Climate change and ecosystems: threats, opportunities and solutions

Malhi, Yadvinder; Franklin, Janet; Seddon, Nathalie; Solan, Martin; Turner, Monica G.; Field, Christopher B.; Knowlton­, Nancy­

doi:10.1098/rstb.2019.0104

Cited by 484 publications

(291 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…These changes might increase aridity in some areas, leading to a decline in productivity and even biodiversity (Bellard, Bertelsmeier, Leadley, Thuiller, & Courchamp, 2012; Zhu et al., 2019). To mitigate the impact of rapid climate change on desert ecosystems, it is vital that the development of management interventions, such as ecological restoration projects, and conservation policies, is founded on a comprehensive understanding of the ecological consequences of climate change in ACA (Malhi et al., 2020; Vogt et al., 2011; Zhu et al., 2019). However, little attention has been paid to understand the responses of plant traits within species to in situ environmental change in ACA, and so as in other arid regions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Leaf size variations in a dominant desert shrub, Reaumuria soongarica, adapted to heterogeneous environments

Fan

Yan

Chen

et al. 2020

Ecology and Evolution

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The climate in arid Central Asia (ACA) has changed rapidly in recent decades, but the ecological consequences of this are far from clear. To predict the impacts of climate change on ecosystem functioning, greater attention should be given to the relationships between leaf functional traits and environmental heterogeneity. As a dominant constructive shrub widely distributed in ACA, Reaumuria soongarica provided us with an ideal model to understand how leaf functional traits of desert ecosystems responded to the heterogeneous environments of ACA. Here, to determine the influences of genetic and ecological factors, we characterized species‐wide variations in leaf traits among 30 wild populations of R. soongarica and 16 populations grown in a common garden. We found that the leaf length, width, and leaf length to width ratio (L/W) of the northern lineage were significantly larger than those of other genetic lineages, and principal component analysis based on the in situ environmental factors distinguished the northern lineage from the other lineages studied. With increasing latitude, leaf length, width, and L/W in the wild populations increased significantly. Leaf length and L/W were negatively correlated with altitude, and first increased and then decreased with increasing mean annual temperature (MAT) and mean annual precipitation (MAP). Stepwise regression analyses further indicated that leaf length variation was mainly affected by latitude. However, leaf width was uncorrelated with altitude, MAT, or MAP. The common garden trial showed that leaf width variation among the eastern populations was caused by both local adaptation and phenotypic plasticity. Our findings suggest that R. soongarica preferentially changes leaf length to adjust leaf size to cope with environmental change. We also reveal phenotypic evidence for ecological speciation of R. soongarica. These results will help us better understand and predict the consequences of climate change for desert ecosystem functioning.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Leaf size variations in a dominant desert shrub, Reaumuria soongarica, adapted to heterogeneous environments

Fan

Yan

Chen

et al. 2020

Ecology and Evolution

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“…On the other hand, the lack of literature on ecosystems, reproduction and space use is of concern. Ecosystems are a very significant aspect of biodiversity and will be increasingly integrated in public policies and scientific research, notably concerning ecosystem services in the context of global changes [139,140]. Reproduction and mobility of species are essential for the sustainability of their population and we already know that noise can impair them [141,142].…”

Section: General Commentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence of the impact of noise pollution on biodiversity: a systematic map

