Climate Change In Ecosystems Research Articles

Combining Zinc Biofortification and Native Trichoderma Inoculation Strategies for Subterranean Clover

Using beneficial microorganisms along with sustainable strategies such as agronomic biofortification offers eco-friendly alternatives to combat climate change in ecosystems like dehesas. This study analyzes the combined effects of four wild Trichoderma spp. isolated from Extremadura, Spain (T. koningiopsis, two T. gamsii, and T. koningii, with negative and positive controls) and four Zn biofortification treatments (no Zn application; soil application of 5 mg of ZnSO4·7H2O per kg of soil, labeled soil Zn; two foliar applications of 5 mL 0.5% ZnSO4·7H2O, labeled foliar Zn; and soil + foliar combination, labeled SF) on Trifolium subterraneum performance. The combination of T. koningiopsis and T. gamsii with foliar Zn improved plant growth by up to 34.4%. Zinc accumulation was about 30% higher when T. gamsii and T. koningii were applied with SF, and their inoculation resulted in a 2.5-fold increase in ash. Trichoderma spp. affected nodulation differently; both T. gamsii inhibited nodulation by 24%, whereas neither T. koningiopsis nor T. koningii showed differences from the controls. These results highlight the potential of combining beneficial microorganisms with biofortification strategies to address nutrient deficiencies and improve agricultural sustainability. However, the complex interactions between both factors underscore the importance of strain selection and call for further research to optimize application strategies and elucidate underlying mechanisms.

The temperature sensitivity of soil: microbial biodiversity, growth, and carbon mineralization.

Microorganisms drive soil carbon mineralization and changes in their activity with increased temperature could feedback to climate change. Variation in microbial biodiversity and the temperature sensitivities (Q10) of individual taxa may explain differences in the Q10 of soil respiration, a possibility not previously examined due to methodological limitations. Here, we show phylogenetic and taxonomic variation in the Q10 of growth (5-35 °C) among soil bacteria from four sites, one from each of Arctic, boreal, temperate, and tropical biomes. Differences in the temperature sensitivities of taxa and the taxonomic composition of communities determined community-assembled bacterial growth Q10, which was strongly predictive of soil respiration Q10 within and across biomes. Our results suggest community-assembled traits of microbial taxa may enable enhanced prediction of carbon cycling feedbacks to climate change in ecosystems across the globe.

Life cycle assessment of multi-step versus one-step coating processes using oil or bio-based resins

Abstract Nowadays, before setting up an industrial process, special attention has to be paid to its environmental footprint. This new way of thinking allows evaluating the hotspots so as to propose solutions to conceive more eco-friendly processes. Thus, the coating industry is increasingly preoccupied by the environmental impacts of newly designed paints. That is why innovation tries to take into consideration both the formulation composition and the application and drying methods. Following a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach, the present study aims to compare the environmental impacts of self-stratifying coatings (with three process steps), either oil-based or bio-based, to those of an oil-based multilayered coating (with six process steps). The concept of the self-stratifying coating is to bring the primer, the intermediate and the top coat properties together in a one-pot formulation to produce a multi-functional coating through a less laborious process. The total environmental impact of each process can be characterized by four main categories of impacts: Climate Change Human Health (CCHH), Human Toxicity (HT), Climate Change Ecosystem (CCE) and Fossil Depletion (FD), which together represent approximately 86% of the global impact for each system. The results obtained show that the self-stratifying oil-based coating process is more energy efficient compared to the currently used multilayered oil-based coating process, with a 15% decrease of CCHH, HT and CCE indicators and a 14% decrease of FD indicator, corresponding to a 13.6% decrease of the total environmental impact. However, as this decrease was lower than expected, particular attention was then paid to the chemicals used (resins, solvents) and to the process conditions. The substitution of the oil-based epoxy resin by a bio-based one and the use of less harmful solvents allow reducing the total environmental impact by 32.4% compared to the multilayered oil-based system (with 30% decrease of CCHH indicator, 50% of HT indicator, 31% of CCE indicator and 34% of FD indicator). In a global way, electricity consumption control and the nature of chemicals used were reported to contribute in a significant way to the improvement of the process environmental impact.

CORAL REEFS DEGRADATION PATTERN AND ITS EXPOSURE TOWARDS CLIMATE CHANGE IN BUNAKEN NATIONAL PARK

Coral reef is one of many shallow-water ecosystems that are found in Bunaken National park. The coral reefs ecosystem in Bunaken National Park are threatened by the impact of climate change, such as rising seawater temperature, Change in Salinity, and increase extreme meteorological events. This study will address the coral reefs condition and its pattern in Bunaken National Park, how are the water condition in Bunaken National Park changes in the timespan of 2002-2017, and what are the relations between the degradation pattern of the coral reefs and the seawater condition as an exposure towards the ecosystem Climate change in the context of this study is based on oceanographic variables such as sea surface temperature and seawater salinity. The methods that are used in this study is through meta-descriptive analysis to determine the exposure of the coral reefs, spatial-descriptive analysis to relate between climate change and coral reef conditions. The results showed that the degradation conditions of coral reefs from 2002 to 2013 have decreased, but the condition of the degraded coral reefs has increased by 2017. Based on the analysis of the conditions of the exposure and coral reefs show that there is a correlation between the two.

