Indirect Effects Of Climate Research Articles

Challenges of quantifying direct heat stress effects of climate change on seabirds

The importance of heat stress as a consequence of climate climate change is often overlooked for seabirds. As endotherms, seabirds must actively thermoregulate at temperatures above their thermoneutral zone, or risk lethal hyperthermia. Although essential activities (e.g. foraging, breeding) may be traded off for thermoregulatory behaviors during periods of heat stress, a recent report by Olin et al. (2023; Mar Ecol Prog Ser https://doi.org/10.3354/meps14244, this Theme Section) is one of very few that directly link this to demography. We argue that heat stress effects, which have strong theoretical support, are underreported directly because large-scale mortality events are rare, and small-scale events are hard to identify and easily obscured by indirect trophic effects. Quantifying heat stress effects on seabirds is necessary to understand fully the threats from climate change but requires prioritizing research in the following areas: developing methods to attribute heat mortality, determining baseline levels of heat mortality, elucidating ecological and organismal differences that underlie heat stress sensitivity, investigating the importance of possible sublethal mechanisms, and separating heat stress trade-offs from indirect effects of climate.

Climate-driven vegetation greening further reduces water availability in drylands.

Climate change alters surface water availability (WA; precipitation minus evapotranspiration, P - ET) and consequently impacts agricultural production and societal water needs, leading to increasing concerns on the sustainability of water use. Although the direct effects of climate change on WA have long been recognized and assessed, indirect climate effects occurring through adjustments in terrestrial vegetation are more subtle and not yet fully quantified. To address this knowledge gap, here we investigate the interplay between climate-induced changes in leaf area index (LAI) and ET and quantify its ultimate effect on WA during the period 1982-2016 at the global scale, using an ensemble of data-driven products and land surface models. We show that ~44% of the global vegetated land has experienced a significant increase in growing season-averaged LAI and climate change explains 33.5% of this greening signal. Such climate-induced greening has enhanced ET of 0.051 ± 0.067 mm year-2 (mean ± SD), further amplifying the ongoing increase in ET directly driven by variations in climatic factors over 36.8% of the globe, and thus exacerbating the decline in WA prominently in drylands. These findings highlight the indirect impact of positive feedbacks in the land-climate system on the decline of WA, and call for an in-depth evaluation of these phenomena in the design of local mitigation and adaptation plans.

The Effect of Principal Management Performance and Working Climate on Teacher Performance through Work Motivation of Elementary School Teacher in Awayan District

Teacher performance is the work accomplished by a teacher in the completion of the specified responsibilities. The purpose of this study was to examine the direct and indirect effects of principal management performance, work climate, and work motivation on the performance of elementary school teachers in the Awayan District. This study is quantitative correlation research. Using proportional random sampling technique, 112 respondents were selected as research samples from the population of 156 teachers. Data is collected by using a questionnaire instrument and it is analyzed by utilizing descriptive analysis, classical assumption test, multiple linear regression analysis and path analysis. The findings of this study indicate that the variable regression value is a positive number, such as the regression coefficient of principal management performance on teacher performance (X1-Y) of 0.583, the regression coefficient of principal management performance on teacher work motivation (X1-Z) of 0.533, the climate regression coefficient of school work on teacher performance (X2-Y) of 0.412, and the regression coefficient of work climate on work motivation (X2-Z) of 0.659. This study concludes that principal management performance, work climate, and motivation have direct and indirect effects on the performance of elementary school teachers in the Awayan District. It is suggested to school principals and teachers to sustain high levels of management performance, climate, and teacher performance. Other researchers may examine other variables that can affect teacher performance.

The response of litter decomposition to extreme drought modified by plant species, plant part, and soil depth in a temperate grassland.

