Ecological Succession Research Articles

Vegetation changes of Lushan, China between 1959 and 2020 based on pollen data

Both climatic change and human activity are currently driving the dynamic of vegetation, which may vary from region to region. On Lushan, located in the eastern China, the subtropical secondary forests during the natural succession endure the pressure from ongoing climate warming on the one hand. They are influenced by anthropogenic disturbance on the other hand for recent decades. Previously, palynological research has discovered that the pollen assemblages from surface soil sample on Lushan can basically reflect the characteristics of local vegetation. Here, we did a comparative study by using the pollen analysis to investigate the vegetation changes of Lushan from 1959 to 2020. We compared the composition of pollen assemblages obtained in 1959 with that in 2020 along different altitudes. Further, the biomisation method was employed to discover the changes of different vegetation types, which were reflected by the pollen-based reconstructed biomes. Meanwhile, the temporal beta diversity analysis was used to extract the sites experienced the significant vegetation shift and the most important taxa change. Results showed that the pollen composition over the past 60 years on Lushan had altered remarkably. The vegetation shifted at all altitudes. The current vegetation pattern of Lushan: evergreen broadleaved forest in low elevation, temperate deciduous broadleaved forest in middle elevation and cool mixed forest in high elevation, is the successional consequence of the past 60 years. The forces driving the vegetation dynamics might be from multiple sources. However, the human disturbance seems to play quite an important role during forest succession. Our study is potentially useful both for paleoecological reconstructions and wider understanding of current climate change that are relevant to subtropical forests of Asia.

Glacier retreat decreases mutualistic network robustness over spacetime

Glaciers are retreating worldwide at an ever‐increasing rate, exposing new ice‐free areas to ecological succession. This process leads to changes in biodiversity and potentially to novel species interactions. However, we still have a limited understanding of how glacier retreat influences species interaction networks, particularly the structure and robustness of mutualistic networks. After reconstructing plant–pollinator networks along a 140‐years chronosequence on a glacier foreland, we address the effects of glacier retreat on network structure and robustness. Our results show that the prevalence of different network motifs changes over spacetime, leading to a decrease of network robustness. With glacier retreat, mutualistic networks shift from highly connected with diverse specialist interactions to loosely connected with few generalist interactions. Furthermore, despite the turnover of plant species, we find that species structural roles remain constant over spacetime while depending on species identity. Our findings suggest that glacier retreat reshuffles mutualistic networks with motifs posing low robustness, leading to increased fragility. Understanding the assembly and breaking down of species interaction networks provides novel insights into the development and stability of novel, post‐glacial ecological systems facing glacier extinction.

A Study on the Growth Model of Natural Forests in Southern China Under Climate Change: Application of Transition Matrix Model

This study establishes a climate-sensitive transition matrix growth model and predicts forest growth under different carbon emission scenarios (representative concentration pathways RCP2.6, RCP4.5, and RCP8.5) over the next 40 years. Data from the Eighth (2013) and Ninth (2019) National Forest Resource Inventories in Chongqing and climate data from Climate AP are utilized. The model is used to predict forest growth and compare the number of trees, basal area, and stock volume under different climate scenarios. The results show that the climate-sensitive transition matrix growth model has high accuracy. The relationships between the variables and forest growth, mortality, and recruitment correspond to natural succession and growth. Although the number of trees, basal area, and stock volume do not differ significantly for different climate scenarios, the forest has sufficient seedling regeneration and large-diameter trees. The growth process aligns with succession, with pioneer species being replaced by climax species. The proposed climate-sensitive transition matrix growth model fills the gap in growth models for natural secondary forests in Chongqing and is an accurate method for predicting forest growth. The model can be used for long-term prediction of forest stands to understand future forest growth trends and provide reliable references for forest management. Forest growth can be predicted for different harvesting intensities to determine the optimal intensity to guide natural forest management in Chongqing City. The results of this study can help formulate targeted forest management policies to deal more effectively with climate change and promote sustainable forest health.

