Multiple Ecosystem Research Articles

Paleometagenomics reveals environmental microbiome response to vegetation changes in northern Siberia over the millennia

AbstractThe study of environmental ancient DNA provides us with the unique opportunity to link environmental with ecosystem change over a millennial timescale. Paleorecords such as lake sediments contain genetic pools of past living organisms that are a valuable source of information to reconstruct how ecosystems were and how they changed in response to climate in the past. Here, we report on paleometagenomics of a sedimentary record in northern Siberia covering the past 6700 years. We integrated taxonomic with functional gene analysis, which enabled to shed light not only on community compositions but also on eco‐physiological adaptations and ecosystem functioning. We reconstructed the presence of an open boreal forest 6700 years ago that over time was gradually replaced by tundra. This vegetation change had major consequences on the environmental microbiome, primarily enriching bacterial and archaeal ammonia oxidizers (e.g., Nitrospira, Nitrosopumilus, and Ca. Nitrosocosmicus) in the tundra ecosystem. We identified a core microbiome conserved through time and largely consisting of heterotrophic bacteria of the Bacteroidetes phylum (e.g., Mucilaginibacter) harboring numerous functional genes for degradation of plant‐biomass and abiotic and biotic stress resistance. Archaea were also a key functional guild, involved in nitrogen and carbon cycling, not only methanogenesis but possibly also degradation of plant material via enzymes such as cellulases and amylases. Overall, the paleo‐perspective offered by our study can have a profound impact on modern climate change biology, by helping to explain and predict the ecological interplay among multiple ecosystem levels based on past experiences.

Constructing a multi-leveled ecological security pattern for improving ecosystem connectivity in the Asian water Tower region

Serious ecological crises have emerged in the Asian Water Tower region (17 countries centered on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau), making it a major priority and challenge for Asian and even global ecological conservation efforts. Constructing a multi-leveled ecological security pattern (ESP) based on the synergies among multiple ecosystem services (ESs) for this region can enhance the structural integrity, functional stability, and spatial connectivity of ecosystems. Therefore, based on a series of GIS spatial analysis methods, the minimum cumulative resistance model, and the analytic hierarchy process, this study measured the importance of five key ESs focused by Sustainable Development Goal 15 (including water conservation, carbon sequestration, sand fixation, soil conservation, and biodiversity conservation); and took fishnet scale as data calculation unit to construct a hierarchical ESP (including three levels of ecological sources and corridors) to provide evidence-based support for identifying and prioritizing synergistic conservation actions across scales (regions, nations, and basins). Overall, the ESP included a total of 534 sources and 656 corridors. Some key conservation obstacles in the region (e.g., edge effects and several human activities) and corresponding priority actions are provided, such as integrating the ESPs into long-term planning, enhancing the conservation and the restoration of both the extent and the quality of forests (e.g., increasing tree species richness), and increasing collaboration across scales for resource mobilization and synergistic land use.

A mega study of antibiotics contamination in Eastern aquatic ecosystems of China: occurrence, interphase transfer processes, ecotoxicological risks, and source modeling

