Extensive global wetland loss over the past three centuries

Fluet‐Chouinard, Etienne; Stocker, Benjamin D.; Zhang, Zhen; Malhotra, Avni; Melton, Joe R.; Poulter, Benjamin; Kaplan, Jed O.; Goldewijk, Kees Klein; Siebert, Stefan; Minayeva, Tatiana; Hugelius, Gustaf; Joosten, Hans; Barthelmes, Alexandra; Prigent, Catherine; Aires, Filipe; Hoyt, Alison M.; Davidson, Nick C.; Finlayson, C. Max; Lehner, Bernhard; Jackson, Robert B.; McIntyre, Peter B.

doi:10.1038/s41586-022-05572-6

Cited by 254 publications

(121 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…Human disturbance and wetland change were the key factors affecting waterbirds, which was consistent with existing reports in the YRB 33,46 . Conversion of land use, such as farmland and built-up land, is encroaching on wetland resources, contributing to nearly two-thirds of the global and Yangtze River wetland loss 50 . Moreover, wetland restoration policies, such as returning constructed lands to lakes, have not gained the same political support as the NFCP and SLCP.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dramatic improvements of terrestrial biodiversity in the Yangtze River Basin, China

Liu

et al. 2023

Preprint

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China has launched unprecedented investments in conservation and restoration programmes to prevent soil erosion, protect forest ecosystems and biodiversity, and improve carbon sequestration. However, the impacts of socio-economic developments and large-scale conservation and restoration programmes on biodiversity are still unclear. Here, we analyzed the spatial-temporal trends of the optimized Living Planet Index (LPI) based on bird monitoring from 2011 to 2020 in 536 sites in the Yangtze River Basin (YRB), the third largest river in the world. We found that the LPI of all birds in the upper and middle reaches of the YRB increased by 7.80% and 7.64%, respectively, and terrestrial bird diversity showed an increasing trend in the whole watershed, owing to the huge investments of terrestrial conservation and restoration programmes. Increasing functional diversity of birds in YRB is indicative of enhanced ecosystem functioning. Almost 75% of the rare and endangered birds in the Yangtze River basin are protected. However, waterbird diversity mostly declined, notably by 14.40% in the lower reaches, likely because of insufficient conservation measures for and huge human pressures to wetlands. The significant improvements in terrestrial bird diversity indicate the success of post-2020 global targets as well as huge investments in biodiversity conservation, while the decline of waterbird diversity highlights the urgent need for further biodiversity protection for the world’s third largest river.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dramatic improvements of terrestrial biodiversity in the Yangtze River Basin, China

Liu

et al. 2023

Preprint

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“…By the nineteenth century, c. 24 Mha (c. 5%) of northern peatlands had been extensively drained for agriculture and forestry practices (Greifswald Mire Centre, 2019). Historical drainage removed the anoxic constraint on decomposition, leading to peat carbon loss to the atmosphere via decomposition and more frequent and extensive wildfires (Turetsky et al, 2015;Chimner et al, 2017;Harris et al, 2020;Krause et al, 2021;Ma et al, 2022;Fluet-Chouinard et al, 2023). Yet, this drainage has not affected northern peatlands uniformly, mostly due to differences in peatland types, climates, and vegetation changes (Laiho, 2006;Talbot et al, 2010;Urbanov a & B arta, 2016;Krause et al, 2021;Kokkonen et al, 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Peat loss collocates with a threshold in plant–mycorrhizal associations in drained peatlands encroached by trees

et al. 2023

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Summary Drainage‐induced encroachment by trees may have major effects on the carbon balance of northern peatlands, and responses of microbial communities are likely to play a central mechanistic role. We profiled the soil fungal community and estimated its genetic potential for the decay of lignin and phenolics (class II peroxidase potential) along peatland drainage gradients stretching from interior locations (undrained, open) to ditched locations (drained, forested). Mycorrhizal fungi dominated the community across the gradients. When moving towards ditches, the dominant type of mycorrhizal association abruptly shifted from ericoid mycorrhiza to ectomycorrhiza at c. 120 m from the ditches. This distance corresponded with increased peat loss, from which more than half may be attributed to oxidation. The ectomycorrhizal genus Cortinarius dominated at the drained end of the gradients and its relatively higher genetic potential to produce class II peroxidases (together with Mycena) was positively associated with peat humification and negatively with carbon‐to‐nitrogen ratio. Our study is consistent with a plant–soil feedback mechanism, driven by a shift in the mycorrhizal type of vegetation, that potentially mediates changes in aerobic decomposition during postdrainage succession. Such feedback may have long‐term legacy effects upon postdrainage restoration efforts and implication for tree encroachment onto carbon‐rich soils globally.

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“…The most prominent disease affecting amphibians, chytridiomycosis, is implicated in the decline or extinction of about 200 species of frogs and is behind the most significant disease‐driven biodiversity crisis among vertebrates in recorded history (Skerratt et al, 2007). Additionally, it is estimated that 21% of wetlands, which are essential to amphibian life histories, have been destroyed over the last 300 years (Fluet‐Chouinard et al, 2023; Gallant et al, 2007). If this crisis is to be adequately addressed, it is essential to further the knowledge of amphibian immunology and nutritional requirements (as food depletion is intermingled with habitat loss).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lack of vitamin B12 impairs innate and adaptive immunity of Cuban tree frog (Osteopilus septentrionalis) tadpoles

Warfel,

Wilcoxen

2023

J Exp Zool Pt A

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Vitamin B12 is a micronutrient required by a variety of organisms for healthy cellular functioning. Despite the systemic effects observed in cases of B12 deficiency, relatively little is known about how vitamin B12 affects immune health, especially in amphibians, which are declining at unprecedented rates. In this study, we tested how supplementing an algae diet with B12 affects the innate and adaptive immunity of Cuban tree frog (Osteopilus septentrionalis) tadpoles. We found that innate immunity, as measured by a bacterial killing assay, was significantly more robust in B12‐supplemented tadpoles than control tadpoles, but no significant differences were found in natural antibody production or hematocrit between groups. Adaptive immunity, as measured by Aeromonas hydrophila‐specific IgY antibodies, was significantly greater in tadpoles challenged with A. hydrophila and supplemented with B12 than in control tadpoles, those only challenged with A. hydrophila, and those only given B12. Our results suggest that vitamin B12 is an important factor in maintaining a functional immune system in tadpoles, which may also be true for all vertebrates.

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Extensive global wetland loss over the past three centuries

Cited by 254 publications

References 60 publications

Dramatic improvements of terrestrial biodiversity in the Yangtze River Basin, China

Dramatic improvements of terrestrial biodiversity in the Yangtze River Basin, China

Peat loss collocates with a threshold in plant–mycorrhizal associations in drained peatlands encroached by trees

Lack of vitamin B12 impairs innate and adaptive immunity of Cuban tree frog (Osteopilus septentrionalis) tadpoles

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