalef', Edificio Nuevos Institutos, Universidad de Alicante, Carretera de San Vicente del Raspeig s/n, San Vicente del Raspeig, 03690, Spain
- Departamento de Ecología, Universidad de Alicante, Carretera de San Vicente del Raspeig s/n, San Vicente del Raspeig, Alicante, 03690, Spain
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15
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Modelling range dynamics of terricolous lichens of the genus Peltigera in the Alps under a climate change scenario. FUNGAL ECOL 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.funeco.2020.101014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
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16
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Berdugo M, Mendoza-Aguilar DO, Rey A, Ochoa V, Gozalo B, García-Huss L, Maestre FT. Litter Decomposition Rates of Biocrust-Forming Lichens Are Similar to Those of Vascular Plants and Are Affected by Warming. Ecosystems 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s10021-020-00599-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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17
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Tucker C, Ferrenberg S, Reed SC. Modest Residual Effects of Short-Term Warming, Altered Hydration, and Biocrust Successional State on Dryland Soil Heterotrophic Carbon and Nitrogen Cycling. Front Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2020.467157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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18
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Dacal M, García-Palacios P, Asensio S, Cano-Díaz C, Gozalo B, Ochoa V, Maestre FT. Contrasting mechanisms underlie short- and longer-term soil respiration responses to experimental warming in a dryland ecosystem. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2020; 26:5254-5266. [PMID: 32510698 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15209] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2020] [Revised: 04/17/2020] [Accepted: 05/26/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Soil carbon losses to the atmosphere through soil respiration are expected to rise with ongoing temperature increases, but available evidence from mesic biomes suggests that such response disappears after a few years of experimental warming. However, there is lack of empirical basis for these temporal dynamics in soil respiration responses, and for the mechanisms underlying them, in drylands, which collectively form the largest biome on Earth and store 32% of the global soil organic carbon pool. We coupled data from a 10 year warming experiment in a biocrust-dominated dryland ecosystem with laboratory incubations to confront 0-2 years (short-term hereafter) versus 8-10 years (longer-term hereafter) soil respiration responses to warming. Our results showed that increased soil respiration rates with short-term warming observed in areas with high biocrust cover returned to control levels in the longer-term. Warming-induced increases in soil temperature were the main drivers of the short-term soil respiration responses, whereas longer-term soil respiration responses to warming were primarily driven by thermal acclimation and warming-induced reductions in biocrust cover. Our results highlight the importance of evaluating short- and longer-term soil respiration responses to warming as a mean to reduce the uncertainty in predicting the soil carbon-climate feedback in drylands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina Dacal
- Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Móstoles, Spain
- Instituto Multidisciplinar para el Estudio del Medio "Ramon Margalef", Universidad de Alicante, Alicante, Spain
| | - Pablo García-Palacios
- Instituto de Ciencias Agrarias, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Madrid, Spain
| | - Sergio Asensio
- Instituto Multidisciplinar para el Estudio del Medio "Ramon Margalef", Universidad de Alicante, Alicante, Spain
| | - Concha Cano-Díaz
- Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Móstoles, Spain
| | - Beatriz Gozalo
- Instituto Multidisciplinar para el Estudio del Medio "Ramon Margalef", Universidad de Alicante, Alicante, Spain
| | - Victoria Ochoa
- Instituto Multidisciplinar para el Estudio del Medio "Ramon Margalef", Universidad de Alicante, Alicante, Spain
| | - Fernando T Maestre
- Instituto Multidisciplinar para el Estudio del Medio "Ramon Margalef", Universidad de Alicante, Alicante, Spain
- Departamento de Ecología, Universidad de Alicante, Alicante, Spain
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19
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Soliveres S, Eldridge DJ. Dual community assembly processes in dryland biocrust communities. Funct Ecol 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Santiago Soliveres
- Department of Ecology University of Alicante Alicante Spain
- Multidisciplinary Institute for Environmental Studies “Ramón Margalef” University of Alicante Alicante Spain
| | - David J. Eldridge
- Centre for Ecosystem Studies School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences University of New South Wales Sydney NSW Australia
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20
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Biocrusts Modulate Responses of Nitrous Oxide and Methane Soil Fluxes to Simulated Climate Change in a Mediterranean Dryland. Ecosystems 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s10021-020-00497-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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21
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Condon LA, Pyke DA. Components and Predictors of Biological Soil Crusts Vary at the Regional vs. Plant Community Scales. Front Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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22
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Rodríguez-Peñate AE, Escudero A, Martínez I, Madrigal-González J. Unveiling annual growth chronologies from inter-nodal branch elongations in a fruticose lichen in southern Europe. Fungal Biol 2019; 123:824-829. [PMID: 31627858 DOI: 10.1016/j.funbio.2019.08.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2019] [Revised: 08/19/2019] [Accepted: 08/21/2019] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Techniques for retrospective analysis of size dynamics at annual resolution remain poorly developed in lichens in general, and fruticose lichens in particular. Only a few attempts in very high latitudes suggested that growth might be studied as a chronosequence of inter-nodal branch elongations. Here we evaluated, for the first time, this hypothesis in a dry Mediterranean environment using the lichen Cladonia rangiformis as a case study. Mixed models supported a strong positive relationship between humidity measured as precipitation/PET and inter-nodal branch elongations. Importantly, model selection suggested that (i) the number of intermodal elongations were a major determinant of stem elongation, and (ii) a second-order temporal autocorrelation denoted legacies of environmental influences at least over the next 2 y. The strong growth-humidity relationship, along with the potential legacies observed, support the idea that inter-nodal branch elongations could be used to reconstruct growth chronologies at annual resolution in drylands. This finding highlights the high vulnerability of these organisms to rising aridity, and opens a new venue for climate reconstruction and other potential applications in Ecology and Earth Science disciplines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alba E Rodríguez-Peñate
- Departamento de ciencias de la vida, UD Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Alcalá, ctra. Madrid-Barcelona km 34.6, 28805 Alcalá de Henares, Spain.
| | - Adrián Escudero
- Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Unidad de Biodiversidad y Conservación, ESCET, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/ Tulipán s/n, Móstoles, C.P. 28933 Madrid, Spain.
| | - Isabel Martínez
- Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Unidad de Biodiversidad y Conservación, ESCET, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/ Tulipán s/n, Móstoles, C.P. 28933 Madrid, Spain.
| | - Jaime Madrigal-González
- Departamento de ciencias de la vida, UD Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Alcalá, ctra. Madrid-Barcelona km 34.6, 28805 Alcalá de Henares, Spain; Climate Change Impacts and Risks in the Anthropocene (C-CIA), Institute for Environmental Sciences (IES), University of Geneva, 66 Boulevard Carl Vogt, CH-1205 Geneva, Switzerland.