Understanding the occurrence, sources, transfer mechanisms, fugacity, and ecotoxicological risks of antibiotics play a pivotal role in improving the sustainability and ecological health of freshwater ecosystems. Therefore, in order to determine the levels of antibiotics, water and sediment samples were collected from multiple Eastern freshwater ecosystems (EFEs) of China, including Luoma Lake (LML), Yuqiao Reservoir (YQR), Songhua Lake (SHL), Dahuofang Reservoir (DHR), and Xiaoxingkai Lake (XKL), and were analyzed using Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography/Tandem Mass Spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). EFEs regions are particularly interesting due to higher urban density, industrialization, and diverse land use in China. The findings revealed that a collective total of 15 antibiotics categorized into four families, which included sulfonamides (SAs), fluoroquinolones (FQs), tetracyclines (TCs), and macrolides (MLs), exhibited high detection frequencies, indicating widespread antibiotic contamination. The pollution levels in the water phase were in the order of LML > DHR > XKL > SHL > YQR. The sum concentration of individual antibiotics for each water body ranged from not detected (ND) to 57.48 ng/L (LML), ND to 12.25 ng/L (YQR), ND to 57.7 ng/L (SHL), ND to 40.50 ng/L (DHR), and ND to 26.30 ng/L (XKL) in the water phase. Similarly, in the sediment phase, the sum concentration of individual antibiotics ranged from ND to 15.35 ng/g, ND to 198.75 ng/g, ND to 1233.34 ng/g, ND to 388.44 ng/g, and ND to 862.19 ng/g, for LML, YQR, SHL, DHR, and XKL, respectively. Interphase fugacity (ffsw) and partition coefficient (Kd) indicated dominant resuspension of antibiotics from sediment to water, causing secondary pollution in EFEs. Two groups of antibiotics, namely MLs (erythromycin, azithromycin, and roxithromycin) and FQs (ofloxacin and enrofloxacin), showed a medium-high level of adsorption tendency on sediment. Source modeling (PMF5.0) identified wastewater treatment plants, sewage, hospitals, aquaculture, and agriculture as the major antibiotic pollution sources in EFEs, contributing between 6% and 80% to different aquatic bodies. Finally, the ecological risk posed by antibiotics ranged from medium to high in EFEs. This study offers valuable insights into the levels, transfer mechanisms, and risks associated with antibiotics in EFEs, enabling the formulation of large-scale policies for pollution control.

Scientometric profiling of reservoir fisheries research in India during 1998 – 2019, in comparison to the global scenario

Reservoirs are major inland water resources benefitting society through multiple ecosystem services, including fish production. However, the scope of the reservoirs in India is yet to be explored for its full fisheries potential and the scientific/management personnel are engaged in bridging the yield gap. This paper reviews the research progress made in Indian reservoir fisheries from 1998 to 2019 as a case and compares with global studies using bibliometric indicators extracted from the Web of Science (WoS) database. A total of 7607 papers published globally, mainly by the USA (2662 papers), Brazil (874 papers), and People’s Republic China (678 papers) were considered. India produced 162 publications (2.13% of total papers) during the period mainly authored by research institutes of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). The predominant research subjects both globally and in India were ‘Environmental Sciences, Ecology, Marine and Freshwater Biology, and Fisheries’, though the composition varies. The trend in the reservoir research output indicated a shift towards applied research such as spatial planning and cage culture which offers scope for the international scientific fraternity to collaborate with Indian counterparts to solve common researchable issues. Indian authors have collaborated with 29 countries on various researchable issues, and preferred Indian journals for publications. The reservoir research in India is mainly funded by public sources and the extent of work carried out on a particular geographical area depends on the nearness to laboratories and availability of the infrastructure. This study advocates that creation of research network at pan-India level in collaboration with international partners would benefit the reservoir fisheries research in the future. This analysis including the trend and dynamics of Indian reservoir fisheries portrayed as a case study would aid in prioritising research efforts for the development of the sector in India and elsewhere. Keywords: Bibliometric indicators, Collaboration, Reservoir fisheries, Scientometrics, Web of Science

Harnessing the socio-ecological benefits of agroforestry diversification in social forestry with functional and phylogenetic tools

