Article
Biology
Ebuka Canisius Nwosu, Achim Brauer, Marie-Eve Monchamp, Sylvia Pinkerneil, Alexander Bartholomaeus, Martin Theuerkauf, Jens-Peter Schmidt, Kathleen R. Stoof-Leichsenring, Theresa Wietelmann, Jerome Kaiser, Dirk Wagner, Susanne Liebner
Summary: Analysis of sedimentary DNA in a German lake reveals a spike in cyanobacteria abundance during the Bronze Age and the past century due to human activities. This high-resolution molecular analysis provides evidence that humans have been impacting lake ecology for millennia. Managing aquatic systems today requires awareness of the long-term legacy of human influence.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Natalie Iwanycki Ahlstrand, Hannah M. Elvery, Richard B. Primack
Summary: The grass family is responsible for most pollen allergies. Climate change is expected to increase the severity of pollen-based asthma and allergies. Current pollen monitoring techniques have limitations in identifying grass species, resulting in grouping them all together. To address this issue, researchers used phenological data from herbarium specimens and pollen monitoring data to determine the response of flowering time to climate change for 12 allergenic grass species. They found that pollen season duration is lasting longer and starting earlier, and the maximum pollen loads are occurring earlier in response to climate warming.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Biology
Luise Schulte, Stefano Meucci, Kathleen R. Stoof-Leichsenring, Tony Heitkam, Nicola Schmidt, Barbara von Hippel, Andrei A. Andreev, Bernhard Diekmann, Boris K. Biskaborn, Bernd Wagner, Martin Melles, Lyudmila A. Pestryakova, Inger G. Alsos, Charlotte Clarke, Konstantin Krutovsky, Ulrike Herzschuh
Summary: This study investigates the distributional shifts of boreal larch species using ancient sedimentary DNA analysis. The results demonstrate that climate is a significant determinant of larch species distribution.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Jason E. Donaldson, Ricardo Holdo, Jeremia Sarakikya, T. Michael Anderson
Summary: In savanna ecosystems, the competitive relationship between trees and grasses is altered by fire and herbivory. Grazing herbivores favor trees by removing grass, while browsing herbivores restrict tree recovery by consuming trees. Herbivore feeding decisions are influenced by risk-resource trade-offs, which determine the spatial patterns of herbivory. Understanding the dominant mechanisms by which fire and herbivores control tree cover is crucial for understanding savanna dynamics.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Willem W. Verstraeten, Nicolas Bruffaerts, Rostislav Kouznetsov, Letty de Weger, Mikhail Sofiev, Andy W. Delcloo
Summary: Changes in climate and land-use can lead to increased emission of allergenic pollen, causing a rise in respiratory allergies. A research study using the SILAM model found that the increase in birch pollen concentrations is associated with increasing radiation, decreasing precipitation, and decreasing wind speed, while the decrease in grass pollen concentrations is driven by a decreasing trend in grass pollen sources and decreasing precipitation.
ATMOSPHERIC ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Alexander Kurganskiy, Simon Creer, Natasha de Vere, Gareth W. Griffith, Nicholas J. Osborne, Benedict W. Wheeler, Rachel N. Mclnnes, Yolanda Clewlow, Adam Barber, Georgina L. Brennan, Helen M. Hanlon, Matthew Hegarty, Caitlin Potter, Francis Rowney, Beverley Adams-Groom, Geoff M. Petch, Catherine H. Pashley, Jack Satchwell, Letty A. de Weger, Karen Rasmussen, Gilles Oliver, Charlotte Sindt, Nicolas Bruffaerts, Carsten A. Skjoth
Summary: It is challenging to manage symptoms of allergic rhinitis caused by immune overreaction to allergens. A new study proposes statistical and mechanistic models to forecast the severity of the grass pollen season, suggesting that climate change may increase severity by up to 60%. These models can guide individuals and healthcare professionals in preparing for the grass pollen season.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Nicola Montaldo, Roberto Corona, Matteo Curreli, Serena Sirigu, Luca Piroddi, Ram Oren
Summary: In Mediterranean mountainous areas with shallow soil, the interaction and competition between tree patches and surrounding grass play a crucial role in ecosystem stability. Research shows that rock water contributes significantly to the seasonal dynamics of evapotranspiration, impacting vegetation growth and resilience to drought. Climate and land cover changes further affect water distribution and ecosystem structure.