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23
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Application of Laser-Induced Fluorescence in Functional Studies of Photosynthetic Biofilms. Processes (Basel) 2018. [DOI: 10.3390/pr6110227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Biofilms are a ubiquitous form of life for microorganisms. Photosynthetic biofilms such as microphytobenthos (MPB) and biological soil crusts (BSC) play a relevant ecological role in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, respectively. On the other hand, photosynthetic epilithic biofilms (PEB) are major players in the microbial-induced decay of stone structures of cultural heritage. The use of fluorescence techniques, namely, pulse-amplitude-modulated fluorometry, was crucial to understanding the photophysiology of these microbial communities, since they made it possible to measure biofilms’ photosynthetic activity without disturbing their delicate spatial organization within sediments or soils. The use of laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) added further technical advantages, enabling measurements to be made at a considerable distance from the samples, and under daylight. In this Perspective, we present state-of-the-art LIF techniques, show examples of the application of LIF to MPB and present exploratory results of LIF application to BSC, as well as to PEB colonizing stone structures of cultural heritage. Thereafter, we discuss the perspectives of LIF utilization in environmental research and monitoring, in cultural heritage conservation and assessment, and in biotechnological applications of photosynthetic biofilms.
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24
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Ladrón de Guevara M, Gozalo B, Raggio J, Lafuente A, Prieto M, Maestre FT. Warming reduces the cover, richness and evenness of lichen-dominated biocrusts but promotes moss growth: insights from an 8 yr experiment. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2018; 220:811-823. [PMID: 29380398 DOI: 10.1111/nph.15000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2017] [Accepted: 12/18/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Despite the important role that biocrust communities play in maintaining ecosystem structure and functioning in drylands world-wide, few studies have evaluated how climate change will affect them. Using data from an 8-yr-old manipulative field experiment located in central Spain, we evaluated how warming, rainfall exclusion and their combination affected the dynamics of biocrust communities in areas that initially had low (< 20%, LIBC plots) and high (> 50%, HIBC plots) biocrust cover. Warming reduced the richness (35 ± 6%), diversity (25 ± 8%) and cover (82 ± 5%) of biocrusts in HIBC plots. The presence and abundance of mosses increased with warming through time in these plots, although their growth rate was much lower than the rate of lichen death, resulting in a net loss of biocrust cover. On average, warming caused a decrease in the abundance (64 ± 7%) and presence (38 ± 24%) of species in the HIBC plots. Over time, lichens and mosses colonized the LIBC plots, but this process was hampered by warming in the case of lichens. The observed reductions in the cover and diversity of lichen-dominated biocrusts with warming will lessen the capacity of drylands such as that studied here to sequester atmospheric CO2 and to provide other key ecosystem services associated to these communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mónica Ladrón de Guevara
- Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, 28933, Móstoles, Spain
| | - Beatriz Gozalo
- Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, 28933, Móstoles, Spain
| | - José Raggio
- Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, 28933, Móstoles, Spain
- Departamento de Biología Vegetal II, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad Complutense, 28040, Madrid, Spain
| | - Angela Lafuente
- Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, 28933, Móstoles, Spain
| | - María Prieto
- Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, 28933, Móstoles, Spain
| | - Fernando T Maestre
- Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, 28933, Móstoles, Spain
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25
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Li XR, Jia RL, Zhang ZS, Zhang P, Hui R. Hydrological response of biological soil crusts to global warming: A ten-year simulative study. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2018; 24:4960-4971. [PMID: 29957890 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14378] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2018] [Accepted: 06/08/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Biological soil crusts across the desert regions play a key role in regional ecological security and ecological health. They are vital biotic components of desert ecosystems that maintain soil stability, fix carbon and nitrogen, influence the establishment of vascular plants, and serve as habitats for a large number of arthropods and microorganisms, as well as influencing soil hydrological processes. Changes in temperature and precipitation are expected to influence the functioning of desert ecosystems by altering biotic components such as the species composition of biological soil crusts. However, it remains unclear how these important components will respond to the prolonged warming and reduced precipitation that is predicted to occur with climate change. To evaluate how the hydrological properties of these biological soil crusts respond to these alterations, we used open-top chambers over a 10-year period to simulate warming and reduced precipitation. Infiltration, dew entrapment, and evaporation were measured as surrogates of the hydrological functioning of biological soil crusts. It was found that the ongoing warming coupled with reduced precipitation will more strongly affect moss in crustal communities than lichens and cyanobacteria, which will lead to a direct alteration of the hydrological performance of biological soil crusts. Reductions in moss abundance, surface cover, and biomass resulted in a change in structure and function of crustal communities, decreased dew entrapment, and increased infiltration and evaporation of biological soil crusts in desert ecosystems, which further impacted on the desert soil water balance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin-Rong Li
- Shapotou Desert Research and Experiment Station, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, China
- Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Stress Eco-physiology in Cold and Arid Regions, Lanzhou, China
| | - Rong-Liang Jia
- Shapotou Desert Research and Experiment Station, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, China
- Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Stress Eco-physiology in Cold and Arid Regions, Lanzhou, China
| | - Zhi-Shan Zhang
- Shapotou Desert Research and Experiment Station, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, China
- Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Stress Eco-physiology in Cold and Arid Regions, Lanzhou, China
| | - Peng Zhang
- Shapotou Desert Research and Experiment Station, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, China
- Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Stress Eco-physiology in Cold and Arid Regions, Lanzhou, China
| | - Rong Hui
- Shapotou Desert Research and Experiment Station, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, China
- Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Stress Eco-physiology in Cold and Arid Regions, Lanzhou, China
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26
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Jung P, Briegel-Williams L, Schermer M, Büdel B. Strong in combination: Polyphasic approach enhances arguments for cold-assigned cyanobacterial endemism. Microbiologyopen 2018; 8:e00729. [PMID: 30239166 PMCID: PMC6528576 DOI: 10.1002/mbo3.729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2018] [Revised: 08/09/2018] [Accepted: 08/10/2018] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Cyanobacteria of biological soil crusts (BSCs) represent an important part of circumpolar and Alpine ecosystems, serve as indicators for ecological condition and climate change, and function as ecosystem engineers by soil stabilization or carbon and nitrogen input. The characterization of cyanobacteria from both polar regions remains extremely important to understand geographic distribution patterns and community compositions. This study is the first of its kind revealing the efficiency of combining denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), light microscopy and culture‐based 16S rRNA gene sequencing, applied to polar and Alpine cyanobacteria dominated BSCs. This study aimed to show the living proportion of cyanobacteria as an extension to previously published meta‐transcriptome data of the same study sites. Molecular fingerprints showed a distinct clustering of cyanobacterial communities with a close relationship between Arctic and Alpine populations, which differed from those found in Antarctica. Species richness and diversity supported these results, which were also confirmed by microscopic investigations of living cyanobacteria from the BSCs. Isolate‐based sequencing corroborated these trends as cold biome clades were assigned, which included a potentially new Arctic clade of Oculatella. Thus, our results contribute to the debate regarding biogeography of cyanobacteria of cold biomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Jung
- Plant Ecology and Systematics, Biology Institute, University of Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, Germany
| | - Laura Briegel-Williams
- Plant Ecology and Systematics, Biology Institute, University of Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, Germany
| | - Michael Schermer
- Plant Ecology and Systematics, Biology Institute, University of Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, Germany
| | - Burkhard Büdel
- Plant Ecology and Systematics, Biology Institute, University of Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, Germany
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27
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Lafuente A, Berdugo M, de Guevara ML, Gozalo B, Maestre FT. Simulated climate change affects how biocrusts modulate water gains and desiccation dynamics after rainfall events. ECOHYDROLOGY : ECOSYSTEMS, LAND AND WATER PROCESS INTERACTIONS, ECOHYDROGEOMORPHOLOGY 2018; 11:e1935. [PMID: 30288205 PMCID: PMC6166855 DOI: 10.1002/eco.1935] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Soil surface communities dominated by mosses, lichens and cyanobacteria (biocrusts) are common between vegetation patches in drylands worldwide, and are known to affect soil wetting and drying after rainfall events. While ongoing climate change is already warming and changing rainfall patterns of drylands in many regions, little is known on how these changes may affect the hydrological behaviour of biocrust-covered soils. We used eight years of continuous soil moisture and rainfall data from a climate change experiment in central Spain to explore how biocrusts modify soil water gains and losses after rainfall events under simulated changes in temperature (2.5°C warming) and rainfall (33% reduction). Both rainfall amount and biocrust cover increased soil water gains after rainfall events, whereas experimental warming, rainfall intensity and initial soil moisture decreased them. Initial moisture, maximum temperature and biocrust cover, by means of enhancing potential evapotranspiration or by soil darkening, increased the drying rates and enhanced the exponential behaviour of the drying events. Meanwhile, warming reduced their exponential behaviour. The effects of climate change treatments on soil water gains and losses changed through time, with important differences between the first two years of the experiment and five years after its setup. These effects were mainly driven by the important reductions in biocrust cover and diversity observed under warming. Our results highlight the importance of long-term studies to understand soil moisture responses to ongoing climate change in drylands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angela Lafuente
- Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica. Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, c/Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, Spain
- Correspondence to: Angela Lafuente, Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación. Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica. Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, c/Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, Spain.
