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Soil moisture， as a key hydrological variable connecting the surface and atmospheric water and heat exchange， affects the land-air water and heat exchange and carbon cycle process.However， due to the difficulty in monitoring soil moisture in alpine mountain areas， there are some difficulties in related research.The study of time stability can reduce the difficulty of soil moisture acquisition by selecting representative points.In this study， the slope of Shangzhangfanggou grassland in Shiyang River basin of Qilian Mountain was selected to set up a high-density and high-time resolution soil moisture monitoring network to explore the temporal and spatial variation and temporal stability of soil moisture on the slope scale in alpine mountainous areas.The research results show that： （1） The surface soil moisture （10 cm， 15.90%） is significantly higher than that in the deep layer （50 cm， 11.78%）， and its temporal variability （CvT=19.46%） is also stronger than that in the deep layer （CvT=10.67%）， but its spatial variability （CvS=20.05%） is weaker than that in the deep layer （CvS=27.06%）.（2） The time stability Index of Temporal Stability （0.24） is stronger than that of the deep layer （0.34）， and the surface layer and the deep layer can represent the surface soil moisture of the slope through 3 or 5 soil moisture monitoring points respectively （R2> 0.90）.（3） Slope position and soil hydrological properties have obvious influence on time stability， and the time stability point is more likely to appear at the position with larger bulk density and smaller shape parameter n under the slope.The research results are helpful to better understand the temporal and spatial variation law， temporal stability characteristics and control function of soil moisture on slope in alpine mountain areas.

Abstract Background Assessing the relationships between spatial and temporal structures and functions of plant communities is an effective way to understand the changing dynamics of plant communities in specific environments. In this study, we investigated the response of structural and functional stabilities of plant communities to stocking rate in the desert steppe over a 16-year grazing period as the research background. Methods We used classical statistical methods to investigate the quantitative characteristics of plant communities over time (2014–2019) and space (2017–2019) at four stocking rates (control, CK, 0 sheep·ha–1·month–1; light grazing, LG, 0.15 sheep·ha–1·month–1; moderate grazing, MG, 0.30 sheep·ha–1·month–1; heavy grazing, HG, 0.45 sheep·ha–1·month–1) in the Stipa breviflora desert steppe of Inner Mongolia. We then examined the relationship between structural and functional stability of plant communities. Results On the spatial scale, the structural stability of plant community was the highest in the LG treatment and the lowest in the MG treatment. The functional stability of plant community was the highest in the MG treatment and the lowest in the HG treatment. On the temporal scale, the structural stability of plant community was the highest in the MG treatment and the lowest in the LG treatment. The functional stability of plant community was the highest in the LG treatment and the lowest in the HG treatment. Affected by the stocking rate, the structural stability of plant community fluctuated more widely on the spatial scale and its functional stability varied more widely on the temporal scale. Nonetheless, the functional stability of the plant community is more responsive to the stocking rate. Conclusions Our findings suggest that influenced by the disturbance of stocking rate, the structural stability of plant community is more significant than the functional stability in the desert grassland ecosystem, which lays a solid foundation for the study of ecosystem stability.

Study region: a typical arid mountain region of northwestern China. Study focus: Soil water content (SWC) is the key factor regulating patchy vegetation patterns in arid/semiarid areas. However, accurately determining the regional SWC status remains a challenge due to the time and labor-intensive nature of manual sampling methods. Furthermore, a thorough understanding of the influence of different sampling frequencies (SFs) on SWC spatio-temporal dynamics in arid mountain forests is lacking. New hydrological insights for the region: SFs had a distinct effect on mean SWC, and temporal stability characteristics under lower (15–45 days, LSFs) and higher SFs (within 7 days, HSFs). SF influenced mean SWC for 0–20 cm under HSFs only but had a significant influence for 0–20 and 40–60 cm under LSFs. SF did not influence Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient (rs) for the 0–20 cm layer, but had a significant effect on the standard deviation of mean relative difference (SDRD) under HSFs; however, SF had a significant effect on rs for the deep layer (80–100 cm), but did not influence SDRD under LSFs. Although the number of representative locations (RLs) was significantly higher under HSFs than LSFs, no RLs were found at 100–120 cm. The mean SWC for all soil depths except 40–100 cm under HSFs was predicted accurately for each SF. This indicated that HSFs were not conducive to the identification of deep soil RLs, and had a significant impact on the prediction accuracy of SWC for deep layers. LSFs were not conducive to the identification of surface soil RLs but they can accurately estimate mean SWC, and prediction accuracy improved when SF was reduced. These results have important implications for optimizing water sampling schemes and promoting sustainable ecological development in water-deficient regions.

