Linking environmental variables with regional- scale variability in ecological structure and standing stock of carbon within UK kelp forests

Regional scale environmental variables complementing a Risk Model of Chagas Disease vectorial transmission

2018 IEEE Biennial Congress of Argentina (ARGENCON) ◽

10.1109/argencon.2018.8646185 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Ximena Porcasi ◽

Veronica Andreo ◽

Anabella Ferral ◽

Pilar Guimarey ◽

M. Soledad Santini ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Chagas Disease ◽

Environmental Variables ◽

Risk Model ◽

Regional Scale

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Combining management based indices with environmental parameters to explain regional variation in soil carbon under dryland cropping in South Australia

Soil Research ◽

10.1071/sr13156 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 51 (8) ◽

pp. 738 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Lynne M. Macdonald ◽

Tim Herrmann ◽

Jeffrey A. Baldock

Keyword(s):

Environmental Variables ◽

Explanatory Power ◽

Regional Scale ◽

South Australia ◽

Vapour Pressure Deficit ◽

Environmental Parameters ◽

Decomposition Processes ◽

Historical Management ◽

Broad Scale

Identifying drivers of variation in soil organic carbon (OC) at a regional scale is often hampered by a lack of historical management information. Focusing on red-brown-earth soils (Chromosol) under dryland agriculture in the Mid-North and Eyre Peninsula of South Australia, our aims were 2-fold: (i) to provide a baseline of soil OC stocks (0.3 m) and OC fractions (mid-infrared predictions of particulate, humus, and resistant OC in 0.1 m samples) in cropping and crop-pasture systems; and (ii) to evaluate whether the inclusion of management-based indices could assist in explaining regional-level variation in OC stocks and fractions. Soil OC stocks in both regions varied ~20 Mg ha–1, with higher OC stocks in the Mid-North (38 Mg ha–1) than the Eyre Peninsula (29.1 Mg ha–1). The humus OC fraction was the dominant fraction, while the particulate OC was the most variable. Environmental variables only partially explained soil OC variability, with vapour pressure deficit (VPD) offering the greatest potential and likely acting as an integrator of temperature and moisture on plant growth and decomposition processes. Differences between broad-scale cropping and crop–pasture systems were limited. In the Mid-North, variability in soil OC stocks and fractions was high, and could not be explained by environmental or management variables. Higher soil OC concentrations (0.1 m) in the Eyre Peninsula cropping than crop–pasture soils were largely accounted for in the particulate OC fraction and are therefore unlikely to represent a long-term stable OC pool. Use of the management data in index format added some explanatory power to the variability in OC stocks over the main environmental variables (VPD, slope) within the Eyre Peninsula cropping soils only. In the wider context, the management data were useful in interpreting differences between regional findings and highlighted difficulties in using uninformed, broad-scale management categories.

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Factors that influence the beta-diversity of spider communities in northwestern Argentinean Grasslands

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.1946 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 4 ◽

pp. e1946 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Sandra M. Rodriguez-Artigas ◽

Rodrigo Ballester ◽

Jose A. Corronca

Keyword(s):

Beta Diversity ◽

Environmental Variables ◽

Regional Scale ◽

Geographic Distance ◽

Species Replacement ◽

Community Similarity ◽

Dispersal Capacity ◽

Assembly Structure ◽

Dispersion Capacity ◽

Spider Communities

Beta-diversity, defined as spatial replacement in species composition, is crucial to the understanding of how local communities assemble. These changes can be driven by environmental or geographic factors (such as geographic distance), or a combination of the two. Spiders have been shown to be good indicators of environmental quality. Accordingly, spiders are used in this work as model taxa to establish whether there is a decrease in community similarity that corresponds to geographic distance in the grasslands of the Campos & Malezales ecoregion (Corrientes). Furthermore, the influence of climactic factors and local vegetation heterogeneity (environmental factors) on assemblage composition was evaluated. Finally, this study evaluated whether the differential dispersal capacity of spider families is a factor that influences their community structure at a regional scale. Spiders were collected with a G-Vac from vegetation in six grassland sites in the Campos & Malezales ecoregion that were separated by a minimum of 13 km. With this data, the impact of alpha-diversity and different environmental variables on the beta-diversity of spider communities was analysed. Likewise, the importance of species replacement and nesting on beta-diversity and their contribution to the regional diversity of spider families with different dispersion capacities was evaluated. The regional and site-specific inventories obtained were complete. The similarity between spider communities declined as the geographic distance between sites increased. Environmental variables also influenced community composition; stochastic events and abiotic forces were the principal intervening factors in assembly structure. The differential dispersal capacity of spider groups also influenced community structure at a regional scale. The regional beta-diversity, as well as species replacement, was greater in high and intermediate vagility spiders; while nesting was greater in spiders with low dispersion capacity. Geographic distance, among other factors (climate, and active and passive dispersion capacity), explains assembly structure and the decrease spider community similarity between geographically distant sites. Spiders with the highest dispersal capacity showed greater species replacement. This may be due to the discontinuity (both natural and anthropic) of the grasslands in this ecoregion, which limits the dispersal capacity of these spiders, and their close dependence on microhabitats. The dispersal capacity of the least vagile spiders is limited by geographic distance and biotic factors, such as competition, which could explain the nesting observed between their communities.

