Key Ecosystem Functions Research Articles

Benefit of weeds for crop-plant mycobiota in agroecosystems: Integrating ecological demonstration and management applicability

Agricultural intensification reduces not only biodiversity in agroecosystems but also key ecosystem functions such as soil fertility. By reintroducing biological diversity in fields, weeds may enhance soil biological fertility through their influence on crop microbiota. However, letting weeds grow in crop fields will depend on weed competitiveness, farmers’ perception and acceptance, and on crop management, which influences the occurrence and the abundance of weeds in the field. This study assessed the use of eight weed species to modify wheat plant root endospheric mycobiota, and the applicability of using these plants for mycobiota enrichment in the field. By combining controlled lab experiments and field studies, we demonstrated that weeds act either as a refuge for a high diversity of fungi or as a vector for transferring fungi to the crop, particularly symbionts. Weeds differed in their competitive effect on wheat growth and only three species significantly reduced wheat growth. Interviews with farmers’ revealed that weed species were better known and more appreciated in crop fields by organic farmers than by conventional farmers. Floristic surveys confirmed that both weed occurrence and cover were higher in organic fields than in conventional fields. A multicriteria analysis showed that Trifolium repens and V. persica had the highest potential for promoting wheat plant mycobiota. Among the weed species tested, these two are worth considering as auxiliaries to improve soil biological fertility in crop fields. Their use with the goal of selecting appropriate crop mycobiota should be relatively easier in organic farms where weeds are better accepted, whereas their use in conventional farms would require raising farmers’ awareness of the benefits of weeds for soil fertility.

Managing nutrition-biodiversity trade-offs on coral reefs

Coral reefs support an incredible abundance and diversity of fish species, with reef-associated fisheries providing important sources of income, food, and dietary micronutrients to millions of people across the tropics. However, the rapid degradation of the world's coral reefs and the decline in their biodiversity may limit their capacity to supply nutritious and affordable seafood while meeting conservation goals for sustainability. Here, we conduct a global-scale analysis of how the nutritional quality of reef fish assemblages (nutritional contribution to the recommended daily intake of calcium, iron, and zinc contained in an average 100g fish on the reef) relates to key environmental, socioeconomic, and ecological conditions, including two key metrics of fish biodiversity. Our global analysis of more than 1,600 tropical reefs reveals that fish trophic composition is a more important driver of micronutrient concentrations than socioeconomic and environmental conditions. Specifically, micronutrient density increases as the relative biomass of herbivores and detritivores increases at lower overall biomass or under high human pressure. This suggests that the provision of essential micronutrients can be maintained or even increase where fish biomass decreases, reinforcing the need for policies that ensure sustainable fishing, and that these micronutrients are retained locally for nutrition. Furthermore, we found a negative association between micronutrient density and two metrics of fish biodiversity, revealing an important nutrition-biodiversity trade-off. Protecting reefs with high levels of biodiversity maintains key ecosystem functions, whereas sustainable fisheries management in locations with high micronutrient density could sustain the essential supply of micronutrients to coastal human communities.

The impact of anthropogenic pressures on microbial diversity and river multifunctionality relationships on a global scale

Conserving biodiversity is crucial for maintaining essential ecosystem functions, as indicated by the positive relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. However, the impacts of declining biodiversity on ecosystem functions in response to mounting human pressures remain uncertain. This uncertainty arises from the complexity of trade-offs among human activities, climate change, river properties, and biodiversity, which have not been comprehensively addressed collectively. Here, we provide evidence that river biodiversity was significantly and positively associated with multifunctionality and contributed to key ecosystem functions such as microbially driven water purification, leaf litter decomposition and pathogen control. However, human pressure led to abrupt changes in microbial diversity and river multifunctionality relationships at a human pressure value of 0.5. In approximately 30 % (N = 58) of countries globally, the ratio of area above this threshold exceeded the global average (∼11 %), especially in Europe. Results show that human pressure affected ecosystem functions through direct effects and interactive effects. We provide more direct evidence that the nonadditive effects triggered by prevailing human pressure impact the multifunctionality of rivers globally. Under high levels of human stress, the beneficial effects of biodiversity on nutrient cycling, carbon storage, gross primary productivity, leaf litter decomposition, and pathogen control tend to diminish. Our findings highlight that considering interactions between human pressure and local abiotic and biotic factors is key for understanding the fate of river ecosystems under climate change and increasing human pressure.