Article
Plant Sciences
Jessie Woodbridge, Ralph Fyfe, David Smith, Ruth Pelling, Anne de Vareilles, Robert Batchelor, Andrew Bevan, Althea L. Davies
Summary: Biodiversity plays a key role in ecosystem functioning, habitat recovery, and resilience to environmental changes. Long-term ecological records, such as pollen grains and fossil insects, can be used to explore biodiversity patterns over centuries. Human population changes, insect faunal groups, and climate trends have been found to be related to palynological diversity. Human activities have influenced palynological diversity patterns, suggesting a need for further research to understand biodiversity drivers on a regional scale.
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Kangbeni Dimobe, Korotimi Ouedraogo, Peter Annighoefer, Johannes Kollmann, Jules Bayala, Christian Hof, Marco Schmidt, Dethardt Goetze, Stefan Porembski, Adjima Thiombiano
Summary: Species distribution modelling is important for protecting habitat of species affected by climate change. This study used ensemble modelling to predict the distribution of the African rosewood tree in Burkina Faso and found that its habitat could decline by up to 61%.
JOURNAL FOR NATURE CONSERVATION
(2022)
Article
Forestry
Erico F. L. Pereira-Silva, Fernando R. Gardon, Elisa Hardt, Victor C. Keller, Rozely F. dos Santos
Summary: The study evaluates the contribution of savanna landscapes to climate regulation through carbon sequestration from natural forests and financial gains from silvicultural activity in territories with varying proportions of natural and commercial forest cover. The carbon stock from commercial Eucalyptus plantings is almost twice that of native cerradao forests, but this contribution is temporary. The benefits from native and commercial forests are equivalent in watersheds with at least 55% natural forest cover.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Karin Amsten, Joris P. G. M. Cromsigt, Dries P. J. Kuijper, Jenny M. Loberg, Marcin Churski, Mats Niklasson
Summary: Fire and herbivory are fundamental processes that can strongly influence the recruitment of European temperate tree saplings. Different tree species showed varying responses to these disturbances, with some exhibiting tolerance and others opting for avoidance strategies. The experiment conducted in a wood-pasture highlighted the potential importance of fire and herbivory as drivers of structure and species composition in open ecosystems in temperate Europe in the past.
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Regina Mogashoa, Phesheya Dlamini, Masibonge Gxasheka
Summary: Increasing tree density in savanna grasslands leads to a decrease in grass species richness and composition, while also increasing nutrient concentrations in the topsoil layer. These findings demonstrate the complex interactions between trees, grasses, and soil in savannas.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Rodney T. Richardson, Ida M. Conflitti, Renata S. Labuschagne, Shelley E. Hoover, Rob W. Currie, Pierre Giovenazzo, M. Marta Guarna, Stephen F. Pernal, Leonard J. Foster, Amro Zayed
Summary: Urbanization and agricultural intensification have negative effects on honey bee health and overwintering survival. Landscape composition, particularly the availability of herbaceous land cover, plays a significant role in improving colony health. Our research emphasizes the need for investigating the impact of land use changes on resource competition between pollinator species.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Sisi Liu, Stefan Kruse, Dirk Scherler, Richard H. Ree, Heike H. Zimmermann, Kathleen R. Stoof-Leichsenring, Laura S. Epp, Steffen Mischke, Ulrike Herzschuh
Summary: Studies along elevational gradients show that the richest plant taxa occurred during the cool phase after glacier retreat around 14,000-10,000 years ago, while a decrease in plant taxa richness was observed during the warm early to mid-Holocene when forests expanded. Livestock grazing since 3,600 years ago has had a weak impact on promoting plant taxa richness. Based on inferred dependencies, future warming-related alpine habitat loss is likely to lead to a substantial decrease in plant taxa richness.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Rowan L. Converse, Christopher D. Lippitt, Caitlin L. Lippitt
Summary: Drought intensity and duration are expected to increase in the semiarid western United States due to anthropogenic climate change. Historic data show that megadroughts have led to widespread ecosystem transitions in the region. Remote sensing with multi-endmember spectral mixture analysis (MESMA) can successfully monitor changes in relative vegetation fractions in semiarid grass and shrubland systems in New Mexico.
