Ecosystem Project Research Articles

The Chilean exposome-based system for ecosystems (CHiESS): a framework for national data integration and analytics platform.

The double burden of diseases and scarce resources in developing countries highlight the need to change the conceptualization of health problems and translational research. Contrary to the traditional paradigm focused on genetics, the exposome paradigm proposed in 2005 that complements the genome is an innovative theory. It involves a holistic approach to understanding the complexity of the interactions between the human being’s environment throughout their life and health. This paper outlines a scalable framework for exposome research, integrating diverse data sources for comprehensive public health surveillance and policy support. The Chilean exposome-based system for ecosystems (CHiESS) project proposes a conceptual model based on the ecological and One Health approaches, and the development of a technological dynamic platform for exposome research, which leverages available administrative data routinely collected by national agencies, in clinical records, and by biobanks. CHiESS considers a multilevel exposure for exposome operationalization, including the ecosystem, community, population, and individual levels. CHiESS will include four consecutive stages for development into an informatic platform: (1) environmental data integration and harmonization system, (2) clinical and omics data integration, (3) advanced analytical algorithm development, and (4) visualization interface development and targeted population-based cohort recruitment. The CHiESS platform aims to integrate and harmonize available secondary administrative data and provide a complete geospatial mapping of the external exposome. Additionally, it aims to analyze complex interactions between environmental stressors of the ecosystem and molecular processes of the human being and their effect on human health. Moreover, by identifying exposome-based hotspots, CHiESS allows the targeted and efficient recruitment of population-based cohorts for translational research and impact evaluation. Utilizing advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), and blockchain, this framework enhances data security, real-time monitoring, and predictive analytics. The CHiESS model is adaptable for international use, promoting global health collaboration and supporting sustainable development goals.

Nitrogen addition does not alter symmetric responses of soil respiration to changing precipitation in a semi-arid grassland

Concurrent changing precipitation regimes and atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition can have profound influences on soil carbon (C) cycling. However, how N enrichment regulates the responses of soil C fluxes to increasing variability of precipitation remains elusive. As part of a field precipitation gradient experiment with nine levels of precipitation amounts (−60 %, −45 %, −30 %, −15 %, ambient precipitation, +15 %, +30 %, +45 %, and +60 %) and two levels of N addition (0 and 10 g N m−2 yr−1) in a semi-arid temperate steppe on the Mongolian Plateau, this work was conducted to investigate the responses of soil respiration to decreased and increased precipitation (DP and IP), N addition, and their possible interactions. Averaged over the three years from 2019 to 2021, DP suppressed soil respiration by 16.1 %, whereas IP stimulated it by 27.4 %. Nitrogen addition decreased soil respiration by 7.1 % primarily via reducing microbial biomass C. Soil respiration showed symmetric responses to DP and IP within all the four precipitation variabilities (i.e., 15 %, 30 %, 45 %, and 60 %) under ambient N. Nevertheless, N addition did not alter the symmetric responses of soil respiration to changing precipitation due to the comparable sensitivities of microbial biomass and root growth to DP and IP under the N addition treatment. These findings indicate that intensified precipitation variability does not change but N addition could alleviate soil C releases. The unchanged symmetric responses of soil respiration to precipitation variability under N addition imply that N deposition may not change the response pattern of soil C releases to predicted increases in precipitation variability in grasslands, facilitating the robust projections of ecosystem C cycling under future global change scenarios.

The Milestone Token Approach: An Adaptive Tokenized Crowdfunding Strategy for Ecosystem Projects

The Milestone Token Approach: An Adaptive Tokenized Crowdfunding Strategy for Ecosystem Projects

Proposal Model for A Community-friendly Wetland Park in Egypt: A Social approach.

As community engagement is considered the key to a successful project outcome, it was necessary to change the general attitude dealing with main ecosystem projects such as Wetlands from just being producers supporting primary industries to community-friendly projects providing urban spaces with recreational, educational and ecological facilities and assuring high quality of life. Wetland parks play a vital role for the benefit of its communities. This paper focuses on social aspects and values in designing Wetland parks; it emphasizes the importance of involving community groups to overcome various difficulties and challenges of these projects’ existence. The paper aims to create a design model that achieves a community-friendly Wetland Park; a social guiding model that raises community awareness, participation and ensures sustainability of such projects. A theoretical design guideline review on parks and Wetlands is being presented to provide the basis for the design model and for a community-oriented questionnaire. The paper addresses decision-makers and urban designers in Egypt providing social guidelines to engage local groups in early stages of design. The paper then directs the questionnaire survey to com-munity groups to attain the proposed design model for a community-friendly Wetland Park in Egypt that paves the way for long-term development.