et al. 2020

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Background Ecological research now deals increasingly with the effects of noise pollution on biodiversity. Indeed, many studies have shown the impacts of anthropogenic noise and concluded that it is potentially a threat to the persistence of many species. The present work is a systematic map of the evidence of the impacts of all anthropogenic noises (industrial, urban, transportation, etc.) on biodiversity. This report describes the mapping process and the evidence base with summary figures and tables presenting the characteristics of the selected articles. Methods The method used was published in an a priori protocol. Searches included peer-reviewed and grey literature published in English and French. Two online databases were searched using English terms and search consistency was assessed with a test list. Supplementary searches were also performed (using search engines, a call for literature and searching relevant reviews). Articles were screened through three stages (titles, abstracts, full-texts). No geographical restrictions were applied. The subject population included all wild species (plants and animals excluding humans) and ecosystems. Exposures comprised all types of man-made sounds in terrestrial and aquatic media, including all contexts and sound origins (spontaneous or recorded sounds, in situ or laboratory studies, etc.). All relevant outcomes were considered (space use, reproduction, communication, etc.). Then, for each article selected after full-text screening, metadata were extracted on key variables of interest (species, types of sound, outcomes, etc.). Review findings Our main result is a database that includes all retrieved literature on the impacts of anthropogenic noise on species and ecosystems, coded with several markers (sources of noise, species concerned, types of impacts, etc.). Our search produced more than 29,000 articles and 1794 were selected after the three screening stages (1340 studies (i.e. primary research), 379 reviews, 16 meta-analyses). Some articles (n = 19) are written in French and all others are in English. This database is available as an additional file of this report. It provides an overview of the current state of knowledge. It can be used for primary research by identifying knowledge gaps or in view of further analysis, such as systematic reviews. It can also be helpful for scientists and researchers as well as for practitioners, such as managers of transportation infrastructure. Conclusion The systematic map reveals that the impacts of anthropogenic noises on species and ecosystems have been researched for many years. In particular, some taxonomic groups (mammals, birds, fishes), types of noise (transportation, industrial, abstract) and outcomes (behavioural, biophysiological, communication) have been studied more than others. Conversely, less knowledge is available on certain species (amphibians, reptiles, invertebrates), noises (recreational, military, urban) and impacts (space use, reproduction, ecosystems). The map does not assess the impacts of anthropogenic noise, but it can be the starting point for more thorough synthesis of evidence. After a critical appraisal, the included reviews and meta-analyses could be exploited, if reliable, to transfer the already synthesized knowledge into operational decisions to reduce noise pollution and protect biodiversity.

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“…Nonetheless, understanding, managing, and reducing the erosion-induced gaseous flux of CO 2 , CH 4, and N 2 O (Figure 2) is an important researchable priority to reduce uncertainty in the GCB. It is also critical to identify hot spots (vulnerability, resilience, and action), and plans of targeted interventions for managing the flux [63]. Several pedological processes impacted by erosion also affect NPP through alterations in availability and uptake of water, nutrients, and photosynthesis.…”

Section: Gaseous Emissions From Eroded Sediments and The Fate Of Carbmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil Erosion and Gaseous Emissions

Lal

2020

Applied Sciences

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Accelerated soil erosion by water and wind involves preferential removal of the light soil organic carbon (SOC) fraction along with the finer clay and silt particles. Thus, the SOC enrichment ratio in sediments, compared with that of the soil surface, may range from 1 to 12 for water and 1 to 41 for wind-blown dust. The latter may contain a high SOC concentration of 15% to 20% by weight. The global magnitude of SOC erosion may be 1.3 Pg C/yr. by water and 1.0 Pg C/yr. by wind erosion. However, risks of SOC erosion have been exacerbated by the expansion and intensification of agroecosystems. Such a large magnitude of annual SOC erosion by water and wind has severe adverse impacts on soil quality and functionality, and emission of multiple greenhouse gases (GHGs) such as CO2, CH4, and N2O into the atmosphere. SOC erosion by water and wind also has a strong impact on the global C budget (GCB). Despite the large and growing magnitude of global SOC erosion, its fate is neither adequately known nor properly understood. Only a few studies conducted have quantified the partitioning of SOC erosion by water into three components: (1) redistribution over land, (2) deposition in channels, and (3) transportation/burial under the ocean. Of the total SOC erosion by water, 40%–50% may be redistributed over the land, 20%–30% deposited in channels, and 5%–15% carried into the oceans. Even fewer studies have monitored or modeled emissions of multiple GHGs from these three locations. The cumulative gaseous emissions may decrease at the eroding site because of the depletion of its SOC stock but increase at the depositional site because of enrichment of SOC amount and the labile fraction. The SOC erosion by water and wind exacerbates climate change, decreases net primary productivity (NPP) and use efficiency of inputs, and reduces soils C sink capacity to mitigate global warming. Yet research information on global emissions of CH4 and N2O at different landscape positions is not available. Further, the GCB is incomplete and uncertain because SOC erosion is not accounted for. Multi-disciplinary and watershed-scale research is needed globally to measure and model the magnitude of SOC erosion by water and wind, multiple gaseous emissions at different landscape positions, and the attendant changes in NPP.

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Climate change and ecosystems: threats, opportunities and solutions

Cited by 484 publications

References 28 publications

Leaf size variations in a dominant desert shrub, Reaumuria soongarica, adapted to heterogeneous environments

Leaf size variations in a dominant desert shrub, Reaumuria soongarica, adapted to heterogeneous environments

Evidence of the impact of noise pollution on biodiversity: a systematic map

Soil Erosion and Gaseous Emissions

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