Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Alexander S. Honeyman, Timothy S. Fegel, Henry F. Peel, Nicole A. Masters, David C. Vuono, William Kleiber, Charles C. Rhoades, John R. Spear
Summary: Wildfires are a global phenomenon that have uncertain effects on soil biogeochemical processes. In this study, wildfires in Colorado were examined and statistical learning was used to predict and explain the biogeochemical responses of soil. The results show that statistical learning can accurately predict these responses, with the inclusion of uncommon soil microbiota yielding the best predictions.
APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Alejandro Atenas Navarrete, Felipe Aburto, Gerardo Gonzalez-Rocha, Carolina Merino Guzman, Radomir Schmidt, Kate Scow
Summary: This study evaluated the impact of anthropogenic disturbances on soil microbial communities in Andean temperate forests. The results showed that deforestation had a significant effect on the soil microbial community, leading to major shifts in plant and microbial communities.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Alexander S. Honeyman, Theresa Merl, John R. Spear, Klaus Koren
Summary: The spatial responses of soil to fire are still unclear. Researchers used optical chemical sensing with planar 'optodes' to track pH and dissolved O2 concentrations in soil after burning and watering. The results showed that soil pH increased and dissolved O2 concentrations were not impacted until postfire watering. pH and dissolved O2 concentrations were negatively correlated with the relative expression of certain genes.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Shuai Zhang, Junjie Lin, Peng Wang, Biao Zhu
Summary: Global climate change is expected to increase the frequency of drought and heavy precipitation, leading to more frequent drying-rewetting cycles in soils. The effects of these cycles on soil organic carbon (SOC) decomposition and the subsequent legacy effect on different SOC pools are still unclear.
LAND DEGRADATION & DEVELOPMENT
(2023)
Article
Forestry
Ji-Zhong Wan, Chun-Jing Wang
Summary: Considering the legacy of historical woodland changes can help assess ecosystem functions and services under land cover changes. Historical woodland changes have a legacy effect on contemporary plant functional composition, depending on the time of woodland existence and biome type.
Article
Environmental Sciences
L. Marien, A. Crabit, B. Dewandel, B. Ladouche, P. Fleury, J. Cavero, S. Follain, V. Berteloot, F. Colin
Summary: This study explores the relationship between historical land planning and water management, and current soil and water salinity to gain insights into future projections. The results suggest that groundwater is the source of soil salinity, and illustrate the long-term impact of old water infrastructures. The current soil salinity patches continue to be a visible reminder of this evolution.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Gulab Singh Yadav, B. K. Kandpal, Anup Das, Subhash Babu, K. P. Mohapatra, A. Gangarani Devi, H. Lembisana Devi, Puran Chandra, Raghavendra Singh, K. K. Barman
Summary: This study found that establishing agroforestry systems (AFSs) on degraded lands can effectively increase soil organic carbon stocks and have a significant impact on soil quality.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Review
Engineering, Multidisciplinary
Serena R. M. Pirrone, Emanuela Del Dottore, Barbara Mazzolai
Summary: Soil is a crucial resource for life on Earth, and understanding the interaction between soil and activities can help find sustainable and less invasive solutions for soil penetration, exploration, and monitoring. This paper reviews different modeling techniques and highlights the role of discrete element method (DEM) models in studying the interaction mechanisms between bioinspired root-like penetrators and soil.
BIOINSPIRATION & BIOMIMETICS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Behzad Valipour Shokouhi, Kees de Hoogh, Regula Gehrig, Marloes Eeftens
Summary: This study developed a spatiotemporal machine learning model to predict daily pollen concentrations in Switzerland. The results showed that the average national daily pollen concentration and meteorological variables were the most important predictors of pollen concentrations.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jintao Yang, Jinfeng Wang, Xiaoyong Liao, Huan Tao, You Li
Summary: This paper presents a novel chain model called soil-food-human (SFH) that clarifies the biogeochemical cascades between the challenges of cadmium contamination, food safety, and public health. The SFH model integrates the spatial distribution of soil environment and the biogeochemical process of cadmium in soil-rice-human health, providing a comprehensive solution to tackle cadmium pollution in the soil-rice-human health system.
ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL
(2022)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Ninon Delcourt, Anne-Marie Farnet-Da Silva, Catherine Rebufa, Claude Perissol, Nathalie Dupuy
Summary: This article utilizes bibliometric analyses to explore the evolution and strategic orientation of research on the temporal dynamics of land use, serving as a significant proxy for assessing soil vulnerability. With 1416 papers published in 417 different journals, the investigation reveals a growing interest in this subject from 2001 to 2020. The United States, China, and certain European Union countries emerge as the main contributors, engaging in worldwide collaboration with coauthors. Cluster analysis generated six main research themes, encompassing greenhouse gas emissions, soil nutrients, climate change, erosion risk, human disturbances, and soil functioning resilience. The article highlights the insufficient consideration of land use legacy in the context of climate change, suggesting it as a potential future research direction.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Robin Heinen, Madhav P. Thakur, Jetske R. Hiddes De Fries, Katja Steinauer, Simon Vandenbrande, Renske Jongen, T. Martijn Bezemer
Summary: Plants leave legacy effects in the soil, which can influence future generations of plants and associated herbivores. In a greenhouse study, we exposed 10 plant species to insect herbivory or kept them herbivore-free, and then used the soil legacies to grow plant communities. We found that herbivore-induced soil legacies affected responding herbivores through changes in plant community shoot: root ratios, and had negative effects on the growth of plants of the same functional group.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Tai McClellan Maaz, Ronald H. Heck, Christine Tallamy Glazer, Mitchell K. Loo, Johanie Rivera Zayas, Aleric Krenz, Tanner Beckstrom, Susan E. Crow, Jonathan L. Deenik
Summary: Soil health is an important ecosystem property affected by human activities. The development of an overall soil health index is challenging due to statistical issues and the need for regional calibration. Structural equation modeling (SEM) is a promising approach to improve the reliability and validity of soil health scoring, and it can be used to study the impacts of management practices on soil health. Through this study, a robust scoring function was developed that incorporates the concept of soil health and adjusts scores based on soil properties and land use history. The SEM scoring function showed superior performance in terms of score distribution and the ability to differentiate among different management practices and land use.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Soil Science
Gustavo Sampaio de Lima Martins, Edmo Montes Rodrigues, Mauricio Dutra Costa, Andre Narvaes da Rocha Campos, Marcos Rogerio Totola
Summary: The recovery of vegetation on Trindade Island was accompanied by the restoration of physicochemical characteristics and soil biological functions. Soils in revegetated areas showed higher microbial biomass, basal respiration, microbial quotient, mineralizable nitrogen, and enzymatic activities, and lower metabolic quotient.
APPLIED SOIL ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Matteo Garbarino, Donato Morresi, Fabio Meloni, Nicolo Anselmetto, Flavio Ruffinatto, Massimo Bocca
Summary: The legacy of land use continues to have a lasting impact on forest dynamics, affecting both the structure and species composition. This study focuses on the charcoal production legacies in Mont Avic Natural Park and the effect it has had on the forests. Using a multidisciplinary and multi-scale approach, the study reveals that intensive charcoal production has led to more homogeneous forests with a shift in species composition.
Article
Environmental Sciences
E. Natasha Stavros, Jon Chrone, Kerry Cawse-Nicholson, Anthony Freeman, Nancy F. Glenn, Liane Guild, Raymond Kokaly, Christine Lee, Jeffrey Luvall, Ryan Pavlick, Benjamin Poulter, Stephanie Schollaert Uz, Shawn Serbin, David R. Thompson, Philip A. Townsend, Kevin Turpie, Karen Yuen, Kurt Thome, Weile Wang, Shannon-Kian Zareh, Jamie Nastal, David Bearden, Charles E. Miller, David Schimel
Summary: Observations of planet Earth from space are important for science and society, and the US agencies prioritize these observations to maximize their investments. The most recent survey identified the need for a visible to shortwave infrared imaging spectrometer and a multispectral thermal infrared imager to study Surface Biology and Geology (SBG) and its impacts on climate change. The analysis helped recommend three candidate architectures for development and highlighted opportunities for international collaboration.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-BIOGEOSCIENCES
(2023)
Editorial Material
Environmental Sciences
Andrew F. F. Feldman, Daniel J. Short J. Gianotti, Jianzhi Dong, Ruzbeh Akbar, Wade T. T. Crow, Kaighin A. A. McColl, Alexandra G. G. Konings, Jesse B. B. Nippert, Shersingh Joseph Tumber-Davila, Noel M. M. Holbrook, Fulton E. E. Rockwell, Russell L. L. Scott, Rolf H. H. Reichle, Abhishek Chatterjee, Joanna Joiner, Benjamin Poulter, Dara Entekhabi
Summary: A commonly expressed viewpoint is that satellite L-band measurements of global soil moisture only represent surface moisture and thus have limited value for studying global terrestrial ecosystems. However, based on peer-reviewed literature, this viewpoint is overly limiting. Microwave soil emission depth considerations and isotopic tracer field studies suggest that L-band measurements provide information about soil moisture beyond the commonly referenced 5 cm. Additionally, most vegetation, including grasslands and croplands, primarily draw moisture from the upper soil layers, making L-band satellite soil moisture estimates relevant for global vegetation water uptake.
WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Benjamin Poulter, Francis M. Adams-Metayer, Cibele Amaral, Abigail Barenblitt, Anthony Campbell, Sean P. Charles, Rosa Maria Roman-Cuesta, Rocco D'Ascanio, Erin R. Delaria, Cheryl Doughty, Temilola Fatoyinbo, Jonathan Gewirtzman, Thomas F. Hanisco, Moshema Hull, S. Randy Kawa, Reem Hannun, David Lagomasino, Leslie Lait, Sparkle L. Malone, Paul A. Newman, Peter Raymond, Judith A. Rosentreter, Nathan Thomas, Derrick Vaughn, Glenn M. Wolfe, Lin Xiong, Qing Ying, Zhen Zhang
Summary: The BlueFlux field campaign aims to develop blue carbon products for coastal carbon management. It conducts multi-scale measurements of CO2 and CH4 fluxes, combined with long-term carbon burial, to understand blue carbon as a climate solution. The first deployment in Southern Florida showed that mangrove CH4 emissions offset the CO2 uptake, resulting in a total net uptake of about 31.8 Tg CO2-eq y(-1).
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Kuang-Yu Chang, William J. Riley, Nathan Collier, Gavin McNicol, Etienne Fluet-Chouinard, Sara H. Knox, Kyle B. Delwiche, Robert B. Jackson, Benjamin Poulter, Marielle Saunois, Naveen Chandra, Nicola Gedney, Misa Ishizawa, Akihiko Ito, Fortunat Joos, Thomas Kleinen, Federico Maggi, Joe McNorton, Joe R. Melton, Paul Miller, Yosuke Niwa, Chiara Pasut, Prabir K. Patra, Changhui Peng, Sushi Peng, Arjo Segers, Hanqin Tian, Aki Tsuruta, Yuanzhi Yao, Yi Yin, Wenxin Zhang, Zhen Zhang, Qing Zhu, Qiuan Zhu, Qianlai Zhuang
Summary: The recent rise in atmospheric methane concentrations has negative effects on climate change and mitigation efforts. Estimates of global wetland methane emissions vary widely among different approaches, but using better-performing models can reduce the spread of these estimates. However, discrepancies in the estimates increase when using the top 20% models. It is important to expand benchmark sites to account for environmental variability and encourage the development of wetland methane models to focus on site-specific and ecosystem-specific variabilities.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Andrew F. Feldman, Zhen Zhang, Yasuko Yoshida, Pierre Gentine, Abhishek Chatterjee, Dara Entekhabi, Joanna Joiner, Benjamin Poulter
Summary: A satellite-based rapid attribution workflow is developed to identify drivers of carbon cycle feedbacks. During the 2020-2021 Western US drought and heatwave, carbon anomalies were detected, primarily due to reduced photosynthesis caused by a widespread moisture-deficit. This integrated observational approach contributes to understanding ecosystem responses to climate extremes and improving drought modeling.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Lei Ma, George Hurtt, Hao Tang, Rachel Lamb, Andrew Lister, Louise Chini, Ralph Dubayah, John Armston, Elliott Campbell, Laura Duncanson, Sean Healey, Jarlath O'Neil-Dunne, Lesley Ott, Benjamin Poulter, Quan Shen
Summary: Forest carbon is a significant and uncertain part of the global carbon cycle. Advances in remote sensing and ecosystem modelling, using data collected by NASA lidar missions, have provided better insights into forest structure and its impact on carbon stocks and fluxes. This study demonstrates the potential of spaceborne lidar observations for improving global carbon modelling.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Compton Tucker, Martin Brandt, Pierre Hiernaux, Ankit Kariryaa, Kjeld Rasmussen, Jennifer Small, Christian Igel, Florian Reiner, Katherine Melocik, Jesse Meyer, Scott Sinno, Eric Romero, Erin Glennie, Yasmin Fitts, August Morin, Jorge Pinzon, Devin McClain, Paul Morin, Claire Porter, Shane Loeffler, Laurent Kergoat, Bil-Assanou Issoufou, Patrice Savadogo, Jean-Pierre Wigneron, Benjamin Poulter, Philippe Ciais, Robert Kaufmann, Ranga Myneni, Sassan Saatchi, Rasmus Fensholt