The Milestone Token Approach: An Adaptive Tokenized Crowdfunding Strategy for Ecosystem Projects

The Milestone Token Approach: An Adaptive Tokenized Crowdfunding Strategy for Ecosystem Projects

Nutrition transition, double burden of malnutrition, and urbanization patterns in secondary cities of Bangladesh, Kenya and Rwanda

BackgroundBy 2050, approximately 68% of the global population will live in cities, but nutrition data on urban populations of low- and middle-income countries are scarce. Fast growing secondary cities, combining characteristics and hurdles of urban and rural settings, are hotspots for the double burden of malnutrition. The Nutrition in City Ecosystems (NICE) project focuses on 6 secondary cities in Bangladesh, Kenya and Rwanda, to improve health and nutrition, and reduce poverty. To assess the baseline situation and guide future interventions, food insecurity, dietary diversity, nutrition status, and food production and purchasing patterns were explored.MethodsIn a cross-sectional study design, data were collected from urban and peri-urban households of Dinajpur and Rangpur in Bangladesh, Bungoma and Busia in Kenya, and Rubavu and Rusizi in Rwanda. Approximately 1200 households, in neighborhoods prone to malnutrition, were involved from April to June 2021. We assessed Household Food Insecurity Access Score (HFIAS), both current and before COVID-19, Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS), Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women (MDD-W), anthropometric measurements, household and socioeconomic information, and questions related to food production and consumer behavior. Further we collected secondary data on low birthweight and anemia during pregnancy.ResultsAll cities experienced a substantial increase in food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Stunting rates in children under 5 years varied among the cities and ranged from 7.8% in Busia to 46.6% in Rubavu, while half of adult women were overweight (between 42.1% in Rusizi and 55.8% in Bungoma). Furthermore, many women did not consume an adequately diverse diet (MDD-W < 5 for 29.3% in Bangladesh, 47.5% in Kenya, and 67.0% in Rwanda), however many of the urban and peri-urban households were engaged in farming (58–78%).ConclusionsThe double burden of malnutrition is high in secondary cities and the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated levels of food insecurity. Demand for, and access to, an affordable healthy diverse diet that comprises local, nutritious, and agroecologically produced foods present a pathway for overcoming the complex challenges of malnutrition.

Using the blockchain to enable transparent and auditable processing of personal data in cloud- based services: Lessons from the Privacy-Aware Cloud Ecosystems (PACE) project

The architecture of cloud-based services is typically opaque and intricate. As a result, data subjects cannot exercise adequate control over their personal data, and overwhelmed data protection authorities must spend their limited resources in costly forensic efforts to ascertain instances of non-compliance. To address these data protection challenges, a group of computer scientists and socio-legal scholars joined forces in the Privacy-Aware Cloud Ecosystems (PACE) project to design a blockchain-based privacy-enhancing technology (PET). This article presents the fruits of this collaboration, highlighting the capabilities and limits of our PET, as well as the challenges we encountered during our interdisciplinary endeavour. In particular, we explore the barriers to interdisciplinary collaboration between law and computer science that we faced, and how these two fields’ different expectations as to what technology can do for data protection law compliance had an impact on the project's development and outcome. We also explore the overstated promises of techno-regulation, and the practical and legal challenges that militate against the implementation of our PET: most industry players have no incentive to deploy it, the transaction costs of running it make it prohibitively expensive, and there are significant clashes between the blockchain's decentralised architecture and GDPR's requirements that hinder its deployability. We share the insights and lessons we learned from our efforts to overcome these challenges, hoping to inform other interdisciplinary projects that are increasingly important to shape a data ecosystem that promotes the protection of our personal data.

ТЕНДЕНЦИИ И ПРОБЛЕМЫ РАЗВИТИЯ ЧЕЛОВЕЧЕСКИХ РЕСУРСОВ: ЭКОСИСТЕМА КАДРОВОГО ПОДХОДА

Currently, there is a decrease in the number of the population in the Russian Federation, the share of the able-bodied population is decreasing simultaneously with the level of employment. These trends play a role in the formation and use of human potential. Along with this, there are problems associated with the inability to build relationships and cooperation in the implementation of ecosystem projects. The ecosystem of personnel partnership, implemented through youth projects, will provide young people with jobs and education aimed at implementing new knowledge and skills. It includes the stages of origin, growth, maturity and rebirth or extinction, which determines the specific requirements for the professional qualities of the organization’s employees. The ecosystem of personnel partnership is developed based on the analysis of human resources development, which takes into account the trends occurring in modern society.