Article
Plant Sciences
Rosemary Shikangalah, Benjamin Mapani, Isaac Mapaure, Ulrike Herzschuh
Summary: This study investigates the responsiveness of Dichrostachys cinerea to seasonal variations in temperature and rainfall in central Namibia. The results show that the species has differential responses to temperature and rainfall, with past temperature fluctuations intensifying their influence on growth rings.
Article
Plant Sciences
Fang Tian, Wen Qin, Ran Zhang, Ulrike Herzschuh, Jian Ni, Chengjun Zhang, Steffen Mischke, Xianyong Cao
Summary: The study of sediment cores from Lake Xingxinghai in the Yellow River Source Area reveals that the vegetation in the region has undergone slight changes over the past 7,400 years, with alpine steppe being replaced by alpine meadow. However, these vegetation changes are likely driven by climate change rather than human impact.
VEGETATION HISTORY AND ARCHAEOBOTANY
(2022)
Editorial Material
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Xianyong Cao, Jianhui Chen, Fang Tian, Qinghai Xu, Ulrike Herzschuh, Richard Telford, Xiaozhong Huang, Zhuo Zheng, Caiming Shen, Wenjia Li
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Naimeng Zhang, Xianyong Cao, Qinghai Xu, Xiaozhong Huang, Ulrike Herzschuh, Zhongwei Shen, Wei Peng, Sisi Liu, Duo Wu, Jian Wang, Huan Xia, Dongju Zhang, Fahu Chen
Summary: This study reconstructed the interaction between prehistoric humans and vegetation in the Qinghai Lake Basin using pollen records. The results show vegetation changes and human disturbance to the local vegetation.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Xianyong Cao, Fang Tian, Ulrike Herzschuh, Jian Ni, Qinghai Xu, Wenjia Li, Yanrong Zhang, Mingyu Luo, Fahu Chen
Summary: Understanding human impact on vegetation is crucial for sustainable ecosystem management. This study used pollen datasets from China to investigate temporal changes in pollen composition and diversity. The results show that human disturbance has significantly influenced vegetation in the eastern part of China during the last 2000 years.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
R. Hebert, U. Herzschuh, T. Laepple
Summary: By analyzing sedimentary pollen records and instrumental data, we provide a comprehensive estimate of regional temperature variability. We find that long-term natural variability is overprinted by strong ocean-driven climate variability, which may cause substantial and potentially unpredictable regional climatic shifts in the coming century.
Article
Geography, Physical
Zhen Li, Yongbo Wang, Ulrike Herzschuh, Xianyong Cao, Jian Ni, Yan Zhao
Summary: This paper reconstructs the composition and changes of vegetation in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) over the past 15,000 years using pollen assemblages. The study identifies six forest biomes mainly in the southeastern plateau, which gradually expanded along the eastern margin during the early to mid-Holocene. The alpine meadow biome also expanded westward towards lower latitudes and higher altitudes during the early Holocene. The study also found migration patterns for the alpine steppe biome, which moved eastward during the late Holocene. The dominant biome, temperate steppe, was widely distributed on the QTP with minor migration patterns. The desert biome was mainly found in the northwestern plateau and the Qaidam Basin. The study highlights the importance of monsoonal precipitation in the development of alpine ecosystems and the influence of regional moisture brought by the mid-latitude Westerlies on desert vegetation. Temperature changes played a relatively minor role in alpine vegetation variations but had more significant impacts on forest biomes.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Geography, Physical
Weihan Jia, Sten Anslan, Fahu Chen, Xianyong Cao, Hailiang Dong, Katharina Dulias, Zhengquan Gu, Liv Heinecke, Hongchen Jiang, Stefan Kruse, Wengang Kang, Kai Li, Sisi Liu, Xingqi Liu, Ying Liu, Jian Ni, Antje Schwalb, Kathleen R. Stoof-Leichsenring, Wei Shen, Fang Tian, Jing Wang, Yongbo Wang, Yucheng Wang, Hai Xu, Xiaoyan Yang, Dongju Zhang, Ulrike Herzschuh
Summary: This study provides an updated understanding of sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) research on the Tibetan Plateau, including suitable archives, taphonomy, methodologies, and research questions. It highlights the importance of sedaDNA studies in exploring past ecosystem and biodiversity dynamics.
QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Anne Dallmeyer, Thomas Kleinen, Martin Claussen, Nils Weitzel, Xianyong Cao, Ulrike Herzschuh
Summary: The speed at which the Northern Hemisphere forest biome responds to warming climates is largely unknown. Recent research reveals a significant time lag between model simulations and pollen-based reconstructions of deglacial forest expansion in the Northern Hemisphere extra-tropics. This mismatch suggests a multi-millennial disequilibrium of the forest biome's response to climate signals, and challenges the accuracy of time-slice simulations with pollen records in rapidly changing climates.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Izabella Baisheva, Luidmila Pestryakova, Sardana Levina, Ramesh Glueckler, Boris K. Biskaborn, Stuart A. Vyse, Birgit Heim, Ulrike Herzschuh, Kathleen R. Stoof-Leichsenring
Summary: The livelihoods of local communities in Central Yakutia, Siberia, depend on the alaas landscapes and lakes. The development and dynamics of these lakes are closely linked to climate change, permafrost thawing, catchment conditions, and land use. By analyzing sedimentary ancient DNA and biogeochemistry from Lake Satagay, researchers reconstructed the lake's development over the past 10,800 years. The findings suggest that the lake formation occurred earlier than previously believed, and changes in diatom and macrophyte communities were driven by climate-driven shifts in water level and mineral and organic input. The study also highlights the potential impact of future warming and anthropogenic land use on the desiccation of the lake. Rating: 9/10
JOURNAL OF PALEOLIMNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Heike. H. H. Zimmermann, Kathleen. R. R. Stoof-Leichsenring, Viktor Dinkel, Lars Harms, Luise Schulte, Marc-Thorsten Huett, Dirk Nuernberg, Ralf Tiedemann, Ulrike Herzschuh
Summary: The disappearance of sea ice has caused significant changes in polar marine ecosystems over the past 20,000 years, as revealed by ancient DNA analysis of marine sediments off Kamchatka. The shift from a late-glacial ecosystem adapted to sea ice to an ice-free Holocene ecosystem is characterized by changes in dominant organisms. This study highlights the importance of ancient DNA in studying long-term ecosystem responses to climate change for improved risk assessment in ocean and cryosphere.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Stefan Kruse, Iuliia Shevtsova, Birgit Heim, Luidmila A. Pestryakova, Evgeniy S. Zakharov, Ulrike Herzschuh
Summary: The subarctic forest tundra transition zone is vulnerable to climate change, and forest changes could result in biodiversity loss. The impact of complex landscapes with barriers and channels for seed dispersal is understudied. This study uses a vegetation model to investigate potential tree above-ground biomass change in mountainous central Chukotka (Siberia). The results suggest densification of existing tree stands and a lagged forest expansion, but in scenarios with cooling after 2300 CE, forests gradually retreat to their pre-twenty-first-century position, leaving an imprint of forests in former tundra areas with potential negative impact on tundra biodiversity.
ARCTIC ANTARCTIC AND ALPINE RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Raphael Hebert, Laura Schild, Thomas Laepple, Ulrike Herzschuh
Summary: This study investigates the variability of vegetation composition and its patterns in the Holocene using a global fossil pollen dataset. The findings reveal increasing fluctuations in vegetation composition from centennial to millennial timescales and identify differences in variability between different biome classes. The results have important implications for understanding and assessing the impacts of future climate change on vegetation.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Maria-Elena Vorrath, Juliane Mueller, Paola Cardenas, Thomas Opel, Sebastian Mieruch, Oliver Esper, Lester Lembke-Jene, Johan Etourneau, Andrea Vieth-Hillebrand, Niko Lahajnar, Carina B. Lange, Amy Leventer, Dimitris Evangelinos, Carlota Escutia, Gesine Mollenhauer
Summary: The reconstruction of past sea-ice distribution in the Southern Ocean is crucial for understanding ice-ocean-atmosphere interactions and assessing Earth system and Antarctic ice sheet models. This study focused on the northern Antarctic Peninsula (NAP) and utilized marine sediment cores to reveal the long-term sea-ice history. Sea-ice biomarkers and diatom assemblages were used for reconstructions, while ocean temperatures were reconstructed using glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs). The findings show varying sea-ice trends throughout different periods, with a maximum ice cover during the Antarctic Cold Reversal and decreasing ice cover during the Middle Holocene.
CLIMATE OF THE PAST
(2023)