Microbial community structure in recovering forests of Mount St. Helens

IntroductionThe 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens had devastating effects above and belowground in forested montane ecosystems, including the burial and destruction of soil microbes. Soil microbial propagules and legacies in recovering ecosystems are important for determining post-disturbance successional trajectories. Soil microorganisms regulate nutrient cycling, interact with many other organisms, and therefore may support successional pathways and complementary ecosystem functions, even in harsh conditions. Historic forest management methods, such as old-growth and clearcut regimes, and locations of small mammal enclo and clearcut forests, as well as in locations of historic short-term gopher enclosures (Thomomys talpoides), to evaluate community response to forest management practices and to examine vectors for dispersing microbial consortia to the surface of the volcanic landscape. These biotic interactions may have primed ecological succession in the volcanic landscape, specifically Bear Meadow and the Pumice Plain, by creating microsite conditions conducive to primary succession and plant establishment.Methods and resultsUsing molecular techniques, we examined bacterial, fungal, and AMF communities to determine how these variables affected microbial communities and soil properties. We found that bacterial/archaeal 16S, fungal ITS2, and AMF SSU community composition varied among forestry practices and across sites with long-term lupine plots and gopher enclosures. The findings also related to detected differences in C and N concentrations and ratios in soil from our study sites. Fungal communities from previously clearcut locations were less diverse than in gopher plots within the Pumice Plain. Yet, clearcut meadows harbored fewer ancestral AM fungal taxa than were found within the old-growth forest.DiscussionBy investigating both forestry practices and mammals in microbial dispersal, we evaluated how these interactions may have promoted revegetation and ecological succession within the Pumice Plains of Mount St. Helens. In addition to providing evidence about how dispersal vectors and forest structure influence post-eruption soil microbiomes, this project also informs research and management communities about belowground processes and microbial functional traits in facilitating succession and ecosystem function.

Fish–Seascape Associations Within an Offshore Protected Area in the Arabian Gulf

ABSTRACTCoral reef ecosystems support high fish biodiversity through ecological interactions with structural complexity across multiple spatial scales including coral colony architecture and the surrounding seascape structure. In an era where the complexity of coral reef ecosystems is being diminished, understanding the importance of structural characteristics beyond single focal patches has the potential to better inform actions for protecting, restoring or creating habitat for reef‐associated species. A seascape ecology approach was applied to explore the associations between multiple scales of seascape structure and fish assemblage response variables within a small (49.6 km2) offshore no‐take MPA, Sir Bu Nair Island Protected Area, in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Fish–seascape associations were modelled with single regression trees. Both in situ and remote sensing–derived variables produced the best models with highest contributions from coral cover, amount of hard‐bottom habitat type and structural complexity of the seafloor terrain. Fish species richness was significantly higher where coral cover exceeded 35%. The hard‐bottom areas with coral supported diverse assemblages dominated by carnivorous and omnivorous fishes. The Sir Bu Nair Island Protected Area provides a critical refuge for threatened and regionally overexploited species including those with low resilience to fishing. The ecological success of this protected area is key to safeguarding regional marine biodiversity and recovering fish populations to enhance food security.

Aridity and forest age mediate landscape scale patterns of tropical forest resistance to cyclonic storms

Abstract Cyclonic storms, or hurricanes, are expected to intensify as ocean heat energy rises due to climate change. Ecological theory suggests that tropical forest resistance to hurricanes should increase with forest age and wood density. However, most data on hurricane effects on tropical forests come from a limited number of well‐studied long‐term monitoring sites, restricting our capacity to evaluate the resistance of tropical forests to hurricanes across broad environmental gradients. In this study, we assessed whether forest age and aridity mediate the effects of hurricanes Irma and Maria in Puerto Rico, Vieques and Culebra islands. We leveraged functional trait data for 410 tree species, remotely sensed measurements of canopy height and cover, along with data on forest stand characteristics of 180 of 338 forest monitoring plots, each covering an area of 0.067 ha. The plots represent a broad mean annual precipitation (MAP) gradient from 701 to 4598 mm and a complex mosaic of forest age from 5 to around 85 years since deforestation. Hurricanes resulted in a 25% increase in basal area mortality rates, a 45% decrease in canopy height and a 21% reduction in canopy cover. These effects intensified with forest age, even after considering proximity to the hurricane path. The links between forest age and hurricane disturbances were likely due the prevalence of tall canopies. Tall forest canopies were strongly linked with low community‐weighted wood density (WD). These characteristics were on average more common in moist and wet forests (MAP >1250 mm). Conversely, dry forests were dominated by short species with high wood density (WD > 0.6 g cm−3) and did not show significant increases in basal area mortality rates after the hurricanes. Synthesis. Our findings show that selection towards drought‐tolerant traits across aridity gradients, such as short stature and dense wood, enhances resistance to hurricanes. However, forest age modulated responses to hurricanes, with older forests being less resistant across the islands. This evidence highlights the importance of considering the intricate links between ecological succession and plant function when forecasting tropical forests’ responses to increasingly strong hurricanes.

