Search

Goat weed (Ageratum conyzoides L.) possesses several phytochemicals, which can be used environment friendly alternatives to synthetic chemical pesticides and herbicides. The major chemicals can serve as natural herbicides and pesticides to expand the range of the green biosphere. This paper: (i) overviews A. conyzoides L.; (ii) classification of A. conyzoides L.; (iii) botanical characteristics; (iv) invasiveness of A. conyzoides. (v) bioactivity of major compounds identified in Ageratum conyzoides L. and (vi) effects of A. conyzoides on different pathogens as biopesticide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper gives an overview over all currently available data sets for the European Long-term Ecosystem Research (eLTER) monitoring site Gesäuse-Johnsbachtal. The site is part of the eLTSER platform Eisenwurzen in the Alps of the province of Styria, Austria. It contains both protected (National Park Gesäuse) and non-protected areas (Johnsbachtal). Although the main research focus of the eLTER monitoring site Gesäuse-Johnsbachtal is on inland surface running waters, forests and other wooded land, the eLTER whole system (WAILS) approach was followed in regard to the data selection, systematically screening all available data in regard to its suitability as eLTER's Standard Observations (SOs). Thus, data from all system strata was included, incorporating Geosphere, Atmosphere, Hydrosphere, Biosphere and Sociosphere. In the WAILS approach these SOs are key data for a whole system approach towards long term ecosystem research. Altogether, 54 data sets have been collected for the eLTER monitoring site Gesäuse-Johnsbachtal and included in the Dynamical Ecological Information Management System – Site and Data Registry (DEIMS-SDR), which is the eLTER data platform. The presented work provides all these data sets through dedicated data repositories for FAIR use. This paper gives an overview on all compiled data sets and their main properties. Additionally, the available data is evaluated in a concluding gap analysis with regard to the needed observation data according to WAILS, followed by an outlook on how to fill these gaps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today's biodiversity crisis fundamentally threatens the habitability of the planet, thus ranking among the primary human challenges of our time. Much emphasis is currently placed on the loss of biodiversity in the Anthropocene, yet these debates often portray biodiversity as a purely natural phenomenon without much consideration of its human dimensions and frequently lack long-term vistas. This paper offers a deep-time perspective on the key role of the evolving human niche in ecosystem functioning and biodiversity dynamics. We summarize research on past hunter–gatherer ecosystem contributions and argue that human–environment feedback systems with important biodiversity consequences are probably a recurrent feature of the Late Pleistocene, perhaps with even deeper roots. We update current understandings of the human niche in this light and suggest that the formation of palaeo-synanthropic niches in other animals proffers a powerful model system to investigate recursive interactions of foragers and ecosystems. Archaeology holds important knowledge here and shows that ecosystem contributions vary greatly in relation to different human lifeways, some of which are lost today. We therefore recommend paying more attention to the intricate relationship between biodiversity and cultural diversity, contending that promotion of the former depends on fostering the latter. This article is part of the theme issue 'Ecological novelty and planetary stewardship: biodiversity dynamics in a transforming biosphere'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Anthropocene, intensifying ecological disturbances pose significant challenges to our predictive capabilities for ecosystem responses. Macroecology—which focuses on emergent statistical patterns in ecological systems—unveils consistent regularities in the organization of biodiversity and ecosystems. These regularities appear in terms of abundance, body size, geographical range, species interaction networks, or the flux of matter and energy. This paper argues for moving beyond qualitative resilience metaphors, such as the 'ball and cup', towards a more quantitative macroecological framework. We suggest a conceptual and theoretical basis for ecological resilience that integrates macroecology with a stochastic diffusion approximation constrained by principles of biological symmetry. This approach provides an alternative novel framework for studying ecological resilience in the Anthropocene. We demonstrate how our framework can effectively quantify the impacts of major disturbances and their extensive ecological ramifications. We further show how biological scaling insights can help quantify the consequences of major disturbances, emphasizing their cascading ecological impacts. The nature of these impacts prompts a re-evaluation of our understanding of resilience. Emphasis on regularities of ecological assemblages can help illuminate resilience dynamics and offer a novel basis to predict and manage the impacts of disturbance in the Anthropocene more efficiently. This article is part of the theme issue 'Ecological novelty and planetary stewardship: biodiversity dynamics in a transforming biosphere'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The impact of climate change has led to variations in various biological processes, leading to altered transmission dynamics of infectious diseases, including snail-borne diseases (SBDs). Fascioliasis is one of the neglected zoonotic tropical snail-borne diseases caused by the trematode of the genus Fasciola. This review focused on laboratory experimental and model studies that evaluate the potential effect of temperature change on the ecology and biology of the intermediate host snails (IHS) of Fasciola. Methods: A literature search was conducted on Google Scholar, EBSCOhost, and PubMed databases using predefined medical subject heading terms, Boolean operators, and truncation symbols in combination with direct keywords: Fasciolosis AND Temperature, Lymnaea OR Austropeplea OR Radix OR Galba OR Fossaria OR Pseudosuccinea AND growth, fecundity, AND survival at the global scale. Other search terms used were (Fascioliasis AND Temperature), (Lymnaea AND Temperature), (Austropeplea AND Temperature), (Fossaria AND Temperature), (Galba AND Temperature), (Pseudosuccinea AND Temperature), and (Radix AND Temperature). Results: The final synthesis included thirty-five published articles. The studies reviewed indicated that temperature rise may alter the distribution, and optimal conditions for breeding, growth, and survival of IHS, ultimately resulting in changing the transmission dynamics of fascioliasis. The literature also confirmed that the life history traits of IHS and their interaction with the liver fluke parasites are driven by temperature, and hence climate change may have profound outcomes on the population size of snails, parasite density, and disease epidemiology. Conclusion: We concluded that understanding the impact of temperature on the growth, fecundity, and survival of IHS may broaden our knowledge of the possible effects of climate change and hence inform fascioliasis control programs. Author summary: Fascioliasis is a neglected tropical disease caused by flatworms or liver flukes of the genus Fasciola. The review paper focuses on the effect of temperature on the life history traits of intermediate hosts of fascioliasis. The authors aim to explore the impact of temperature on the growth, survival, and reproduction of the host snails and the development of parasites inside intermediate hosts. Fascioliasis is considered a major public health problem in many countries, affecting both humans and livestock. The disease is transmitted through the consumption of contaminated water or vegetation containing the infective stage of metacercaria. The review paper highlights that temperature plays a crucial role in the life history traits of these intermediate hosts. The authors gathered and analyzed various studies conducted on different intermediate host snails of Fasciola species to investigate the relationship between temperature and the development, survival, reproduction, and infectivity of the parasites within them. Their findings reveal that the temperature can significantly influence the life history traits of these intermediate hosts. Higher temperatures generally promote faster development, increased reproduction, and higher infectivity rates. However, there is a limit to the beneficial effects of temperature, beyond which the survival and fitness of the intermediate hosts start to decline. The authors also emphasize the relevance of understanding the impact of temperature on fascioliasis in the context of climate change. As global temperatures continue to rise, the distribution and prevalence of fascioliasis may change, affecting the transmission dynamics of the disease. This knowledge is crucial for the design and implementation of effective control strategies to mitigate the impact of fascioliasis on human and animal health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents evidence that a biogeochemical approach should be applied in analyzing interactions in the system society–nature when the biosphere is affected by anthropogenic impacts, whose key indicator is the health status of the human population. The basic principles and tasks of multilevel medico-ecological monitoring are described, which make it possible to systematically proceed from the qualitative assessment of the state of the human population health and ecological situation to the quantitative assessment of the ecological health risks and regional standards for permissible levels of technogenic factors, with regard to the probable changes in their effects due to the biogeochemical conditions of the environment. The paper provides verification results of the monitoring methods applied at a regional (Republic of Crimea), subregional (in the cities of Sevastopol and Simferopol), and local (individual cohorts of the urban population) levels. Although the official statistics