Plant litter decomposition is a key ecosystem process in carbon and nutrient cycling, and is heavily affected by changing climate. While the direct effects of drought on decomposition are widely studied, in order to better predict the overall drought effect, indirect effects associated with various drought-induced changes in ecosystems should also be quantified. We studied the effect of an extreme (5-month) experimental drought on decomposition, and if this effect varies with two dominant perennial grasses, plant parts (leaves vs. roots), and soil depths (0-5cm vs. 10-15 cm) in a semi-arid temperate grassland. After 12 months, the average litter mass loss was 43.5% in the control plots, while only 25.7% in the drought plots. Overall, mass loss was greater for leaves (44.3%) compared to roots (24.9%), and for Festuca vaginata (38.6%) compared to Stipa borysthenica (30.5%). This variation was consistent with the observed differences in nitrogen and lignin content between plant parts and species. Mass loss was greater for deep soil (42.8%) than for shallow soil (26.4%). Collectively, these differences in decomposition between the two species, plant parts, and soil depths were similar in magnitude to direct drought effect. Drought induces multiple changes in ecosystems, and our results highlight that these changes may in turn modify decomposition. We conclude that for a reliable estimate of decomposition rates in an altered climate, not only direct but also indirect climatic effects should be considered, such as those arising from changing species dominance, root-to-shoot ratio, and rooting depth.

Organisational caring ethical climate and its relationship with workplace bullying and post traumatic stress disorder: The role of type A/B behavioural patterns.

A multifaceted, holistic approach to identifying potential predictors is needed to eradicate workplace bullying. The current study investigated the impact of an unfavourable organisational climate that plays a role in breeding workplace bullying (social stressors). The present study also postulated that individual personality differences (Type A and Type B personality) mediate between a caring climate and workplace bullying. Similarly, the interaction between workplace bullying and personality impacts PTSD. We also checked the role of workplace bullying as a mediator between a caring climate and PTSD. This research tested all the proposed hypotheses (N = 298), and the study was conducted in Pakistan. The data is analysed using the two-step partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) procedure. The first part assesses the measurement model, while in the second step, the structural model is evaluated. The results supported all the proposed hypotheses of this study. Type A behaviour moderated the caring climate-person-related bullying relationship, whereas it did not moderate the caring climate-work-related bullying in the suggested direction. Type A behaviour is moderated for both types of bullying and PTSD. Results also show significant indirect effects of a caring climate on PTSD through workplace bullying. This study will contribute theoretically to filling the literature gap on studies of climate-bullying and bullying-stress using contingency factors.

Ethical Climate and Job Satisfaction via Mediating Role of Organisational Commitment (Case Study: Tutors in Ghana)

Aims: Ethical climate is one of the vital features shaping intra-organisational relationships and tutors attitudes, thereby having an influence on organisational outcomes. Therefore, understanding the relationships among ethical climate, job satisfaction and organisational commitment is an important research area that needs to be researched. The main purpose of the study was to examine ethical climate and job satisfaction via mediating role of organisational commitment among College of Education tutors in Ghana.
 Study Design: The descriptive cross-sectional survey design was employed in the study.
 Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out from 2019 to 2020, among College of Education tutors in Ghana.
 Methodology: The quantitative approach with the positivist paradigm was adopted for the study. A total of 250 participants through a multistage sampling procedures (proportionate and simple random sampling) were used in the study. Ethical climate questionnaire, job satisfaction scale and organisational commitment questionnaire were adapted and used in the study. Validation of the instruments were carried out using Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).
 Results: The results revealed that ethical climate was a substantial predictor of job satisfaction, [b = 1.11; SE = .009; Boot95%CI (.1.091, 1.128)]. The result discovered that a surge in ethical climate would lead to 1.11 increase in job satisfaction. The results again, showed that the direct effect of organisational commitment on job satisfaction was statistically significant, B = 1.108, Boot95%CI [1.090, 1.127]. Further, with the introduction of organisational commitment, the indirect effect of ethical climate on job satisfaction was not statistically significant, B = .0011, Boot95%CI [-.0011, .0043]. This suggests that organisational commitment does not mediates the relationship between ethical climate and job satisfaction.
 Conclusion: This study confirms the relationship between ethical climate and job satisfaction among tutors in the Colleges of Education. When the ethical climate of tutors increases the likelihood tutors would be satisfied with their teaching job.