Niche-specific evolution and gene exchange of Salmonella in retail pork and chicken

Salmonella exhibits extensive genetic diversity, facilitated by horizontal gene transfer occurring within and between species, playing a pivotal role in this diversification. Nevertheless, most studies focus on clinical and farm animal isolates, and research on the pangenome dynamics of Salmonella isolates from retail stage of the animal food supply chain is limited. Here, we investigated the genomes of 950 Salmonella isolates recovered from retail chicken and pork meats in seven provinces and one municipality of China in 2018. We observed a strong correlation between Salmonella sublineage diversity and the accessory genome with meat type, revealing reduced diversity associated with increased resistance. Importantly, genes associated with antibiotic, biocide, and heavy metal resistance were unevenly distributed in Salmonella from retail chicken and pork. Pork Salmonella isolates showed a higher prevalence of copper and silver resistance genes, while chicken Salmonella isolates displayed a significant predominance of genetic determinants associated with cephalosporin and ciprofloxacin resistance. Moreover, co-occurrence patterns of resistance determinants and their interaction with mobile genetic elements also correlated with meat type. In summary, our findings shed light on how Salmonella achieves their ecological niche success driven by evolution and gene changes in the retail stage of the animal food supply chain.

Soil Properties Regulate Soil Microbial Communities During Forest Succession in a Karst Region of Southwest China

Natural vegetation restoration has emerged as an effective and rapid approach for ecological restoration in fragile areas. However, the response of soil microorganisms to natural succession remains unclear. To address this, we utilized high-throughput sequencing methods to assess the dynamics of soil bacterial and fungal communities during forest succession (shrubland, secondary forest, and primary forest) in a karst region of Southwest China. Our study revealed that bacterial α-diversity was significantly higher in secondary forest compared to both shrubland and primary forest. Intriguingly, the soil bacterial community in primary forest exhibited a closer resemblance to that in shrubland yet diverged from the community in secondary forest. Conversely, the soil fungal community underwent notable variations across the different forest stages. Furthermore, analysis of the microbial co-occurrence network revealed that, within these karst forests, the relationships among soil fungi were characterized by fewer but stronger interactions compared to those among bacteria. Additionally, soil properties (including pH, soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, moisture, and available potassium), soil microbial biomass (specifically phosphorus and nitrogen), and plant diversity were the drivers of soil bacterial community dynamics. Notably, soil pH accounted for the majority of the variations observed in the soil fungal community during karst forest succession. Our findings provide valuable insights that can inform the formulation of strategies for ecological restoration and biodiversity conservation in karst regions, particularly from a microbial perspective.

Ecological success of extreme halophiles subjected to recurrent osmotic disturbances is primarily driven by congeneric species replacement.

To understand how extreme halophiles respond to recurrent disturbances, we challenged the communities thriving in salt-saturated (~36% salts) ~230L brine mesocosms to repeated dilutions down to 13% (D13 mesocosm) or 20% (D20 mesocosm) salts each time mesocosms reached salt saturation due to evaporation (for 10 and 17cycles, respectively) over 813days. Depending on the magnitude of dilution, the most prevalent species, Haloquadratum walsbyi and Salinibacter ruber, either increased in dominance by replacing less competitive populations (for D20, moderate stress conditions), or severely decreased in abundance and were eventually replaced by other congeneric species better adapted to the higher osmotic stress (for D13, strong stress conditions). Congeneric species replacement was commonly observed within additional abundant genera in response to changes in environmental or biological conditions (e.g. phage predation) within the same system and under a controlled perturbation of a relevant environmental parameter. Therefore, a genus is an ecologically important level of diversity organization, not just a taxonomic rank, that persists in the environment based on congeneric species replacement due to relatively high functional overlap (gene sharing), with important consequences for the success of the lineage, and similar to the success of a species via strain-replacement. Further, our results showed that successful species were typically accompanied by the emergence of their own viral cohorts, whose intra-cohort diversity appeared to strongly covary with, and likely drive, the intra-host diversity. Collectively, our results show that brine communities are ecologically resilient and continuously adapting to changing environments by transitioning to alternative stable states.