received from various state departments is less informative for the regional research, it nevertheless allowed us to outline (at a reasonable probability level) territories with contrastingly different parameters of environmental health risk. Subregional (within settlements) biomonitoring in Sevastopol and Simferopol has revealed a spatial heterogeneity and loci with higher contents of some heavy metals and other chemical elements in the environment and biosubstrates (soil and plants). Cohort studies of residents of these cities and assessment of 29 chemical elements in the human organism were followed by the examination of the functional state of target systems in humans belonging to risk groups. Results of correlation and regression analysis allowed us to estimate the physiological significance of the elements and the effects of their complex influence at a background exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyzes the effect of ever increasing anthropogenic impacts on land waters and analyzes V.I. Vernadsky's works on natural waters and their significance for assessing modern biogeochemical processes. The paper demonstrates the scale of the influx of chemical elements and compounds into the modern biosphere as a result of the emission of greenhouse gases, nitrogen and phosphorus dissemination, acid-forming gases, and metals. Key changes in some regions and the biosphere as a whole are highlighted. The consequences of anthropogenically induced processes are illustrated by the example of a remote Arctic region, the northern Kola Peninsula in Russia: the effects of climate warming and the acidification and eutrophication of the waters and their enrichment in metals. In the wake of V.I. Vernadsky's ideas about the role of land waters in supporting the life necessities of the planet's human population, approaches to assessing water quality from the standpoint of the ecological paradigm are described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Variability of chlorophyll concentration in the ocean is one of the most important components of the primary production process on the planet. To preserve the biosphere and to make appropriate use of it, it is imperative to have a deep insight into the long-term dynamics of the primary production on the planet. To investigate the dynamics of chlorophyll concentration based on satellite data, the Institute of Biophysics (Russian Academy of Sciences, Siberian Branch) has developed a geoinformation system. It was used to detect the areas in the global ocean that are quasistationary in relation to seasonal dynamics of chlorophyll concentration. Areas such as these, found in the Indian Ocean, are described in this work. These areas form the basis for the analysis of long-term dynamics of chlorophyll concentration. In these quasistationary zones systematic monitoring of phytopigment concentration is conducted by space-borne and marine craft. The work presents long-term satellite-based data on the space distribution of anomalous deviations of chlorophyll concentration in the ocean. An anomaly criterion is proposed and maps of Pacific Ocean areas with a high probability of anomalies are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The optimized system of forest strips in Ukraine had been developed on the landscape and ecological bases in order to ensure the formation of a sustainable agroforestry landscape; stabilize the ecological state, preserve the natural resource potential of a studied area, and create optimal conditions for the growth, development, and productivity of agricultural crops. Over nearly a hundred years, there have been developed the principles of combining tree and shrubby species, optimal designs of forest strips, their width parameters, species composition and placement of planting groupings, and their location in the fields. Also, agrotechnical and forestry measures for their care were designed in different soil and climatic conditions of Ukraine. All accounted factors would provide the maximum ecological and economic effects with a minimum planting. The paper presents the results of phytodiversity study and initiated studies of the syntaxonomy of field-protective forest strips in the regions of Ukraine. The issues of the global practice of field-protective afforestation, which is part of the newest direction -- agroforestry, were highlighted. They combine the simultaneous cultivation of tree and shrubby species and agricultural crops in the same areas for environmental, economic, and social benefits. The authors analyzed the current situation related to forest strips in Ukraine and described the negative changes that have occurred over the past thirty years. Mitigation of natural and anthropogenic threats in agricultural lands is a chalange due to the lack of comprehensive land-reclamation measures in agricultural landscapes and the strengthening of degradation processes caused by the global climate change. We conducted analysis and assessment of the state of forest strips and changes they have underwent because of military operations, concluding that optimizing the windbreak system in Ukraine as a particularly effective environment-forming factor is now especially relevant and requires research, updated using modern methods. For this purpose, one should take into account their intended purpose, spatial orientation, placement, optimal composition, considering typological characteristics, design parameters, and other forest-reclamation characteristics, identification of their syntaxonomic diversity, and identifying regularities in formation and differentiation and development of scientific bases of optimization. It would ensure the maximum efficiency of developing conditions for ecological rehabilitation of forest strips and increase their ecological capacity, and, in general, would promote balanced development of agroecosystems. Therefore, the objective of this paper was to analyze the current state of forest strips in Ukraine and substantiate the need to conduct priority measures to restore their functioning as forest-reclamation objects in connection with the latest circumstances in the conditions of military operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Throughout millions of years of geological history (in the Phanerozoic), the coevolution of all living organisms took place in a fierce competition for resources and opportunities for the maximum reproduction. Due to the geochemical heterogeneity of the primary (pre-Quaternary) biosphere, this resulted in a self-regulating system of ecological niches, within which all local biocenoses and their animal and plant species were maximally adapted to the parameters of the habitat. However, with the emergence of reason, the situation changed fundamentally. Human beings became the dominant species and began the conscious development of new territories, including geochemically unfavorable ones, which led to the formation of zones of stable endemic diseases. Based on this premise, for all existing species, there should be areas with physiologically optimal habitat conditions, i.e., those under which the species has evolved to its present state. It follows that, by being able to record the geochemical parameters of the undisturbed biosphere, it is possible to obtain characteristics that are ecologically ideal for local animal and plant species. In theoretical terms, this allowed us to put forward the hypothesis that by fixing the difference between observed and ideal geochemical conditions, it is possible to build maps of risk of diseases of geochemical nature, including in areas subjected to anthropogenic pollution. The paper outlines the methodology and gives examples of construction of such maps. The obtained results can have an important practical value in organizing the system of sanitary–epidemiological service, in solving the problems of liquidation of the consequences of anthropogenic pollution, and in carrying out preventive measures to minimize the risk of diseases of geochemical nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses the core ideas and the development of biogeochemistry as an integrated research avenue in geochemistry and biology created by V.I. Vernadsky. Much attention is paid to the key concepts of biogeochemistry: living matter, the biogenic migration of chemical elements, and the chemical elemental composition of organisms and its ecological significance. The development of the various functions of the biosphere is analyzed: ecological, concentrational, and informational. The differentiation of the chemical elemental composition of organisms is analyzed under conditions when the biosphere is impacted by anthropogenic activities (the development of industries). The role of biogeochemistry is demonstrated with reference to the development of biotechnologies and the elaboration of a biogeochemical indication of the ecological state of biospheric taxons. The progress in biogeochemistry and its current problems are briefly analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information transmission via communication between agents is ubiquitous on Earth, and is a vital facet of living systems. In this paper, we aim to quantify this rate of information transmission associated with Earth's biosphere and technosphere (i.e., a measure of global information flow) by means of a heuristic order-of-magnitude model. By adopting ostensibly conservative values for the salient parameters, we estimate that the global information transmission rate for the biosphere might be ∼ 10 24 bits/s, and that it may perhaps exceed the corresponding rate for the current technosphere by ∼9 orders of magnitude. However, under the equivocal assumption of sustained exponential growth, we find that information transmission in the technosphere can potentially surpass that of the biosphere ∼90 years in the future, reflecting its increasing dominance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resilience is a basic trait of cognitive systems and fundamentally connected to their autopoietic organization. It plays a vital role in maintaining the identity of cognitive systems in the face of external threats and perturbances. However, when examining resilience in the context of