Following severe forest loss in recent decades, Southeast Asian countries are increasingly employing social forestry as a means to ensure the sustainable development of their forest-dwelling communities. Given the potential of agroforestry to provide multiple ecosystem services, habitat for the maintenance of biodiversity, and the economic and social development of communities that cultivate them, many civil society organizations and NGOs involved are turning to agroforestry to achieve the goals of social forestry. However, implementing agroforesty per se may not be sufficient if agroforestry systems are not adequately diversified to meet management goals and limited tools exist that facilitate appropriate species selection in diversification. Here we review the potential of diversified agroforestry for social forestry and similar schemes, critically evaluating its advantages and challenges, before detailing two methodological tools, one based on functional traits and the other phylogeny, that may aid in generating recommendations for the effective diversification of agroforestry. Diversified agroforestry was found to have great potential as a sustainable, multifunctional land-use that is predominantly held back by the availability of resources, technical aid and tailored market access. Appropriate species selection may be a bottle-neck that can be alleviated by the tools presented. The first tool enables comparable species (in this case woody species) to be delineated into functionally distinct groups from functional trait data, which is illustrated using data from agroforests in Central Kalimantan, Borneo. The second produces co-cultivation recommendations based on phylogenetic distances between species. The functional groups identified and the recommendations based on phylogenetic distance both correspond to product types and specific uses within agroforestry, further incentivizing on-farm income diversification due to additional environmental benefits. When applied appropriately, the tools presented would allow for the cultivation of complementary species that may lead to improved habitat and ecosystem service provision without compromising yields. When coupled with appropriate market mechanisms, cultivating diversified agroforests may ensure the sustainable use of land under social forestry in Southeast Asia. Additionally, the two tools presented here have applicability in silviculture, restoration and other agroecosystems worldwide.

Core community drives phyllosphere bacterial diversity and function in multiple ecosystems

The phyllosphere provides a habitat for a large sum of microorganisms which are modulated by numerous biotic and abiotic factors. While it is logical that host lineage must have some effect on the phyllosphere habitat, it is unclear if phyllospheres harbor similar microbial core communities across multiple ecosystems at the continental-scale. Here we collected 287 phyllosphere bacterial communities from seven ecosystems (including paddy field, dryland, urban area, protected agricultural land, forest, wetland, and grassland) in east-China to identify the regional core community and to characterize the importance of such communities in maintaining phyllosphere bacterial community structure and function. Despite significantly different bacterial richness and structure, the seven studied ecosystems contained a similar regional core community of 29 OTUs that comprised 44.9 % of the total bacterial abundance. The regional core community was less affected by environmental variables and less connected in the co-occurrence network compared with other non-core OTUs (the whole minus regional core community). Furthermore, the regional core community also had a large proportion (>50 %) of a constrained set of nutrient metabolism related functional potentials and less functional redundancy. This study suggests there is a robust regional core phyllosphere community regardless of ecosystem or spatial and environmental heterogeneity, and supports the argument that core communities are pivotal in maintaining microbial community structure and function.

Promoting landscapes with a low zoonotic disease risk through forest restoration: The need for comprehensive guidelines

Abstract Zoonotic diseases represent 75% of emerging infectious diseases worldwide, and their emergence is mainly attributed to human‐driven changes in landscapes. Land use change, especially the conversion of natural areas to agricultural use, has the potential to impact hosts and vector dynamics, affecting pathogen transmission risk. While these links are becoming better understood, very few studies have investigated the opposite question—how native vegetation restoration affects zoonotic disease outbreaks. We reviewed the existing evidence linking native vegetation restoration with zoonotic transmission risk, identified knowledge gaps, and, by focusing on tropical areas, proposed forest restoration strategies that could help in limiting the spread of zoonotic diseases. We identified a large gap in information on the effects of native vegetation restoration on zoonotic diseases, especially within tropical regions. In addition, the few studies that exist do not consider environmental aspects that can affect the outcomes of restoration on disease risk, such as the land use history and landscape structural characteristics (as composition and configuration of native habitats). Our conceptual framework raises two important points: (1) the effects of forest restoration may depend on the context of the existing landscape, especially the percentage of native vegetation existing at the beginning of the restoration; and (2) these effects will also be dependent on the spatial arrangement of the restored area within the existing landscape. Furthermore, we propose important topics to be studied in the coming years to integrate zoonotic disease risk as a criterion in restoration planning. Synthesis and application. Our results contribute to a more comprehensive forest restoration planning, comprising multiple ecosystem services and resulting in healthier landscapes for both people and nature. Our framework could be integrated into the post‐2020 global biodiversity framework targets.