Summary: We assessed the distribution, density, cover, size, mass, and carbon content of over 9.9 billion trees in the semi-arid sub-Saharan Africa north of the Equator using satellite data, machine learning, and high-performance computing. The average carbon stocks of individual trees ranged from 0.54 Mg C ha(-1) and 63 kg C tree(-1) in the arid zone to 3.7 Mg C ha(-1) and 98 kg tree(-1) in the sub-humid zone. Overall, we estimated the total carbon for our study area to be 0.84 (& PLUSMN;19.8%) Pg C. Comparisons with previous simulation studies showed discrepancies in tree density and carbon stocks. We provide a linked database for scientists, policymakers, practitioners, and farmers to estimate farmland tree carbon stocks.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Etienne Fluet-Chouinard, Benjamin D. Stocker, Zhen Zhang, Avni Malhotra, Joe R. Melton, Benjamin Poulter, Jed O. Kaplan, Kees Klein Goldewijk, Stefan Siebert, Tatiana Minayeva, Gustaf Hugelius, Hans Joosten, Alexandra Barthelmes, Catherine Prigent, Filipe Aires, Alison M. Hoyt, Nick Davidson, C. Max Finlayson, Bernhard Lehner, Robert B. Jackson, Peter B. McIntyre
Summary: Wetlands have been drained for human use, causing significant impact on multiple aspects including greenhouse gas fluxes, flood control, nutrient cycling, and biodiversity. However, the extent of natural wetland loss globally has remained uncertain. In this study, the researchers reconstructed the spatial distribution and timing of wetland loss from 1700 to 2020, and estimated that approximately 3.4 million km2 of inland wetlands, primarily for croplands, have been lost since 1700, accounting for a net loss of 21% of global wetland area. The study highlights the concentration of wetland loss in Europe, the United States, and China, and provides a valuable historical baseline for assessing the impact of wetland loss and guiding conservation planning and restoration efforts.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Weile Wang, Jennifer Dungan, Vanessa Genovese, Yohei Shinozuka, Qiguang Yang, Xu Liu, Benjamin Poulter, Ian Brosnan
Summary: This study introduces the Ames Global Hyperspectral Synthetic Data set (AGHSD), which is generated based on the multispectral BRDF products from NASA's MODIS satellite sensor. By deriving a robust relationship, the hyperspectral surface BRDF can be accurately approximated using soil surface reflectance, leaf single albedo, and canopy scattering coefficient. The algorithm is validated using simulations and applied to generate the AGHSD BRDF product for the year of 2019 at different resolutions.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-BIOGEOSCIENCES
(2023)
Review
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Osamu Ochiai, Benjamin Poulter, Frank Martin Seifert, Stephen Ward, Ian Jarvis, Alyssa Whitcraft, Ritvik Sahajpal, Sven Gilliams, Martin Herold, Sarah Carter, Laura Innice Duncanson, Heather Kay, Richard Lucas, Sylvia N. Wilson, Joana Melo, Joanna Post, Stephen Briggs, Shaun Quegan, Mark Dowell, Alessandro Cescatti, David Crisp, Sassan Saatchi, Takeo Tadono, Matt Steventon, Ake Rosenqvist
Summary: Space-based remote sensing can play a crucial role in monitoring greenhouse gas emissions and removals from AFOLU sector and addressing climate change through the UNFCCC Paris Agreement. International cooperation, led by CEOS, is essential for the development and realization of a long-term roadmap for observations. This paper identifies useful data and information for supporting the global stocktake of the Paris Agreement and provides a workflow for harmonization and contribution to greenhouse gas inventories and assessments.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Molly E. Brown, Catherine Mitchell, Meghan Halabisky, Benjamin Gustafson, Helga do Rosario Gomes, Joaquim Goes, Xuesong Zhang, Anthony D. Campbell, Benjamin Poulter
Summary: This article investigates stakeholders of wet carbon (WC) ecosystems and analyzes the gaps between scientific understanding and information needs. The study reveals that stakeholder interest in WC systems is primarily determined by its significance for local policy, economics, or ecology. To bridge the gap between stakeholders and available WC data, improved communication of data availability and uncertainty, capacity building, engagement between stakeholder groups, and data continuity are needed.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Kevin M. M. Robertson, Eli Simonson, Natali Ramirez-Bullon, Benjamin Poulter, Richard Carter