autopoiesis, an overlooked issue arises: the autopoietic theory formulated by Maturana and Varela (1980) renders traditional Shannon information obsolete, highlighting that information should not be ascribed a role in cognitive systems in a general sense. This paper examines the current situation and suggests a possible way forward by exploring an affordance-based view on information, derived from radical cognitive science, which is exempted from Maturana and Varela's critique. Specifically, it argues that the impact of social influence on affordance use is crucial when considering how resilience can manifest in informational relations pertaining to the human cognitive ecology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Earth System Models (ESMs) are complex systems used in weather and climate studies generally built from different independent components responsible for simulating a specific realm (ocean, atmosphere, biosphere, etc.). To replicate the interactions between these processes, ESMs typically use coupling libraries that manage the synchronization and field exchanges between the individual components, which run in parallel as a Multi‐Program, Multiple‐Data application. As ESMs get more complex (increase in resolution, number of components, configurations, etc.), achieving the best performance when running in High‐performance Computing platforms has become increasingly challenging and of major concern. One of the critical bottlenecks is the load‐imbalance, where the fastest components will have to wait for the slower ones. Finding the optimal number of processing elements to assign to each of the multiple independent constituents to minimize the performance loss due to synchronizations and maximize the overall parallel efficiency is impossible without the right performance metrics, methodology, and tools. This paper presents the results of balancing multiple Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 6 configurations for the EC‐Earth3 ESM. We will show that intuitive approaches can lead to suboptimal resource allocations and propose new setups up to 25% fasters while reducing the computational cost by 72%. We prove that new methods are needed to deal with the load‐balance of ESMs and hope that our study will serve as a guide to optimize any other coupled system. Plain Language Summary: Earth System Models (ESM) are complex systems used in weather and climate studies generally built from different independent components responsible for simulating a specific realm (ocean, atmosphere, biosphere, etc.). To replicate the interactions between these processes, ESMs communicate during the simulation to exchange data. As ESMs get more complex (increase in resolution, number of components, configurations, etc.), achieving the best performance when running in High‐performance Computing platforms has become increasingly challenging and of major concern. One of the critical bottlenecks is the load‐imbalance, where the fastest components will have to wait for the slower ones. Finding the optimal number of processing elements to assign to each of the independent components is impossible without the right performance metrics, methodology, and tools. We will show that intuitive approaches can lead to suboptimal setups and propose new ones up to 25% fasters while reducing the computational cost by 72%. Thus, proving that new methods are needed to deal with the load‐balance of ESMs and hope that our study will serve as a guide to optimize any other coupled system. Key Points: Find what are the most useful performance metrics and how to understand them in order to tackle the load‐imbalance problem in coupled Earth System ModelsUnderstand the individual scalability properties of the components and their relationships in multiple EC‐Earth3 CMIP6 configurationsContrast our approach against simpler and traditional ones that the community use to deal with the load‐balance problem [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In accordance with the ideas of V.I. Vernadsky, the Earth's biosphere can exist only because of the high degree of closure of the cyclic matter transformations carried out by all living organisms by using the energy from the Sun. In the course of its evolution, the Earth's biosphere has undergone a number of cardinal transformations, but, at least for the last 20 million years, the gas composition of the atmosphere, and primarily the concentration of carbon dioxide, has remained practically unchanged. Nevertheless, the high degree of closure of material flows in the Earth's biosphere seems paradoxical, since closure is not an adaptive feature of an individual undergoing natural selection for traits that give an advantage here and now (the Vernadsky–Darwin paradox). The stages in the formation of the closure of the Earth's biosphere are considered in the context of four epochs that differ in the energy available to living organisms: (1) geochemical energy; (2) solar energy; (3) energy of oxidative phosphorylation; and (4) consumption of living flesh, predation. The paper considers possible options for resolving the VD paradox using as the example models of closed ecological systems (CES) with low species diversity. The fundamental inapplicability of ecological models with rigid metabolism for the description of CES is shown. Three mechanisms for resolving the VD paradox are proposed and the conditions for their implementation are assessed: (1) a stochastic mechanism: random selection of closing organisms (decomposers) with the corresponding stoichiometric ratios; (2) changing the consumption stoichiometry by switching catabolic pathways to different types of substances (proteins, fats, carbohydrates); and (3) changing the consumption stoichiometry by choosing food, depending on the state of internal nutrient pools. The present study leads to the conclusion that the Vernadsky–Darwin paradox can be resolved in nature by combining the mechanisms that simultaneously provide both a current competitive advantage and the ability to close trophic chains with a wide variation in the composition of material flows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In our rapidly changing world, where human activities have profound effects on nearly all forms of life, understanding the dynamics of organismal adaptation to human-induced environmental changes is of paramount importance. This paper delves into the concept of domestication as an early manifestation of the Anthropocene, shedding light on how animal populations respond to domestication selection provides valuable insights into the intricate interplay between plastic responses and evolutionary changes. By examining this relationship, we gain a deeper understanding of the fate of wild vertebrates as they navigate a human-altered world. Through a comprehensive analysis, intentional breeding, managed hunting, and extermination emerge as interconnected elements within a continuum of anthropogenic agents driving ecological selection. Moreover, we identify shared targets of selection that extend beyond domestication, encompassing a broader range of human-induced selection pressures. Remarkably, many traits that facilitate successful domestication also equip wild animals with the adaptive capacity to thrive in humandominated environments, highlighting their importance in understanding the larger context of adaptation. Additionally, domestic animals serve as a source for feral lineages and genetic exchange with their wild counterparts. This exchange, coupled with shared ecological constraints and gene flow, contributes to convergent or congruent changes across various responses to human influence. By recognizing domestication as another source of anthropogenic selection, we unlock valuable insights for conservation efforts and present a promising avenue for unraveling the mechanisms underlying behavioral adaptation. In summary, this review emphasizes the urgent need to comprehend how organisms adapt or fail to adapt to human-induced environmental changes. By elucidating the intricate relationships between domestication, human-induced selection pressures, and adaptation, we deepen our understanding of the complex dynamics within the Anthropocene and pave the way for effective conservation strategies while shedding light on the mechanisms that drive behavioral adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is commonly recognized that viruses control the composition, metabolism, and evolutionary trajectories of prokaryotic communities, with resulting vital feedback on ecosystem functioning and nutrient cycling in a wide range of ecosystems. Although the deep biosphere has been estimated to be the largest reservoir for viruses and their prokaryotic hosts, the biology and ecology of viruses therein remain poorly understood. The deep virosphere is an enigmatic field of study in which many critical questions are still to be answered. Is the deep virosphere simply a repository for deeply preserved, non-functioning virus particles? Or are deep viruses infectious agents that can readily infect suitable hosts and subsequently shape microbial populations and nutrient cycling? Can the cellular content released by viral lysis, and even the organic structures of virions themselves, serve as the source of bioavailable nutrients for microbial activity in the deep biosphere as in other ecosystems? In this review, we synthesize our current knowledge of viruses in the deep biosphere and seek to identify topics with the potential for substantial discoveries in the future. Unexpected highly abundant, active, and diverse viruses have been observed in marine and terrestrial subsurface environments. The potential ecological and biogeochemical roles of viruses in the deep biosphere are discussed in this review paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Life on Earth appears to have evolved under the influence of supernovae activity in the solar neighborhood. Supernovae frequency regulates the flux of cosmic ray particles arriving at the top of the Earth's atmosphere, where empirical evidence supports a close connection between cosmic rays, clouds, and climate. Burial of organic matter in marine sediments follows cosmic rays variations for more than 3.5 Gyr and