Effects of human activities and climate change on temporal stability of terrestrial ecosystems remains controversial. This study explored the spatiotemporal patterns and driving mechanisms of the temporal stability of soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), their ratios (C:N, C:P, N:P), and pH at 0–10 cm, 10–20 cm, and 20–30 cm in the Tibetan grasslands during 2000–2020. Spatially averaged values of relative changes in temporal stability of soil variables ranged from –19.78 % to –6.85 %. In contrast, the relative changes of temporal stability of soil variables were increased for 31.39–45.98 % grassland areas. Climate change dominated changes in the temporal stability of soil variables in 31.50–44.07 % of grassland areas. Meanwhile, human activities predominated changes in 55.35–68.43 % of it. Compared to precipitation change and warming, radiation change had stronger effects on relative changes of temporal stability of SOC, TN, TP, C:N and C:P at 0–10 cm, SOC and TP at 10–20 cm, and TN and C:N at 20–30 cm. Soil variables themselves were not always positively correlated with their temporal stability, and may even be negatively correlated. Relative changes of temporal stability of soil variables were not always negatively but even positively correlated with relative changes of soil variables. Therefore, the interaction of climate change and human activities can homogenize or heterogeneize the spatial distributions of temporal stability of soil variables. The temporal stability of these soil variables overall decreased, with local increase. The areas of the change of temporal stability of soil variables caused by human activities were greater than those of climate change. Effects of radiation change on the spatio-temporal patterns of temporal stability of soil variables should be underlined. There were not always trade-off relationships between relative changes of soil variables and relative changes of temporal stability of soil variables.

Soil moisture is a critical factor for vegetation restoration in arid regions. Poorly planned artificial sand-fixing vegetation systems often exacerbate soil moisture depletion, leading to further degradation. In this study, soil moisture content at various depths was continuously monitored from June to October 2023 in four key community plots—Corethrodendron scoparium, Calligonum mongolicum, and Artemisia ordosica, and bare sand—in a 31-year-old revegetated area located on the northeastern edge of the Tengger Desert. We analyzed the distribution and dynamic changes of soil moisture across the different and evaluated its temporal stability. The representative soil moisture depth was determined by using the coefficient of determination (R2) and the Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE). The results showed significant differences in soil moisture among the four plots. The bare sand plot had the highest soil water storage in the 0-200 cm layer, at 46.37 mm. In contrast, the Corethrodendron scoparium, Calligonum mongolicum, and Artemisia ordosicaa plots had similar soil water storage values ranging from 33.50 to 33.67 mm, indicating that vegetation restoration has increased soil moisture absorption by an average of 27.4%. Analysis using relative difference and Spearman rank correlation methods revealed varying levels of temporal stability in soil moisture across different soil depths and plots. The Corethrodendron scoparium and bare sand plots showed higher temporal stability compared to the Calligonum mongolicum and Artemisia ordosica plots. The representative depths of temporal stability for the four plots were determined to be 100 cm, 150 cm, 20 cm, and 100 cm, respectively.

As large language models (LLMs) continue to gain popularity due to their human-like traits and the intimacy they offer to users, their societal impact inevitably expands. This leads to the rising necessity for comprehensive studies to fully understand LLMs and reveal their potential opportunities, drawbacks and overall societal impact. With that in mind, this research conducted an extensive investigation into seven LLMs, aiming to assess the temporal stability and inter-rater agreement on their responses on personality instruments in two time points. In addition, LLMs’ personality profile was analysed and compared with human normative data. The findings revealed varying levels of inter-rater agreement in the LLMs’ responses over a short time, with some LLMs showing higher agreement (e.g. Llama3 and GPT-4o) compared with others (e.g. GPT-4 and Gemini). Furthermore, agreement depended on used instruments as well as on domain or trait. This implies the variable robustness in LLMs’ ability to reliably simulate stable personality characteristics. In the case of scales which showed at least fair agreement, LLMs displayed mostly a socially desirable profile in both agentic and communal domains, as well as a prosocial personality profile reflected in higher agreeableness and conscientiousness and lower Machiavellianism. Exhibiting temporal stability and coherent responses on personality traits is crucial for AI systems due to their societal impact and AI safety concerns.