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Biodiversity and ecosystem functions depend on environmental conditions and resources rather than the geodiversity of a tropical biodiversity hotspot

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-03488-1 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Christine I. B. Wallis ◽

Yvonne C. Tiede ◽

Erwin Beck ◽

Katrin Böhning-Gaese ◽

Roland Brandl ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Species Diversity ◽

Environmental Conditions ◽

Environmental Variables ◽

Conservation Management ◽

Regional Scale ◽

Ecosystem Functions ◽

Soil Variables ◽

Tropical Biodiversity ◽

Tropical Mountain ◽

Tropical Mountain Rain Forest

AbstractBiodiversity and ecosystem functions are highly threatened by global change. It has been proposed that geodiversity can be used as an easy-to-measure surrogate of biodiversity to guide conservation management. However, so far, there is mixed evidence to what extent geodiversity can predict biodiversity and ecosystem functions at the regional scale relevant for conservation planning. Here, we analyse how geodiversity computed as a compound index is suited to predict the diversity of four taxa and associated ecosystem functions in a tropical mountain hotspot of biodiversity and compare the results with the predictive power of environmental conditions and resources (climate, habitat, soil). We show that combinations of these environmental variables better explain species diversity and ecosystem functions than a geodiversity index and identified climate variables as more important predictors than habitat and soil variables, although the best predictors differ between taxa and functions. We conclude that a compound geodiversity index cannot be used as a single surrogate predictor for species diversity and ecosystem functions in tropical mountain rain forest ecosystems and is thus little suited to facilitate conservation management at the regional scale. Instead, both the selection and the combination of environmental variables are essential to guide conservation efforts to safeguard biodiversity and ecosystem functions.

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Variation in Population Structure and Standing Stocks of Kelp Along Multiple Environmental Gradients and Implications for Ecosystem Services

Frontiers in Marine Science ◽

10.3389/fmars.2021.578629 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Author(s):

Hege Gundersen ◽

Eli Rinde ◽

Trine Bekkby ◽

Kasper Hancke ◽

Janne K. Gitmark ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Environmental Gradients ◽

Standing Stock ◽

Morphological Characteristics ◽

Wave Exposure ◽

Kelp Forests ◽

Laminaria Hyperborea ◽

Plant Weight ◽

Carbon Sequestration Potential ◽

Sequestration Potential

There is an increasing focus on ecosystem services provided by macroalgae worldwide, many which depend on its structural and morphological characteristics. Here we investigated how characteristics of canopy kelp plants of Laminaria hyperborea varies along the Norwegian part of the NE Atlantic. Ten characteristics related to size, allometry, density, biomass and epiphytes were analyzed along wide gradients of depth, wave exposure and latitude. The analyses were performed on a compiled dataset of 630 scuba samples from different research and monitoring projects along the Norwegian coast (58-71°N). The largest kelps, highest biomass, and highest biomass of epiphytic algae was found in Mid-Norway (63-65°N). While most size-related kelp characteristics were reduced with water depth, they were enlarged with wave exposure. The developed statistical models can be used to calculate site-specific values (and their variation) of the different characteristics at any location based on latitude, depth and wave exposure. These can further be used to map kelp derived ecosystem services. We predicted region-specific estimates of total plant weight, kelp density and kelp biomass. Moreover, the models were applied to estimate living biomass (56 million tonnes fresh weight), carbon standing stock (2.6 million tonnes carbon or 9.5 million tonnes CO2), and carbon sequestration potential (0.46 million tonnes per year) for the Norwegian kelp forests, that were estimated to cover about 5 355 km2. The site- and region-specific estimates are relevant to kelp forest management and for blue carbon accountings.