| | - Miguel Berdugo
- Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica. Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, c/Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, Spain
| | - Mónica Ladrón de Guevara
- Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica. Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, c/Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, Spain
| | - Beatriz Gozalo
- Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica. Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, c/Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, Spain
| | - Fernando T. Maestre
- Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica. Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, c/Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, Spain
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Concostrina-Zubiri L, Martínez I, Escudero A. Lichen-biocrust diversity in a fragmented dryland: Fine scale factors are better predictors than landscape structure. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2018; 628-629:882-892. [PMID: 29455138 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.02.090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2017] [Revised: 02/07/2018] [Accepted: 02/08/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Laura Concostrina-Zubiri
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, c/Tulipán s/n., E-28933 Móstoles, Spain; Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (cE3c), Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, C2, Piso 6, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal.
| | - Isabel Martínez
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, c/Tulipán s/n., E-28933 Móstoles, Spain
| | - Adrián Escudero
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, c/Tulipán s/n., E-28933 Móstoles, Spain
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29
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Ochoa-Hueso R, Mondragon-Cortés T, Concostrina-Zubiri L, Serrano-Grijalva L, Estébanez B. Nitrogen deposition reduces the cover of biocrust-forming lichens and soil pigment content in a semiarid Mediterranean shrubland. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2017; 24:26172-26184. [PMID: 29103122 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-017-0482-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2016] [Accepted: 10/16/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Biocrusts are key drivers of the structure and functioning of drylands and are very sensitive to disturbance, including atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition. We studied the impacts of simulated N deposition on biocrust community composition and soil photosynthetic and photoprotective pigment content after five years of N application in a European semiarid Mediterranean shrubland. The experiment consisted in six experimental blocks with four plots, each receiving 0, 10, 20, or 50 kg NH4NO3-N ha-1 year-1 + 6-7 kg N ha-1 year-1 background. After 5 years of N application, total lichen cover decreased up to 50% compared to control conditions and these changes were only clearly evident when evaluated from a temporal perspective (i.e. as the percentage of change from the first survey in 2008 to the last survey in 2012). In contrast, moss cover did not change in response to N, suggesting that biocrust community alterations operate via species- and functional group-specific effects. Interestingly, between-year variations in biocrust cover tracked variations in autumnal precipitation, showing that these communities are more dynamic than previously thought. Biocrust species alterations in response to N were, however, often secondary when compared to the role of ecologically relevant drivers such as soil pH and shrub cover, which greatly determined the composition and inter-annual dynamics of the biocrust community. Similarly, cyanobacterial abundance and soil pigment concentration were greatly determined by biotic and abiotic interactions, soil pH for pigments, and organic matter content and shrub cover for cyanobacteria. Biocrusts, and particularly the lichen component, are highly sensitive to N deposition and their responses to pollutant N can be best understood when evaluated from a temporal and multivariate perspective, including impacts mediated by interactions with biotic and abiotic drivers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raúl Ochoa-Hueso
- Department of Ecology, Autonomous University of Madrid, 2 Darwin Street, 28049, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Tatiana Mondragon-Cortés
- Department of Biology, Botany Unit, Autonomous University of Madrid, 2 Darwin Street, 28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Laura Concostrina-Zubiri
- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (CE3C), Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, Bloco C2, 6° Piso, Sala 11, 1749-016, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Lilia Serrano-Grijalva
- Department of Ecology, Autonomous University of Madrid, 2 Darwin Street, 28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Belén Estébanez
- Department of Biology, Botany Unit, Autonomous University of Madrid, 2 Darwin Street, 28049, Madrid, Spain
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30
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Ouyang H, Hu C. Insight into climate change from the carbon exchange of biocrusts utilizing non-rainfall water. Sci Rep 2017; 7:2573. [PMID: 28566698 PMCID: PMC5451392 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-02812-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2016] [Accepted: 04/19/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Biocrusts are model ecosystems of global change studies. However, light and non-rainfall water (NRW) were previously few considered. Different biocrust types further aggravated the inconsistence. So carbon-exchange of biocrusts (cyanobacteria crusts-AC1/AC2; cyanolichen crust-LC1; chlorolichen crust-LC2; moss crust-MC) utilizing NRW at various temperatures and light-intensities were determined under simulated and insitu mesocosm experiments. Carbon input of all biocrusts were negatively correlated with experimental temperature under all light-intensity with saturated water and stronger light with equivalent NRW, but positively correlated with temperature under weak light with equivalent NRW. LCPs and R/Pg of AC1 were lowest, followed in turn by AC2, LC2 and MC. Thus AC1 had most opportunities to use NRW, and 2.5 °C warming did cause significant changes of carbon exchange. Structural equation models further revealed that air-temperature was most important for carbon-exchange of ACs, but equally important as NRW for LC2 and MC; positive influence of warming on carbon-input in ACs was much stronger than the latter. Therefore, temperature effect on biocrust carbon-input depends on both moisture and light. Meanwhile, the role of NRW, transitional states between ACs, and obvious carbon-fixation differences between lichen crusts should be fully considered in the future study of biocrusts responding to climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hailong Ouyang
- Key Laboratory of Algal Biology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430072, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Chunxiang Hu
- Key Laboratory of Algal Biology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430072, China.