Origin of division of labor is decoupled from polymorphism in colonial animals

Abstract Division of labor, the specialization of sometimes phenotypically divergent cell types or group members, is often associated with ecological success in eukaryotic colonial organisms. Despite its many independent evolutionary origins, how division of labor emerges remains unclear. Conventional hypotheses tend towards an “economic” model, so that biological division of labor may reflect a partitioning of pre-existing tasks and morphologies into specialized colony members. Here, we present an alternative model of the origin of division of labor, which can explain the evolution of new functions within a colony. We show that in colonies of the Cretaceous aged (103-96 Ma) fossil bryozoan of the genus Wilbertopora, the first cheilostome bryozoan to evolve polymorphism, pre-extinction morphologies were not simply partitioned among new members, but instead expanded into novel morphospace as they lost functions, specifically feeding. This expansion occurred primarily during two pulses of heightened morphological disparity, suggesting that the evolution of polymorphism corresponded to relaxed constraints on morphology and perhaps to the exploration of novel functions. Using a simple model of physiological connections, we show that regardless of the functionality of these new colony members, all non-feeding members could have been supported by neighboring feeding members. This suggests that the geometric constraints and physiological connectedness could be prerequisites for evolving both polymorphism and division of labor in modular organisms, and that a classic partitioning model of specialization cannot be broadly applied to biological systems.

Chromosome-level genome assembly of the cosmopolitan diatom Skeletonema costatum provides insights into ecological adaptation

The cosmopolitan diatom species Skeletonema costatum is an ecologically important dominant phytoplankton frequently found in the coastal estuarine and marine waters, and often causes harmful algae blooms. Despite of its critical ecological importance, chromosome-level genome assemble is still unavailable, hindering in-depth understanding of their evolution and environmental adaption. Here, we report a chromosome-level genome assembly for the marine diatom species S. costatum. The assembled genome size was 136.49 Mb, with a contig N50 of 302 Kb and 95.30 % of the reads anchored into 23 pseudo-chromosomes with a scaffold N50 of 6.19 Mb. A total of 28,321 protein-coding genes were predicted, with 86.03 % being functional annotated. The BUSCO assessment of genome assembly and genome annotation were both above 90 %. Phylogenetic analysis showed the expected topology, with S. costatum and its closely related species S. marinoi diverged from their common ancestor around 22.6 million years ago. The genome size of S. costatum is comparatively larger than those of its closely related diatoms, due mostly to its higher transposable element contents and larger number of proteincoding genes. Collinearity analysis revealed strong collinearity between S. costatum and other Skeletonema with most chromosomes showing clear one-to-one correspondences. A larger family of nine copies of the cryptochrome genes that function as blue light photoreceptors were identified in S. costatum, which could contribute its ecological success. The availability of the high-quality chromosome-level genome assembly for S. costatum represents a valuable resource that may facilitate comparative genomics for revealing important ecological clues and gene families, and future genetics and environmental studies among Skeletonema species.

Early-successional species show higher tolerance of drought than late-successional species across Europe

Climate change is exacerbating forest disturbances through more frequent and more intense droughts and fires, undermining their ability to recover from such disturbances. The response of fast-growing early-successional species to drought is poorly understood, despite their key role in ecological succession and their ability to enhance ecosystem resilience. Here, we compared the growth responses to drought events of three early-successional species (silver birch, black poplar, and Scots pine) with that of one late-successional species (European beech) across their natural distribution ranges in Europe. We used tree-ring widths of 6340 trees from 109 forest sites to establish species-specific tree-ring chronologies. We then used multiple linear regression to analyze which climatic or growth variables (pre-drought growth and growth during drought) best explained the tree responses to drought. Silver birch, Scots pine, and black poplar showed superior drought tolerance, with a slight, non-significant growth reduction under drought, whereas European beech showed a significant decrease in growth. The variables that influenced growth during and after the drought were species-specific. Annual precipitation and growth variables were key predictors of post-drought growth for Scots pine, black poplar, and European beech. Scots pine and silver birch grew better with increasing latitude, i.e., in Northern Europe than in Central Europe, while European beech and black poplar showed more growth at sites with high precipitation during the vegetation and dormant period, respectively. This study provides insights into the drought tolerance of early-successional species and highlights their ability to promote ecological succession and facilitate the transition to drought-resistant, late-successional forest ecosystems.