Background/purpose: Healthy states of human microbiota depend on a stable community of symbiotic microbes irrespective of external challenges from the environment. Thus, long-term stability of the oral microbiota is of importance, particularly for older patient populations. Materials and methods: We used next-generation sequencing (NGS) to examine the tongue microbiota of 18 individuals receiving long-term care over a 10-month period. Results: Beta diversity analysis demonstrated temporal stability of the tongue microbiota, as microbial compositions from all time points were indistinguishable from each other (P = 0.0887). However, significant individual variation in microbial composition (P = 0.0001) was observed, underscoring the presence of a unique microbial profile for each patient. Conclusion: The temporal dynamics of tongue microbiota exhibit long-term stability, providing diagnostic implications for oral diseases within older patient populations.

Drought usually affects the normal functioning of grassland ecosystems. Due to sustained global warming, the frequency and intensity of drought have significantly increased, leading to greater impacts on many aspects of grassland ecosystem functions, such as soil moisture, vegetation physiological structure and ecosystem community structure. Ecosystem stability dimension can help us better understand the changes induced by drought occurred within ecosystems. Using the Normalized Vegetation Index (NDVI), climate and biodiversity data, we quantified resistance, resilience and temporal stability of grassland ecosystems under long term drought in northern China and calculated the ecosystem stability dimension based on the correlation between the three stability indicators. The results indicated that Qinghai Tibet Plateau and Inner Mongolian Plateau showed strong resistance to drought, while Loess Plateau region presented rapid recovery after drought. The resistance, compared to resilience and temporal stability, exhibited stronger sensitivity to drought in space. Drought promoted the transformation of grassland ecosystems into multidimensional structures. The reduction of aboveground biomass caused by frequent droughts accelerated the transformation in grassland ecosystems. Our findings provide the new insights for guiding the response mechanism of drought on grassland ecosystems.

Community stability plays a vital role in ensuring the consistent provision of ecosystem services despite climatic changes. It is presumed that future changes to annual precipitation will impact the ecological stability of many systems, particularly the ‘fragile’ desert steppe. However, most studies of ecological stability are inferred from short-term field precipitation manipulation experiments. There is still extensively to learn regarding how the desert steppe reacts to long-term changes in precipitation. We conducted a 7-year experimental study monitoring the aboveground biomass of major plant functional groups (perennial grasses, perennial forbs, annual herbs, and semi-shrubs) under four experimentally manipulated precipitation gradients [reducing natural precipitation by 50% (-50%), natural precipitation (CK), increasing natural precipitation by 50% (+50%), and increasing natural precipitation by 100% (+100%)] to evaluate how changes in precipitation affect the biomass stability of plant communities. We did observe higher levels of species asynchrony, resistance, resilience, and temporal stability of community and functional groups in experimental plots receiving more precipitation. Interestingly, the contribution of species richness to community stability was not observed in our experiment. The increase in soil water content in the 20–30 cm soil layer caused by increased precipitation promoted the resilience of perennial grasses but inhibited the resistance of perennial forbs. At the same time, the decrease in soil inorganic nitrogen caused by increased rainfall inhibited the resilience of perennial grasses. Notably, community resilience predominantly hinged on the resilience of perennial grasses, while community resistance was primarily dictated by the resistance of perennial forbs. Moreover, species asynchrony emerged as the primary regulator of community temporal stability. Our long-term experimental evidence underscores the transformative potential of precipitation in reshaping grassland stability across both functional and structural dimensions. Importantly, sustaining the high stability of perennial herbs emerges as a strategic avenue for enhancing the ecological stability of the desert steppe in the face of evolving precipitation patterns.