Modeling black carbon removal by city trees: Implications for urban forest planning

Urban forests provide multiple ecosystem services, including particulate matter (PM) air pollution removal. While previous studies have assessed relationships between atmospheric PM concentrations and urban land use and land cover, few studies have modeled PM removal by trees in relation to urban form (e.g., topography, land use, land cover, and proximity to emission sources). Particulate matter is a mixture of particles, including black carbon (BC), a byproduct of incomplete fossil fuel and biomass combustion with strong warming potential and linked to adverse health outcomes. We coupled empirical BC deposition data, collected from urban trees in Denton, Texas, with 226 urban form variables to generate land use regression models of annual and seasonal BC removal. Annual and seasonal models revealed emission source proxies, terrain exposure towards emission sources, and topographic exposure as influential to BC removal by trees. Regression equations were applied at one-meter resolution to estimate the BC removal potential of tree planting across the city. The resultant maps, which show regions of probable high and low BC removal by trees, can be used by arborists, urban foresters, landscape architects, and urban planners to inform urban forest design, planning, and decision-making.

Soil microbial diversity and network complexity sustain ecosystem multifunctionality following afforestation in a dry-hot valley savanna

Increasing aridity over the last six decades has resulted in severe degradation of ecosystem functioning and structure in the dry-hot valley savanna. It remains largely uncertain whether afforestation could recover the ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF) of the previous savanna in this region. Here, we discern key factors maintaining EMF and several specific ecosystem functions in a dry-hot valley in southwest China. We recorded plant traits, soil properties, enzymatic activity, and microbial community structure across 70 plots which included six plantations and one savanna. Afforestation could restore the EMF level of savanna by increasing individual ecosystem functions. However, not all plantations could attain the EMF level (5.29 on average) of the savanna and species identity was important for recovery in EMF and multiple ecosystem functions. Soil microbial diversity, but not plant species richness, drove improvements in EMF and multiple ecosystem functions following afforestation in the savanna. Soil fungal network complexity was the most important regulator of EMF (standardized total effect (STE) = -0.484, P < 0.01), plant biomass (STE = 0.34, P < 0.05) and soil organic carbon (SOC) stock (STE = -0.527, P < 0.01), and soil nutrients (STE = -0.7, P < 0.01), and soil fungal diversity was found to have an indirect effect on EMF (STE = 0.428, P < 0.01), SOC stock (STE = 0.355, P < 0.01), soil nutrients(STE = 0.315, P < 0.01), and decomposition (STE = 0.46, P < 0.01). Soil bacterial network complexity was related to carbon cycling and decomposition. Soil pH and soil water content played important roles in maintaining EMF and multiple ecosystem functions. Our study highlights that soil microbial diversity and network complexity are important predictors driving EMF and multiple ecosystem functions following afforestation in the dry-hot valley savanna.

Variable retention harvesting and climate variations influence over natural regeneration dynamics in Nothofagus pumilio forests of Southern Patagonia