Mapping wild nature areas to identify priority areas for urban rewilding in cities: A process-oriented approach

Urban rewilding initiatives are gaining traction in cities, yet little remains known about the spatial opportunities for transitioning greenspaces into rewilding sites. This paper advances a process-oriented framing of urban wild nature areas (WNAs) and proposes a novel methodological approach for mapping existing WNAs at the city-scale, thereby shedding light on the potentials for urban rewilding across greenspace types and urban environments. Using Vienna as a case study, we identify WNAs as greenspaces predominantly shaped by natural succession processes and devoid of vegetation management. NDVI timeseries derived from Sentinel-2-satellite data for the period 2017–2022 are processed using a Random Forest algorithm to distinguish between unmanaged and managed vegetation annually and integrated into a multi-year composite map of ‘urban vegetation management intensity’. Based on this map and a set of objective cut-off values, 1298 WNAs are identified, representing 29.5 % of the city’s total urban greenspace and 14.9 % of the city’s total area. WNAs are distributed across diverse urban settings and greenspace types, with the majority being found in formal greenspaces such as forests, meadows and parks, and low-density built-up areas. The key strength of the process-oriented approach lies in its ability to detect WNAs dominated by natural succession, regardless of historic origin, greenspace type, and governance structure, thereby providing a baseline against which the full potential for urban rewilding can be evaluated. We demonstrate the methods’ utility in identifying potentials for urban rewilding, emphasising the importance of directing rewilding efforts towards residential greenspaces, urban parks, and street greenery, especially in densely built inner-city districts.

Context dependence of grassland plant response to arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi: The influence of plant successional status and soil resources

Abstract Many of the disturbance‐sensitive, late successional plant species in grasslands respond to arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi more positively via growth and establishment than plants that readily establish in disturbed areas (i.e. early successional species). Inoculation with AM fungi can therefore aid the establishment of late successional species in disturbed areas. If the differential benefit of AM fungi to late versus early successional plants is context‐dependent, however, this advantage could be diminished in high phosphorus (P) post‐agricultural soils or in future climates with altered precipitation. In this greenhouse experiment, we tested if late successional plant species are less plastic in their reliance on AM fungi than early successional plants by growing 17 plant species of different successional status (9 early and 8 late successional) in full factorial combinations of inoculated or uninoculated with AM fungi, with ambient or high P levels, and with low or high levels of water. AM fungi positively affected the biomass of the 17 grassland plant species, but across all environments, late successional plant species generally responded more positively to AM fungi than early successional plants species. AM fungal growth promotion and change in below‐ground biomass allocation was generally diminished with P fertilizer across all plant species, and while there was significant variation among plant species in the sensitivity of AM fungal responsiveness to P fertilization, this differential sensitivity was not predicted by plant successional status. The role of AM fungi in plant growth promotion was not generally altered by variation in watering, however late successional plant species allocated a greater proportion of their biomass below‐ground in response to AM fungi in low versus high water conditions. Synthesis. Overall greater responsiveness to arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi by late successional species is consistent with an important role of AM fungi in plant succession, even while AM fungi are less impactful overall in high P soils. However, the increase in responsiveness of below‐ground allocation of late successional species to AM fungi in low water conditions suggests that successional dynamics may be more dependent on AM fungi in future climates that feature greater propensity for drought.