Tree selection for a virtual urban park: Comparing aided and unaided decision-making to support public engagement in greenspace design

To meet urban resilience goals and the needs of growing populations, cities aim to develop multifunctional greenspaces and urban forests. Urban greening is seen to improve the quality of life for residents, contribute significantly to biodiversity conservation and socio-ecological resilience, and meet climate mitigation and adaptation goals. There is also a growing recognition of the importance of involving individuals and communities in the design and planning of greenspace in cities, particularly in the configuration of parks and in identifying the types of vegetation found there. In these contexts, it is increasingly common to engage the public with virtual 3D landscapes, with the ultimate goals of crowdsourcing preferences, knowledge, and patterns of use. There have been few studies to systematically examine how the public interacts with these virtual spaces, and their decision-making needs. Experts have a fluency with a broad range of ecosystem services that flow from urban greenspaces, as well as a familiarity with trees and other landscape elements. This is not the case for the public, who may instead rely on familiar and visually salient landscape attributes. This is in keeping with the concept of constructed preferences, where judgements are formed as they are elicited and are heavily influenced by available information. This study thus compares aided and unaided decision-making by the public in a virtual 3D urban park. Participants were invited to plant trees in park; some participants were provided with a brief description of a key ecosystem function of each tree (along with an illustration of that tree), other participants were only provided the illustration. Three key insights emerge from this research: (i) public tree preferences are sensitive to whether information is provided or withheld, (ii) in the absence of information, easy to evaluate characteristics (i.e., visually salient characteristics) played a large role in tree selection within the virtual urban parks, and (iii) for most participants, and consistent with other studies, aesthetics was the most important attribute guiding tree choice. These insights can support improved public engagement in landscape design and planning, particularly in crowdsourced and virtual settings.

Ecosystem functions and services in urban stormwater ponds: Co‐producing knowledge for better management

Abstract Urban stormwater management ponds (SWMPs) are widely employed for stormwater control, but knowledge about their contributions to urban ecosystem function and service delivery remains unclear. We organized a workshop that brought together researchers, managers and students to assess and discuss current information on SWMP ecosystem function and services, identify perceived knowledge gaps and prioritize research needs, to advance understanding and management of SWMPs in Ontario, Canada. Workshop participants identified habitat provisioning and regulation of water quality and quantity as key ecosystem functions in SWMPs. They also recognized carbon sequestration, flood prevention, water purification, educational potential, human health promotion and community engagement as important ecosystem services provided by SWMPs. Despite the availability of engineering information and practitioner knowledge, workshop participants suggested that information on the impacts of maintenance operations, biological condition, water quality, costs and benefits and impact on surrounding landscape are important gaps that hinder a modern approach to design and management of SWMPs for multiple co‐benefits. Participants suggested current gaps can be tackled with a combination of continuous water‐quality monitoring, field, laboratory and mesocosm experiments. They also suggested that future SWMP studies take advantage of existing community and governmental databases using meta‐analyses to summarize knowledge and provide future directions. Practical implication: By linking knowledge gaps to management needs, this practice insight provides a road map that can be used to advance management of SWMPs in Ontario and elsewhere.

Reshaping perspectives of deep-sea benthic function

Bioturbation is a key ecosystem function with a fundamental role in mediating major biogeochemical cycles. The intensity and depth of bioturbation is influenced by the taxa present, which is often a function of food supply. The deep sea is generally oligotrophic with sediments composed predominantly of small, shallow burrowing macrofauna (<10 cm). Human activity is increasingly introducing POC to the deep-sea, however, organic enrichment of the deep-sea, and the subsequent response of bioturbators is poorly understood. Here we present data on benthic function in deep-sea systems that have experienced organic enrichment. We show that organic enrichment enhances deep-sea bioturbation through larger, advanced successional taxa, and deeper bioturbation depths. Enhanced bioturbation in the deep-sea should confer positive ecosystem functions (nutrient recycling, microbiological activity, remineralization), but adherence to approaches and interpretations guided by the paradigm of small, shallow-burrowing infauna could significantly underestimate deep-sea benthic processes at a global scale.

