Article
Forestry
Steven A. Kannenberg, Avery W. Driscoll, Danielle Malesky, William R. L. Anderegg
Summary: The American Southwest has been facing a long-term 'megadrought' for nearly two decades, marked by severe 'global change type droughts' in recent years. The drought-sensitive pinon pine has suffered widespread mortality, while the historically drought-tolerant Juniperus spp. also experienced significant dieback in 2018 due to drought-induced hydraulic damage. Biotic agents were not found to be the primary drivers of this dieback, highlighting the acute effects of drought in the region.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Ecology
J. Morgan Varner, Jeffrey M. Kane, Jesse K. Kreye, Timothy M. Shearman
Summary: By studying the flammability of 50 important tree species in southeastern forest ecosystems, the most flammable and least flammable species in different ecosystems were identified, filling crucial gaps in understanding southeastern fire adaptations.
FRONTIERS IN FORESTS AND GLOBAL CHANGE
(2021)
Article
Geography, Physical
Qiaoyun Xie, Jamie Cleverly, Caitlin E. Moore, Yanling Ding, Christopher C. Hall, Xuanlong Ma, Luke A. Brown, Cong Wang, Jason Beringer, Suzanne M. Prober, Craig Macfarlane, Wayne S. Meyer, Gaofei Yin, Alfredo Huete
Summary: This study used a modified algorithm to extract LSP metrics from MODIS data in arid and semi-arid regions of Australia, improving the spatial extent of LSP retrievals. The results revealed that vegetation growth in these ecosystems is highly irregular and can occur at any time, with a correlation to annual precipitation.
ISPRS JOURNAL OF PHOTOGRAMMETRY AND REMOTE SENSING
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Zhenpeng Ge
Summary: The hyperuniformity of vegetation Turing patterns is related to water-use efficiency. Near the tipping point, Turing-type ecosystems exhibit significant critical slowing down, indicating non-negligible transient dynamical behavior. Reduced rainfall affects both the resilience of the ecosystem's steady state and the rate of spatial optimization of water-use efficiency in long transient regimes. The degree of hyperuniformity can be used to assess the spatial resilience of ecosystems after disturbances.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Jerry Arana Maestre, Carlos Carrasco Badajoz, Pastor Coayla Penaloza, Carolina Rayme Chalco, Marco Sanchez Pena
Summary: Peru, a megadiverse country, displays a great diversity of ecosystems due to its tropical location, marine currents, and complex relief. Arid and semi-arid ecosystems cover a significant portion of the Peruvian territory and are home to a variety of aquatic macroinvertebrates. Research on aquatic macroinvertebrates in Peru has increased in recent years, focusing on bioindication, biodiversity, taxonomy, and distribution, with rivers being the most intensively studied ecosystems. Further studies are recommended to explore the taxonomic and ecological aspects of macroinvertebrates, especially in the eastern slope, and to calibrate biotic indices for main hydrographic basins.
FRONTIERS IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Rose Adelizzi, E. A. O'Brien, Mikaela Hoellrich, Jennifer A. Rudgers, Michael Mann, Vanessa Moreira Camara Fernandes, Anthony Darrouzet-Nardi, Eva Stricker
Summary: Interactions between plants and soil microbes play a crucial role in plant nutrient transformations. Disturbances to soils can disrupt soil microbes and their associated processes, leading to a decrease in plant and microbial productivity. Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) in drylands are important for carbon and nutrient dynamics. Comparisons across ecosystems are needed to understand how soil disturbances alter microbial communities and their contributions to nitrogen pools and transformations. Disturbing cyanobacteria-dominated biocrusts in the Chihuahuan Desert grassland and shrubland ecosystems for 5 years showed that disturbance decreased cyanobacteria and nitrogen-fixing bacteria abundance but increased soil fungal abundance. The responses of root-associated fungi differed between plant species and ecosystem types. The disturbance had different effects on nitrogen availability and leaf nitrogen content, suggesting long-term disruption of plant nutrient content. The shrubland ecosystem may be more resilient to disturbance compared to the grassland. These findings highlight the importance of understanding the impact of soil microbial community disturbances on nitrogen pools and transformations.
Article
Forestry
Mathieu Santonja, Susana Pereira, Thierry Gauquelin, Elodie Quer, Guillaume Simioni, Jean-Marc Limousin, Jean-Marc Ourcival, Ilja M. Reiter, Catherine Fernandez, Virginie Baldy
Summary: Forest ecosystems in the Mediterranean region are important carbon reservoirs, but their contribution to global carbon and nitrogen stocks is often overlooked and poorly quantified. This study quantified the soil carbon and nitrogen stocks in Mediterranean forests and examined how an experimental reduction in precipitation affected these stocks and litter decomposition efficiency. The results showed that the shallowness and stoniness of these forests limited the carbon and nitrogen stocks. Further investigation is needed to understand the impacts of climate change on soil carbon stocks in these forests.