Diversity and Functional Roles of Root-Associated Endophytic Fungi in Two Dominant Pioneer Trees Reclaimed from a Metal Mine Slag Heap in Southwest China

The utilization of fast-growing, economically valuable woody plants with strong stress resistance, such as poplar and willow, to revegetate severely metal-contaminated mine tailings not only offers a productive and profitable use of abandoned polluted soil resources but also facilitates the phytoremediation of these polluted soils. This study examines the diversity and functional roles of endophytic fungi naturally colonizing the roots of an artificially established Populus yunnanensis forest and the naturally reclaimed pioneer species Coriaria sinica on an abandoned tailing dam in southwest China. Culture-independent analyses revealed that the root systems of both plant species were abundantly colonized by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and endophytic fungi, forming rich and diverse endophytic fungal communities predominantly represented by the genera Ilyonectria, Tetracladium, Auricularia, and unclassified members of Helotiales. However, the composition of root endophytic fungal communities differed significantly between the two plant species. Using a culture-dependent approach, a total of 192 culturable endophytic fungal strains were isolated from the roots. The dominant genera included Cadophora, Cladosporium, Cyphellophora, and Paraphoma, most of which were previously identified as dark septate endophytes (DSE). Six representative DSE strains were selected for further study, and significant cadmium tolerance and various plant growth-promoting traits were observed, including the solubilization of insoluble inorganic and organic phosphorus, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) production, and siderophore synthesis. In greenhouse experiments, inoculating two DSE strains mitigated the inhibitory effects of metal-polluted tailing soil on the growth of P. yunnanensis. This was achieved by reducing heavy metal uptake in roots and limiting metal translocation to the above-ground tissues, thereby promoting plant growth and adaptability. Our findings suggest that as plants reclaim metal-polluted tailings, root-associated endophytic fungal communities also undergo natural succession, playing a critical role in enhancing the host plant’s tolerance to stress. Therefore, these restored root-associated fungi, particularly DSE, are essential functional components of the root systems in plants used for tailing reclamation.

Ruderality and refugia in the ruins: heritage, alienation, and post-industrial naturecultures in Northwest Wales

After Glyn Rhonwy slate quarry in Gwynedd County, Wales closed in 1930, the process of natural succession began to blanket the hills and pits with green vegetation. The ruderal ecologies which now call the quarry home are an unruly coalescence of ‘weeds and waste’, often characterised as insignificant and unwanted. Despite growing awareness of brownfield sites as oases of biodiversity, global heritage bodies like UNESCO have not been convinced of their value. Inspired by the concept of alienation within feminist posthumanism and incorporating studies from the natural sciences, this case study critically addresses the nature/culture binary which constitutes the framework of UNESCO’s World Heritage Convention. Through a combination of landscape survey and policy analysis, I argue that the species constellations which thrive in the quarry voids of Northwest Wales are also of outstanding ecological, educational, and aesthetic value, worthy of consideration at the highest level of heritage policy and practice.

Monogalactosyldiacylglycerol synthase isoforms play diverse roles inside and outside the diatom plastid.

Diatoms derive from a secondary endosymbiosis event, which occurred when a eukaryotic host cell engulfed a red alga. This led to the formation of a complex plastid enclosed by four membranes: two innermost membranes originating from the red alga chloroplast envelope, and two additional peri- and epiplastidial membranes (PPM, EpM). The EpM is linked to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). The most abundant membrane lipid in diatoms is monogalactosyldiacylglycerol (MGDG), synthesized by galactosyltransferases called MGDG synthases (MGDs), conserved in photosynthetic eukaryotes and considered to be specific to chloroplast membranes. Similar to angiosperms, a multigenic family of MGDs has evolved in diatoms, but through an independent process. We characterized MGDα, MGDβ and MGDγ in Phaeodactylum tricornutum, combining molecular analyses, heterologous expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and studying overexpressing and CRISPR-Cas9-edited lines. MGDα localizes mainly to thylakoids, MGDβ to the PPM, and MGDγ to the ER and EpM. MGDs have distinct specificities for diacylglycerol, consistent with their localization. Results suggest that MGDα is required for thylakoid expansion under optimal conditions, while MGDβ and MGDγ play roles in plastid and non-plastid membranes and in response to environmental stress. Functional compensation among MGDs likely contributes to diatom resilience under adverse conditions and to their ecological success.

