Estimating daily meteorological data and downscaling climate models over landscapes

De Cáceres M., Martin-StPaul N., Turco M., Cabon A., Granda V. (2018) Estimating daily meteorological data and downscaling climate models over landscapes. Environmental Modelling and Software. 108: 186-196.
Link
Doi: 10.1016/j.envsoft.2018.08.003

Abstract:

High-resolution meteorological data are necessary to understand and predict climate-driven impacts on the structure and function of terrestrial ecosystems. However, the spatial resolution of climate reanalysis data and climate model outputs is often too coarse for studies at local/landscape scales. Additionally, climate model projections usually contain important biases, requiring the application of statistical corrections. Here we present ‘meteoland’ an R package that integrates several tools to facilitate the estimation of daily weather over landscapes, both under current and future conditions. The package contains functions: (1) to interpolate daily weather including topographic effects; and (2) to correct the biases of a given weather series (e.g., climate model outputs). We illustrate and validate the functions of the package using weather station data from Catalonia (NE Spain), re-analysis data and climate model outputs for a specific county. We conclude with a discussion of current limitations and potential improvements of the package. © 2018

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Towards biochar and hydrochar engineering-influence of process conditions on surface physical and chemical properties, thermal stability, nutrient availability, toxicity and wettability

Dieguez-Alonso A., Funke A., Anca-Couce A., Rombolà A.G., Ojeda G., Bachmann J., Behrendt F. (2018) Towards biochar and hydrochar engineering-influence of process conditions on surface physical and chemical properties, thermal stability, nutrient availability, toxicity and wettability. Energies. 11: 0-0.
Link
Doi: 10.3390/en11030496

Abstract:

The impact of conversion process parameters in pyrolysis (maximum temperature, inert gas flow rate) and hydrothermal carbonization (maximum temperature, residence time and post-washing) on biochar and hydrochar properties is investigated. Pine wood (PW) and corn digestate (CD), with low and high inorganic species content respectively, are used as feedstock. CD biochars show lower H/C ratios, thermal recalcitrance and total specific surface area than PW biochars, but higher mesoporosity. CD and PW biochars present higher naphthalene and phenanthrene contents, respectively, which may indicate different reaction pathways. High temperatures (>500 °C) lead to lower PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) content (<12 mg/kg) and higher specific surface area. With increasing process severity the biochars carbon content is also enhanced, as well as the thermal stability. High inert gas flow rates increase the microporosity and wettability of biochars. In hydrochars the high inorganic content favor decarboxylation over dehydration reactions. Hydrochars show mainly mesoporosity, with a higher pore volume but generally lower specific surface area than biochars. Biochars present negligible availability of NO- 3 and NH+ 4 , irrespective of the nitrogen content of the feedstock. For hydrochars, a potential increase in availability ofNO- 3 ,NH+ 4 , PO3- 4 , and K+ with respect to the feedstock is possible. The results from this work can be applied to "engineer" appropriate biochars with respect to soil demands and certification requirements. c 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. © 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

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BioTIME: A database of biodiversity time series for the Anthropocene