in detail during the last 500 Myr. The supernovae link to the burial of organic matter may be due to climate‐induced changes in the atmospheric and oceanic circulation affecting the availability of nutrients and the bioproductivity in the oceans. A higher bioproductivity then leads to a more extensive burial of organic matter. Support for this scenario comes from a proxy of nutrient concentrations in the ocean which covaries with the supernovae frequency. The results suggest a fundamental connection between supernovae rates and life on Earth. Plain Language Summary: The study proposes a surprising link between the burial of organic matter in sediments and stellar processes. The paper has two components; the first component concerns empirical evidence: A close correlation between the fraction of organic matter buried in sediments and changes in supernovae frequency. This correlation is evident during the last 3.5 billion years (see Figure 2) and in close detail over the previous 500 Myr (see Figure 4). All astrophysical data, for example, changes in star formation and the inferred changes in supernovae frequency, are based on peer‐reviewed works, as is the carbon 13 data. The second component of the paper gives a possible justification for the observed correlations. The assumption is that changes in supernovae frequency result in climate change, which changes the mixing in oceans and river runoff and ultimately influences nutrient availability—a high nutrient concentration results in a larger bioproductivity and a larger burial of organic matter in sediments. Again empirical evidence for this connection comes from concentrations of trace elements in pyrite (a proxy of ocean nutrient concentrations) which correlate with supernovae frequency changes over the previous 500 Myr (see Figure 5). Key Points: The fraction of organic carbon buried in marine sediments covaries with changes in supernova frequency over most of the Earth's historySupernovae influence Earth via a link between atmospheric ionization, clouds and climate. High cosmic ray flux leads to a cold climateClimatic induced ocean circulation regulates nutrients to the biosphere. A larger bioproductivity results in increased organic matter burial [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How might futures of land and water governance systems emerge from foresight processes? This paper explores how a multistakeholder group used foresight processes to reimagine landscape governance in the Philippines. Landscape governance as a natural resource management framework is not at all new, but it is gaining attention and momentum especially in developing countries. In 2018, alliances of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in the Philippines embarked on a landscape governance effort to influence policy and decision-making processes both at a landscape and national level. However, the alliance acknowledged that to better influence policy processes, the alliance has to tap and harness collective intelligence, and maximize their collective foresight. This case study focuses on exploring foresight methods, questioning underlying assumptions, reimagining future scenarios, and rethinking pathways to the futures of Philippine land use and water governance as two critical aspects of landscape governance. The emerging scenarios for land use posit the alliances' aspirations for community-powered agricultural transformations for the next 50 years, and transformations that can promote human-conscious artificial intelligence, and biosphere-led ecosystems. On the other hand, the emerging scenarios for water governance detailed an eco-efficient, indigenous-centric, multi-purpose and cooperative-led water infrastructure, distribution and access systems. The foresight process revealed that diverse worldviews and narratives challenge and reframe default ways of knowing and embodying land use and water governance. Ultimately, the foresight process challenges how current landscape governance planning, and visioning provide power for the alliance to influence policy and decision-making processes in longer-time horizons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stuart Kauffman has, in recent writings, developed a thought-provoking and influential argument for strong emergence. The outcome is his Theory of the Adjacent Possible (TAP). According to TAP, the biosphere constitutes a non-physical domain qualitatively distinct from the physical domain. The biosphere exhibits strongly emergent properties such as agency, meaning, value and creativity that cannot, in principle, be reduced to the physical. In this paper, I argue that TAP includes various (explicit or implicit) metaphysical commitments: commitments to (1) scientific realism, (2) downward causation and teleology, and (3) modal realism. If TAP is to hang together as the kind of robust philosophical thesis it evidently aspires to be, it needs an account – an account that is currently absent – of its metaphysical commitments. It is, however, unclear how such an account can be developed since various dilemmas present themselves when one explores how subscribers to TAP might do so. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 1980s, the existence of one or more extinction events in the late Ediacaran has been the subject of debate. Discussion surrounding these events has intensified in the last decade, in concert with efforts to understand drivers of global change over the Ediacaran-Cambrian transition and the appearance of the more modern-looking Phanerozoic biosphere. In this paper we review the history of thought and work surrounding late Ediacaran extinctions, with a particular focus on the last 5 years of paleontological, geochemical, and geochronological research. We consider the extent to which key questions have been answered, and pose new questions which will help to characterize drivers of environmental and biotic change. A key challenge for future work will be the calculation of extinction intensities that account for limited sampling, the duration of Ediacaran 'assemblage' zones, and the preponderance of taxa restricted to a single 'assemblage'; without these data, the extent to which Ediacaran bioevents represent genuine mass extinctions comparable to the 'Big 5' extinctions of the Phanerozoic remains to be rigorously tested. Lastly, we propose a revised model for drivers of late Ediacaran extinction pulses that builds off recent data and growing consensus within the field. This model is speculative, but does frame testable hypotheses that can be targeted in the next decade of work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the analysis of the current development state of the tourism development in Aksu-Zhabagly Biosphere Reserve (BR), this paper discusses how to properly handle the contradiction between nature protection and tourism development, determines the problems existing in tourism development, and proposes a strategy for the development of eco-tourism in Kazakhstan. The aim of the study is to give some recommendations for the Aksu-Zhabgly ecotourism destination by employing a combination of field observation, examination, evaluation, and SWOT analysis. The strategic suggestions for the future development of tourism in Aksu-Zhabagly BR were determined mainly by the SWOT analysis results. The study results showed that the main strengths are convenient accessibility, diversified wild animals and plants, rich natural values, tranquil life in a typical rural setting, and favorable climatic conditions in the summer. And the low quality of tourist services, lack of competition among tourist destinations, lack of necessary infrastructure for tourists, lack of investment capital for tourism development, and lack of access to credit for small business development were determined as the main weakness. The results also revealed the preparation of different types of tour packages, the development of community tourism groups in Zhabagly, the potential for the production and sale of folk crafts and souvenirs, and improving accessibility (rehabilitation of roads, public transport) are the main opportunities. Finally, the hazards of increased influx of tourists, monopolization of tourist revenues and uncontrolled development of tourism, unlimited use of social opportunities and natural resources, loss of newly acquired image through the supply of low-quality goods, and the inability of other neighboring settlements to compete with Zhabagly village were proved to be the main threat to the effective implementation of sustainable development of tourism in the Aksu-Zhabagly tourist site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One was the Planetary Boundaries framework, introduced by Johan Rockström and colleagues in 2009, which aims to provide a natural-science based framework for describing a Holocene-like state of the Earth System and the intrinsic boundaries of the Earth System that should not be transgressed if such a stable state is to be maintained (Rockström et al. [10]). Introducing the Anthropocene: The human epoch: This article belongs to Ambio's 50th Anniversary Collection. The other is the polycentric governance systems approach introduced by the late Elinor Ostrom ([9]), which, in the context of the S et al. paper, was proposed as a more appropriate governance system for the Anthropocene than the present governance systems that are driving us deeper towards a planetary crisis. The SCM paper foreshadowed the debate on the start date for the Anthropocene, which became prominent from 2009 with the formation then of the Anthropocene Working Group to explore the Anthropocene as a potential new interval in the Geologic Time Scale (AWG [1]). [Extracted from the article]