Land Cover Simulation and Carbon Storage Assessment in Daqing City based on FLUS-InVEST Model

Considering Daqing City as the research area, the impact of land cover change on carbon storage in the future was discussed, and the hot spots of carbon sequestration capacity were identified. The future land use simulation （FLUS） model was used to simulate the land cover pattern of a natural succession scenario, ecological protection scenario, urban development scenario, and comprehensive development scenario in 2030, and the integrated valuation of ecosystem services and trade-offs （InVEST） model was combined to estimate carbon storage in 2010, 2020, and 2030. Finally, the hot spot analysis tool was used to identify the cold hot spots of carbon sequestration capacity. The results showed the following： ① From 2010 to 2020, the area of cultivated land, water, and artificial surface increased, whereas the area of other land cover types decreased, and the total carbon storage decreased by 8.6×105 t. ② The land cover change of the natural succession scenario and urban development scenario in 2030 was similar to that of 2010-2020, with carbon storage decreasing by 1.16×106 t and 1.20×106 t, respectively. The carbon storage of the comprehensive development scenario decreased by 1.00×106 t compared with that in 2020, and carbon storage of the ecological protection scenario was 5.677 7×108 t, which increased by 2.53×106 t compared with that in 2020. ③ The conversion of grassland and wetland to cultivated land was the main cause of carbon storage loss, and the main contributor of carbon storage in the ecological protection scenarios was wetland. ④ The hot spots of carbon sequestration capacity were mainly located in the wetland area, and the cold spots were mainly distributed in the central part of Daqing City. The carbon sequestration capacity of cultivated land was not significant. According to the research results, to realize the urban transformation of Daqing City, we should insist on returning farmland to forest and grass, increase the intensity of returning moisture, improve the utilization rate of urban land, and increase green infrastructure in the main urban area.

Active restoration after three decades: Seed addition increases native dominance compared to landscape‐scale secondary succession

Abstract Active restoration often aims to accelerate ecosystem recovery. However, active restoration may not be worthwhile if its effects are overwhelmed by changes that occur passively. Moreover, it can be challenging to separate the effects of passive processes, such as dispersal and natural succession, from active restoration efforts. We assess the 24‐year impact of actively restoring a Minnesota old‐field grassland via seed addition of native tallgrass prairie species. We compared the abundance of four functional plant groups in actively restored plots against abundances in three reference classes: (1) unrestored plots undergoing passive recovery within the same old field, (2) passively recovering plots in two nearby old fields of similar age and (3) a chronosequence of 21 old fields within the same landscape. Active restoration led to a higher abundance of native grasses and forbs in the 36 m2 treatment plots. Seed addition was more effective if the original vegetation was first removed using herbicide, burning and tilling. However, long‐term conclusions about the efficacy of active restoration varied widely depending on the choice of reference class. In our small‐scale restoration experiment, native abundance was similarly high in both the actively restored and reference plots after 24 years, suggesting either (1) passive recovery or (2) local dispersal of native species from nearby treatment plots (i.e. cross‐contamination). In contrast, a comparison with two nearby reference fields suggested active restoration resulted in much higher native abundance relative to passive recovery. A smaller, positive effect was detected when we compared actively restored plots to the chronosequence of old fields. In the chronosequence, many passively recovering old fields had transitioned to native grass dominance naturally, although active restoration appeared to increase native forb abundance. Synthesis and applications: Our findings highlight the importance of using scale‐appropriate references for assessing the efficacy and need for active restoration. Comparing actively restored plots with the surrounding landscape, we found that active restoration and passive recovery led to similar plant communities after 24 years. Because local dispersal from actively restored sites can nearby references, caution should be exercised when evaluating long‐term restoration projects using only small‐scale experiments.

Small-scale geographic differences in multiple-driver environmental variability can modulate contrasting phenotypic plasticity despite high levels of gene flow

Climate change is altering not only the mean conditions of marine environments, but also their temporal variability and predictability. As these alterations are not uniform across seascapes, their biological effects are expected to accentuate intra-specific differences in the adaptive capacity (e.g., plasticity and evolutionary potential) of natural populations. To test this theoretical framework, we assessed the phenotypic and genetic profiles of mussel from three study sites across a multi-driver heterogeneous environmental mosaic in Chilean Patagonia. Our study reveals that temporal variability, predictability, and exposure to extreme events (low pH/low salinity), collectively, can modulate the plasticity and optimal conditions of mussels. Despite these phenotypic differences, we observed low genetic differentiation, likely resulting from significant gene flow induced by aquaculture, ultimately diminishing variation among individuals from different geographic areas. Our findings underscore how variability and predictability are essential factors shaping phenotypic diversity, even at small spatial scales. Balancing these factors could enhance species resilience and ecological success, crucial for biodiversity conservation amidst climate change.