Dornelas M., Antão L.H., Moyes F., Bates A.E., Magurran A.E., Adam D., Akhmetzhanova A.A., Appeltans W., Arcos J.M., Arnold H., Ayyappan N., Badihi G., Baird A.H., Barbosa M., Barreto T.E., Bässler C., Bellgrove A., Belmaker J., Benedetti-Cecchi L., Bett B.J., Bjorkman A.D., Błażewicz M., Blowes S.A., Bloch C.P., Bonebrake T.C., Boyd S., Bradford M., Brooks A.J., Brown J.H., Bruelheide H., Budy P., Carvalho F., Castañeda-Moya E., Chen C.A., Chamblee J.F., Chase T.J., Siegwart Collier L., Collinge S.K., Condit R., Cooper E.J., Cornelissen J.H.C., Cotano U., Kyle Crow S., Damasceno G., Davies C.H., Davis R.A., Day F.P., Degraer S., Doherty T.S., Dunn T.E., Durigan G., Duffy J.E., Edelist D., Edgar G.J., Elahi R., Elmendorf S.C., Enemar A., Ernest S.K.M., Escribano R., Estiarte M., Evans B.S., Fan T.-Y., Turini Farah F., Loureiro Fernandes L., Farneda F.Z., Fidelis A., Fitt R., Fosaa A.M., Daher Correa Franco G.A., Frank G.E., Fraser W.R., García H., Cazzolla Gatti R., Givan O., Gorgone-Barbosa E., Gould W.A., Gries C., Grossman G.D., Gutierréz J.R., Hale S., Harmon M.E., Harte J., Haskins G., Henshaw D.L., Hermanutz L., Hidalgo P., Higuchi P., Hoey A., Van Hoey G., Hofgaard A., Holeck K., Hollister R.D., Holmes R., Hoogenboom M., Hsieh C.-H., Hubbell S.P., Huettmann F., Huffard C.L., Hurlbert A.H., Macedo Ivanauskas N., Janík D., Jandt U., Jażdżewska A., Johannessen T., Johnstone J., Jones J., Jones F.A.M., Kang J., Kartawijaya T., Keeley E.C., Kelt D.A., Kinnear R., Klanderud K., Knutsen H., Koenig C.C., Kortz A.R., Král K., Kuhnz L.A., Kuo C.-Y., Kushner D.J., Laguionie-Marchais C., Lancaster L.T., Min Lee C., Lefcheck J.S., Lévesque E., Lightfoot D., Lloret F., Lloyd J.D., López-Baucells A., Louzao M., Madin J.S., Magnússon B., Malamud S., Matthews I., McFarland K.P., McGill B., McKnight D., McLarney W.O., Meador J., Meserve P.L., Metcalfe D.J., Meyer C.F.J., Michelsen A., Milchakova N., Moens T., Moland E., Moore J., Mathias Moreira C., Müller J., Murphy G., Myers-Smith I.H., Myster R.W., Naumov A., Neat F., Nelson J.A., Paul Nelson M., Newton S.F., Norden N., Oliver J.C., Olsen E.M., Onipchenko V.G., Pabis K., Pabst R.J., Paquette A., Pardede S., Paterson D.M., Pélissier R., Peñuelas J., Pérez-Matus A., Pizarro O., Pomati F., Post E., Prins H.H.T., Priscu J.C., Provoost P., Prudic K.L., Pulliainen E., Ramesh B.R., Mendivil Ramos O., Rassweiler A., Rebelo J.E., Reed D.C., Reich P.B., Remillard S.M., Richardson A.J., Richardson J.P., van Rijn I., Rocha R., Rivera-Monroy V.H., Rixen C., Robinson K.P., Ribeiro Rodrigues R., de Cerqueira Rossa-Feres D., Rudstam L., Ruhl H., Ruz C.S., Sampaio E.M., Rybicki N., Rypel A., Sal S., Salgado B., Santos F.A.M., Savassi-Coutinho A.P., Scanga S., Schmidt J., Schooley R., Setiawan F., Shao K.-T., Shaver G.R., Sherman S., Sherry T.W., Siciński J., Sievers C., da Silva A.C., Rodrigues da Silva F., Silveira F.L., Slingsby J., Smart T., Snell S.J., Soudzilovskaia N.A., Souza G.B.G., Maluf Souza F., Castro Souza V., Stallings C.D., Stanforth R., Stanley E.H., Mauro Sterza J., Stevens M., Stuart-Smith R., Rondon Suarez Y., Supp S., Yoshio Tamashiro J., Tarigan S., Thiede G.P., Thorn S., Tolvanen A., Teresa Zugliani Toniato M., Totland Ø., Twilley R.R., Vaitkus G., Valdivia N., Vallejo M.I., Valone T.J., Van Colen C., Vanaverbeke J., Venturoli F., Verheye H.M., Vianna M., Vieira R.P., Vrška T., Quang Vu C., Van Vu L., Waide R.B., Waldock C., Watts D., Webb S., Wesołowski T., White E.P., Widdicombe C.E., Wilgers D., Williams R., Williams S.B., Williamson M., Willig M.R., Willis T.J., Wipf S., Woods K.D., Woehler E.J., Zawada K., Zettler M.L. (2018) BioTIME: A database of biodiversity time series for the Anthropocene. Global Ecology and Biogeography. 27: 760-786.
Link
Doi: 10.1111/geb.12729