When I am at conferences, talking about the scientific work of my father (theoretical biologist Robert Rosen, 1934–1998), I am often asked which aspects of his work I think are most important. My answer is Anticipatory Systems Theory. It's about the entailment and characterization of both life and mind. It explains the fundamental nature of all life, showing how the human mind is an evolutionary concentration of the same peculiar behavior patterns manifested by all living organisms, regardless of species. How can we hope to fully understand ourselves or anything else in the biosphere of Earth without an accurate scientific comprehension of the entailment patterns underlying and generating all of it? The physics of orbital mechanics or atomic particles is insufficient for this. Therefore, I spend a lot of my time working to make the meaning of my father's scientific discoveries accessible to as many human minds as possible. I think humanity is going to need this work in the future, and already needs it now. This paper will examine the basic premises of Anticipatory Systems Theory and describe, using examples familiar to all of us from daily life, how we can recognize Anticipation at work in ourselves and in local ecosystems all over the planet. I will conclude with some important ramifications of this theory, including how Anticipation necessarily plays into evolutionary processes. I will also point out the vulnerabilities of Anticipatory Systems (i.e., living organisms) to rapid change in environment, potentially leading to extinction cascades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will map out the geographical contours of life in the Anthropocene borne out of the ruins produced by the particular relations of globalized capitalism and modernizing aspirations in Iceland. The focus on Iceland is in recognition of islands as scenes where these relations play out with particular intensity and visibility. Therefore, the paper will outline the island scene upon which our earthly entanglements can be readily scrutinized. Secondly, our planetary state of emergency will be outlined in relation to the logic of the Moderns, translating into the Anthropocene, setting up for the third part wherein the time of islands will be introduced and their particular relevance for analysis. The paper then proceeds to exemplify the emerging earths of the Anthropocene through a topo-ecological mapping of geothermal living in Iceland. As such, the paper argues for the need to realize two things: (a) the Earth per se does not care and (b) life will go on. Under the current state of planetary emergency, change is inevitable and will be drastic, but the emerging Earth(s) will necessarily reside in geographically specific responses, evolving from the ruins of what is, in this case, the geothermal landscapes of Iceland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecological systems are facing major diversity losses in this century owing to Anthropogenic effects. Habitat loss, overexploitation of resources, invasion and pollution are rapidly jeopardizing the survival of whole communities. It has been recently suggested that a potential approach to flatten the curve of species extinction and prevent catastrophic shifts would involve the engineering of one selected species within one of these communities. Such possibility has started to become part of potential intervention scenarios to preserve biodiversity. Despite its potential, very little is known about the actual dynamic responses of complex ecological networks to the introduction of a synthetic strains derived from a resident species. In this paper, we address this problem by modelling the response of a community to the addition of a synthetic strain derived from a member of a stable ecosystem. We show that the community interaction matrix largely limits the spread of the engineered strain, thus suggesting that species diversity acts as an ecological firewall. The implications for future scenarios of ecosystem engineering are outlined. This article is part of the theme issue 'Ecological complexity and the biosphere: the next 30 years'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we understand the emergence of life as a pure individuation process. Individuation already occurs in open thermodynamics systems near equilibrium. We understand such open systems, as already recursively characterized (R1) by the relation between their internal properties, and their boundary conditions. Second, global properties emerge in such physical systems. We interpret this change as the fact that their structure is the recursive result of their operations (R2). We propose a simulation of the emergence of life in Earth by a mapping (R) through which (R1R2) operators are applied to themselves, so that RN = (R1R2)N. We suggest that under specific thermodynamic (open systems out of equilibrium) and chemical conditions (autocatalysis, kinetic dynamic stability), this mapping can go up to a limit characterized by a fixed-point equation: R = ϕ 1 ϕ 2 R . In this equation, ( ϕ 1 ) symbolizes a regime of permanent resonance characterizing the biosphere, as open from inside, by the recursive differential relation between the biosphere and all its holobionts. As such the biosphere is closed on itself as a pure differential entity. ( ϕ 2 ) symbolizes the regime of permanent change characterizing the emergence of evolution in the biosphere. As such the biosphere is closed on itself, by the principle of descent with modifications, and by the fact that every holobiont evolves in a niche, while evolving with it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The headwaters of the Yangtze River are a complicated system composed of different eco-environment elements. The abnormal moisture and energy exchanges between the atmosphere and earth systems caused by global climate change are predicted to produce drastic changes in these eco-environment elements. In order to study the dynamic effect and ecological stress in the eco-environment, we adapted the Double Attention Mechanism (DAM) to improve the performance of the DeepLab V3+ network in large-scale semantic segmentation. We proposed Elements Fragmentation (EF) and Elements Information Content (EIC) to quantitatively analyze the spatial distribution characteristics and spatial relationships of eco-environment elements. In this paper, the following conclusions were drawn: (1) we established sample sets based on "Sentinel-2" remote sensing images using the interpretation signs of eco-environment elements; (2) the mAP, mIoU, and Kappa of the improved DeepLab V3+ method were 0.639, 0.778, and 0.825, respectively, which demonstrates a good ability to distinguish the eco-environment elements; (3) between 2015 and 2021, EF gradually increased from 0.2234 to 0.2394, and EIC increased from 23.80 to 25.32, which shows that the eco-environment is oriented to complex, heterogeneous, and discontinuous processes; (4) the headwaters of the Yangtze River are a community of life, and thus we should build a multifunctional ecological management system with which to implement well-organized and efficient scientific ecological rehabilitation projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All life on Earth shares the same ancestor, the most primitive form of life that arose, in still unknown circumstances, more than 3.5 billion years ago. At least this is what is commonly assumed. Astrobiologists have revisited this assumption and advanced the hypothesis of the existence of a "shadow biosphere" on Earth: a parallel tree of life whose instances, being different at the molecular level to the kind of life we are used to, would remain hidden from view. In this paper, I take the emergence of the so-called shadow biosphere hypothesis and the controversial discovery of GFAJ-1, a microbe thriving in the arsenic-rich waters of Mono Lake, as an entry point to look into the strategic role of non-knowledge claims. I juxtapose the Latourian black-box, that is, those undiscussed technoscientific artifacts that are taken for granted in scientific practice, with the shadowy nature of non-knowledge claims in order to pay closer attention to the contingent, active, performative, and always social nature of the making of what is unknown. I conclude this paper by claiming that in the negotiation of what is unknown, emerging disciplines position themselves within the larger scientific community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grasslands grow in a sequence of seasonal growth stages that respond to both climate and weather, and these relationships can be used to establish a strategy for predicting plant phenology. Current plant states (phenophase) can be represented as one of established growth stages that dictate carbon allocation and leaf photosynthetic capacity. Calculating daily phenophases from climate and environmental relationships allows for sequential growth stages (i.e., well‐defined seasonal cycles with a single growth period) or dynamic growth stages (i.e., multiple growth periods during a growing season). Senescence results from biomass mortality in response to environmental conditions. This approach uses a single mechanistic framework to represent grassland ecology, removing the dependence on satellite‐based vegetation indices and individual site tuning of parameters. Rather than being specified, a variety of properties emerge, from allometric relationships such as root‐shoot ratios, to behavior across moisture gradients, to interannual variability in growing season lengths, carbon stores, and land surface fluxes. Using dynamic phenology stages to link biophysical and biogeochemical processes provides a mechanism to predict self‐consistent land‐atmosphere exchanges of carbon, water, energy, radiation, and momentum, as well as carbon storage in cascading pools of biomass; and describing these processes in a mathematically determinate model makes them clear, testable, and usable for predictions. This paper describes this new phenology method as it is implemented in the Simple Biosphere Model Version 4 (SiB4), and a companion paper evaluates this method at grassland sites worldwide. Plain Language Summary: Every year, grasslands grow in a sequence of seasonal growth stages that have evolved in nature. For grasslands, climate and weather patterns can be used to establish a strategy for predicting these stages. Using five different possible stages, the current stage can be used to determine which part of the plant grows the fastest. This approach uses a single set of equations to represent grassland ecology, removing the dependence on satellite‐based vegetation information. Rather than being specified, a variety of properties emerge, such as different growth