Natural regeneration is a key process to sustain structure, function, and composition in harvested forests over time. Variable retention harvesting system is a strategy that maintains a high level of heterogeneity in managed stands for multiple ecosystem services, which provides different micro-environmental conditions for natural regeneration that respond differently according to climate variations. The objective was to determine the influence of remnant over story on the dynamics of Nothofagus pumilio natural regeneration in forests managed under variable retention in the medium term (0 to 16 years-after-harvesting, YAH) and its interaction with climate variables. Recruitment period, survival, seedling bank of pre- and post-harvesting periods, regeneration age and heights were determined at permanent plots under three different harvested forest conditions (1: AR = aggregated retention, 2: DRI = dispersed retention under the influence of AR, 3: DR = dispersed retention without influence of AR) and one primary forests (PF) as a control (4 treatments × 6 replicates × 3 areas × 16 YAH). Height growth rates were associated to combined occurrence of hemispheric modes (ENSO and SAM) that influence over climate variations. Results showed different regeneration dynamics according to remnant forest over story: (i) a recruitment stage occurred during the first 4 YAH; (ii) 67,000 and 33,000 individuals ha−1 for DRI and DR established respectively, with 15,000 individuals ha−1 higher than 130 cm height at 16 YAH; (iii) equal density proportion of pre- and post-harvesting saplings between treatments (DRI and DR); (iv) significant differences in regeneration heights among treatments from 3 to 16 YAH, which were higher at DRI and DR, reaching to 130 cm height at 16 ± 1 years of age. Saplings height growth reacted favourably to higher mean temperatures associated with positive SAM and ENSO. These results reflect a successful and resilient natural regeneration process for N. pumilio where variable retention system to obtain timber products is below the thresholds of no-return, reacting differently according to climatic drivers by the presence of different structures of remnant over story. This provides useful information for forest management practices in the medium term, where the maintenance of stand heterogeneity (e.g., different types of over story retention) ensures successful and resilient regeneration to recover the stand original structure within a context of climate change.

Divergent responses of ecosystem services to afforestation and grassland restoration in the Tibetan Plateau

Afforestation and grassland restoration have been proposed as important pathways for nature-based solutions. However, the effects of different ecological restoration projects on multiple ecosystem services are poorly understood, inhibiting our ability to maximize ecosystem services for further restoration. Here, we provide a comprehensive assessment of the impact of different ecological projects on ecosystem services (carbon storage, water conservation, soil retention), using a pairwise comparative study of samples from 90 project–control pairs in the Tibetan Plateau. Our results found that afforestation increased carbon storage (31.3%) and soil retention (37.6%), but the effects of grassland restoration on services were mixed, while the overall changes in water conservation were negligible. Prior land use/measures and the age of project implementation were key factors in regulating ecosystem service responses. For example, afforestation on bare land increased carbon storage and soil retention but indirectly decreased water conservation by influencing vegetation cover, while cropland afforestation increased water and soil retention. Ecosystem services increased with project age after afforestation. For grassland restoration, short-term recovery increased carbon storage but was not effective in improving water and soil retention. Climate and topography also directly or indirectly controlled the response of ecosystem services by affecting the changes in total nitrogen, total porosity, clay and fractional vegetation cover following the projects. This study improves our current understanding of the mechanisms underlying the responses of ecosystem services to afforestation and grassland restoration. Our results suggest that sustainable restoration management taking into account prior land use/measures, implementation age, climate, topography and other resources is critical for optimizing ecosystem services.

Competition between wild and honey bees: Floral resources as a common good providing multiple ecosystem services

It is increasingly acknowledged that bees are declining, notably as a result of global changes such as climate and land-use changes that affect the abundance and diversity of floral resources (i.e. pollen and nectar). Recently, a new concern has gained traction: the negative impact of honeybees on wild bees due to competition over floral resources. Some studies also suggest that there might be intraspecific competition among honeybees themselves. While these issues have mainly been considered by ecological scientists so far, this study aims to address their social dimensions as well. We suggest that viewing floral resources as common-pool resources could pave the way to new governance mechanisms for their management, based on collective action involving the multiple actors that use and modify these floral resources and the associated ecosystem services. Combining conceptual insights on common-pool resources, collective action and ecosystem services, we develop a conceptual model of human–bee–flower social-ecological systems. This model was applied in a case study in the Cévennes National Park, to analyse beekeepers’ representations, practices, rules-in-use and social interactions, allowing us to identify critical levers and obstacles for collective governance of floral resources. Our analysis reveals that although there are diverse and controversial perceptions of floral resources and competition among bees, the idea of viewing floral resources as a common-pool resource underlies a range of practices and rules-in-use. In addition, we show that beekeepers’ perceptions are changing due to the increasing vulnerability of floral resources. All in all, considering floral resources as a common-pool resource appears a relevant way to study the social interdependencies involved in their management. It is now crucial to develop new forms of governance of floral resources that will reconcile beekeeping and the conservation of wild bees, in coordination with farmers and other land managers.