Summary: This study used hyperspectral imaging to investigate the impact of spatial resolution, mapping window size, and number of spectral species on the ability to map plant beta diversity using the biodivMapR package. The results showed that coarser spatial resolution and smaller mapping window size led to decreased detection of plant beta diversity.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-BIOGEOSCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Brendan Byrne, David F. Baker, Sourish Basu, Michael Bertolacci, Kevin W. Bowman, Dustin Carroll, Abhishek Chatterjee, Frederic Chevallier, Philippe Ciais, Noel Cressie, David Crisp, Sean Crowell, Feng Deng, Zhu Deng, Nicholas M. Deutscher, Manvendra K. Dubey, Sha Feng, Omaira E. Garcia, David W. T. Griffith, Benedikt Herkommer, Lei Hu, Andrew R. Jacobson, Rajesh Janardanan, Sujong Jeong, Matthew S. Johnson, Dylan B. A. Jones, Rigel Kivi, Junjie Liu, Zhiqiang Liu, Shamil Maksyutov, John B. Miller, Scot M. Miller, Isamu Morino, Justus Notholt, Tomohiro Oda, Christopher W. O'Dell, Young-Suk Oh, Hirofumi Ohyama, Prabir K. Patra, Helene Peiro, Christof Petri, Sajeev Philip, David F. Pollard, Benjamin Poulter, Marine Remaud, Andrew Schuh, Mahesh K. Sha, Kei Shiomi, Kimberly Strong, Colm Sweeney, Yao Te, Hanqin Tian, Voltaire A. Velazco, Mihalis Vrekoussis, Thorsten Warneke, John R. Worden, Debra Wunch, Yuanzhi Yao, Jeongmin Yun, Andrew Zammit-Mangion, Ning Zeng
Summary: Accurate accounting of CO2 emissions and removals is crucial for emission reduction targets, and this study provides a pilot dataset of net carbon exchange and terrestrial carbon stock changes for different countries to inform carbon budgets. The estimates are based on top-down modeling outputs using OCO-2 data, combined with bottom-up estimates of fossil fuel emissions and lateral carbon fluxes. Increases in terrestrial carbon stocks are observed, particularly in the northern extra tropics, while the tropics show variable stock losses. The study discusses the current state and future developments of top-down monitoring and verification systems for tracking emissions and removals.
EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE DATA
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Giacomo Grassi, Clemens Schwingshackl, Thomas Gasser, Richard A. Houghton, Stephen Sitch, Josep G. Canadell, Alessandro Cescatti, Philippe Ciais, Sandro Federici, Pierre Friedlingstein, Werner A. Kurz, Maria J. Sanz Sanchez, Raul Abad Vinas, Ramdane Alkama, Selma Bultan, Guido Ceccherini, Stefanie Falk, Etsushi Kato, Daniel Kennedy, Jurgen Knauer, Anu Korosuo, Joana Melo, Matthew J. McGrath, Julia E. M. S. Nabel, Benjamin Poulter, Anna A. Romanovskaya, Simone Rossi, Hanqin Tian, Anthony P. Walker, Wenping Yuan, Xu Yue, Julia Pongratz
Summary: As the focus of climate policy shifts to implementation, it is important to track progress on climate change mitigation, particularly in the land-use sector. However, there are discrepancies between national greenhouse gas inventories and global bookkeeping models in estimating anthropogenic land-use CO2 fluxes. These differences are mainly due to inconsistent definitions of anthropogenic CO2 fluxes in managed forests. By adding the CO2 sink caused by environmental change in countries' managed forests to the land-use fluxes from global bookkeeping models, the gap between these models and national greenhouse gas inventories becomes smaller, allowing for more accurate comparisons.
EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE DATA
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Andrew F. Feldman, Zhen Zhang, Yasuko Yoshida, Abhishek Chatterjee, Benjamin Poulter
Summary: Satellite observations of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations can be used to evaluate anomalies in surface carbon dioxide fluxes from the terrestrial biosphere, especially before the availability of advanced models. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of using "OCO-2" satellite data to detect and estimate carbon dioxide flux anomalies from the terrestrial biosphere, particularly in regions like western United States. This is valuable for real-time monitoring of carbon fluxes during climatic anomalies.
ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
(2023)