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31
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Transience after disturbance: Obligate species recovery dynamics depend on disturbance duration. Theor Popul Biol 2017; 115:81-88. [PMID: 28479290 DOI: 10.1016/j.tpb.2017.04.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2016] [Revised: 02/21/2017] [Accepted: 04/23/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
After a disturbance event, population recovery becomes an important species response that drives ecosystem dynamics. Yet, it is unclear how interspecific interactions impact species recovery from a disturbance and which role the disturbance duration (pulse or press) plays. Here, we analytically derive conditions that govern the transient recovery dynamics from disturbance of a host and its obligately dependent partner in a two-species metapopulation model. We find that, after disturbance, species recovery dynamics depend on the species' role (i.e. host or obligately dependent species) as well as the duration of disturbance. Host recovery starts immediately after the disturbance. In contrast, for obligate species, recovery depends on disturbance duration. After press disturbance, which allows dynamics to equilibrate during disturbance, obligate species immediately start to recover. Yet, after pulse disturbance, obligate species continue declining although their hosts have already begun to increase. Effectively, obligate species recovery is delayed until a necessary host threshold occupancy is reached. Obligates' delayed recovery arises solely from interspecific interactions independent of dispersal limitations, which contests previous explanations. Delayed recovery exerts a two-fold negative effect, because populations continue declining to even smaller population sizes and the phase of increased risk from demographic stochastic extinction in small populations is prolonged. We argue that delayed recovery and its determinants -species interactions and disturbance duration - have to be considered in biodiversity management.
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Reinmuth-Selzle K, Kampf CJ, Lucas K, Lang-Yona N, Fröhlich-Nowoisky J, Shiraiwa M, Lakey PSJ, Lai S, Liu F, Kunert AT, Ziegler K, Shen F, Sgarbanti R, Weber B, Bellinghausen I, Saloga J, Weller MG, Duschl A, Schuppan D, Pöschl U. Air Pollution and Climate Change Effects on Allergies in the Anthropocene: Abundance, Interaction, and Modification of Allergens and Adjuvants. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2017; 51:4119-4141. [PMID: 28326768 PMCID: PMC5453620 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.6b04908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 118] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2016] [Revised: 03/07/2017] [Accepted: 03/22/2017] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
Air pollution and climate change are potential drivers for the increasing burden of allergic diseases. The molecular mechanisms by which air pollutants and climate parameters may influence allergic diseases, however, are complex and elusive. This article provides an overview of physical, chemical and biological interactions between air pollution, climate change, allergens, adjuvants and the immune system, addressing how these interactions may promote the development of allergies. We reviewed and synthesized key findings from atmospheric, climate, and biomedical research. The current state of knowledge, open questions, and future research perspectives are outlined and discussed. The Anthropocene, as the present era of globally pervasive anthropogenic influence on planet Earth and, thus, on the human environment, is characterized by a strong increase of carbon dioxide, ozone, nitrogen oxides, and combustion- or traffic-related particulate matter in the atmosphere. These environmental factors can enhance the abundance and induce chemical modifications of allergens, increase oxidative stress in the human body, and skew the immune system toward allergic reactions. In particular, air pollutants can act as adjuvants and alter the immunogenicity of allergenic proteins, while climate change affects the atmospheric abundance and human exposure to bioaerosols and aeroallergens. To fully understand and effectively mitigate the adverse effects of air pollution and climate change on allergic diseases, several challenges remain to be resolved. Among these are the identification and quantification of immunochemical reaction pathways involving allergens and adjuvants under relevant environmental and physiological conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Christopher J. Kampf
- Multiphase
Chemistry Department, Max Planck Institute
for Chemistry, Mainz, 55128, Germany
- Institute
of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Johannes
Gutenberg University, Mainz, 55128, Germany
| | - Kurt Lucas
- Multiphase
Chemistry Department, Max Planck Institute
for Chemistry, Mainz, 55128, Germany
| | - Naama Lang-Yona
- Multiphase
Chemistry Department, Max Planck Institute
for Chemistry, Mainz, 55128, Germany
| | | | - Manabu Shiraiwa
- Multiphase
Chemistry Department, Max Planck Institute
for Chemistry, Mainz, 55128, Germany
- Department
of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, California 92697-2025, United States
| | - Pascale S. J. Lakey
- Multiphase
Chemistry Department, Max Planck Institute
for Chemistry, Mainz, 55128, Germany
| | - Senchao Lai
- Multiphase
Chemistry Department, Max Planck Institute
for Chemistry, Mainz, 55128, Germany
- South
China University of Technology, School of
Environment and Energy, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Fobang Liu
- Multiphase
Chemistry Department, Max Planck Institute
for Chemistry, Mainz, 55128, Germany
| | - Anna T. Kunert
- Multiphase
Chemistry Department, Max Planck Institute
for Chemistry, Mainz, 55128, Germany
| | - Kira Ziegler
- Multiphase
Chemistry Department, Max Planck Institute
for Chemistry, Mainz, 55128, Germany
| | - Fangxia Shen
- Multiphase
Chemistry Department, Max Planck Institute
for Chemistry, Mainz, 55128, Germany
| | - Rossella Sgarbanti
- Multiphase
Chemistry Department, Max Planck Institute
for Chemistry, Mainz, 55128, Germany
| | - Bettina Weber
- Multiphase
Chemistry Department, Max Planck Institute
for Chemistry, Mainz, 55128, Germany
| | - Iris Bellinghausen
- Department
of Dermatology, University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, 55131, Germany
| | - Joachim Saloga
- Department
of Dermatology, University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, 55131, Germany
| | - Michael G. Weller
- Division
1.5 Protein Analysis, Federal Institute
for Materials Research and Testing (BAM), Berlin, 12489, Germany
| | - Albert Duschl
- Department
of Molecular Biology, University of Salzburg, 5020 Salzburg, Austria
| | - Detlef Schuppan
- Institute
of Translational Immunology and Research Center for Immunotherapy,
Institute of Translational Immunology, University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, 55131 Germany
- Division
of Gastroenterology, Beth Israel Deaconess
Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
| | - Ulrich Pöschl
- Multiphase
Chemistry Department, Max Planck Institute
for Chemistry, Mainz, 55128, Germany
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Rutherford WA, Painter TH, Ferrenberg S, Belnap J, Okin GS, Flagg C, Reed SC. Albedo feedbacks to future climate via climate change impacts on dryland biocrusts. Sci Rep 2017; 7:44188. [PMID: 28281687 PMCID: PMC5345002 DOI: 10.1038/srep44188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2016] [Accepted: 02/06/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Drylands represent the planet's largest terrestrial biome and evidence suggests these landscapes have large potential for creating feedbacks to future climate. Recent studies also indicate that dryland ecosystems are responding markedly to climate change. Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) ‒ soil surface communities of lichens, mosses, and/or cyanobacteria ‒ comprise up to 70% of dryland cover and help govern fundamental ecosystem functions, including soil stabilization and carbon uptake. Drylands are expected to experience significant changes in temperature and precipitation regimes, and such alterations may impact biocrust communities by promoting rapid mortality of foundational species. In turn, biocrust community shifts affect land surface cover and roughness-changes that can dramatically alter albedo. We tested this hypothesis in a full-factorial warming (+4 °C above ambient) and altered precipitation (increased frequency of 1.2 mm monsoon-type watering events) experiment on the Colorado Plateau, USA. We quantified changes in shortwave albedo via multi-angle, solar-reflectance measurements. Warming and watering treatments each led to large increases in albedo (>30%). This increase was driven by biophysical factors related to treatment effects on cyanobacteria cover and soil surface roughness following treatment-induced moss and lichen mortality. A rise in dryland surface albedo may represent a previously unidentified feedback to future climate.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Thomas H Painter