Approaches to Implementing Ecosystem Climate Projects in Russia

Russia is developing a legal framework for the Paris Agreement implementation. In Russian strategic documents, there is no consistency in measures and quantitative indicators to reduce emissions and increase absorption of greenhouse gases. The main focus on forests and other ecosystems through the implementation of climate change mitigation projects also raises questions. The purpose of this paper is to determine the goal and place of these projects within the framework of a national low-carbon policy, and to analyze the opportunities and limitations of such projects in Russia. The main criteria are the additionality, conservative baselines, and minimization of risks (leakage, non-permanence, cessation of project funding, reversion). Ecosystem projects are high-risk compared to industrial projects, while the climate component of project activities occurs only in the long-term preservation of the result. The project’s goal in Russia to refine mitigation technologies based on sustainable management of natural ecosystems: the results lead to the multiple benefits including ecosystem services of the territory, biodiversity and adaptation to climate change. Therefore, their attractiveness in the implementation of sustainable development policies of companies and the state is growing. Given the additional nature, projects will not be able to provide a significant quantitative contribution to mitigation, but can provide a tool to achieve that. At the initial stage of the Russian carbon market it is necessary to allow only reliable and transparent projects (reforestation and afforestation with mixed species; improved forest management of managed forests; management of previously unmanaged forests; restoration of wetlands/grassland ecosystems; conservation of soil carbon of agricultural lands; biochar inputs to soils). Projects such as forest conservation from logging and monoculture plantations require a separate regulatory framework to prevent tampering and minimize threats to local natural ecosystems.

A Comparative Analysis of Social Enterprise in South Korea and Indonesia

Social enterprise (or, institutionally, social business) is a business practice that focuses on social activities in which both market and government fail to deliver social benefit, welfare, justice, and sustainability. Some countries such as South Korea, the United Kingdom, the USA, and others have progressively developed a suitable ecosystem for social enterprise. Indonesia, with its growing social enterprises in society, also needs a suitable and favorable ecosystem to ascertain the progress and sustainability of such enterprises. This study is intended to design a business ecosystem ideal for Indonesia’s social enterprises. It was conducted by comparative analysis of the social enterprise ecosystem in Indonesia and South Korea South Korea is considered a country with the most progressive social enterprises in Asia through a systematic literature review. The comparative analysis result is further analyzed using the BEEP (Babson Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Project) Model. This study shows that there are several significant differences and gaps between Indonesia and South Korea’s business ecosystem for fostering the progress of social enterprises notably in the areas of government policy, finance, and human capital in which Indonesia needs to reflect on developing and fostering her social enterprise ecosystem. The interplay of factors and players of the social business ecosystem in Indonesia will thrive if the government can properly nurture existing social culture, promote proper policies, roll out appropriate and accessible levels of the playing field, and develop a consistent and impartial legal framework. Keywords: social enterprise ecosystem, social business, entrepreneurship ecosystem, systematic literature review

ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКАЯ ОЦЕНКА АЛЬТЕРНАТИВ ИСПОЛЬЗОВАНИЯ ЛЕСНЫХ РЕСУРСОВ

The article considers traditional and alternative (ecosystem) forms of use of forest resources on the lands of the forest fund. A variety of soil and climatic conditions, land categories and forest protection create prerequisites for various forms of forest management and the implementation of ecosystem projects in the country's forest fund. The necessity of a comprehensive economic assessment of forest resources in order to stimulate the development of new types of business and territories has been proved. Ecosystem services of the forest are proposed to be considered as the first priority in matters of economic evaluation of forest resources and payments for forest use. To organize the multifunctional use of forests, quantitative assessments of the potential of climate-oriented activities (forest climate projects) in regional forestry systems are required. In the context of federal districts, there is a significant differentiation in terms of the level of investment attractiveness of forest lands suitable for the implementation of forest climate projects for the creation of carbon sequestering plantations. Within the framework of such projects, it becomes possible not only to expand the reproduction of forest resources, including improving the condition and species composition of forests, but also to generate investment income in the form of carbon units produced on carbon markets. The southern and southeastern regions of the country have the greatest potential for the implementation of climate projects related to afforestation and reforestation.