Abstract:

Motivation: The BioTIME database contains raw data on species identities and abundances in ecological assemblages through time. These data enable users to calculate temporal trends in biodiversity within and amongst assemblages using a broad range of metrics. BioTIME is being developed as a community-led open-source database of biodiversity time series. Our goal is to accelerate and facilitate quantitative analysis of temporal patterns of biodiversity in the Anthropocene. Main types of variables included: The database contains 8,777,413 species abundance records, from assemblages consistently sampled for a minimum of 2 years, which need not necessarily be consecutive. In addition, the database contains metadata relating to sampling methodology and contextual information about each record. Spatial location and grain: BioTIME is a global database of 547,161 unique sampling locations spanning the marine, freshwater and terrestrial realms. Grain size varies across datasets from 0.0000000158 km2 (158 cm2) to 100 km2 (1,000,000,000,000 cm2). Time period and grain: BioTIME records span from 1874 to 2016. The minimal temporal grain across all datasets in BioTIME is a year. Major taxa and level of measurement: BioTIME includes data from 44,440 species across the plant and animal kingdoms, ranging from plants, plankton and terrestrial invertebrates to small and large vertebrates. Software format:.csv and.SQL. © 2018 The Authors. Global Ecology and Biogeography Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd

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Synoptic weather conditions and changing fire regimes in a Mediterranean environment

Duane, A., Brotons, L. (2018) Synoptic weather conditions and changing fire regimes in a Mediterranean environment. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology. 253-254: 190-202.
Link
Doi: 10.1016/j.agrformet.2018.02.014

Abstract:

Are Urban Vertebrates City Specialists, Artificial Habitat Exploiters, or Environmental Generalists?

Ducatez S., Sayol F., Sol D., Lefebvre L. (2018) Are Urban Vertebrates City Specialists, Artificial Habitat Exploiters, or Environmental Generalists?. Integrative and comparative biology. 58: 929-938.
Link
Doi: 10.1093/icb/icy101

Abstract:

Although urbanization is a major threat to biodiversity, some species are able to thrive in cities. This might be because they have specific adaptations to urban conditions, because they are able to cope with artificial habitats in general or because they are generalists that can live in a wide range of conditions. We use the latest version of the IUCN database to distinguish these possibilities in 25,985 species of the four classes of terrestrial vertebrates with the help of phylogenetically controlled methods. We first compare species occurrence in cities with that of the five other artificial habitats recognized by the IUCN and use principal components analyses to ask which of these most resembles cities. We then test whether urban species have a wider habitat breadth than species occurring in other, non-urban, artificial habitats, as well as species that occur only in natural habitats. Our results suggest that the proportion of terrestrial vertebrates that occur in urban environments is small and that, among the species that do occur in cities, the great majority also occur in other artificial habitats. Our data also show that the presence of terrestrial vertebrates in urban habitats is skewed in favor of habitat generalists. In birds and mammals, species occurrence in urban areas is most similar to that of rural gardens, while in reptiles and amphibians, urban areas most resemble pasture and arable land. Our study suggests that cities are likely not unique, as is often thought, and may resemble other types of artificial environments, which urban exploiters can adapt to because of their wide habitat breadth.

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Modelling tropical forest responses to drought and El Niño with a stomatal optimization model based on xylem hydraulics

Eller C.B., Rowland L., Oliveira R.S., Bittencourt P.R.L., Barros F.V., Da Costa A.C.L., Meir P., Friend A.D., Mencuccini M., Sitch S., Cox P. (2018) Modelling tropical forest responses to drought and El Niño with a stomatal optimization model based on xylem hydraulics. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 373: 0-0.
Link
Doi: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0315

Abstract:

The current generation of dynamic global vegetation models (DGVMs) lacks a mechanistic representation of vegetation responses to soil drought, impairing their ability to accurately predict Earth system responses to future climate scenarios and climatic anomalies, such as El Niño events. We propose a simple numerical approach to model plant responses to drought coupling stomatal optimality theory and plant hydraulics that can be used in dynamic global vegetation models (DGVMs). The model is validated against stand-scale forest transpiration (E) observations from a long-term soil drought experiment and used to predict the response of three Amazonian forest sites to climatic anomalies during the twentieth century. We show that our stomatal optimization model produces realistic stomatal responses to environmental conditions and can accurately simulate how tropical forest E responds to seasonal, and even long-term soil drought. Our model predicts a stronger cumulative effect of climatic anomalies in Amazon forest sites exposed to soil drought during El Niño years than can be captured by alternative empirical drought representation schemes. The contrasting responses between our model and empirical drought factors highlight the utility of hydraulically-based stomatal optimization models to represent vegetation responses to drought and climatic anomalies in DGVMs. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘The impact of the 2015/2016 El Niño on the terrestrial tropical carbon cycle: patterns, mechanisms and implications’. © 2018 The Authors.

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Nutrient-rich plants emit a less intense blend of volatile isoprenoids

Fernández-Martínez M., Llusià J., Filella I., Niinemets Ü., Arneth A., Wright I.J., Loreto F., Peñuelas J. (2018) Nutrient-rich plants emit a less intense blend of volatile isoprenoids. New Phytologist. 220: 773-784.
Link
Doi: 10.1111/nph.14889

Abstract:

The emission of isoprenoids (e.g. isoprene and monoterpenes) by plants plays an important defensive role against biotic and abiotic stresses. Little is known, however, about the functional traits linked to species-specific variability in the types and rates of isoprenoids emitted and about possible co-evolution of functional traits with isoprenoid emission type (isoprene emitter, monoterpene emitter or both). We combined data for isoprene and monoterpene emission rates per unit dry mass with key functional traits (foliar nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) concentrations, and leaf mass per area) and climate for 113 plant species, covering the boreal, wet temperate, Mediterranean and tropical biomes. Foliar N was positively correlated with isoprene emission, and foliar P was negatively correlated with both isoprene and monoterpene emission rate. Nonemitting plants generally had the highest nutrient concentrations, and those storing monoterpenes had the lowest concentrations. Our phylogenetic analyses found that the type of isoprenoid emission followed an adaptive, rather than a random model of evolution. Evolution of isoprenoids may be linked to nutrient availability. Foliar N and P are good predictors of the type of isoprenoid emission and the rate at which monoterpenes, and to a lesser extent isoprene, are emitted. © 2017 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2017 New Phytologist Trust

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The consecutive disparity index, D: a measure of temporal variability in ecological studies

Fernández-Martínez M., Vicca S., Janssens I.A., Carnicer J., Martín-Vide J., Peñuelas J. (2018) The consecutive disparity index, D: a measure of temporal variability in ecological studies. Ecosphere. 9: 0-0.
Link
Doi: 10.1002/ecs2.2527

Abstract:

Temporal variability in ecological processes has attracted the attention of many disciplines in ecology, which has resulted in the development of several quantitative indices. The coefficient of variation (CV = standard deviation × mean−1) is still one of the most commonly used indices to assess temporal variability, despite being known to present several problems on its assessment (e.g., mean dependence or high sensitivity to rare events). The proportional variability (PV) index was developed to solve some of the CV's drawbacks, but, so far, no variability index takes into account the chronological order of the values in time series. In this paper, we introduce the consecutive disparity index (D), a temporal variability index that takes into account the chronological order of the values, assessing the average rate of change between consecutive values. We used computer simulations and empirical data for fruit production in trees, bird counts, and rodent captures to compare the behavior of D, PV, and CV under different scenarios. D was sensitive to changes in temporal autocorrelation in the negative autocorrelation range, and CV and PV were sensitive in the positive autocorrelation range despite not considering the chronological order of the values. The CV, however, was highly dependent on the mean of the time series, while D and PV were not. Our results demonstrate that, like PV, D solves many of the problems of the CV index while taking into account the chronological order of values in time series. The mathematical and statistical features of D make it a suitable index for analyzing temporal variability in a wide range of ecological studies. © 2018 The Authors.