Water Quality Index as a tool for assessing the water quality of the Laguna de Bay from 2020 to 2021

Laguna de Bay (LdB) is a primary freshwater resource that provides multiple ecosystem services. The Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) oversees the periodic monitoring of LdB’s water quality. Data collected by the LLDA can be used to assess LdB’s status using an easily understandable metric. In this study, Water Quality Index (WQI) was used to assess LdB’s quality based on seven parameters (fecal coliform, nitrate, inorganic phosphate, ammonia, biochemical oxygen demand, dissolved oxygen, and pH) measured and recorded by the LLDA from 2020 to 2021. Data from eight major monitoring stations were used to explore how the seven parameters link the stations as well as to compute the WQIs. The lowest WQIs (excellent quality) were obtained using the data representing the end of 2020 for all eight stations, while the highest WQIs (good - poor quality) were obtained for the data measured towards the end of 2021 for Stations I, II, and XVI. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) revealed that the stations had relatively similar environmental influences and overall water quality. Station groupings correspond with the computed WQIs. Stations that had unconventional placements in the biplots (Q3-Q4 of 2021 for Stations I and XVI and Q2 of 2021 for Station V, classified as outliers), correspond to the time points where the lowest water quality was noted. Overall, WQI values are concordant with the water and land use type of the stations. WQI is a useful tool for indicating water quality and is valuable in evaluating LdB and other freshwater resources.

Widespread long-term declines of littoral areas in protected and unprotected Czech fishponds

Fishponds play a key role in current pondscapes in many developed countries. They provide multiple ecosystem services affected by trade-offs mediated by different types of fishpond management. Many fishponds were impacted by the shift towards more intensive aquaculture and widespread eutrophication in the 20th century. These changes can undermine various ecosystem functions including the maintenance of aquatic and riparian biodiversity in the littoral areas, but their extent is not well documented. Here we use aerial photographs to investigate the changes of littoral areas of 46 protected and 20 unprotected fishponds in the Czech Republic between the years 1950 and 2019. Protected fishponds had initially larger littoral areas than the unprotected ones, and the difference persisted over time. However, littoral areas decreased markedly in 38 protected (mean area decrease by 22.5%) and all unprotected (mean area decrease by 16%) fishpond categories, especially during the second half of the 20th century. Within protected fishponds, the trend was unaffected by the reserve establishment year, fishpond area and conservation target. Our results suggests that legal protection did not prevent the initial catastrophic loss of littoral areas and facilitated at most minor recovery in the last two decades, with negative implications for long-term maintenance of aquatic diversity. We attribute the losses of fishpond littoral areas to high fish stocks and eutrophication resulting from additional feeding, pond manuring, and ongoing nutrient inputs from the pond catchments. We conclude that littoral areas of fishponds urgently need effective protection. This would require a paradigm shift towards less intensive fish stock management, more frequent summer drainage, and effective reduction of all nutrient inputs to increase the water quality. Such measures could help recover the littoral areas and the associated biota.

A temporal analysis and response to nitrate availability of 3D root system architecture in diverse pennycress (Thlaspi arvense L.) accessions.

Roots have a central role in plant resource capture and are the interface between the plant and the soil that affect multiple ecosystem processes. Field pennycress (Thlaspi arvense L.) is a diploid annual cover crop species that has potential utility for reducing soil erosion and nutrient losses; and has rich seeds (30-35% oil) amenable to biofuel production and as a protein animal feed. The objective of this research was to (1) precisely characterize root system architecture and development, (2) understand plastic responses of pennycress roots to nitrate nutrition, (3) and determine genotypic variance available in root development and nitrate plasticity. Using a root imaging and analysis pipeline, the 4D architecture of the pennycress root system was characterized under four nitrate regimes, ranging from zero to high nitrate concentrations. These measurements were taken at four time points (days 5, 9, 13, and 17 after sowing). Significant nitrate condition response and genotype interactions were identified for many root traits, with the greatest impact observed on lateral root traits. In trace nitrate conditions, a greater lateral root count, length, density, and a steeper lateral root angle was observed compared to high nitrate conditions. Additionally, genotype-by-nitrate condition interaction was observed for root width, width:depth ratio, mean lateral root length, and lateral root density. These findings illustrate root trait variance among pennycress accessions. These traits could serve as targets for breeding programs aimed at developing improved cover crops that are responsive to nitrate, leading to enhanced productivity, resilience, and ecosystem service.