Emergent Constraint for Future Decline in Arctic Phytoplankton Concentration

AbstractIn recent decades, the Arctic Ocean has experienced continuous warming and freshening, affecting biogeochemical factors such as nutrient supply, light availability, chlorophyll, and productivity. While Arctic marine productivity is projected to increase due to the expansion of the open ocean and increased chlorophyll concentration, uncertainties related to chlorophyll and nutrients may distract the fidelity of productivity in current Earth system models (ESMs). Here, we analyze the existing uncertainty in the Arctic chlorophyll projections using the 26 ESMs participating in Coupled Model Intercomparison Projects 5 and 6 (CMIP5 and CMIP6). We found that the uncertainty in the Arctic chlorophyll projections in the CMIP6 ESMs is greater than in the CMIP5 ESMs due to increasing uncertainty in the background nitrate concentration. A significant relationship between background nitrate and projected chlorophyll (r = 0.86) is demonstrated using the observational climatology of nitrate. Based on this strong relationship, the emergent constraint is applied to reduce the uncertainty of future chlorophyll projections. Declines in chlorophyll concentration based on emergent constraint are estimated to be further decreased in the future (44.9% % to 50.9% %) than at present, which is about three‐fold larger than the multi‐model mean projection (−13.5% %). Comparing cumulative density functions before and after the emergent constraint, the probability of the decreasing chance of chlorophyll is increased by approximately 36% from 60% in prior CMIP5,6 to 93%–96% after constraint. Our results imply that reducing the uncertainty in background nitrate concentration can improve the fidelity of future projections of the Arctic ecosystem in the ESMs.

Green buildings and maintenance planning practices in Malaysia

PurposeGreen building (GB) maintenance is increasingly accepted in the construction industry, so it can now be interpreted as an industry best practice for maintenance planning. However, the performance competency and design knowledge of the practice's building control instrument process can be affected by its evaluation and the information management of building information modelling (BIM)–based model checking (BMC). These maintenance-planning problems have not yet been investigated in instances such as the Grenfell Tower fire (14 June 2017, approximately 80 fatalities) in North Kensington, West London.Design/methodology/approachThis study proposes a theoretical framework for analysing the existing conceptualisation of BIM tools and techniques based on a critical review of GB maintenance environments. These are currently employed on GB maintenance ecosystems embedded in project teams that can affect BMC practices in the automation system process. In order to better understand how BMC is implemented in GB ecosystem projects, a quantitative case study is conducted in the Malaysian public works department (Jabatan Kerja Raya (JKR)).FindingsGB ecosystem projects were not as effective as planned due to safety awareness, design planning, inadequate track insulation, environmental (in) compatibility and inadequate building access management. Descriptive statistics and an ANOVA were applied to analyse the data. The study is reinforced by a process flow, which is transformed into a theoretical framework.Originality/valueIndustry practitioners can use the developed framework to diagnose BMC application issues and leverage the staff competency inherent in an ecosystem to plan GB maintenance environments successfully.

Integration of Mungbean (Vigna radiata L.) as Cash Crop on Shaded Land Areas at Café Project in Conner, Apayao

The study was conducted to determine the growth and yield of mungbean integrated as a cash crop in the Conservation Agriculture in Forest Ecosystem (CAFÉ) Project sites at Barangay Guina-ang, Conner, Apayao. The CAFÉ Project was launched with the intention of promoting environmentally sound farming practices in the uplands of Apayao. The four mungbean varieties: NSIC Mg 05 – Pag-asa 11, NSIC Mg 12 – Pag-asa 19, NSIC Mg 09 – Pag-asa 15, and NSIC Mg 17 – Pag-asa 17 were planted around 2 meters away from the nearest trees in partially-shaded areas with slopes not exceeding 50 degrees. It was laid out in 5 m x 10 m quadrants arranged in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. Results of the study revealed that V1 and V2 were late maturing (86.50; 87.16 DAT), taller (65.25; 68.85 cm), had more pods per plant (16.72; 15.92), longer pod length (9.42; 9.36cm) more seeds per pod (12.42; 10.88), heavier seed weight (33.46; 28.49g) and higher seed yield (656.45; 610.20 kg/ha) as compared to V3 and V4. In conclusion, NSIC Mg 05 – Pag-asa 11 and NSIC Mg 12 – Pag-asa 19 had better growth performance and yield in partially shaded areas integrated as a cash crop in the CAFÉ Project site at Conner, Apayao.