How do short-term and long-term factors impact the aboveground biomass of grassland in Northern China?

The aboveground biomass (AGB) of grassland, a crucial indicator of productivity, is anticipated to widespread changes in key ecosystem attributes, functions and dynamics. Variations in grassland AGB have been extensively documented across various spatial and temporal scales. However, a precise method to disentangle long-term effects from short-term effects on grassland AGB and assess the attribution of explanatory factors for AGB change remains elusive. This study aimed to quantify the impact of key climatic factors, soil properties, and grazing intensity on grassland AGB changes, utilizing data spanning the 1980s and the 2000s in Northern China. The Co-regression model was explored to separate the long-term effects and short-term effects of grassland AGB, while the Generalized Linear Model (GLM) was utilized to analyze the contributions of key variables to AGB. This approach effectively avoids issues related to regression to the mean and mathematical coupling. The results revealed that the influence of climatic variables, soil texture and grazing intensity on grassland AGB changes could be decomposed into long-term, short-term and random effects. Long-term effects explained 73.6% of AGB variation, whereas short-term effect only accounted for 5.9% of AGB change. Additionally, the short-term effect was divided into direct and indirect effects, with the direct effect explaining 1.3% of AGB variation, and the indirect effect explained 4.6% of AGB dynamics. The relative importance of key variables in grassland AGB was assessed, identifying soil parameters and precipitation as the main driving factors in the study area. This study introduces a robust methodology to enhance model performance in distinguishing long-term and short-term effects on grassland AGB, contributing to the sustainable development of grassland ecology in similar regions.

Fungal identity mediates the impacts of multiple stressors on freshwater ecosystems

Predicting how multiple anthropogenic stressors affect natural ecosystems is a major challenge in ecology. Freshwater ecosystems are threatened worldwide by multiple co-occurring stressors, which can affect aquatic biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and human wellbeing. In stream ecosystems, aquatic fungi play a crucial role in global biogeochemical cycles and food web dynamics, therefore, assessing the functional consequences of fungal biodiversity loss under multiple stressors is crucial. Here, a microcosm approach was used to investigate the effects of multiple stressors (increased temperature and nutrients, drying, and biodiversity loss) on three ecosystem processes: organic matter decomposition, fungal reproduction, and fungal biomass accrual. Net effects of stressors were antagonistic for organic matter decomposition, but additive for fungal reproduction and biomass accrual. Net effects of biodiversity were mainly positive for all processes, even under stress, demonstrating that diversity assures the maintenance of ecosystem processes. Fungal species displayed distinct contributions to each ecosystem process. Furthermore, species with negligible contributions under control conditions changed their role under stress, either enhancing or impairing the communities' performance, emphasizing the importance of fungal species identity. Our study highlights that distinct fungal species have different sensitivities to environmental variability and have different influence on the overall performance of the community. Therefore, preserving high fungal diversity is crucial to maintain fungal species with key ecosystem functions within aquatic communities in face of environmental change.

Interactive effects of drought and deforestation on multitrophic communities and aquatic ecosystem functions in the Neotropics-a test using tank bromeliads.