patterns in regions that receive more rainfall and different growth rates per year. This approach links plant processes and provides a way to model plant growth and its interaction with the atmosphere. This paper describes this new method as it is implemented in the Simple Biosphere Model Version 4 and provides an example at a grassland site. Key Points: Grassland phenology can be predicted using a strategy based on growth stages that respond to climate and weatherDynamic prognostic phenology links biophysical and biogeochemical processes to predict the terrestrial carbon cycle [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Decade plus time series assess trends in CO 2 fluxes in a changing world. • Network gradients assess biophysical response functions at the ecosystem scale. • Long records capture rare and extreme events on CO 2 fluxes. • Paired sites examine management and disturbance effects. • Network trains and validates regional upscaling of CO 2 fluxes. For over two decades, the AmeriFlux network has quantified the breathing of the biosphere, as defined by measuring the flux densities of carbon dioxide and water vapor exchange between ecosystems and the atmosphere. The network includes natural and managed ecosystems that span broad climatic and ecological gradients. In this review, we provide an overview of key discoveries by this network and highlight important open questions. Such discoveries are possible through the network's shared and open access database that is used to interpret these fluxes; it includes a comprehensive set of carbon dioxide and water vapor flux measurements and a complementary set of biophysical variables, including meteorological and soil conditions, along with structural and functional properties of the ecosystems. Topics covered in this paper include interannual variability, trends and magnitude of carbon dioxide fluxes, and the response of these fluxes to biophysical drivers and extreme events. We examine results both within individual sites and across natural gradients. A subset of long-term flux measurements produced by the network provide quantitative insights into how whole ecosystems are responding to climate variability and global change, including warming, rising CO 2 and changes in rainfall distribution. By reviewing and synthesizing these insights, we underscore the value of long-term, bottom-up research coalitions. In closing, we hope this review can guide the future research directions necessary to deepen understanding of climate impacts on ecosystems in the decades ahead. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(Mitman et al., [43], p. xi) Several scholars within the field of human-computer interaction (HCI) have identified time and materiality as fundamental analytical facets of relevance to both the use and design of computer technologies (Berzowska et al., [4]; Odom et al., [46]). Finally, in a more applied sense, the paper also proposes deep time design thinking as an area for consideration in HCI research and design, and specifically suggests three types of sensibilities that connect and ground the potentially enigmatic concept of deep time to HCI and design. Keywords: Materiality; temporality; media archeology; media ecology; anthropocene EN Materiality temporality media archeology media ecology anthropocene 15 28 14 02/10/22 20220101 NES 220101 1. For example, in their exploration of overlaps between HCI and media-based theorizations of materiality, Gross et al. ([24]) show how discussions and "references to materiality can be found throughout HCI, including its history and its subdomains". [Extracted from the article]

The organization of the living world covers a vast range of spatiotemporal scales, from molecules to the biosphere, seconds to centuries. Biologists working within specialized subdisciplines tend to focus on different ranges of scales. Therefore, developing frameworks that enable testing questions and predictions of scaling requires sufficient understanding of complex processes across biological subdisciplines and spatiotemporal scales. Frameworks that enable scaling across subdisciplines would ideally allow us to test hypotheses about the degree to which explicit integration across spatiotemporal scales is needed for predicting the outcome of biological processes. For instance, how does genomic variation within populations allow us to explain community structure? How do the dynamics of cellular metabolism translate to our understanding of whole-ecosystem metabolism? Do patterns and processes operate seamlessly across biological scales, or are there fundamental laws of biological scaling that limit our ability to make predictions from one scale to another? Similarly, can sub-organismal structures and processes be sufficiently understood in isolation of potential feedbacks from the population, community, or ecosystem levels? And can we infer the sub-organismal processes from data on the population, community, or ecosystem scale? Concerted efforts to develop more cross-disciplinary frameworks will open doors to a more fully integrated field of biology. In this paper, we discuss how we might integrate across scales, specifically by (1) identifying scales and boundaries, (2) determining analogous units and processes across scales, (3) developing frameworks to unite multiple scales, and (4) extending frameworks to new empirical systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current global institutional architecture is a product of a bygone era of the power of dominant players to impose themselves on others. This paper argues that the multiple planetary emergencies upon us demand radical transformation of all institutions to reflect on the lessons learnt. It proposes an urgent examination of global governance institutions, with the UN system as the central pillar, with a particular focus on whether they are promoting justice and the social realisations that are part of their mandates. Countries in the Global South, such as South Africa, need to free themselves from the current irrational strictures of the Global Development Finance institutions, and mobilise their national resources—financial and natural—to provide basic needs and services to all their citizens to free their human potential. Citizens living dignified lives beyond survival would become creative energetic contributors to the wellbeing of all in a healthy biosphere, at local, national, regional, and global levels. We could do no better than heed Amartya Sen’s advice and overcome the “institutional fundamentalism” that has made us addicted to the current global institutional framework. The UN system, the Global Development Institutions have evidence of too many fault lines to be able to meet the reasonable social benefits of people living in Most of the World. A Reimagined global institutional framework for the 21st century is urgently needed to provide a platform for wellbeing of all in a healthy biosphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses the universal character of E.M. Galimov's concept in explaining the evolutionary mechanisms of biological systems. The concept is demonstrated to be able to explain not only the origin of life in the initially abiogenic world but also the biological evolution in systems at supra-organism ordering levels of living matter: ecosystems and the biosphere as a whole. The most general relations and trends in the origin of ecosystems are presented, with key characteristics of their stability are discussed, at which an ecosystems minimizes its energy dissipation. E.M. Galimov understood the modern phase of world's evolution as that involving the ordering of vast masses of material that does no belong to the organic world itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this paper is to assess the current status and trends of total mercury (THg) contamination of the atmosphere and terrestrial ecosystems in Poland. The study shows that the reduced domestic and worldwide atmospheric emission of Hg resulted in decreased THg level in the terrestrial biotope and biosphere. Considering that Poland is one of the main Hg emitters in Europe, the THg concentrations in its abiotic environment are still elevated. However, the THg level in terrestrial organisms is relatively low, which is because a large proportion of Hg deposited on land is accumulated in organic-rich soils. Regarding the THg concentration, consumption of wildlife and livestock from Poland is safe for humans. Nevertheless, the authors indicate the need for effective environmental monitoring, based on selected bioindicators, which is crucial considering the slowing reduction of Hg emission combined with the consequences of the changing climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Calls for a reconnection to nature and the biosphere have been growing louder over the last decades. Cultural landscapes are rapidly changing, posing a threat to ecosystems and biodiversity, but also to human–nature connections. Human–nature connectedness may be a potential lever to shift the unsustainable trajectory that we are currently proceeding, but is also negatively influenced by it. To concretize the call for a reconnection to nature, we used the leverage points perspective on five empirical case studies with focus on human–nature connectedness. Based on the synthesis of our yearlong work, in this perspective paper, we propose four leverage points to foster a sustainability transformation: (1) maintain and enhance the structural diversity of landscapes, (2) maintain and enhance economically and ecologically sustainable small-scale agriculture, (3) strengthen sense of place and (4) strengthen sense of agency in actors. Intervening in these leverage points could be effective to foster human–nature connectedness and ultimately contribute towards a sustainable trajectory. We further argue that the interconnection between leverage points is equally important as their systemic depth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The forest canopy is where the biosphere meets the atmosphere, and yet it has been poorly understood due to its inaccessibility. In the early 1990s, interest in the canopy of forests was increasing and researchers sought to attain greater