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Patterns and trends of organic matter processing and transport: Insights from the US long-term ecological research network

Organic matter (OM) dynamics determine how much carbon is stored in ecosystems, a service that modulates climate. We synthesized research from across the US Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network to assemble a conceptual model of OM dynamics that is consistent with inter-disciplinary perspectives and emphasizes vulnerability of OM pools to disturbance. Guided by this conceptual model, we identified unanticipated patterns and long-term trends in processing and transport of OM emerging from terrestrial, freshwater, wetland, and marine ecosystems.

Biotic homogenization destabilizes ecosystem functioning by decreasing spatial asynchrony

Our planet is facing significant changes of biodiversity across spatial scales. Although the negative effects of local biodiversity (α diversity) loss on ecosystem stability are well documented, the consequences of biodiversity changes at larger spatial scales, in particular biotic homogenization, that is, reduced species turnover across space (β diversity), remain poorly known. Using data from 39 grassland biodiversity experiments, we examine the effects of β diversity on the stability of simulated landscapes while controlling for potentially confounding biotic and abiotic factors.

Mapping and Monitoring Zero-Deforestation Commitments

A growing number of companies have announced zero-deforestation commitments (ZDCs) to eliminate commodities produced at the expense of forests from their supply chains. Translating these aspirational goals into forest conservation requires forest mapping and monitoring (M&M) systems that are technically adequate and therefore credible, salient so that they address the needs of decision makers, legitimate in that they are fair and unbiased, and scalable over space and time.

Spatial overlap of wildfire and biodiversity in California highlights gap in non-conifer fire research and management

Aim Global change has spurred the escalation of megafires in California over the last 20 years throughout a variety of ecosystems. Here, we examine the spatial distribution of California wildfires and megafires from the last two decades (2000-2020) in relation to ecosystem types and biodiversity metrics. We offer insights into the prevalence of fire across vegetation types and its potential implications for biodiversity, and for fire and land management.

The spatial synchrony of species richness and its relationship to ecosystem stability

Synchrony is broadly important to population and community dynamics due to its ubiquity and implications for extinction dynamics, system stability, and species diversity. Investigations of synchrony in community ecology have tended to focus on covariance in the abundances of multiple species in a single location. Yet, the importance of regional environmental variation and spatial processes in community dynamics suggests that community properties, such as species richness, could uctuate synchronously across patches in a metacommunity, in an analog of population spatial synchrony.

Geospatial genetics: Integrating genetics into marine protection and spatial planning

The protection of evolutionary processes and maintenance of genetic diversity is necessary for the persistence of biodiversity and ecosystem resilience. The importance of genetic diversity has been reflected in a range of marine policy mechanisms, and the genetic-toolbox has great potential to support marine protection and marine spatial planning (MSP) at multiple scales.

Determinants of community compositional change are equally affected by global change

Global change is impacting plant community composition, but the mechanisms underlying these changes are unclear. Using a dataset of 58 global change experiments, we tested the five fundamental mechanisms of community change: changes in evenness and richness, reordering, species gains and losses. We found 71% of communities were impacted by global change treatments, and 88% of communities that were exposed to two or more global change drivers were impacted.

Divergent controls of soil organic carbon between observations and process-based models

The storage and cycling of soil organic carbon (SOC) are governed by multiple co-varying factors, including climate, plant productivity, edaphic properties, and disturbance history. Yet, it remains unclear which of these factors are the dominant predictors of observed SOC stocks, globally and within biomes, and how the role of these predictors varies between observations and process-based models.

Maintaining momentum for collaborative working groups in a post-pandemic world

Conservation aquaculture as a tool for imperiled marine species: Evaluation of opportunities and risks for Olympia oysters, Ostrea lurida

Conservation aquaculture is becoming an important tool to support the recovery of declining marine species and meet human needs. However, this tool comes with risks as well as rewards, which must be assessed to guide aquaculture activities and recovery efforts. Olympia oysters (Ostrea lurida) provide key ecosystem functions and services along the west coast of North America, but populations have declined to the point of local extinction in some estuaries.