Article
Soil Science
Jun Li, Chenhui Chang, Wanqin Yang
Summary: The study revealed significant variations in the interactions between invertebrates and microbes in decomposing litter with seasonal rainfall and tree species. Invertebrate exclusion had differential effects on bacterial and fungal biomass, as well as mass loss rate of litter. This highlights the complex relationships between invertebrates and microbes in the litter decomposition process.
APPLIED SOIL ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Caleb J. Robbins, Beth C. Norman, Halvor M. Halvorson, David W. P. Manning, Elliot Bastias, Cristiane Biasi, Allyn K. Dodd, Rebecca A. Eckert, Alice Gossiaux, Jeremy Jabiol, Andrew S. Mehring, Ada Pastor
Summary: The decomposition of coarse detritus in freshwater ecosystems has been well studied in terms of mass loss, but less is known about the temporal changes in the elemental composition of these materials during decomposition. This dataset synthesizes published measurements of detrital nutrients and stoichiometry to provide a basis for understanding the temporality of elemental content in freshwater detritus.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Mariella H. J. Becu, John S. Richardson
Summary: Terrestrial leaf litter plays a significant role in the metabolism and secondary production of freshwater ecosystems. This study compared the decomposition rates of red alder leaf litter in streams, ponds, and lakes within a single forest and found that decomposition rates were higher in streams than in ponds or lakes. The study also revealed that detritivores were more abundant in leaf packs from streams compared to those from lakes or ponds, suggesting the importance of specialized consumers in the decomposition process.
Article
Soil Science
Bjorn Berg, Tao Sun, Maj-Britt Johansson, Paul Sanborn, Xiangying Ni, Staffan Akerblom, Mikael Lonn
Summary: Analysis of data from a variety of pine species, Norway spruce, and birch showed that Norway spruce and lodgepole pine had higher Mg concentrations in their litter compared to Scots pine. The relationship between Mg concentration and accumulated mass loss followed a quadratic function, with temporary Mg limitation during decomposition. The net release rate of Mg was negatively linearly related to initial Mg concentration.
Review
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Sahadevan Seena, Christiane Baschien, Juliana Barros, Kandikere R. Sridhar, Manuel A. S. Graca, Heikki Mykra, Mirco Bundschuh
Summary: This article introduces the ecosystem services provided by aquatic hyphomycetes, categorizing them into regulating services, supporting services, provisioning services, and cultural services. The importance of increasing awareness and valuation of these services is emphasized, along with the need to map, quantify, and acknowledge the critical services offered by these fungi globally.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Mariana Kluge, Maxime Wauthy, Karina Engelbrecht Clemmensen, Christian Wurzbacher, Jeffrey A. Hawkes, Karolina Einarsdottir, Milla Rautio, Jan Stenlid, Sari Peura
Summary: Climate change-driven permafrost thaw has a significant impact on pan-Arctic regions, leading to the formation of thermokarst ponds. The degradation of permafrost has a strong negative impact on aquatic fungal diversity, likely due to interactions with the released carbon pool from ancient deposits. This is expected to have implications for carbon cycling and climate feedback loops in the rapidly warming Arctic.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Cameron Proctor, Cedelle Pereira, Tian Jin, Gloria Lim, Yuhong He
Summary: Efforts to monitor terrestrial decomposition dynamics at broad spatial scales are hampered by the lack of a cost-effective and scalable means to track the decomposition process. Recent advances in remote sensing have enabled the simulation of litter spectra throughout decomposition for grasses in general, yet unique decomposition pathways are hypothesized to create subtly different litter spectral signatures with unique ecosystem functional significance.
Article
Ecology
Pankaj Awasthi, Kiran Bargali, Surendra Singh Bargali, Kavita Khatri
Summary: This study investigated the biomass decomposition and nutrient release pattern of different plant parts of Coriaria nepalensis. The results showed that leaves decomposed the fastest and lateral roots decomposed the slowest. Nitrogen and phosphorus concentration increased during the decomposition cycle, while potassium concentration decreased. Rainfall pattern emerged as the most significant environmental driver. Leaves and reproductive parts were found to be important nutrient sources for C. nepalensis.