access through the use of industrial cranes. In 1998 a crane was lowered, section by section, by helicopter and constructed in an area of lowland rainforest in the Daintree area of North Queensland. The constructed crane is 47 m high with a 55 m length jib providing access to the canopy of forest covering almost a hectare and including roughly 680 tree stems >10 cm DBH of 82 species. Since its installation, the crane has been used to provide novel insights into a range of fields including plant ecology and physiology, forest microclimate, and faunal and floral diversity. There has been a strong focus on insects including pollination and ant ecology, vertical distribution of insects from the ground to upper canopy, and the hidden diversity of insects and flowers. Current research using the crane is largely focused on the impacts of experimentally induced drought on trees and saplings and the consequences for insects. This paper describes the installation of the crane and initial management and functioning of the research facility. It provides insights on how best to install a canopy crane and maximise its use, as well as the pitfalls to avoid. Also addressed are the potential experimental problems posed by having a single site facility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, Deleuze and Guattari emerge as pioneers of a philosophical practice that finds its actualization in processes of terraforming. Whereas the dominant modes of thought and forms of life of our time have resulted in the ravaging of the biosphere and the endangerment of humanity's future, Deleuze and Guattari's joint works constitute a field manual for constructing another earth out of the ruins of this one. This paper suggests that the enigmatic figures that populate Deleuze and Guattari's oeuvre, including sorcerers and artisans, are actually blueprints for forms of philosophical engagement with the power to refashion the world into one habitable for future generations. By building on the references to a "new earth" scattered throughout the works of Deleuze and Guattari, and mining the field of contemporary architecture for projects that anticipate the new earth's emergence, this paper offers suggestions for how the new earth might be summoned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract—: The paper discusses V.I. Vernadsky’s concept of living matter of the biosphere. Living matter in the sense of all organisms of the biosphere considered collectively is heterogeneous, plastic, integral, organized, and facilitates the continuous movement of atoms of chemical elements, transforms energy, and forms and preserves corresponding environments. Living matter is characterized by a certain chemical elemental composition and mass and performs certain functions. Living matter is mosaic and ubiquitous. It is characterized by homeostasis due to biological diversity, multiple relations between individual organisms, and the unique ability of adaptation. The paper reports data on the mass of living matter, its differentiation, and chemical composition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid urbanization worldwide and ever-increasing impacts of human activities since at least 200 years ago, we are now facing a harsh situation of our biosphere. Building a global-level network model on ecological systems is of great importance, which would be able to provide us predictive and quantitative responses to human activities, leading to viable suggestions to policymakers. In this paper, we propose a multi-layer model for the global ecological network, where a number of local networks are connected via long-range interactions associated with migrant species, which can be induced by human activities or natural migration of wildlife, and each local network is generated by a trophic-level-based stochastic model. Predator–prey dynamics is described by a networked Lotka–Volterra model that accounts for the self-suppression effects on basal species, and the negative feedback loops. Impacts of human activities are modeled by investigating the quantitative changes of biodiversity under certain protecting strategies. We reveal that the global ecological network is organized in a clustered small-world manner, with in-degree distribution more heterogeneous than out-degree distribution. Protecting endangered species, popular preys and predicted-to-be-extinct species is more effective than randomly selected species or influential predators. Protecting after entering the fast extinction stage is more effective than at the beginning for some high trophic level species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecosystems integrity and services are threatened by anthropogenic global changes. Mitigating and adapting to these changes require knowledge of ecosystem functioning in the expected novel environments, informed in large part through experimentation and modelling. This paper describes 13 advanced controlled environment facilities for experimental ecosystem studies, herein termed ecotrons, open to the international community. Ecotrons enable simulation of a wide range of natural environmental conditions in replicated and independent experimental units while measuring various ecosystem processes. This capacity to realistically control ecosystem environments is used to emulate a variety of climatic scenarios and soil conditions, in natural sunlight or through broad‐spectrum lighting. The use of large ecosystem samples, intact or reconstructed, minimizes border effects and increases biological and physical complexity. Measurements of concentrations of greenhouse trace gases as well as their net exchange between the ecosystem and the atmosphere are performed in most ecotrons, often quasi continuously. The flow of matter is often tracked with the use of stable isotope tracers of carbon and other elements. Equipment is available for measurements of soil water status as well as root and canopy growth. The experiments ran so far emphasize the diversity of the hosted research. Half of them concern global changes, often with a manipulation of more than one driver. About a quarter deal with the impact of biodiversity loss on ecosystem functioning and one quarter with ecosystem or plant physiology. We discuss how the methodology for environmental simulation and process measurements, especially in soil, can be improved and stress the need to establish stronger links with modelling in future projects. These developments will enable further improvements in mechanistic understanding and predictive capacity of ecotron research which will play, in complementarity with field experimentation and monitoring, a crucial role in exploring the ecosystem consequences of environmental changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a comprehensive description of the newest version of the Dynamic Global Vegetation Model with managed Land, LPJmL4. This model simulates - internally consistently - the growth and productivity of both natural and agricultural vegetation as coherently linked through their water, carbon, and energy fluxes. These features render LPJmL4 suitable for assessing a broad range of feedbacks within and impacts upon the terrestrial biosphere as increasingly shaped by human activities such as climate change and land use change. Here we describe the core model structure, including recently developed modules now unified in LPJmL4. Thereby, we also review LPJmL model developments and evaluations in the field of permafrost, human and ecological water demand, and improved representation of crop types. We summarize and discuss LPJmL model applications dealing with the impacts of historical and future environmental change on the terrestrial biosphere at regional and global scale and provide a comprehensive overview of LPJmL publications since the first model description in 2007. To demonstrate the main features of the LPJmL4 model, we display reference simulation results for key processes such as the current global distribution of natural and managed ecosystems, their productivities, and associated water fluxes. A thorough evaluation of the model is provided in a companion paper. By making the model source code freely available at https://gitlab.pik-potsdam.de/lpjml/LPJmL, we hope to stimulate the application and further development of LPJmL4 across scientific communities in support of major activities such as the IPCC and SDG process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses a key issue confronting ecological and evolutionary biology, namely the challenge of a cohesive approach to these fields given significant differences in the concepts and foundations of their study. Yet these two areas of scientific research are paramount in terms addressing the spatial and temporal dynamics and distribution of diversity, an understanding of which is needed if we are to resolve the current crisis facing the biosphere. The importance of understanding how nature responds to change is now of essential rather than of metaphysical interest as our planet struggles with increasing anthropogenic damage. Ecology and evolutionary biology can no longer remain disjointed. While some progress has been made in terms of synthetic thinking across these areas, this has often been in terms of bridge building, where thinking in one aspect is extended over to the other side. We review these bridges and the success or otherwise of such efforts. This paper then suggests that in order to move from a descriptive to a mechanistic understanding of the biosphere, we may need to re-evaluate our approach to the studies of ecology and evolutionary biology, finding a common denominator that will enable us to address the critical issues facing us, particularly in terms of understanding what drives change, what determines tempo and how communities function. Common ground, we argue, is essential if we are to comprehend how resilience operates in the natural world and how diversification can counter increasing extinction rates. This paper suggests that thermodynamics may provide a bridge between ecology and evolutionary biology, and that this will enable us to move forward with otherwise intractable problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent advances in remote