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Relative importance of environmental variables for the distribution of the invasive marsh species Spartina alterniflora across different spatial scales

Marine and Freshwater Research ◽

10.1071/mf17100 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 69 (5) ◽

pp. 790 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Huiyu Liu ◽

Haibo Gong ◽

Xiangzhen Qi ◽

Yufeng Li ◽

Zhenshan Lin

Keyword(s):

Organic Carbon ◽

Spartina Alterniflora ◽

Environmental Variables ◽

Spatial Scales ◽

Regional Scale ◽

Species Distribution Modelling ◽

Relative Importance ◽

Soil Drainage ◽

Variable Type ◽

Chinese Coast

The relative importance of environmental variables for Spartina alterniflora distribution was investigated across different spatial scales using maximum entropy modelling (MaxEnt), a species distribution modelling technique. The results showed that elevation was the most important predictor for species presence at each scale. Mean diurnal temperature range and isothermality were the second most important predictors at national and regional scales respectively. Soil drainage class, pH and organic carbon were important on the northern Chinese coast. The importance of climatic variable type was highest at global and national scales and declined as the scale decreased. The importance of soil variable type was lower at coarser scales, but varied greatly at finer scales. The relationships between environmental variables and species presence changed as the variables’ ranges changed across different scales. Climatic and soil variables were substantially affected by interactions among variables, which changed their relationships with species presence and relative importance. The modelled suitable area on the Chinese coast decreased from 54.16 to 12.64% limited by elevation from the global to national scale, and decreased to 8.04% limited by soil drainage, pH and organic carbon from the national to regional scale. The findings of the present study emphasise the importance of spatial scale for understanding relationships between environmental variables and the presence of S. alterniflora.

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Relationships between environmental variables and groundwater biodiversity at the regional scale

Freshwater Biology ◽

10.1111/j.1365-2427.2009.02184.x ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 54 (4) ◽

pp. 797-813 ◽

Cited By ~ 47

Author(s):

MARIE-JOSÉ DOLE-OLIVIER ◽

FLORIAN MALARD ◽

DOMINIQUE MARTIN ◽

TRISTAN LEFÉBURE ◽

JANINE GIBERT

Keyword(s):

Environmental Variables ◽

Regional Scale

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Assessing Protected Area's Carbon Stocks and Ecological Structure at Regional-Scale Using Gedi Lidar

SSRN Electronic Journal ◽

10.2139/ssrn.3978725 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Mengyu Liang ◽

Mariano Gonzalez-Roglich ◽

Patrick Roehrdanz ◽

Karyn Tabor ◽

Alex Zvoleff ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Regional Scale ◽

Carbon Stocks ◽

Ecological Structure

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Environmental differences are correlated with the distribution pattern of cytotypes in Veronica subsection Pentasepalae at a broad scale

Annals of Botany ◽

10.1093/aob/mcz182 ◽

2019 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Blanca M Rojas-Andrés ◽

Nélida Padilla-García ◽

Manuel de Pedro ◽

Noemí López-González ◽

Luis Delgado ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Distribution Pattern ◽

Environmental Variables ◽

Regional Scale ◽

Single Species ◽

Balkan Peninsula ◽

Polyploid Complex ◽

Ecological Differentiation ◽

Ploidy Levels ◽

Climatic Oscillations ◽

Broad Scale

Abstract Background and Aims The distribution of cytotypes and its potential correlation with environmental variables represent a cornerstone to understanding the origin and maintenance of polyploid lineages. Although many studies have addressed this question in single species at a regional scale, only a few have attempted to decipher this enigma in groups of closely related species at a broad intercontinental geographical scale. Here, we consider ca. 20 species of a diploid-polyploid complex (Veronica subsect. Pentasepalae) of recent and rapid diversification represented in Europe and North Africa to study the frequency and distribution of cytotypes and its relationship with environmental variables. Methods A total of 680 individuals (207 populations) were sampled. Ploidy levels were determined using flow cytometry. Ecological differentiation among cytotypes was tested using climatic and environmental variables related to temperature, precipitation, vegetation and biogeographical region, among others, and by performing univariate and multivariate (constrained PCoA) analyses. Key Results Four ploidy levels (2x, 4x, 6x, 8x) were found and genome downsizing was observed to occur within the group. Plants of different ploidy level are ecologically differentiated, with hexaploids and octoploids occurring in wetter and colder habitats with a higher seasonality than diploids. A south-to-north distribution pattern was found, with diploids occupying southern refugial areas and octoploids being more frequent in northern regions of Europe above the permafrost boundary. Conclusions The distribution of cytotypes can be explained by ecological differentiation, the geographical position of refuge areas during the Quaternary climatic oscillations, as well as by ice and permafrost retreat patterns. The Balkan Peninsula constitutes the most important contact zone between cytotypes. This work provides the first comprehensive ploidy screening within V. subsect. Pentasepalae at a broad scale and indicates that polyploidy and genome downsizing might have contributed to the colonization of new habitats in a recently diverged polyploid complex.

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