Addressing data gaps in marine litter distribution: Citizen science observation of plastics in coastal ecosystems by high-school students

The Citizen Observation of Local Litter in coastal ECosysTems (COLLECT) project (2021-2022) is a citizen science initiative, supported by the Partnership for Observation of the Global Ocean (POGO), which aimed to acquire distribution and abundance data of coastal plastic litter in seven countries: in Africa (Benin, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Morocco, Nigeria) and Asia (Malaysia). In this paper, we describe the workflow used to establish and run this project, as well as the methodologies to acquire data. The COLLECT project consisted of training local students (15 - 18 years old) from ten second cycle institutions (“high schools”) on sampling and analyzing macro-, meso- and microplastics in beach sediments, using a quantitative assessment protocol. We further describe in detail the methodologies applied in assessing the impact of participating in the activities from a social sciences perspective. All documents and materials resulting from this project will be open access and available according to the FAIR Principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable). The results and outcomes from COLLECT will contribute to expanding knowledge and establishing baseline information on coastal plastic pollution, with citizen science being an enabler of open science, allowing data to be freely available to the public, academics and policymakers. Expected results from the use of the COLLECT protocol globally will further contribute to the identification of hotspots of coastal plastic litter, and bring awareness to local communities on the potential consequences of plastic pollution. The COLLECT project actively contributes with data suitable to survey plastic litter to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), in particular to SDG 14, on the sustainable use of the ocean.

Nutrition in City Ecosystems (NICE): Protocol of a multi-sectoral development project to improve food and nutrition security of secondary city populations in Bangladesh, Kenya and Rwanda.

Secondary cities tend to be better linked with local food systems than primate cities, acting as important platforms to trade agricultural produce with rural surrounding. COVID-19, conflicts and climate change continue to expose inefficiencies in food systems and have further exacerbated malnutrition, calling for substantial food systems transformations. However, tackling current food systems' challenges requires new approaches to ensure food and nutrition security. Nutritious and agroecologically produced food offer the potential to transform food systems by improving diets and alleviating pressure on the environment, as well as by creating jobs and reducing poverty. This paper describes the design of a project by a Swiss public-private consortium to improve food and nutrition security and to reduce poverty in city ecosystems in six secondary cities in Bangladesh, Kenya and Rwanda through governance/policy and supply and demand side interventions. The Nutrition in City Ecosystems (NICE) project promotes well-balanced nutrition for city populations through interdisciplinary agricultural, food, and health sector collaborations along city-specific value chains. Adopting a transdiciplinary systems approach, the main interventions of NICE are (i) advocacy and policy dialogue, (ii) building of decentralized institutional capacity in multi-sectoral collaborations, (iii) support of data-driven planning, coordination and resource mobilization, (iv) anchoring of innovations and new approaches in city-level partnerships, (v) capacity building in the agricultural, retail, health and education sectors, as well as (vi) evidence generation from putting policies into practice at the local level. NICE is coordinated by in-country partners and local offices of the Swiss public-private consortium partners. The NICE project seeks to contribute to urban food system resilience and enhanced sustainable nutrition for city populations by (A) strengthening urban governance structures involving key stakeholders including women and youth, (B) generating income for producers along the supply chain, (C) triggering change in producers' and consumers' behavior such that nutritious and agroecologically produced foods are both in demand as well as available and affordable in urban markets, and (D) allowing a scale up of successful approaches to other national and international cities and city networks.

The potential of digital tools to foster production, and thus availability, of healthy diets for city dwellers in secondary cities

Urban population growth and strong rural-urban migration are continuing in sub-Saharan Africa. Similarly, traditional farming is no longer attractive to many young people despite its importance for food security. Digitalization can be an ally to make the agri-food system more attractive. The Nutrition in City Ecosystems (NICE) project aims to increase and better link the production and demand of safe and healthy foods in two secondary cities each in Bangladesh, Kenya and Rwanda. Two digital tools called Soluta-ag and GATE are introduced in NICE. Soluta-ag keeps records of business transactions in online and offline mode and provides marketplace facilities and automated business analytics in real-time for Farmers’ Hubs, the social business model implemented in NICE. GATE, on the other hand, serves as a selection, screening and validation platform as well as repository for climate smart agri-food system innovations. Preliminary experiences from NICE show that digital tools can A) attract youth for farming, B) connect farmers’ produce to market, and C) facilitate the delivery of contextadapted innovations. Ensuring ways of production are modern and efficient and sufficient employment opportunities are available in urban agri-food systems are crucial to maintain food sovereignty and adequate, diversified nutrition for all city dwellers.