sensing of solar‐induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) have garnered wide interest from the biogeoscience and Earth system science communities, due to the observed linearity between SIF and gross primary productivity (GPP) at increasing spatiotemporal scales. Three recent studies, Maguire et al., (2020, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL087858), He et al. (2020, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL087474), and Marrs et al. (2020, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL087956) highlight a nonlinear relationship between fluorescence and photochemical yields and show empirical evidence for the decoupling of SIF, stomata, and the carbon reactions of photosynthesis. Such mechanistic studies help advance our understanding of what SIF is and what it is not. We argue that these findings are not necessarily contradictory to the linear SIF‐GPP relationship observed at the satellite scale and provide context for where, when, and why fluorescence and photosynthesis diverge at smaller spatiotemporal scales. Understanding scale dependencies of remote sensing data is crucial for interpreting SIF as a proxy for GPP. Plain Language Summary: When exposed to light, plants re‐emit a small amount of light from chlorophyll molecules called fluorescence. Remote sensing instruments are now capable of measuring chlorophyll fluorescence (which is emitted between 650–850 nm) from canopies to the globe (solar‐induced chlorophyll fluorescence; SIF). A growing number of papers have highlighted an empirical linear relationship between SIF and whole‐ecosystem photosynthesis (gross primary productivity; GPP). These advances have excited the broader Earth science research community, but recent studies have pointed out that the linear SIF‐GPP relationship at coarse scales does not hold true at smaller spatiotemporal scales. In this commentary, we synthesize three recent studies that provide insight into the relationship between fluorescence and photosynthesis at leaf and canopy scales, under natural and controlled conditions. At fine spatiotemporal scales, fluorescence can be decoupled with photosynthetic carbon uptake, but we argue that satellite measurements are often too coarse in time and space to observe the SIF‐photosynthesis decoupling and that the integration of canopy processes explains the observed linearity. As such, SIF plays an important role as an estimate of GPP at spatial and temporal scales relevant for monitoring global terrestrial productivity, benchmarking terrestrial biosphere and earth system models, and managing ecosystems. Key Points: Solar‐induced fluorescence (SIF) is widely used as a remote estimate of ecosystem gross primary productivity (GPP), but why does it work?Three recent studies point to inherent nonlinearities in the fluorescence‐photosynthesis relationship at fine spatiotemporal scalesWe synthesize mechanisms to suggest that these results are not contradictory to the increasingly linear SIF:GPP relationship across scales [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the first study in the academic literature to explore the various stages in the formation of geothermal ES and their interactions between the biosphere and anthroposphere. This is achieved through the development of the first ES cascade model in the academic literature specific to geothermal ES, which integrates the four main stages of co-production: value attribution, mobilisation of ES potential, value appropriation, and commercialisation. In so doing, conceptual understanding of human-environment relationships and processes in the context of geothermal ES are deepened. Examples from the academic and grey literature demonstrate that realisation of the full spectrum of benefits from geothermal areas often demands the mobilisation of various forms of physical capital. Reaping the benefits of provisioning ES, such as heat and minerals, or formal recreational experiences, such as geothermal spas, necessitates human interventions. Opportunities of likely value have to be attributed, with resources being mobilised in order to plan and research prospectivity, then benefits appropriated with a view to their commercialisation. Large-scale, industrial projects, especially geothermal power plants in high enthalpy fields, also constitute an overlap between anthropogenic and ecological systems, often leading to ES trade-offs, especially due to visual and noise impacts on the surroundings. Depending on the sociocultural context, multiple and conflicting value domains may be impacted by such ventures, justifying the adoption of a pluralist approach to valuation and use of integrated decision-support platforms to aid decision-makers. • First CICES classification of geothermal ecosystem services. • Four co-production stages: attribution, mobilisation, appropriation and commercialisation. • Benefits include formal recreational experiences and provisioned minerals. • Impacts from commercialisation include noise and visual effects. • Impacts to multiple value domains imply need for value pluralism in decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nuclear power technology (NPT) perception and acceptance have globally emerged as the most critical questions for the successful integration of NPT into any national energy mix. In its combination with seawater desalination, NPT provides a sustainable alternative for the security and economic efficiency of both energy and fresh water supply, the latter of which has been identified as "the bloodstream of the biosphere". Integrating econometric analysis into energy research with social science ramifications, this paper relies on bivariate ordered probit regression to study the impact of youths' interests in the biosphere on their awareness and optimism toward NPT in the UAE. The model is estimated using maximum likelihood methods, with the results showing each level increase in UAE youths' biospheric interests, to increase their NPT awareness by 13.5%, while conjointly reducing their optimistic expectations toward the technology by 2.4%. In addition, awareness and expectations about NPT are found to vary heterogeneously across the seven Emirates of the country. Moreover, accounting for all relevant factors (including respondents' biospheric interests), formed expectations about NPT are not significantly shaped by NPT awareness. Given that the first unit of the UAE's nuclear power plant "Barakah" just became operational in August 2020, our results provide important insights for evidence-based policy making to sustain the nascent nuclear energy program in the long run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The damage and injury that ground level ozone (O3) causes vegetation has become increasingly evident over the past half century with a large body of observational and experimental evidence demonstrating a variety of effects at ambient concentrations on crop, forest and grassland species and ecosystems. This paper explores the use of experimental data to develop exposure-response relationships for use in risk assessment studies. These studies have typically identified the USA mid-West, much of Europe, the Indo Gangetic Plain in South Asia and the Eastern coastal region of China as global regions where O3 is likely to threaten food supply and other ecosystems. Global risk assessment modelling estimates yield losses of staple crops between 3 to 16% causing economic losses of between US$14 to 26 billion in the year 2000. Changes in anthropogenic emissions of O3 precursors in recent decades have modified O3 concentration profiles (peaks versus background O3) and global distributions with the Northern Hemisphere seeing increases in O3 levels of between 1 and 5 ppb/decade since the 1950s and the emergence of Asia as the region with the highest O3 concentrations. In the future, O3 mitigation could focus on methane (CH4) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions; these will differentially influence global and local/regional O3 concentrations and influence daily and seasonal profiles. The consequent effects on vegetation will in part depend on how these changes in O3 profile alter the exceedance of detoxification thresholds for plant damage. Adaptation options may play an important role in enhancing food supply while mitigation strategies are being implemented. An improved understanding of the mechanisms by which O3 affects plants, and how this might influence detoxification thresholds and interactions with other environmental variables such as water stress and nutrients, would help develop O3 deposition and impact models to support the development of crop, land-surface exchange and ultimately earth system models for holistic assessments of global change. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Air quality, past present and future'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of toxicity is analyzed from the standpoints of theoretical biogeochemistry and geochemical ecology. The phenomenon of toxicity is demonstrated to appear and be able to significantly manifest itself only as a consequence of anthropogenic disturbances of self-regulation systems and dynamic equilibria that existed in natural biogeochemical cycles throughout the whole history of the biosphere. Thanks to these phenomena and in spite of unequilibrated distribution of elements in natural environments, all living organisms practically always coexisted in optimal geochemical environments. All chemical elements, which are always present in habitats, are needed for the adequate existence of living organisms, and hence, there are no undeniably and absolutely toxic elements, but instead these there are toxic dozes of elements able to induce toxic effects. It is important that deviations to both higher and lower concentrations from the optimal ones are equally hazardous, and hence, some organisms can be damaged by artificial deficits in some elements, whose ecological–geochemical properties are still understood inadequately poorly. The paper discusses the possibility of applying a new approach to solving the problem, and this is illustrated by mapping the distribution of the risk of thyroid carcinoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]