Predicting the likely response of data-poor ecosystems to climate change using space-for-time substitution across domains.

Predicting ecological response to climate change is often limited by a lack of relevant local data from which directly applicable mechanistic models can be developed. This limits predictions to qualitative assessments or simplistic rules of thumb in data-poor regions, making management of the relevant systems difficult. We demonstrate a method for developing quantitative predictions of ecological response in data-poor ecosystems based on a space-for-time substitution, using distant, well-studied systems across an inherent climatic gradient to predict ecological response. Changes in biophysical data across the spatial gradient are used to generate quantitative hypotheses of temporal ecological responses that are then tested in a target region. Transferability of predictions among distant locations, the novel outcome of this method, is demonstrated via simple quantitative relationships that identify direct and indirect impacts of climate change on physical, chemical and ecological variables using commonly available data sources. Based on a limited subset of data, these relationships were demonstrably plausible in similar yet distant (>2000km) ecosystems. Quantitative forecasts of ecological change based on climate-ecosystem relationships from distant regions provides a basis for research planning and informed management decisions, especially in the many ecosystems for which there are few data. This application of gradient studies across domains - to investigate ecological response to climate change - allows for the quantification of effects on potentially numerous, interacting and complex ecosystem components and how they may vary, especially over long time periods (e.g. decades). These quantitative and integrated long-term predictions will be of significant value to natural resource practitioners attempting to manage data-poor ecosystems to prevent or limit the loss of ecological value. The method is likely to be applicable to many ecosystem types, providing a robust scientific basis for estimating likely impacts of future climate change in ecosystems where no such method currently exists.

Carbon-Water-Nitrogen relationships between lichens and the atmosphere: Tools to understand metabolism and ecosystem change

Due to the close linking between the biosphere and atmosphere, there are clear impacts of changes in climate, atmospheric deposition of nutrients/pollutants and land use (Global Changes) on the terrestrial biosphere. Lichens, with a direct dependence on atmospheric conditions, are much more affected by their immediate microclimate than by the ecosystem’s prevailing macroclimate. In contrast to higher plants, poikilohydric organisms have different mechanisms of water and CO2 exchange. The application of stable isotopes to the understanding of the mechanisms that are fundamental to lichen gas exchange and water uptake is a promising tool for the evaluation of lichen response to environmental changes. Indeed, lichens have been shown to be influenced by a large number of natural and anthropogenic environmental factors, serving as ecological indicators. Thus, we may use these organisms to model the impact of key global change drivers, such as nitrogen deposition and biodiversity changes, at local scale. Particularly useful is the application of the Lichen Diversity Value (LDV) in order to evaluate the impact of global drivers. Moreover, it has been shown that these indices, associated with main photobiont types, green-algae (LDVch) or cyanobacteria (LDVcyh), and/or nitrophilous versus oligotrophic species, were good candidates as ecological indicators. Besides mapping with high spatial resolution the effects of climate alterations, lichen functional groups could also be used as an early-warning system in order to detect the first effects of climate change in ecosystems before sudden shifts occur on other components that may be less sensitive. Clearly, lichens possess the adequate traits to be used as powerful indicators of complex interactions between atmosphere and biosphere, and thus can generate potentially interesting models for global change drivers.

Annual and Growing Season Temperature Changes in the San Luis Valley, Colorado

Most montane and alpine ecosystem climate change studies have focused on changes in biota; few report temperature changes from several stations. This study reports temperature changes in the San Luis Valley (SLV) based on climate station data from a 113-year period. The SLV is a high sub-alpine desert, and the local community relies heavily upon the local irrigated agriculture for its livelihood. Because of the importance of agriculture to the local community and the effects climate change may have on agriculture, this study investigates differences in annual and growing season temperatures. Data from seven climate stations on the floor of the SLV were obtained from the National Climate Data Center, adjusted for inhomogeneities and reconstructed—where necessary—from 1895 to 2008. Change point analysis was employed to identify distinct periods of different mean temperatures values. Change point analysis identified 1993–1994 as the change point in mean annual temperature. Maximum, minimum, and mean annual temperature for each period, 1895–1993 and 1994–2008, were then compared using a one-tailed General Linear Model to determine the presence of significant increases in mean temperature values, which indicated an approximate increase in annual mean temperature of 1°C and growing season temperature increase of 0.65°C, after 1993. The temperature changes reported here do not correspond to the events related to PDO, ENSO, or NAO. No local land use changes could be attributed to the temperature increases or the latent response to global changes, either. Therefore, since the temperature change occurred 15–20 years after the typically reported 1976 beginning of increases in global mean temperature, we conclude the changes to be an artifact of the local topography and result from global temperature change, similar to the few other high-elevation temperature studies.