Article
Forestry
Matthew J. Reilly, Steven P. Norman, Joseph J. O'Brien, E. Louise Loudermilk
Summary: In 2016, there was a regional outbreak of large wildfires in the southern Appalachian Mountains. These fires were larger and more widespread than previous wildfires in the past three decades. The increase in fire activity can be attributed to land-use changes, loss of native species, and fire exclusion. These wildfires have significant ecological and management implications for the region.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Review
Microbiology
Jean-Baptiste Ramond, Karen Jordaan, Beatriz Diez, Sandra M. Heinzelmann, Don A. Cowan
Summary: Arid ecosystems cover a significant portion of the Earth's terrestrial surface and contribute to the global nitrogen pool. These ecosystems are characterized by extreme conditions that limit the presence of macrofauna and flora and hinder plant growth and productivity. Microbes play a crucial role in the nitrogen cycling processes that drive primary production and nutrient biogeochemical cycling in these ecosystems. This survey provides insights into the current understanding of microbial-mediated nitrogen processes in different edaphic and refuge niches in arid environments.
MICROBIOLOGY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY REVIEWS
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Sai S. Nudurupati, Erkan Istanbulluoglu, Gregory E. Tucker, Nicole M. Gasparini, Daniel E. J. Hobley, Eric W. H. Hutton, Katherine R. Barnhart, Jordan M. Adams
Summary: Projecting the response of arid and semi-arid ecosystems to global change involves integrating various analytical and numerical models. This study used the Landlab earth surface modeling toolkit to investigate the controls of exogenous drivers and endogenous grass-fire feedback mechanisms in New Mexico. The simulations showed that shrubs occupy cooler slopes in dry conditions and shift to warmer slopes as regional moisture increases. The expansion of woody plant encroachment is predicted to occur in three phases, with the second phase requiring the removal of positive grass-fire feedback by grazing or fire suppression.
WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Forestry
Heidi Asbjornsen, Cameron D. McIntire, Matthew A. Vadeboncoeur, Katie A. Jennings, Adam P. Coble, Z. Carter Berry
Summary: The study found that white pine and oak trees have different sensitivity thresholds to drought, with oak trees adapting well to moderate drought but being highly susceptible to extreme drought, while white pine performs better under extreme drought conditions.
Article
Ecology
M. Lisa Floyd, William H. Romme, David D. Hanna
Summary: Pinon-juniper woodlands in the southwestern United States are facing threats from changing climate and more frequent fires. A study in Mesa Verde National Park found that two types of woodlands, sprouting woodlands and obligate seeding woodlands, showed different levels of resilience and vulnerability to invasion by nonnative plant species after recent fires.
NATURAL AREAS JOURNAL
(2021)
Article
Food Science & Technology
Eugenia Iturritxa, Annie E. Hill, Maria-Jesus Torija
Summary: The brewing ability of wild yeast strains obtained from forest and vineyards ecosystems was compared with commercial yeast strains. The selection of new yeast strains as a way to create new beer aromas and flavours and to use local strains to promote the proximity ingredients in brewing is a topic of interest in the craft beer sector.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF FOOD MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Kaihui Li, Xuejun Liu, Fengzhan Geng, Wen Xu, Jinling Lv, Anthony J. Dore
Summary: The study found significant spatial heterogeneity in atmospheric nitrogen deposition in arid Central Asia, with varying deposition velocities. Nitrogen deposition varied across different ecosystems, with the order being desert < grassland < desert-grassland < forest < farmland < city/suburb.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Weichao Guo, Mohammad Safeeq, Hongyan Liu, Xiuchen Wu, Guotao Cui, Qin Ma, Michael L. Goulden, Mats Lindeskog, Roger C. Bales
Summary: Feedbacks between the water and carbon cycles in semi-arid mountain ecosystems can introduce uncertainties into carbon storage projections. This study found that warming reduces carbon storage due to water limitations on growth and enhanced soil respiration, but CO2 fertilization and improved water-use efficiency offset this loss. Additionally, accounting for precipitation gradients and actual water storage is important in modeling carbon-water interactions.
GLOBAL BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Narendra Nelli, Diana Francis, Ricardo Fonseca, Olivier Masson, Mamadou Sow, Emmanuel Bosc
Summary: This study investigates the changes in the atmospheric electric field (Ez) during foggy conditions in the hyperarid region of the United Arab Emirates. The results show that as fog persists, Ez becomes more variable due to the absorption and redistribution of charges by the fog, which alters the ion balance and affects electrical conductivity in the atmosphere.
JOURNAL OF ARID ENVIRONMENTS
(2024)
Article
Ecology
Ezra Hadad, Amir Balaban, Jakub Z. Kosicki, Reuven Yosef
Summary: This study investigated whether the prey of striped hyenas has adapted to the change in the natural environment caused by human activities, particularly artificial light at night (ALAN). The results showed that ALAN had no impact on the diet or den distribution of the hyenas in central Israel. The study also found that domestic animals were the most common prey, and there were also some vegetative species in their diet. Overall, the feeding behavior of striped hyenas is influenced by geographical region, habitat, and human activities.
JOURNAL OF ARID ENVIRONMENTS
(2024)
Article
Ecology
Rahim Najafi Tireh Shabankareh, Pardis Ziaee, Mohammad Javad Abedini
Summary: This study evaluated the IMERG satellite-based precipitation product in the Fars province of Iran using daily rain gauges as reference data. The results showed that the product tends to overestimate light rainfall and underestimate heavy rainfall, with the best performance in the 40-80 mm/day range. The accuracy of the product varies by month and is less biased in months with milder temperatures. Additionally, there was a higher correlation in mid-elevated areas, positive bias in low-elevated areas, and negative bias in high-elevated areas. Longer time scales showed considerable improvement in the IMERG estimates.
JOURNAL OF ARID ENVIRONMENTS
(2024)