- Joint Institute for Regional Earth System Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Scott Ferrenberg
- US Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center, Moab, UT 84532, USA
| | - Jayne Belnap
- US Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center, Moab, UT 84532, USA
| | - Gregory S Okin
- Department of Geography, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Cody Flagg
- National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), Boulder, Colorado 80301, USA
| | - Sasha C Reed
- US Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center, Moab, UT 84532, USA
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Maestre FT, Eldridge DJ, Soliveres S, Kéfi S, Delgado-Baquerizo M, Bowker MA, García-Palacios P, Gaitán J, Gallardo A, Lázaro R, Berdugo M. Structure and functioning of dryland ecosystems in a changing world. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ECOLOGY, EVOLUTION, AND SYSTEMATICS 2016; 47:215-237. [PMID: 28239303 PMCID: PMC5321561 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-121415-032311] [Citation(s) in RCA: 110] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Understanding how drylands respond to ongoing environmental change is extremely important for global sustainability. Here we review how biotic attributes, climate, grazing pressure, land cover change and nitrogen deposition affect the functioning of drylands at multiple spatial scales. Our synthesis highlights the importance of biotic attributes (e.g. species richness) in maintaining fundamental ecosystem processes such as primary productivity, illustrate how N deposition and grazing pressure are impacting ecosystem functioning in drylands worldwide, and highlight the importance of the traits of woody species as drivers of their expansion in former grasslands. We also emphasize the role of attributes such as species richness and abundance in controlling the responses of ecosystem functioning to climate change. This knowledge is essential to guide conservation and restoration efforts in drylands, as biotic attributes can be actively managed at the local scale to increase ecosystem resilience to global change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fernando T Maestre
- Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Calle Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, Spain
| | - David J Eldridge
- Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia
| | - Santiago Soliveres
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Alternbengrain 21, 3013 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Sonia Kéfi
- Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution, Université de Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, EPHE, CC 065, Place Eugène Bataillon, 34095 Montpellier Cedex 05, France
| | - Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, 2751, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Matthew A Bowker
- School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, 200 East Pine Knoll Drive, AZ 86011, Flagstaff, USA
| | - Pablo García-Palacios
- Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Calle Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, Spain
| | - Juan Gaitán
- Instituto de Suelos, CIRN, INTA, Nicolas Repetto y de los Reseros Sin Número, 1686 Hurlingham, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Antonio Gallardo
- Departamento de Sistemas Físicos, Químicos y Naturales, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Carretera de Utrera kilómetro 1, 41013 Sevilla, Spain
| | - Roberto Lázaro
- Departamento de Desertificación y Geoecología. Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas, CSIC, Almería, Spain
| | - Miguel Berdugo
- Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Calle Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, Spain
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Valencia E, Méndez M, Saavedra N, Maestre FT. Plant size and leaf area influence phenological and reproductive responses to warming in semiarid Mediterranean species. PERSPECTIVES IN PLANT ECOLOGY, EVOLUTION AND SYSTEMATICS 2016; 21:31-40. [PMID: 27330405 PMCID: PMC4910860 DOI: 10.1016/j.ppees.2016.05.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Changes in vegetative and reproductive phenology rank among the most obvious plant responses to climate change. These responses vary broadly among species, but it is largely unknown whether they are mediated by functional attributes, such as size or foliar traits. Using a manipulative experiment conducted over two growing seasons, we evaluated the responses in reproductive phenology and output of 14 Mediterranean semiarid species belonging to three functional groups (grasses, nitrogen-fixing legumes and forbs) to a ~3°C increase in temperature, and assessed how leaf and size traits influenced them. Overall, warming advanced flowering and fruiting phenology, extended the duration of flowering and reduced the production of flowers and fruits. The observed reduction in flower and fruit production with warming was likely related to the decrease in soil moisture promoted by this treatment. Phenological responses to warming did not vary among functional groups, albeit forbs had an earlier reproductive phenology than legumes and grasses. Larger species with high leaf area, as well as those with small specific leaf area, had an earlier flowering and a longer flowering duration. The effects of warming on plant size and leaf traits were related to those on reproductive phenology and reproductive output. Species that decreased their leaf area under warming advanced more the onset of flowering, while those that increased their vegetative height produced more flowers. Our results advance our understanding of the phenological responses to warming of Mediterranean semiarid species, and highlight the key role of traits such as plant size and leaf area as determinants of such responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enrique Valencia
- Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/ Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, Spain
- Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 31, České Budějovice
| | - Marcos Méndez
- Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/ Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, Spain
| | - Noelia Saavedra
- Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/ Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, Spain
| | - Fernando T. Maestre
- Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/ Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, Spain
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36
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Valencia E, Méndez M, Saavedra N, Maestre FT. Plant size and leaf area influence phenological and reproductive responses to warming in semiarid Mediterranean species. PERSPECTIVES IN PLANT ECOLOGY, EVOLUTION AND SYSTEMATICS 2016. [PMID: 27330405 DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.3124348.v1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Changes in vegetative and reproductive phenology rank among the most obvious plant responses to climate change. These responses vary broadly among species, but it is largely unknown whether they are mediated by functional attributes, such as size or foliar traits. Using a manipulative experiment conducted over two growing seasons, we evaluated the responses in reproductive phenology and output of 14 Mediterranean semiarid species belonging to three functional groups (grasses, nitrogen-fixing legumes and forbs) to a ~3°C increase in temperature, and assessed how leaf and size traits influenced them. Overall, warming advanced flowering and fruiting phenology, extended the duration of flowering and reduced the production of flowers and fruits. The observed reduction in flower and fruit production with warming was likely related to the decrease in soil moisture promoted by this treatment. Phenological responses to warming did not vary among functional groups, albeit forbs had an earlier reproductive phenology than legumes and grasses. Larger species with high leaf area, as well as those with small specific leaf area, had an earlier flowering and a longer flowering duration. The effects of warming on plant size and leaf traits were related to those on reproductive phenology and reproductive output. Species that decreased their leaf area under warming advanced more the onset of flowering, while those that increased their vegetative height produced more flowers. Our results advance our understanding of the phenological responses to warming of Mediterranean semiarid species, and highlight the key role of traits such as plant size and leaf area as determinants of such responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enrique Valencia
- Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/ Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, Spain; Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 31, České Budějovice
| | - Marcos Méndez
- Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/ Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, Spain
| | - Noelia Saavedra
- Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/ Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, Spain
| | - Fernando T Maestre
- Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/ Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, Spain
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37
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Delgado-Baquerizo M, Maestre FT, Eldridge DJ, Singh BK. Microsite Differentiation Drives the Abundance of Soil Ammonia Oxidizing Bacteria along Aridity Gradients. Front Microbiol 2016; 7:505. [PMID: 27148194 PMCID: PMC4834304 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2016.00505] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2015] [Accepted: 03/29/2016] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Soil ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and archaea (AOA) are responsible for nitrification in terrestrial ecosystems, and play important roles in ecosystem functioning by modulating the rates of N losses to ground water and the atmosphere. Vascular plants have been shown to modulate the abundance of AOA and AOB in drylands, the largest biome on Earth. Like plants, biotic and abiotic features such as insect nests and biological soil crusts (biocrusts) have unique biogeochemical attributes (e.g., nutrient availability) that may modify the local abundance of AOA and AOB. However, little is known about how these biotic and abiotic features and their interactions modulate the abundance of AOA and AOB in drylands. Here, we evaluate the abundance of amoA genes from AOB and AOA within six microsites commonly found in drylands (open areas, biocrusts, ant nests, grasses, nitrogen-fixing shrubs, and trees) at 21 sites from eastern Australia, including arid and mesic ecosystems that are threatened by predicted increases in aridity. Our results from structural equation modeling suggest that soil microsite differentiation alters the abundance of AOB (but not AOA) in both arid and mesic ecosystems. While the abundance of AOA sharply increased with increasing aridity in all microsites, the response of AOB abundance was microsite-dependent, with increases (nitrogen-fixing shrubs, ant nests), decreases (open areas) or no changes (grasses, biocrusts, trees) in abundance with increasing aridity. Microsites supporting the highest abundance of AOB were trees, nitrogen-fixing shrubs, and ant nests. These results are linked to particular soil characteristics (e.g., total carbon and ammonium) under these microsites. Our findings advance our understanding of key drivers of functionally important microbial communities and N availability in highly heterogeneous ecosystems such as drylands, which may be obscured when different soil microsites are not explicitly considered.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Fernando T Maestre
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos Móstoles, Spain
| | - David J Eldridge
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney NSW, Australia
| | - Brajesh K Singh
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, PenrithNSW, Australia; Global Centre for Land-Based Innovation, Western Sydney University, PenrithNSW, Australia
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Delgado-Baquerizo M, Maestre FT, Eldridge DJ, Bowker MA, Ochoa V, Gozalo B, Berdugo M, Val J, Singh BK. Biocrust-forming mosses mitigate the negative impacts of increasing aridity on ecosystem multifunctionality in drylands. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2016; 209:1540-1552. [PMID: 26452175 DOI: 10.1111/nph.13688] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2015] [Accepted: 09/08/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
The increase in aridity predicted with climate change will have a negative impact on the multiple functions and services (multifunctionality) provided by dryland ecosystems worldwide. In these ecosystems, soil communities dominated by mosses, lichens and cyanobacteria (biocrusts) play a key role in supporting multifunctionality. However, whether biocrusts can buffer the negative impacts of aridity on important biogeochemical processes controlling carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) pools and fluxes remains largely unknown. Here, we conducted an empirical study, using samples from three continents (North America, Europe and Australia), to evaluate how the increase in aridity predicted by climate change will alter the capacity of biocrust-forming mosses to modulate multiple ecosystem processes related to C, N and P cycles. Compared with soil surfaces lacking biocrusts, biocrust-forming mosses enhanced multiple functions related to C, N and P cycling and storage in semiarid and arid, but not in humid and dry-subhumid, environments. Most importantly, we found that the relative positive effects of biocrust-forming mosses on multifunctionality compared with bare soil increased with increasing aridity. These results were mediated by plant cover and the positive effects exerted by biocrust-forming mosses on the abundance of soil bacteria and fungi. Our findings provide strong evidence that the maintenance of biocrusts is crucial to buffer negative effects of climate change on multifunctionality in global drylands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia
| | - Fernando T Maestre
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, c/Tulipán s/n, Móstoles, 28933, Spain
| | - David J Eldridge
- Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - Matthew A Bowker
- School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, 200 S. Pine Knoll Drive, Box 15018, Flagstaff, AZ, 86011, USA
| | - Victoria Ochoa
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, c/Tulipán s/n, Móstoles, 28933, Spain
| | - Beatriz Gozalo
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, c/Tulipán s/n, Móstoles, 28933, Spain
| | - Miguel Berdugo
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, c/Tulipán s/n, Móstoles, 28933, Spain
| | - James Val
- Office of Environment and Heritage, PO Box 363, Buronga, NSW, 2739, Australia
| | - Brajesh K Singh
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia
- Global Centre for Land-Based Innovation, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia
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Biocrusts in the Context of Global Change. BIOLOGICAL SOIL CRUSTS: AN ORGANIZING PRINCIPLE IN DRYLANDS 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-30214-0_22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
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Maestre FT, Bowker MA, Eldridge DJ, Cortina J, Lázaro R, Gallardo A, Delgado-Baquerizo M, Berdugo M, Castillo-Monroy AP, Valencia E. Biological Soil Crusts as a Model System in Ecology. BIOLOGICAL SOIL CRUSTS: AN ORGANIZING PRINCIPLE IN DRYLANDS 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-30214-0_20] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
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Climate change and physical disturbance cause similar community shifts in biological soil crusts. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2015; 112:12116-21. [PMID: 26371310 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1509150112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 180] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Biological soil crusts (biocrusts)—communities of mosses, lichens, cyanobacteria, and heterotrophs living at the soil surface—are fundamental components of drylands worldwide, and destruction of biocrusts dramatically alters biogeochemical processes, hydrology, surface energy balance, and vegetation cover. Although there has been long-standing concern over impacts of physical disturbances on biocrusts (e.g., trampling by livestock, damage from vehicles), there is increasing concern over the potential for climate change to alter biocrust community structure. Using long-term data from the Colorado Plateau, we examined the effects of 10 y of experimental warming and altered precipitation (in full-factorial design) on biocrust communities and compared the effects of altered climate with those of long-term physical disturbance (>10 y of replicated human trampling). Surprisingly, altered climate and physical disturbance treatments had similar effects on biocrust community structure. Warming, altered precipitation frequency [an increase of small (1.2 mm) summer rainfall events], and physical disturbance from trampling all promoted early successional community states marked by dramatic declines in moss cover and increases in cyanobacteria cover, with more variable effects on lichens. Although the pace of community change varied significantly among treatments, our results suggest that multiple aspects of climate change will affect biocrusts to the same degree as physical disturbance. This is particularly disconcerting in the context of warming, as temperatures for drylands are projected to increase beyond those imposed as treatments in our study.