Testing motivational and self-regulatory mechanisms of action on device-measured physical activity in the context of a weight loss maintenance digital intervention: A secondary analysis of the NoHoW trial

BackgroundTo date, few digital behavior change interventions for weight loss maintenance focusing on long-term physical activity promotion have used a sound intervention design grounded on a logic model underpinned by behavior change theories. The current study is a secondary analysis of the weight loss maintenance NoHoW trial and investigated putative mediators of device-measured long-term physical activity levels (six to 12 months) in the context of a digital intervention. MethodsA subsample of 766 participants (Age = 46.2 ± 11.4 years; 69.1% female; original NoHoW sample: 1627 participants) completed all questionnaires on motivational and self-regulatory variables and had all device-measured physical activity data available for zero, six and 12 months. We examined the direct and indirect effects of Virtual Care Climate on post intervention changes in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and number of steps (six to 12 months) through changes in the theory-driven motivational and self-regulatory mechanisms of action during the intervention period (zero to six months), as conceptualized in the logic model. ResultsModel 1 tested the mediation processes on Steps and presented a poor fit to the data. Model 2 tested mediation processes on moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and presented poor fit to the data. Simplified models were also tested considering the autonomous motivation and the controlled motivation variables independently. These changes yielded good results and both models presented very good fit to the data for both outcome variables. Percentage of explained variance was negligible for all models. No direct or indirect effects were found from Virtual Care Climate to long term change in outcomes. Indirect effects occurred only between the sequential paths of the theory-driven mediators. ConclusionThis was one of the first attempts to test a serial mediation model considering psychological mechanisms of change and device-measured physical activity in a 12-month longitudinal trial. The model explained a small proportion of variance in post intervention changes in physical activity. We found different pathways of influence on theory-driven motivational and self-regulatory mechanisms but limited evidence that these constructs impacted on actual behavior change. New approaches to test these relationships are needed. Challenges and several alternatives are discussed. Trial registrationISRCTN Registry, ISRCTN88405328. Registered December 16, 2016, https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN88405328.

The mediating effects of adversity quotient and self-efficacy on ICU nurses' organizational climate and work engagement.

This study aimed to explore the mediating effects of adversity quotient and the moderating effect of self-efficacy on the relationship between the organizational climate and the work engagement of intensive care unit nurses. A good organizational climate can contribute to a high level of work engagement. Adversity quotient and self-efficacy are the key factors affecting nurses' work engagement, while the mechanism of these factors in the organizational climate and work engagement remains unclear. This study was conducted to contribute to the relevant field research. The study used a cross-sectional research design and surveyed 323 intensive care unit nurses working in a public hospital in China. The data were analysed using descriptive statistical methods: Pearson correlation analysis and PROCESS macro Model 7 in the regression analysis. Organizational climate was positively correlated with work engagement and adversity quotient. The indirect effect of organizational climate on work engagement through adversity quotient was positive. Furthermore, self-efficacy moderated the relationship between the two factors. Cultivating organizational climate and adversity quotients is an important strategy to improve the work engagement of intensive care unit nurses, particularly for nurses with high self-efficacy. Administrators should make efforts to create a good organizational climate and cultivate nurses' adversity quotients and self-efficacy to decrease their intent to leave.

The effect of distributive justice climate on virtual team performance: A moderated mediation model.