Blue Sukuk: Strategi Dan Konsep Pembiayaan

Blue economy has substantial correlation with one of the sustainable development goals pillar, ocean ecosystem. Indonesia that is the biggest archipelago country in the world which has the second longest coastline has opportunity to escape from the middle-income trap by using blue economy. Projects that have important role in developing the ocean ecosystem need to be financed, and one of the financing instruments is sukuk (Islamic bond). Sukuk that used to finance ocean ecosystem projects is known as blue sukuk. This study aims to analyze alternative projects that can be financed using the instrument and strategy to make blue sukuk can be accepted globally. This research is using a qualitative method. Data that is used in this research is secondary data obtained from DJPPR, IDX, SDGs National Secretary, and related journals. Research is performed using descriptive study. This study finds that financing concepts with blue sukuk can be implemented to all projects in ocean ecosystem SDGs. Moreover, modified ijarah structure in blue sukuk and fully independent SPV is a strategy to make this instrument acceptable for all mazhab.

Lessons learned from water-scarce cities: Proposed policies toward an integrated urban water management in Egypt

Water scarcity is one of the main challenges facing countries in arid or semi-arid zones. As an example, Egypt needs to deal with both insufficient quantity and quality of water for residents. Here, we propose actions and policies to promote an integrated water management approach to respond to water challenges in Egypt. Based on a literature review, we have selected a set of criteria concerning the environmental, economic, social, governmental, and physical dimensions of urban water management. We studied approaches from Peru, Namibia, and South Australia as these countries have similar climatic conditions and water issues and have made substantial advances toward sustainable water management. Key criteria are state or municipal ownership of water and related infrastructure, agreement on master plans for sustainable water management, improvement of water sanitation and overall infrastructure, and reduction of water demand. Participatory, and educational campaigns put water issues at the center of public debates. We evaluated which elements of water management approaches can be adapted and used in Egypt, which faces limited freshwater resources, and which faces a highly increasing population. Proposed actions included directing water fees to ecosystem projects, treatment of wastewater to be potable, participatory approaches that engage the community in water management, educational campaigns that lead to change of public perception and knowledge dissemination. We interviewed key stakeholders in the water sector in Egypt to validate our proposed approaches. The stakeholders supported knowledge dissemination, suggested using water fees in implementing environmental projects and criticized converting wastewater into drinking water. Finally, we drafted specific recommendations at the organizational and urban levels of water management. We recommended establishing a General Organization for Water Management to oversee water-related organizations and ministries. We also recommended prioritizing the economic conditions to support alleviation of water subsidy, increasing public awareness, and creating a public database for water knowledge. In addition, we recommended decentralized water management and water sensitive urban design. The value of these approaches is their applicability, with minor adaptations, to countries with similar or close climatic and socio-economic conditions to Egypt, such as the MENA region.

Increasing diversity and biotic homogenization of lake plankton during recovery from acidification

Determining biodiversity responses to environmental change, such as acidification, is critical for ecosystem projections under future global change scenarios. Here, we analyzed three plankton communities of phytoplankton, crustaceans and rotifers in 28 lakes in the Adirondack Park, USA, during 1994–2012, and examined the spatiotemporal trends in their alpha and beta diversity during recovery from acidification. For all plankton assemblages, Shannon diversity increased towards recent years and high lake pH, and there was an increasing community dissimilarity with pH changes. The spatial mean Bray-Curtis dissimilarities across all lakes decreased over time for phytoplankton and rotifers leading to an increase in spatial homogenization. Such a homogenization cooccurred however with the overall increasing diversity in this region, which contrasts with the previous classic view that homogenization is mainly driven by loss of species and results in biodiversity loss. We further observed lower temporal mean beta diversity in low-pH lakes for crustaceans and rotifers, but not for phytoplankton. Generally, spatial and temporal mean beta diversity of the three taxonomic groups were primarily driven by lake-water ion variables, and rotifers were also constrained by nutrients and climate. Collectively, our results show how and why plankton community compositions vary over space along with acidification recovery, and further highlight the importance of spatiotemporal studies combined with long-term monitoring programs in assessing biodiversity change during the recovery of disturbed ecosystems.