FRONTIERS IN FORESTS AND GLOBAL CHANGE
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Renshan Li, Xingyi Guo, Jianming Han, Qingpeng Yang, Weidong Zhang, Xin Yu, Xinkuan Han, Longchi Chen, Xin Guan, Zhangquan Zeng, Huixia Yang, Silong Wang
Summary: Stable residue size in leaf litter decomposition is influenced by initial nitrogen, lignin, and manganese concentrations, as well as the type of litter and environmental factors such as temperature, latitude, and precipitation. The initial traits of litter have a stronger explanatory ability for the variance in stable residue size compared to climatic factors. These findings contribute to a better understanding and prediction of global-scale soil organic layer accumulation.
Article
Agronomy
Javier Palomino, Pablo Garcia-Palacios, Gerlinde B. B. De Deyn, Laura Beatriz Martinez-Garcia, Sara Sanchez-Moreno, Ruben Milla
Summary: Plant domestication has led to changes in leaf litter quality, affecting decomposition and soil decomposer communities. Domesticated litters decompose faster and have different impacts on soil bacteria, fungi, and nematodes.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Georgia S. Seyfried, James W. Dalling, Wendy H. Yang
Summary: Research suggests that slower leaf litter decomposition rates in forests dominated by ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi compared to arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi may be more related to litter phosphorus content rather than the mycorrhizal type. The quality of litter and environmental conditions play a significant role in the manifestation of slower decomposition rates in ECM-dominated stands.
Article
Soil Science
Yong Zheng, Zhengkun Hu, Xu Pan, Xiaoyun Chen, Delphine Derrien, Feng Hu, Manqiang Liu, Stephan Hattenschwiler
Summary: The study reveals that a significant amount of carbon and nitrogen can be input into the soil from decomposing litters, with slowly decomposing litter favoring carbon and nitrogen storage in the soil.
SOIL BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Forestry
Shu Liao, Kai Yue, Xiangyin Ni, Fuzhong Wu
Summary: This study found that acid hydrolysable components in plant litter are released not only in the early stages of decomposition but also in the very late stages. The content of these components significantly increased at the snowmelt stages. Reduced snow cover increased their content and remaining level during the four years of decomposition by altering leaching, microbial biomass, and stoichiometry. Therefore, considering the effects of changing environmental factors on chemical partitioning is important in studying litter decomposition.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Gwenaelle Lashermes, Sylvie Recous, Gonzague Alavoine, Baldur Janz, Klaus Butterbach-Bahl, Maria Ernfors, Patricia Laville
Summary: This study found that specific components in residues were related to N2O emissions and the dynamics of ammonium and nitrate in the soil, with residues high in water-soluble components promoting higher N2O emissions.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Anahi Cantoran, Francois Maillard, Petr Baldrian, Peter G. Kennedy
Summary: This study synthesizes information on the composition of bacterial and fungal communities on decomposing fungal necromass and identifies a diverse but common core necrobiome. The composition of the core necrobiome is dynamic over time.
FEMS MICROBIOLOGY ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Francisco Carvalho, Claudia Pascoal, Fernanda Cassio, Amilcar Teixeira, Ronaldo Sousa
Summary: Invasive signal crayfish have negative impacts on taxonomic and functional biodiversity in freshwater ecosystems. Their presence leads to a decrease in invertebrate abundance, richness, and diversity, as well as changes in community structure. Additionally, crayfish presence increases leaf litter breakdown, but this effect decreases at sites with higher crayfish abundance.
FRESHWATER BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Encarnacion Fenoy, Arunava Pradhan, Claudia Pascoal, Juan Rubio-Rios, Daniela Batista, Francisco J. Moyano-Lopez, Fernanda Cassio, J. Jesus Casas
Summary: Evidence suggests a strong connection between biodiversity and ecosystem functions in aquatic fungal communities, which can be influenced by environmental variables and leaf-litter traits. Functional redundancy among fungi may counteract the effects of biodiversity changes on ecosystem functioning. Temperature and nutrients impact taxonomic and functional diversity of aquatic fungi in leaf-litter decomposition processes.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Diana Graca, Isabel Fernandes, Fernanda Cassio, Claudia Pascoal
Summary: This study finds that stressors related to global change affect the growth of aquatic hyphomycetes, and the response to nutrient enrichment and moisture varies among different strains. Intraspecific diversity becomes more important in response to increasing stress gradient.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Francisco Carvalho, Ronaldo Sousa, Fernanda Cassio, Claudia Pascoal
Summary: Climate change is expected to affect the impacts of invasive alien species. Under increased temperatures, competitive interactions may occur between invasive crayfish species, leading to different effects on leaf-litter breakdown and fine particulate organic matter production.
BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Daniela Batista, Arunava Pradhan, Claudia Pascoal, Fernanda Cassio
Summary: This study assessed the impacts of different sizes of plastic on decomposers in freshwater ecosystems, finding that plastics have both direct and indirect effects on microbial decomposers and higher trophic levels. The properties of plastic appear to influence its toxicity to organisms.
JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Biology
Sergi Sabater, Anna Freixa, Laura Jimenez, Julio Lopez-Doval, Giorgio Pace, Claudia Pascoal, Nuria Perujo, Dylan Craven, Juan David Gonzalez-Trujillo
Summary: Both gradual and extreme weather changes have complex ecological responses in river ecosystems, but the effects of trend or event changes on biodiversity and functioning are still unclear. A comprehensive analysis of 71 published studies showed that extreme changes in water flow and temperature significantly reduce species richness, while gradual changes have no such effect. Event effects, particularly those affecting hydrological dynamics, have twice the impact on biodiversity and primary productivity compared to gradual changes. Dryness associated with flow interruption has the largest impact on river biota and ecosystem functions among extreme weather events.
BIOLOGICAL REVIEWS
(2023)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Sofia Duarte, Pedro E. Vieira, Barbara R. Leite, Marcos A. L. Teixeira, Joao M. Neto, Filipe O. Costa
Summary: This study demonstrated the potential of DNA metabarcoding in improving macrozoobenthos monitoring in transitional ecosystems. The results showed that metabarcoding detected a higher number of species and phyla compared to the morphology-based approach. It also increased the efficiency and quality of assessments, allowing for faster and more robust identifications of all specimens in a sample.
ESTUARINE COASTAL AND SHELF SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Rebeca Arias-Real, Margarita Menendez, Isabel Munoz, Claudia Pascoal
Summary: Fungi in intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams have different strategies and adaptations to cope with drying, but these adaptations may have trade-offs that affect ecosystem functioning. This study found that drying duration and frequency were the most influential variables in determining fungal species differentiation. The research also identified four drying niche-based groups with different responses to drying. Furthermore, the study showed that species in the drying specialist group had a weak contribution to ecosystem processes, indicating trade-offs between drying resistance and growth energy.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Jose Pedro Ramiao, Claudia Carvalho-Santos, Rute Pinto, Claudia Pascoal
Summary: Climate change is expected to significantly reduce hydropower generation by decreasing reservoir flow-in. This study assessed the impact of climate change on a Portuguese river basin and found that the short-term reservoir flow-in may decrease by 55% and the long-term by 90%. The findings are important for policymakers and water managers in anticipating the impact of climate change on hydropower generation and planning for a renewable energy transition.
WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Ana S. Lavrador, Joao T. Fontes, Pedro E. Vieira, Filipe O. Costa, Sofia Duarte
Summary: The introduction of non-indigenous species is a major threat to European coastal ecosystems. DNA-based assessments are increasingly used for monitoring these species, but their accuracy depends on the reliability of DNA barcode reference libraries. This study aimed to compile and audit a DNA barcode reference library for marine invertebrate non-indigenous species in Europe.
Article
Environmental Sciences
J. Lourenco, C. Gutierrez-Canovas, F. Carvalho, F. Cassio, C. Pascoal, G. Pace
Summary: Freshwaters are extremely vulnerable due to various stressors caused by human activities and environmental changes. A comprehensive study was conducted in North Portugal, analyzing the effects of multiple stressors on macroinvertebrates. The study found that nutrient enrichment, dissolved oxygen depletion, and thermal stress were the most significant stressors, affecting both taxonomic and functional diversity.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
H. Salazar, P. M. Martins, Daniela Batista, K. P. Shejale, R. K. Sharma, R. Krishnapriya, S. Ferdov, G. Botelho, A. Fidalgo-Marijuan, Fernanda Cassio, S. Lanceros-Mendez
Summary: The application of nanomaterials in removing arsenic from water is one of the most promising remediation methods. This study evaluates the adsorption capacity of three active materials with different properties and confirms their suitability for arsenic water remediation applications.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE-WATER RESEARCH & TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