Based on the social interdependence theory, we proposed that the distributive justice climate affects virtual team performance via high-quality relationships, and then we investigated the boundary effect of team proactive personality. The data used in this study were collected in China, including 327 virtual team members that belonged to 75 teams. The following results are obtained: (1) Distributive justice climate and high-quality relationships have significant positive effects on virtual team performance. (2) High-quality relationships mediate the relationship between the distributive justice climate and virtual team performance. (3) Team proactive personality strengthens the direct effect of the distributive justice climate on high-quality relationships. (4) Team proactive personality strengthens the indirect effect of the distributive justice climate on virtual team performance through high-quality relationships. These empirical results have important theoretical significance for team climate construction, personnel selection, and team performance promotion.

Indirect effect of family climate on adolescent depression through emotion regulatory processes.

Adolescent depression is a serious public health concern, warranting examination of its development. A negative family emotional climate (NFEC) is one risk factor for the development of depressive symptoms. The specific emotion regulatory processes linking NFEC and depression, however, remain unclear. Cognitive reappraisal, a strategy that entails shifting one's thoughts about an emotion eliciting situation before the emotion is generated, expressive suppression, an emotion regulation strategy where individuals push down their expressions of an emotion after it is generated, and emotional inertia, the process of remaining in a given emotional state for a longer period compared to other individuals, were tested as potential emotion processes through which NFEC might be indirectly related to depressive symptoms. Adolescents (N = 92; ages 11-18; 62% girls, 80% White) participated in a multimethod two-time-point study (∼6 months apart). NFEC was measured at Time 1; cognitive reappraisal, expressive suppression, emotional inertia, and depressive symptoms, at Time 2. Emotional inertia scores for negative affect (NA) and positive affect (PA) were obtained through continuous coding of affect during 2 parent-child interactions. Codes were analyzed second-by-second, and multilevel logistic regression was used to extract each participant's emotional inertia score. NFEC was directly related to depressive symptoms. NFEC was also indirectly related to depressive symptoms via cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression (for girls, not boys) but not emotional inertia (for either NA or PA). Results suggest that both emotion regulation and the family emotional climate should be considered as targets for intervention. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

The Impact of Green Psychological Climate on Organizational Citizenship Behavior for the Environment

In this research, we extend the nascent literature on green psychological climate by studying how it translates into employees’ organizational citizenship behavior for the environment. We argue that a green psychological climate, consisting in injunctive social norms individually perceived, can trigger directly employees’ organizational citizenship behavior for the environment. We also argue that there exist two possible indirect paths: one through organizational identification (i.e., a cognition proximate to employees’ self-concept) and the second through perceived organizational and supervisory support for the environment (i.e., an ongoing social exchange relation in which the employees are embedded with their organization and its representatives). The specificity of our methodology is that we maintain the analysis at the individual level only, as our interest lies in understanding how employees interpret organizational signals, make sense of their organizational milieu, and translate this into actual behavior. Using primary data from an Argentinian large retailing company, we find support for the indirect effects of the green psychological climate on employees’ organizational citizenship behavior for the environment. We do not find support for the direct effect. Overall, this research contributes to uncovering the social-psychological determinants of employees’ behaviors.

Definitions and implications of climate-neutral aviation

To meet ambitious climate targets, the aviation sector needs to neutralize CO2 emissions and reduce non-CO2 climatic effects. Despite being responsible for approximately two-thirds of aviation’s impacts on the climate, most of aviation non-CO2 species are currently excluded from climate mitigation efforts. Here we identify three plausible definitions of climate-neutral aviation that include non-CO2 forcing and assess their implications considering future demand uncertainty, technological innovation and CO2 removal. We demonstrate that simply neutralizing aviation’s CO2 emissions, if nothing is done to reduce non-CO2 forcing, causes up to 0.4 °C additional warming, thus compromising the 1.5 °C target. We further show that substantial rates of CO2 removal are needed to achieve climate-neutral aviation in scenarios with little mitigation, yet cleaner-flying technologies can drastically reduce them. Our work provides policymakers with consistent definitions of climate-neutral aviation and highlights the beneficial side effects of moving to aircraft types and fuels with lower indirect climate effects. Non-CO2 effects must be addressed for climate-neutral aviation but are currently ignored in international climate policies. The authors provide a framework with different definitions of climate neutrality, then show how technological and demand-side mitigation efforts can help to achieve these targets.