Together with the intensification of dry seasons in Neotropical regions, increasing deforestation is expected to exacerbate species extinctions, something that could lead to dramatic shifts in multitrophic communities and ecosystem functions. Recent studies suggest that the effects of habitat loss are greater where precipitation has decreased. Yet, experimental studies of the pure and interactive effects of drought and deforestation at ecosystem level remain scarce. Here, we used rainshelters and transplantation from rainforest to open areas of natural microcosms (the aquatic ecosystem and microbial-faunal food web found within the rainwater-filled leaves of tank bromeliads) to emulate drought and deforestation in a full factorial experimental design. We analysed the pure and interactive effects of our treatments on functional community structure (including microorganisms, detritivore and predatory invertebrates), and on leaf litter decomposition in tank bromeliad ecosystems. Drought or deforestation alone had a moderate impact on biomass at the various trophic level, but did not eliminate species. However, their interaction synergistically reduced the biomass of all invertebrate functional groups and bacteria. Predators were the most impacted trophic group as they were totally eliminated, while detritivore biomass was reduced by about 95%. Fungal biomass was either unaffected or boosted by our treatments. Decomposition was essentially driven by microbial activity, and did not change across treatments involving deforestation and/or drought. Our results suggest that highly resistant microorganisms such as fungi (plus a few detritivores) maintain key ecosystem functions in the face of drought and habitat change. We conclude that habitat destruction compounds the problems of climate change, that the impacts of the two phenomena on food webs are mutually reinforcing, and that the stability of ecosystem functions depends on the resistance of a core group of organisms. Assuming that taking global action is more challenging than taking local-regional actions, policy-makers should be encouraged to implement environmental action plans that will halt habitat destruction, to dampen any detrimental interactive effect with the impacts of global climate change.

The Tree of Life eDNA metabarcoding reveals a similar taxonomic richness but dissimilar evolutionary lineages between seaports and marine reserves.

Coastal areas host a major part of marine biodiversity but are seriously threatened by ever-increasing human pressures. Transforming natural coastlines into urban seascapes through habitat artificialization may result in loss of biodiversity and key ecosystem functions. Yet, the extent to which seaports differ from nearby natural habitats and marine reserves across the whole Tree of Life is still unknown. This study aimed to assess the level of α and β-diversity between seaports and reserves, and whether these biodiversity patterns are conserved across taxa and evolutionary lineages. For that, we used environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding to survey six seaports on the French Mediterranean coast and four strictly no-take marine reserves nearby. By targeting four different groups-prokaryotes, eukaryotes, metazoans and fish-with appropriate markers, we provide a holistic view of biodiversity on contrasted habitats. In the absence of comprehensive reference databases, we used bioinformatic pipelines to gather similar sequences into molecular operational taxonomic units (MOTUs). In contrast to our expectations, we obtained no difference in MOTU richness (α-diversity) between habitats except for prokaryotes and threatened fishes with higher diversity in reserves than in seaports. However, we observed a marked dissimilarity (β-diversity) between seaports and reserves for all taxa. Surprisingly, this biodiversity signature of seaports was preserved across the Tree of Life, up to the order. This result reveals that seaports and nearby marine reserves share few taxa and evolutionary lineages along urbanized coasts and suggests major differences in terms of ecosystem functioning between both habitats.

Soil cover shapes organic matter pools and microbial communities in soils of maritime Antarctica

Bryophytes and biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are the two major biological soil cover types of maritime Antarctica and play a crucial role for key ecosystem functions in the barely vegetated and little developed soils. Besides their profound impacts on nutrient cycling, they also provide habitats and activity hotspots for unique soil microbial communities. Yet, the effects of biological soil cover on the physical and chemical soil environment and belowground microbial communities have not been comprehensively studied in this fragile ecosystem.We here address the research question how biocrusts and mosses shape the quantity and structure of the soil organic matter pool, and the activity and composition of subjacent microbial communities. Towards this end, we sampled soils under two common, but physiologically distinct moss species, Polytrichastrum alpinum and Sanionia unicinata, and adjacent biological soil crusts at two sites on Deception Island, South Shetland Islands.We found that biocrusts and mosses differentially influenced central soil properties and subjacent soil microbial communities. All major SOM compound groups (carbohydrates, aromatics and phenols, lipids, N-containing polymers) as well as microbial biomass were more abundant in soil under biocrusts. However, microbial mass-specific growth rates were higher in soil under mosses. Our results showed moss-species-specific effects in addition to effects of soil cover type, as P. alpinum affected the activity and structure of soil microbial communities and the composition of soil organic matter stronger than S. unicinata.Our study highlights the interconnectedness between soil cover and soil biogeochemistry, which is crucial for deepening our understanding of belowground functioning in Antarctic soils. This linkage is of particular importance in the context of ongoing rapid climate change on the Antarctic Peninsula, as future shifts in the distribution and abundance of soil cover may substantially impact multiple soil processes in this vulnerable ecosystem.