Knowledge of Cover Crop Seed Traits and Treatments to Enhance Weed Suppression: A Narrative Review

Cover crops, as either a living plant or mulch, can suppress weeds by reducing weed germination, emergence and growth, either through direct competition for resources, allelopathy, or by providing a physical barrier to emergence. Farmers implementing conservation agriculture, organic farming, or agroecological principles are increasingly adopting cover crops as part of their farming strategy. However, cover crop adoption remains limited by poor and/or unstable establishment in dry conditions, the weediness of cover crop volunteers as subsequent cash crops, and seed costs. This study is the first to review the scientific literature on seed traits of cover crops to identify the key biotic and abiotic factors influencing germination and early establishment (density, biomass, cover). Knowledge about seed traits would be helpful in choosing suitable cover crop species and/or mixtures adapted to specific environments. Such information is crucial to improve cover crops’ establishment and growth and the provision of ecosystem services, while allowing farmers to save seeds and therefore money. We discuss how to improve cover crop establishment by seed priming and coating, and appropriate seed sowing patterns and depth. Here, three cover crop families, namely, Poaceae, Brassicaceae, and Fabaceae, were examined in terms of seed traits and response to environmental conditions. The review showed that seed traits related to germination are crucial as they affect the germination timing and establishment of the cover crop, and consequently soil coverage uniformity, factors that directly relate to their suppressive effect on weeds. Poaceae and Brassicaceae exhibit a higher germination percentage than Fabaceae under water deficit conditions. The seed dormancy of some Fabaceae species/cultivars limits their agricultural use as cover crops because the domestication of some wild ecotypes is not complete. Understanding the genetic and environmental regulation of seed dormancy is necessary. The appropriate selection of cover crop cultivars is crucial to improve cover crop establishment and provide multiple ecosystem services, including weed suppression, particularly in a climate change context.

MultiOptForest: An interactive multi-objective optimization tool for forest planning and scenario analysis

MultiOptForest is an open-source software designed to simplify building and solving multi-objective optimization problems for forest planning. It aims to find the optimal portfolio of management regimes that balance the objectives regarding multiple forest ecosystem services and biodiversity. The software flexibly imports data, allowing for the use of a variety of forest simulator outputs. The user provides preference information through a user-friendly graphical interface, where the range of possible values for each objective is provided. MultiOptForest solves the optimization problem producing a set of Pareto optimal solutions, i.e., solutions where none of the objectives can be improved without compromising others. MultiOptForest is versatile enough to design a Pareto optimal forest plan for a small holding to assess management and the trade-off between multiple policy objectives impacting the development of forests across regions and countries.

Benchmarking ecosystem performance using index numbers: A case study of the northeast large marine ecosystem

Ecosystem indicators provide important information to managers about the results of their efforts to provide goods and services from marine ecosystems, along with the environmental condition of the ecosystem. Often, multiple indicators are of interest, which represent a cross-section of goods and services provided through ecosystem based management (EBM). This can make evaluation of whether ecosystem managers are improving their stewardship of marine ecosystems challenging because multiple indicators may give conflicting signals about management success. In order to overcome this problem, we develop an environmental output and input quantity index that collapses multiple ecosystem indicators into two composite indices. Our indices are based on distance functions constructed using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), a linear programming technique. We construct an output quantity index with data on fishery revenue, right whale populations and recreational trips from the northwest Atlantic Large Marine Ecosystem (LME) for the years 1998–2019. This is combined with an environmental quantity index using data on zooplankton abundance, chlorophyll-A, and aggregate fishery biomass. Both indices use 1998 as a benchmark year. Results from the combined output quantity-environmental quantity index show that relative to 1998, ecosystem performance generally improved before declining after 2016. Environmental conditions substantially improved, but outputs from the system declined in recent years. Although outputs are greater than in 1998, the system should be able to produce more given the environmental quality. Reasons for lower outputs could be due to exogenous factors beyond the control of managers.