Importance of climate‐induced tree species composition changes in forecasting the amount of reachable habitat for forest birds

AbstractAimBird and tree species distributions will shift along with future climatic conditions through direct effects related to species responses to bioclimatic variables. In addition, tree species composition changes should indirectly drive changes in forest bird habitats. Here, we predicted the effects of climate changes on the amount of reachable habitat for forest birds and teased apart the role of the indirect effects.LocationFrance.MethodsWe projected tree and bird species distributions (2020 and 2050) using generalized additive models which accounted for climatic conditions at a large scale (France) and local environmental conditions at regional scale. The projections combined two scenarios of climate changes (RCP 2.6 and 8.5) and two scenarios of forest management (increase in either deciduous or coniferous stands). We modelled the amount of reachable habitat with landscape graphs and the equivalent connectivity index (EC) for five birds associated to the main forest types of the study area. To differentiate the sources of EC change between 2020 and 2050, we compared two future landscape graphs including only the indirect effect, or the direct and indirect effects of climate changes.ResultsFor birds with low and intermediate thermal maxima, climate‐based distributions were nearly stable over time (absence of direct effects), EC change was only attributed to indirect effects. In contrast, for bird species with high thermal maximum, EC change was mostly driven by direct effects (more favourable climatic conditions) and little by indirect effects.Main conclusionsUsing an innovative modelling framework that bind species distribution and connectivity models with climate and land use changes in forest, we showed that EC dynamics could be completely due to climate‐driven changes in tree species composition. Our results highlight the importance of accounting for the indirect effects of climate changes, especially in forests where major shifts in tree species composition are expected.

A Comparative Approach to Understanding Floral Adaptation to Climate and Pollinators During Diversification in European and Mediterranean Silene.

Pollinator selection on floral traits is a well-studied phenomenon, but less is known about the influence of climate on this species interaction. Floral trait evolution could be a result of both adaptation to climate and pollinator-mediated selection. In addition, climate may also determine pollinator communities, leading to an indirect influence of climate on floral traits. In this study, we present evidence of both direct and indirect effects of climate on plant morphology through a phylogenetic comparative analysis of the relationships between climate, pollinators, and morphology in 89 European and Mediterranean Silene species. Climate directly influences vegetative morphology, where both leaf size and internode length were found to be smaller in habitats that are warmer in the driest quarter of the year and that have more precipitation in the coldest quarter of the year. Similarly, flower size was directly influenced by climate, where smaller calyxes were also associated with habitats that are warmer in the driest quarter of the year. These results suggest that reduced leaf and flower size promote water conservation in species that occupy arid climates. Floral traits also evolved in response to pollinators, with elongated calyxes associated with nocturnal pollination, though we also found evidence that climate influences pollinator distribution. Nocturnal pollinators of Silene are found in habitats that have more temperature evenness across seasons than diurnal pollinators. Correspondingly, nocturnally-pollinated Silene are more likely to occur in habitats that have lower daily temperature fluctuation and more temperature evenness across seasons. Altogether these results show that climate can directly influence vegetative and floral morphology, but it can also affect pollinator distribution, which in turn drives floral adaptation. Our study therefore suggests that climate mediates the influence of species interactions on trait evolution by imposing direct selective demands on floral phenotypes and by determining the pollinator community that imposes its own selective demands on flowers.