Survival and rapid resuscitation permit limited productivity in desert microbial communities

Microbial activity in drylands tends to be confined to rare and short periods of rain. Rapid growth should be key to the maintenance of ecosystem processes in such narrow activity windows, if desiccation and rehydration cause widespread cell death due to osmotic stress. Here, simulating rain with 2H2O followed by single-cell NanoSIMS, we show that biocrust microbial communities in the Negev Desert are characterized by limited productivity, with median replication times of 6 to 19 days and restricted number of days allowing growth. Genome-resolved metatranscriptomics reveals that nearly all microbial populations resuscitate within minutes after simulated rain, independent of taxonomy, and invest their activity into repair and energy generation. Together, our data reveal a community that makes optimal use of short activity phases by fast and universal resuscitation enabling the maintenance of key ecosystem functions. We conclude that desert biocrust communities are highly adapted to surviving rapid changes in soil moisture and solute concentrations, resulting in high persistence that balances limited productivity.

Global meta-analysis reveals overall higher nocturnal than diurnal activity in insect communities

Insects sustain key ecosystem functions, but how their activity varies across the day–night cycle and the underlying drivers are poorly understood. Although entomologists generally expect that more insects are active at night, this notion has not been tested with empirical data at the global scale. Here, we assemble 331 quantitative comparisons of the abundances of insects between day and night periods from 78 studies worldwide and use multi-level meta-analytical models to show that insect activity is on average 31.4% (CI: −6.3%–84.3%) higher at night than in the day. We reveal diel preferences of major insect taxa, and observe higher nocturnal activity in aquatic taxa than in terrestrial ones, as well as in warmer environments. In a separate analysis of the small subset of studies quantifying diel patterns in taxonomic richness (31 comparisons from 13 studies), we detect preliminary evidence of higher nocturnal richness in tropical than temperate communities. The higher overall (but variable) nocturnal activity in insect communities underscores the need to address threats such as light pollution and climate warming that may disproportionately impact nocturnal insects.

Shade tree trait diversity and functions in agroforestry systems: A review of which traits matter

Abstract Shade trees in agroforestry systems confer ecosystem services, such as enhanced soil fertility from diverse litter inputs, microclimate regulation via shade, and disease mitigation through trophic and abiotic interactions. With this thriving role of agroforestry in sustainable agriculture, particularly for tree crops, systematic and reliable methods to select shade trees for specific agroecosystem outcomes are crucial. Plant functional traits offer a framework to describe, select and manage shade trees. Over the last decade, shade tree leaf functional traits and whole plant traits have been assessed in agroforestry systems. Yet, we lack amalgamated information on (i) what we know about shade tree trait relationships with functions to achieve desired agroecosystem outcomes, (ii) how decades of shade tree selection by farmers impacts agroforests inter‐ and intraspecific trait diversity, and (iii) which shade tree traits should be considered for achieving farmer priorities. We consolidate literature on Coffea arabica (coffee) and Theobroma cacao (cocoa) agroforestry systems to summarize the role of shade tree functional traits in three key ecosystem functions: soil fertility, microclimate modification and crop productivity. We compile global and regional datasets on tree functional trait diversity to show the functional space of agroforestry tree species compared with the overall functional space observed in plants. Despite, or maybe because of, high shade tree diversity, shade tree trait characterization remains coarse and commonly measured at the community scale in the literature. Based on published trait data, we show that farmers adjust the functional composition of shade trees to increase the recycling of soil nutrients (high leaf nitrogen), the production of wood (skewing towards lower wood densities) and the production of fruits (tendency towards high seed size). Common shade trees in coffee and cocoa systems fall in the mid‐range of leaf acquisitive to conservative strategies, providing evidence that expanding shade tree portfolios can improve, or even accelerate, functions. Synthesis and applications: Based on the agroforestry literature and on trait‐environment relationships, we propose a matrix of shade tree traits that influence desirable agroecosystem outcomes for farmers, which can guide fine‐scale coordination of trait expression and agroforestry functions.