Agroecosystem multifunctionality of apple orchards in relation to agricultural management and landscape context

Managing agricultural landscapes to simultaneously provide multiple ecosystem services is crucial to meet both environmental and societal demands. This not only requires surveying and modeling many ecosystem services at the same time, but also quantifying the impact of agricultural management and the surrounding landscape on agroecosystem multifunctionality. In this study, we assessed the agroecosystem multifunctionality of 12 organic apple orchards and 12 orchards with integrated pest management (IPM) using field data on 23 indicators for agronomical, ecological and economic performance. Furthermore, the ecological performance indicators were also quantified in 12 semi-natural grasslands to obtain a benchmark for the overall impact of agricultural management on biodiversity and biodiversity-based ecosystem services. We found that organic farming at the field scale had relatively limited beneficial effects on ecological performance, yet it provided farmers with a similar income relative to IPM, despite lower yield levels. Overall orchard multifunctionality did not differ between organic and IPM orchards, regardless of hypothetical stakeholder interests, and a clear trade-off between biodiversity and yield was found within both orchard systems. Structural equation models revealed that in addition to orchard management, also within-orchard location, local biodiversity and characteristics of the surrounding landscape were directly and/or indirectly driving ecosystem service indicator levels. Surrounding semi-natural habitat and landscape complexity enhanced biodiversity and biodiversity-based ecosystem services, and the higher provisioning of several services in the semi-natural benchmark further emphasizes the importance of preserving semi-natural habitats within the agricultural landscape. Overall, our results indicate that reconciling ecological, agronomical and economic goals requires a vision that goes beyond the field-level agricultural management. Therefore, we argue that policy measures should not only address local farm management, but should also target actions towards other stakeholders such as land managers and agricultural markets.

Wildland-urban interface typologies prone to high severity fires in Spain

Due to complex interactions between climate and land use changes, large forest fires have increased in frequency and severity over the last decades, impacting dramatically on biodiversity and society. In southern European countries affected by demographic challenges, fire risk and danger play special relevance at the wildland-urban interfaces (WUIs), where decision-making and land management have strong socio-ecological implications. WUIs have been historically typified according to both fire occurrence probability and settlement vulnerability, but those classifications lack generality regarding fire regime components. We aim to develop an integrated and comprehensive scheme for identifying the WUI typologies most at risk to fire severity across large territories. We selected fourteen large wildfires (over than 500 ha) occurred in Spain (2016–2021) containing different WUI scenarios. First, based on a building cartography and a multi-temporal series of Sentinel-2 imagery, each WUI was delimited and spatially characterized according to building density and pre-fire fuel characteristics (type, amount, and structure). Afterwards, a decision tree regression model was applied to identify the most relevant pre-fire vegetation parameters driving burn severity. The combined effect of the selected pre-fire vegetation drivers and the building density patterns on fire severity was evaluated using linear mixed models. Finally, the WUI typologies most prone to high burn severity were recognized using Tukey post-hoc tests. Results indicated that building density, land cover class and vegetation cover fraction determined fire severity in areas close to human settlements. Specifically, isolated, scattered and sparsely clustered buildings enclosed in a high-cover shrub matrix were the WUI typologies most susceptible to high-severity fires. These findings contribute to the development of appropriate strategies to minimize the risk of severe fires in WUIs and avoid potential losses of multiple ecosystem services valuable for society.