Shrub Expansion is Mainly Affected by Climate-Dominated Functional Traits in Alpine Meadow

Shrub expansion has been reported mostly in dry and semi-arid ecosystems worldwide. Shrub expansion is also a serious ecological issue in alpine and cold regions. Multiple drivers, including anthropogenic and environmental factors, contribute to this phenomenon. However, the relative effects of climate and soil factors on shrub expansion are incompletely quantified or understood in the alpine meadow, and quantifying how these factors result in variations in functional traits associated with shrub expansion is crucial considering that functional traits are tightly related to ecosystem processes. In this study, we investigated the vegetation of an alpine shrub meadow composed of Potentilla fruticosa L. In the Zoige Plateau, along an elevation gradient. We assessed the direct and indirect effects of climate and soil factors on functional traits, shrub expansion strength (measured as the total biomass), and relative abundance (via functional traits). We found that climate factors, namely, the mean temperature of the warmest quarter (bio10), mostly affected specific leaf areas and specific lobe volume, which were the most important traits related to shrub expansion. Soil factors, except soil water content (SWC), had weak effects on functional traits closely related to shrub expansion. Our partial least square path modeling model explained 99% of the variation in shrub biomass. Results suggest that climate change not only affected functional traits but also influenced shrub expansion in the Zoige Plateau. Thus, management measures to control expansion should consider these drivers for more accurate forecasting and cost effectiveness. Understanding the mechanism of alpine shrub expansion contributes to the delaying of the expansion process and ensures steady pastoral production.

The Effect of Organizational Innovation Climate on Employee Innovative Behavior: The Role of Psychological Ownership and Task Interdependence.

In today’s era of rapid development of science and technology, organizations are confronted with unprecedented opportunities and challenges. Employee innovative behavior has become the key element to promote organizational innovation and achieve sustainable competitive advantages. This study examines the relationship between organizational innovation climate and employee innovative behavior by focusing on the mediating role of psychological ownership and the moderating role of task interdependence. The survey data were collected from the matched samples of 326 employees and their direct supervisors from 13 enterprises in Guangdong Province, China. The results indicate that organizational innovation climate is positively related to employee innovative behavior and that psychological ownership plays a fully mediating role between them. For the moderating effects, task interdependence positively moderates the relationship between organizational innovation climate and employees’ psychological ownership. The results also reveal an indirect effect of organizational innovation climate on employee innovative behavior through psychological ownership. Theoretical and practical implications are also discussed.

The Effect of Principal Instructional Leadership, Work Climate and Work Motivation on Teachers' Organizational Citizenship Behavior in MTsN throughout Hulu Sungai Selatan Regency

This study aims to determine and analyze the direct and indirect effects of instructional leadership, work climate and work motivation on commitment to organizational citizenship behavior on teachers at MTsN in Hulu Sungai Selatan Regency. This research study is correlational research with path analysis. The population of this study was 350 teachers from 12 MTsN with a sample technique of 187 people. It used a proportional random sampling. Data was collected using instruments consisting of principals' instructional leadership instrument (28 items), work climate instrument (24 items), work motivation instrument (28 items) and Organizational Citizenship Behavior instrument (18 items). The instruments were tested for validity and reliability and analyzed using path analysis. The results showed that there were direct and indirect effects of instructional leadership, work climate and work motivation on teacher organizational citizenship behavior.

Big-sized trees and species-functional diversity pathways mediate divergent impacts of environmental factors on individual biomass variability in Sri Lankan tropical forests

In tropical forests, several studies have explored the effects of environmental factors and tree species diversity as well as functional trait diversity and trait composition on aboveground biomass (AGB) stock. However, these abiotic and biotic effects on individual biomass variability (BioVar) are still largely unexplored, which limits our understanding of the plant-plant interactions for species coexistence. Here, we used the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Models (PLS-SEMs), and other complementary analyses, on data from 189 tropical forest plots in Sri Lanka, to test the linkages amongst climate (a latent variable of solar radiation and potential evapotranspiration), soil (pH and cation exchange capacity), plot (plot size and stand density) conditions, big-sized trees, species-functional diversity, and BioVar. The PLS-SEMs showed that climate conditions decreased BioVar directly but increased indirectly via integrative promoting direct effects on soil conditions, species-functional diversity and big-sized trees. In contrast, soil conditions increased BioVar directly but decreased indirectly via integrative suppressing direct effects on species-functional diversity and big-sized trees. Interestingly, we found that the divergent indirect effects of climate and soil conditions on BioVar via big-sized trees mattered when the direct effect of big-sized trees on species-functional diversity was considered as compared to the reverse effect in PLS-SEMs. Also, the indirect positive effect of plot properties on BioVar was nearly equal to the direct effect because plot properties affected big-sized trees as similar as or lower than species-functional diversity. The positive effect of species-functional diversity on BioVar was mediated by the structural attributes of big-sized trees, indicating increased plant species co-existence. This study suggests that individual tree biomass variability (i.e., BioVar) should be considered for managing natural tropical forests in the context of the plant-plant interactions for species coexistence.