Mangrove Rehabilitation and Brachyuran Crab Biodiversity in Ranong, Thailand

Mangroves rehabilitated after deforestation by commercial exploitation must be monitored to confirm that key ecosystem functions are being restored. Brachyuran crabs are conspicuous mangrove macrofauna and were selected as potential indicators of ecosystem recovery. A deforested former mangrove charcoal concession area in Ranong was rehabilitated by planting Rhizophora (1994), Bruguiera and Ceriops (1995) seedlings in single-species blocks. A second area, deforested and heavily degraded by tin mining, was rehabilitated with R. mucronata in 1985. Crabs at these sites were compared with those in a mixed-species conservation forest. Timed collections were made in 1999, 2008 and 2019 to compare crab diversity and relative abundance between sites and years. Thirty-three brachyuran crab species were recorded. Fiddler crabs (Austruca triangularis, Tubuca rosea) and the signal crab, Metaplax elegans, were most abundant, followed by sesarmid crabs (15 species). Species composition differed significantly between sites but not between the four planted tree species blocks. We propose Metaplax elegans as an indicator of ecological development in low-lying/newly formed sediments; fiddler crabs as equivalent indicators in young mangrove plantations/open forest habitats; and a diverse sesarmid community to indicate ecological functioning in older plantations/dense forests.

Cattle grazing management affects soil microbial diversity and community network complexity in the Northern Great Plains

Soil microbial communities play a vital role in the biogeochemical cycling and ecological functioning of grassland, but may be affected by common land uses such as cattle grazing. Changes in microbial diversity and network complexity can affect key ecosystem functions such as nutrient cycling. However, it is not well known how microbial diversity and network complexity respond to grazing in the Northern Great Plains. Consequently, it is important to understand whether variation in grazing management alters the diversity and complexity of grassland microbial communities. We compared the effect of intensive adaptive multi-paddock (AMP) grazing and conventional grazing practices on soil microbial communities using 16S/ITS amplicon sequencing. Samples were collected from grasslands in 13 AMP ranches and 13 neighboring, conventional ranches located across the Canadian prairies. We found that AMP grazing increased fungal diversity and evenness, and led to more complex microbial associations. Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, Gemmatimonadetes, and Bacteroidetes were keystone taxa associated with AMP grazing, while Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria, Proteobacteria, and Armatimonadetes were keystone taxa under conventional grazing. Besides overall grazing treatment effects, specific grazing metrics like cattle stocking rate and rest-to-grazing ratio affected microbial richness and diversity. Bacterial and fungal richness increased with elevated stocking rate, and fungal richness and diversity increased directly with the rest-to-grazing ratio. These results suggest that AMP grazing may improve ecosystem by enhancing fungal diversity and increasing microbial network complexity and connectivity.

Effects of seagrass (Cymodocea nodosa) restoration on nematode biodiversity

Seagrass meadows are hot spots of biodiversity and play a key role in the provisioning of ecosystem goods and services but are often subjected to a regression due to a combination of multiple anthropogenic and climate-induced impacts. The ecological restoration of these habitat-forming species is a priority to reverse biodiversity loss and for the recovery of key ecosystem functions. Here we investigated the effects of seagrass (Cymodocea nodosa) restoration action on benthic biodiversity recovery assessed by a time-series analysis carried out for one year. We used nematode assemblages, the most widespread metazoan on global sediments, as a proxy of benthic biodiversity and compared the species richness, expected species number (ES51) and composition in donor and in restored seagrasses and in the adjacent unvegetated sediments. One year after the intervention, nematode biodiversity in restored seagrasses was more similar to that of the donor site than in unvegetated sediments, suggesting a progressive recovery. Overall, the nematode biodiversity of the restored seagrasses resulted in an intermediate level between unvegetated and pristine seagrass meadows, providing evidence that restoration intervention contributed to biodiversity recovery. Pristine and restored seagrass meadows hosted a high number of exclusive species, which resulted in an increase in the overall biodiversity in the investigated location. Our results indicate that the restoration of seagrass meadows has positive effects on benthic biodiversity and contributes to enhance the local biodiversity.