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Maestre FT, Escolar C, Bardgett RD, Dungait JAJ, Gozalo B, Ochoa V. Warming reduces the cover and diversity of biocrust-forming mosses and lichens, and increases the physiological stress of soil microbial communities in a semi-arid Pinus halepensis plantation. Front Microbiol 2015; 6:865. [PMID: 26379642 PMCID: PMC4548238 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2015.00865] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2015] [Accepted: 08/07/2015] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Soil communities dominated by lichens and mosses (biocrusts) play key roles in maintaining ecosystem structure and functioning in drylands worldwide. However, few studies have explicitly evaluated how climate change-induced impacts on biocrusts affect associated soil microbial communities. We report results from a field experiment conducted in a semiarid Pinus halepensis plantation, where we setup an experiment with two factors: cover of biocrusts (low [<15%] versus high [>50%]), and warming (control versus a ∼2°C temperature increase). Warming reduced the richness and cover (∼45%) of high biocrust cover areas 53 months after the onset of the experiment. This treatment did not change the ratios between the major microbial groups, as measured by phospholipid fatty acid analysis. Warming increased the physiological stress of the Gram negative bacterial community, as indicated by the cy17:0/16:1ω7 ratio. This response was modulated by the initial biocrust cover, as the increase in this ratio with warming was higher in areas with low cover. Our findings suggest that biocrusts can slow down the negative effects of warming on the physiological status of the Gram negative bacterial community. However, as warming will likely reduce the cover and diversity of biocrusts, these positive effects will be reduced under climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fernando T Maestre
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos Móstoles, Spain
| | - Cristina Escolar
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos Móstoles, Spain
| | | | - Jennifer A J Dungait
- Sustainable Soils and Grassland Systems Department, Rothamsted Research, North Wyke Okehampton, UK
| | - Beatriz Gozalo
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos Móstoles, Spain
| | - Victoria Ochoa
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos Móstoles, Spain
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Climate change and physical disturbance manipulations result in distinct biological soil crust communities. Appl Environ Microbiol 2015; 81:7448-59. [PMID: 26276111 DOI: 10.1128/aem.01443-15] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2015] [Accepted: 08/09/2015] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) colonize plant interspaces in many drylands and are critical to soil nutrient cycling. Multiple climate change and land use factors have been shown to detrimentally impact biocrusts on a macroscopic (i.e., visual) scale. However, the impact of these perturbations on the bacterial components of the biocrusts remains poorly understood. We employed multiple long-term field experiments to assess the impacts of chronic physical (foot trampling) and climatic changes (2°C soil warming, altered summer precipitation [wetting], and combined warming and wetting) on biocrust bacterial biomass, composition, and metabolic profile. The biocrust bacterial communities adopted distinct states based on the mechanism of disturbance. Chronic trampling decreased biomass and caused small community compositional changes. Soil warming had little effect on biocrust biomass or composition, while wetting resulted in an increase in the cyanobacterial biomass and altered bacterial composition. Warming combined with wetting dramatically altered bacterial composition and decreased Cyanobacteria abundance. Shotgun metagenomic sequencing identified four functional gene categories that differed in relative abundance among the manipulations, suggesting that climate and land use changes affected soil bacterial functional potential. This study illustrates that different types of biocrust disturbance damage biocrusts in macroscopically similar ways, but they differentially impact the resident soil bacterial communities, and the communities' functional profiles can differ depending on the disturbance type. Therefore, the nature of the perturbation and the microbial response are important considerations for management and restoration of drylands.
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Raanan H, Felde VJMNL, Peth S, Drahorad S, Ionescu D, Eshkol G, Treves H, Felix-Henningsen P, Berkowicz SM, Keren N, Horn R, Hagemann M, Kaplan A. Three-dimensional structure and cyanobacterial activity within a desert biological soil crust. Environ Microbiol 2015; 18:372-83. [DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.12859] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2014] [Revised: 02/26/2015] [Accepted: 03/06/2015] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Hagai Raanan
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences; Edmond J. Safra Campus, Givat Ram; The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Jerusalem 9190401 Israel
| | - Vincent J. M. N. L. Felde
- Institute of Soil Science and Soil Conservation; Justus Liebig University Giessen; 35392 Giessen Germany
| | - Stephan Peth
- Deparment of Soil Science; Faculty of Ecological Agriculture; University of Kassel; 37213 Witzenhausen Germany
| | - Sylvie Drahorad
- Institute of Soil Science and Soil Conservation; Justus Liebig University Giessen; 35392 Giessen Germany
| | - Danny Ionescu
- The Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology; Celsius Str. 1 28359 Bremen Germany
| | - Gil Eshkol
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences; Edmond J. Safra Campus, Givat Ram; The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Jerusalem 9190401 Israel
| | - Haim Treves
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences; Edmond J. Safra Campus, Givat Ram; The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Jerusalem 9190401 Israel
| | - Peter Felix-Henningsen
- Institute of Soil Science and Soil Conservation; Justus Liebig University Giessen; 35392 Giessen Germany
| | - Simon M. Berkowicz
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences; Edmond J. Safra Campus, Givat Ram; The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Jerusalem 9190401 Israel
- Arid Ecosystems Research Center; Edmond J. Safra Campus, Givat Ram; The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Jerusalem 9190401 Israel
| | - Nir Keren
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences; Edmond J. Safra Campus, Givat Ram; The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Jerusalem 9190401 Israel
| | - Rainer Horn
- Institute of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science; Christian Albrechts University of Kiel; 24118 Kiel Germany
| | - Martin Hagemann
- Institut für Biowissenschaften; Universität Rostock; D-18059 Rostock Germany
| | - Aaron Kaplan
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences; Edmond J. Safra Campus, Givat Ram; The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Jerusalem 9190401 Israel
- Arid Ecosystems Research Center; Edmond J. Safra Campus, Givat Ram; The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Jerusalem 9190401 Israel
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Makhalanyane TP, Valverde A, Gunnigle E, Frossard A, Ramond JB, Cowan DA. Microbial ecology of hot desert edaphic systems. FEMS Microbiol Rev 2015; 39:203-21. [DOI: 10.1093/femsre/fuu011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 223] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
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46
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Delgado‐Baquerizo M, Gallardo A, Covelo F, Prado‐Comesaña A, Ochoa V, Maestre FT. Differences in thallus chemistry are related to species‐specific effects of biocrust‐forming lichens on soil nutrients and microbial communities. Funct Ecol 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.12403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Manuel Delgado‐Baquerizo
- Departamento Sistemas Físicos, Químicos y Naturales Universidad Pablo de Olavide Carretera de Utrera km. 1 41013 Sevilla Spain
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment University of Western Sydney Penrith 2751 New South Wales Australia
| | - Antonio Gallardo
- Departamento Sistemas Físicos, Químicos y Naturales Universidad Pablo de Olavide Carretera de Utrera km. 1 41013 Sevilla Spain
| | - Felisa Covelo
- Departamento Sistemas Físicos, Químicos y Naturales Universidad Pablo de Olavide Carretera de Utrera km. 1 41013 Sevilla Spain
| | - Ana Prado‐Comesaña
- Departamento Sistemas Físicos, Químicos y Naturales Universidad Pablo de Olavide Carretera de Utrera km. 1 41013 Sevilla Spain
| | - Victoria Ochoa
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación Departamento de Biología y Geología Física y Química Inorgánica Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología Universidad Rey Juan Carlos c/Tulipán s/n 28933 Móstoles Spain
| | - Fernando T. Maestre
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación Departamento de Biología y Geología Física y Química Inorgánica Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología Universidad Rey Juan Carlos c/Tulipán s/n 28933 Móstoles Spain
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47