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Distribution of pines in the Iberian Peninsula agrees with species differences in foliage frost tolerance, not with vulnerability to freezing-induced xylem embolism

Fernández-Pérez L., Villar-Salvador P., Martínez-Vilalta J., Toca A., Zavala M.A. (2018) Distribution of pines in the Iberian Peninsula agrees with species differences in foliage frost tolerance, not with vulnerability to freezing-induced xylem embolism. Tree Physiology. 38: 507-516.
Link
Doi: 10.1093/treephys/tpx171

Abstract:

Drought and frosts are major determinants of plant functioning and distribution. Both stresses can cause xylem embolism and foliage damage. The objective of this study was to analyse if the distribution of six common pine species along latitudinal and altitudinal gradients in Europe is related to their interspecific differences in frost tolerance and to the physiological mechanisms underlying species-specific frost tolerance. We also evaluate if frost tolerance depends on plant water status. We studied survival to a range of freezing temperatures in 2-year-old plants and assessed the percentage loss of hydraulic conductivity (PLC) due xylem embolism formation and foliage damage determined by needle electrolyte leakage (EL) after a single frost cycle to −15 °C and over a range of predawn water potential (ψpd) values. Species experiencing cold winters in their range (Pinus nigra J.F. Arnold, Pinus sylvestris L. and Pinus uncinata Raymond ex A. DC.) had the highest frost survival rates and lowest needle EL and soluble sugar (SS) concentration. In contrast, the pines inhabiting mild or cool winter locations (especially Pinus halepensis Mill. and Pinus pinea L. and, to a lesser extent, Pinus pinaster Ait.) had the lowest frost survival and highest needle EL and SS values. Freezing-induced PLC was very low and differences among species were not related to frost damage. Reduction in ψpd decreased leaf frost damage in P. pinea and P. sylvestris, increased it in P. uncinata and had a neutral effect on the rest of the species. This study demonstrates that freezing temperatures are a major environmental driver for pine distribution and suggests that interspecific differences in leaf frost sensitivity rather than vulnerability to freezing-induced embolism or SS explain pine juvenile frost survival. © The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.

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A MODIS photochemical reflectance index (PRI) as an estimator of isoprene emissions in a temperate deciduous forest

Filella I., Zhang C., Seco R., Potosnak M., Guenther A., Karl T., Gamon J., Pallardy S., Gu L., Kim S., Balzarolo M., Fernandez-Martinez M., Penuelas J. (2018) A MODIS photochemical reflectance index (PRI) as an estimator of isoprene emissions in a temperate deciduous forest. Remote Sensing. 10: 0-0.
Link
Doi: 10.3390/rs10040557

Abstract:

The quantification of isoprene and monoterpene emissions at the ecosystem level with available models and field measurements is not entirely satisfactory. Remote-sensing techniques can extend the spatial and temporal assessment of isoprenoid fluxes. Detecting the exchange of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) using these techniques is, however, a very challenging goal. Recent evidence suggests that a simple remotely sensed index, the photochemical reflectance index (PRI), which is indicative of light-use efficiency, relative pigment levels and excess reducing power, is a good indirect estimator of foliar isoprenoid emissions. We tested the ability of PRI to assess isoprenoid fluxes in a temperate deciduous forest in central USA throughout the entire growing season and under moderate and extreme drought conditions. We compared PRI time series calculated with MODIS bands to isoprene emissions measured with eddy covariance. MODIS PRI was correlated with isoprene emissions for most of the season, until emissions peaked. MODIS PRI was also able to detect the timing of the annual peak of emissions, even when it was advanced in response to drought conditions. PRI is thus a promising index to estimate isoprene emissions when it is complemented by information on potential emission. It may also be used to further improve models of isoprene emission under drought and other stress conditions. Direct estimation of isoprene emission by PRI is, however, limited, because PRI estimates LUE, and the relationship between LUE and isoprene emissions can be modified by severe stress conditions. © 2018 by the authors.

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