Development of a new apparatus to partition ant body size reveals their respective functional role within ant communities

The rapid decline of biodiversity is directly threatening the maintenance of important ecosystem processes. Yet, biodiversity loss is not homogeneous, with species presenting specific traits being more prone to extinction. Ultimately this can lead to potential disruption of key ecosystem functions. Ants are ubiquitous and abundant in all terrestrial ecosystems. They provide a plethora of ecosystem functions and thus are well suited for studies assessing ecological processes. Within ant communities, body size of different species can vary by several orders of magnitude reflecting different ecologies. To this point, however, our understanding of the efficiency of ecological processes by different classes in function of their body size remains largely unexplored under field conditions. This is in part due to a lack of adequate methodology for an easy and accurate assessment of their respective contributions. Here, we describe a novel approach that separates ants into three size classes based on two parameters: height of the access point and size of the entrance; and evaluated the success of this method by assessing morphometric parameters of the size classes post-filtering and quantifying the scavenging efficiency as a key ecological process. This method successfully segregated individuals based on their body size, with the large-size treatment allowing access to ants 3 times larger than ants on the medium-size treatment and 5 times larger than those on the small-size treatment. The large-size treatment was the most efficient, removing 7 times more bait per hour than the medium-size treatment and 40 times more than the small-size treatment. This approach provides a new, adjustable method for differential exclusion in the field, highlighting the role that different size classes play within a community. This opens new opportunities to study the relative role of specific functional traits, and the importance of ecological interactions in shaping ecosystem functions.

Trade-offs and synergies among ecosystem services in Inland River Basins under the influence of ecological water transfer project: A case study on the Tarim River basin

Ecosystem services (ESs) are the largest benefits that humans derive directly or indirectly from ecosystems. Inland river basins in arid zones have a variety of key ecosystem functions. At present, inland river basins are experiencing a decline in ESs, such as shrinking lakes, land degradation, and rapid biodiversity loss. In order to address these problems, several ecological restoration projects (ERPs) have been implemented. Therefore, this study selected the Tarim River Basin (TRB), which is highly affected by the ecological water transfer project (EWTP), as the study area, and quantified the differences in ESs caused by the implementation of the EWTP through different scenarios of simulation, and discussed the impact of the EWTP in changing the ESs of the basin. Compared to the pre-EWTP period (1990–1999), the major ESs within the basin showed varying degrees of improvement. Water yield increased by 18 %, carbon sequestration increased by 2 %, wind prevention and sand fixation increased by 13 %, habitat quality increased by 8 %, and food production increased by 35 %. EWTP has shown positive impacts by directly or indirectly affecting runoff, vegetation, evapotranspiration, and landscape patterns, which in turn improves the comprehensive benefits of ESs in the TRB. The implementation of EWTP plays an important role in restoring ESs in inland river basins, and this study provides a key reference for the restoration of ESs in inland river basins in arid zones.

Mapping trade-offs among key ecosystem functions in tidal marsh to inform spatial management policy for exotic Spartina alterniflora

Invasive Spartina alterniflora has become a global management challenge in coastal wetlands. China has decided to eradicate it completely, but the high costs and its provision of beneficial ecosystem functions (EF, in the form of blue carbon and coastal protection) have raised concerns about its removal. Here, using the Yangtze Estuary as a case study, we explore a reasonable pathway of S. alterniflora management that balanced control of invasive species and EF. We simulated the spatial patterns of two key EF – blue carbon storage and wave attenuation – and identified appropriate zones for eradicating S. alterniflora based on their trade-offs. We observed contrasting patterns along the land-sea gradient for S. alterniflora community, with a decrease in blue carbon storage and an increase in wave attenuation. Notably, pioneer S. alterniflora near the foreshore displayed a high cluster of blue carbon storage (63.61 ± 7.33 Mg C ha−1) and dissipated nearly 70% of wave energy by a width of 163 m. The trade-offs between the two EF indicated that the eradication project should be implemented along the seawall rather than the foreshore. Even in the scenario of prioritized shore defense with the largest eradication zone, S. alterniflora still stored 43.1% more carbon (10.67 Gg C) compared to complete eradication and dissipated over 70% of wave energy in extreme events. Our study innovatively integrates eradication and reservation in S. alterniflora management, providing a sustainable and flexible spatial strategy that meets the needs of stakeholders.