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Escolar C, Maestre FT, Rey A. Biocrusts modulate warming and rainfall exclusion effects on soil respiration in a semi-arid grassland. SOIL BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY 2015; 80:9-17. [PMID: 25914428 PMCID: PMC4405768 DOI: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2014.09.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Soil surface communities composed of cyanobacteria, algae, mosses, liverworts, fungi, bacteria and lichens (biocrusts) largely affect soil respiration in dryland ecosystems. Climate change is expected to have large effects on biocrusts and associated ecosystem processes. However, few studies so far have experimentally assessed how expected changes in temperature and rainfall will affect soil respiration in biocrust-dominated ecosystems. We evaluated the impacts of biocrust development, increased air temperature and decreased precipitation on soil respiration dynamics during dry (2009) and wet (2010) years, and investigated the relative importance of soil temperature and moisture as environmental drivers of soil respiration, in a semiarid grassland from central Spain. Soil respiration rates were significantly lower in the dry than during the wet year, regardless of biocrust cover. Warming increased soil respiration rates, but this response was only significant in biocrust-dominated areas (> 50% biocrust cover). Warming also increased the temperature sensitivity (Q10 values) of soil respiration in biocrust-dominated areas, particularly during the wet year. The combination of warming and rainfall exclusion had similar effects in low biocrust cover areas. Our results highlight the importance of biocrusts as a modulator of soil respiration responses to both warming and rainfall exclusion, and indicate that they must be explicitly considered when evaluating soil respiration responses to climate change in drylands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristina Escolar
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, E-28933 Móstoles, Spain
| | - Fernando T. Maestre
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, E-28933 Móstoles, Spain
| | - Ana Rey
- Department of Biogeography and Global Change, Museo de Ciencias Naturales, C.S.I.C., Serrano 115, 28006 Madrid, Spain
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Ochoa-Hueso R, Arróniz-Crespo M, Bowker MA, Maestre FT, Pérez-Corona ME, Theobald MR, Vivanco MG, Manrique E. Biogeochemical indicators of elevated nitrogen deposition in semiarid Mediterranean ecosystems. ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT 2014; 186:5831-42. [PMID: 24894911 PMCID: PMC4427508 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-014-3822-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2013] [Accepted: 05/09/2014] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Nitrogen (N) deposition has doubled the natural N inputs received by ecosystems through biological N fixation and is currently a global problem that is affecting the Mediterranean regions. We evaluated the existing relationships between increased atmospheric N deposition and biogeochemical indicators related to soil chemical factors and cryptogam species across semiarid central, southern, and eastern Spain. The cryptogam species studied were the biocrust-forming species Pleurochaete squarrosa (moss) and Cladonia foliacea (lichen). Sampling sites were chosen in Quercus coccifera (kermes oak) shrublands and Pinus halepensis (Aleppo pine) forests to cover a range of inorganic N deposition representative of the levels found in the Iberian Peninsula (between 4.4 and 8.1 kg N ha(-1) year(-1)). We extended the ambient N deposition gradient by including experimental plots to which N had been added for 3 years at rates of 10, 20, and 50 kg N ha(-1) year(-1). Overall, N deposition (extant plus simulated) increased soil inorganic N availability and caused soil acidification. Nitrogen deposition increased phosphomonoesterase (PME) enzyme activity and PME/nitrate reductase (NR) ratio in both species, whereas the NR activity was reduced only in the moss. Responses of PME and NR activities were attributed to an induced N to phosphorus imbalance and to N saturation, respectively. When only considering the ambient N deposition, soil organic C and N contents were positively related to N deposition, a response driven by pine forests. The PME/NR ratios of the moss were better predictors of N deposition rates than PME or NR activities alone in shrublands, whereas no correlation between N deposition and the lichen physiology was observed. We conclude that integrative physiological measurements, such as PME/NR ratios, measured on sensitive species such as P. squarrosa, can provide useful data for national-scale biomonitoring programs, whereas soil acidification and soil C and N storage could be useful as additional corroborating ecosystem indicators of chronic N pollution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raúl Ochoa-Hueso
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, University of Western Sydney, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, New South Wales, 2751, Australia,
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Escudero A, Palacio S, Maestre FT, Luzuriaga AL. Plant life on gypsum: a review of its multiple facets. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2014; 90:1-18. [DOI: 10.1111/brv.12092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 120] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Adrián Escudero
- Biodiversity and Conservation Unit, Department of Biology and Geology; Universidad Rey Juan Carlos; Móstoles Madrid E-28933 Spain
| | - Sara Palacio
- Conservation of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Restoration, Pyrenean Institute of Ecology (IPE-CSIC); Jaca Huesca E-22700 Spain
| | - Fernando T. Maestre
- Biodiversity and Conservation Unit, Department of Biology and Geology; Universidad Rey Juan Carlos; Móstoles Madrid E-28933 Spain
| | - Arantzazu L. Luzuriaga
- Biodiversity and Conservation Unit, Department of Biology and Geology; Universidad Rey Juan Carlos; Móstoles Madrid E-28933 Spain
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50
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Maestre FT, Escolar C, de Guevara ML, Quero JL, Lázaro R, Delgado-Baquerizo M, Ochoa V, Berdugo M, Gozalo B, Gallardo A. Changes in biocrust cover drive carbon cycle responses to climate change in drylands. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2013; 19:3835-47. [PMID: 23818331 PMCID: PMC3942145 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.12306] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2012] [Accepted: 06/06/2013] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Dryland ecosystems account for ca. 27% of global soil organic carbon (C) reserves, yet it is largely unknown how climate change will impact C cycling and storage in these areas. In drylands, soil C concentrates at the surface, making it particularly sensitive to the activity of organisms inhabiting the soil uppermost levels, such as communities dominated by lichens, mosses, bacteria and fungi (biocrusts). We conducted a full factorial warming and rainfall exclusion experiment at two semiarid sites in Spain to show how an average increase of air temperature of 2-3 °C promoted a drastic reduction in biocrust cover (ca. 44% in 4 years). Warming significantly increased soil CO2 efflux, and reduced soil net CO2 uptake, in biocrust-dominated microsites. Losses of biocrust cover with warming through time were paralleled by increases in recalcitrant C sources, such as aromatic compounds, and in the abundance of fungi relative to bacteria. The dramatic reduction in biocrust cover with warming will lessen the capacity of drylands to sequester atmospheric CO2 . This decrease may act synergistically with other warming-induced effects, such as the increase in soil CO2 efflux and the changes in microbial communities to alter C cycling in drylands, and to reduce soil C stocks in the mid to long term.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fernando T. Maestre
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departamento de Biología y Geología, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, Spain
| | - Cristina Escolar
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departamento de Biología y Geología, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, Spain
| | - Mónica Ladrón de Guevara
- Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas (CSIC), Carretera de Sacramento, s/n, 04120 La Cañada de San Urbano-Almería, Spain
| | - José L. Quero
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departamento de Biología y Geología, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, Spain
- Departamento de Ingeniería Forestal, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Agronómica y de Montes, Universidad de Córdoba, Campus de Rabanales, Crta. N-IV km. 396, 14071 Córdoba, Spain
| | - Roberto Lázaro
- Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas (CSIC), Carretera de Sacramento, s/n, 04120 La Cañada de San Urbano-Almería, Spain
| | - Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo
- Departamento de Sistemas Físicos, Químicos y Naturales, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Carretera de Utrera km. 1, 41013 Sevilla, Spain
| | - Victoria Ochoa
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departamento de Biología y Geología, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, Spain
| | - Miguel Berdugo
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departamento de Biología y Geología, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, Spain
| | - Beatriz Gozalo
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departamento de Biología y Geología, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/Tulipán s/n, 28933 Móstoles, Spain
| | - Antonio Gallardo
- Departamento de Sistemas Físicos, Químicos y Naturales, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Carretera de Utrera km. 1, 41013 Sevilla, Spain
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