Climate warming may weaken stabilizing mechanisms in old forests

AbstractPlant competition may intensify with climate warming, but whether this will occur equally for conspecific and heterospecific competition remains unknown. Competitive shifts have the potential to instigate community change because the relative strengths of conspecific and heterospecific negative density dependence mediate the stabilizing mechanisms underpinning species coexistence. We examined a mature temperate forest to assess both direct and indirect climate effects at multiple scales: individual species, interspecies relationships, and community stability mechanisms. Our coupled approach (1) quantified tree mortality risk dependence on the interactive effects of competition, climatic water deficit, snowpack, and soil moisture for 28,913 trees over 8 years (3149 mortalities), then (2) used a climate‐projection ensemble to forecast changes in conspecific and heterospecific competition from 2020 to 2100. We predict that projected climate warming will destabilize the foundational forest community by increasing the strength of heterospecific competition at a greater rate and to a greater degree than conspecific competition for four of five abundant tree species, particularly on dry microsites. Modeling showed that these findings were most pronounced after the year 2038, at which point snowpacks were projected to be too small to ameliorate the effects of drought on competitive interactions. Our finding that heterospecific competition is more sensitive than conspecific competition to climate warming may indicate the impending loss of ecosystem functioning. We join the growing body of work showing a predominance of indirect drought effects, yet coupled climate models still fail to consider how changing community dynamics may impact forest cover and, in turn, disrupt forest–climate carbon feedbacks. Ecosystems sharing characteristics with our example forest—those with low species richness and therefore a limited biodiversity insurance effect—may be similarly vulnerable to climate‐mediated destabilization. In such communities, increased heterospecific competition among even a small number of species can more easily destabilize communities without recourse from redundant species. This study of an overlooked but vital mechanism of community change can be adapted by research in a range of ecosystems to improve the understanding of climate change consequences.

Distribution of soil available nutrients and their response to environmental factors based on path analysis model in arid and semi-arid area of northwest China

The study on the distribution of soil available nutrients and their response to the natural environment can provide valuable data and theoretical guidance for supporting human agricultural activities, especially in arid and semi-arid area where the ecological environment is extremely fragile. Based on the soil sampling and survey data set, this study established the path analysis model of SANs (soil available nutrients, including ammonium nitrogen (AN), available phosphorus (AP) and available potassium (AK)) with topography, climate and vegetation in order to explore how environmental factors interact to affect the content of SANs. Then, we combined Pearson correlation analysis and statistical analysis to explore the distribution of SANs under different environmental conditions and the response of vegetation growth to climate changes, in order to further reveal the availability of soil nutrients. The results showed that vegetation was the most important direct factor affecting AN and AP, and AK was the most sensitive to climate changes. The indirect effects of topography and climate on SANs were much greater than their direct effects. Elevation largely predicted the change of climate environment, and the regional climate directly controlled the growth of vegetation. These indirect effects strengthened the connection between topography as well as climate factors and SANs. It is worth noting that the response of vegetation to temperature and precipitation had time lag, which would have a certain impact on the content of SANs response to the environmental changes. This study is of great significance for improved understanding of soil nutrients supply and how ecosystems respond to soil nutrients availability in arid and semi-arid area.