This study introduces a global land cover clustering using an unsupervised algorithm, incorporating the novel step of filtering data to retain only temporally stable pixels before applying K-means clustering. Unlike previous approaches that did not assess the pixel-level temporal stability, this method provides more reliable clustering results. The K-means identified 160 distinct clusters, with Cluster 13 Global Temporally Stable (Cluster 13-GTS) showing significant improvements in temporal stability. Compared to Cluster 13 Global (Cluster 13-G) from earlier research, Cluster 13-GTS reduced the coefficient of variation by up to 1% and increased the number of calibration locations from 23 to over 50. This study also validated these clusters using TOA reflectance from ground-truth measurements collected at the Radiometric Calibration Network (RadCalNet) Gobabeb (RCN-GONA) site, incorporating data from Landsat 8, Landsat 9, Sentinel-2A, and Sentinel-2B. The GONA Extended Pseudo Invariant Calibration Sites (EPICS) GONA-EPICS cluster used for the validation provided statistically comparable mean TOA reflectance to RCN-GONA, with a reduced chi-square test indicating minimal differences within the cluster’s uncertainty range. Notably, the difference in reflectance between RCN-GONA and GONA-EPICS was less than 0.023 units across all the bands. Although GONA-EPICS exhibited slightly higher uncertainty (6.4% to 10.3%) compared to RCN-GONA site (

This study aimed to identify and compare the risk factors associated with motorcycle crash severity during both daytime and nighttime, for single and multivehicle incidents in Thailand using 2021–2024 data. The research employed the XGBoost (Extreme Gradient Boosting) method for statistical analysis and extensively examined the temporal instability of risk factors. The results highlight the importance of features impacting the injury severity of roadway collisions across various conditions. For single motorcycle crashes, the key risk factors included speeding, early morning incidents, off-road events, and long holidays. In multivehicle crashes, rear-end collisions, interactions with large vehicles, and collisions involving other motorcycles or passenger cars were linked to increased injury severity. The findings indicate that the important factors associated with motorcyclist injury severity in roadway crashes vary depending on the type of crash and time of day. These insights are valuable for policymakers and relevant authorities in developing targeted interventions to enhance road safety and mitigate the incidence of severe and fatal motorcycle crashes.

ObjectiveThe aims of this study were to examine changes in habitual optimism over a six-year period and to analyze the relationship between changes in optimism and changes in other quality of life-related variables.MethodA randomly selected community sample of the German adult general population (N = 4,965) was surveyed twice, with a time interval of 6.04 years.ResultsDuring the course of the 6 years, the mean score of the LOT-R total scale improved (effect size d = 0.11). The temporal stability in terms of the test–retest correlation was r = 0.61 for the total sample. There were only marginal gender differences in this temporal stability, however, the stability in the oldest age group ≥70 years (r = 0.50) was lower than the stability of the other age groups. The cross-sectional correlations showed clear relationships between optimism on the one hand and quality of life, life satisfaction, social support, and low levels of anxiety and physical complaints on the other. The corresponding longitudinal correlations between changes in optimism and changes in the other variables were less pronounced, but in the same direction.ConclusionThe study confirmed the applicability of the LOT-R in longitudinal studies. In samples with participants of 70 years and above, the limited stability in the optimism assessments needs to be considered in clinical practice and epidemiologic research.

Study region: Mimoso Alluvial Valley, Semiarid Brazil. Study focus: This study aims to assess the influence of climate variability and exploitation on groundwater accessibility, quantity and quality, based on a spatiotemporal data analysis from long-term monitoring field campaigns, conducted monthly from 2000 to 2019. This study successfully identified representative stable monitoring points, piezometers and wells, for piezometric and salinity levels employing the technique of relative differences, taking into account aquifer hydraulic properties. Trend analysis was then carried out adopting the Mann-Kendall Method, Sen's Slope test, Pettitt test, and the Seasonal Trend decomposition through the Loess (STL) method. Principal Component Multivariate Analysis (PCA) was also employed to validate long-term analysis of annual groundwater levels, rainfall, evapotranspiration, and pumping rates. New hydrological insights for the region: The spatial-temporal variability of salinity is closely linked to the salt balance in regions with low hydraulic permeability and groundwater use for irrigation. Groundwater salinity presented a strong link between rainfall and groundwater levels. A temporal rise in evapotranspiration alongside declines in rainfall and groundwater levels was observed, potentially exacerbating groundwater scarcity alongside intensified aquifer exploitation. Furthermore, groundwater salinity presented a decreasing trend for the pumping wells and no trends for piezometers. This could potentially disrupt future irrigation plans and cause long-term water shortages in a region already under severe water scarcity. Hence, groundwater pumping constitutes a positive management alternative for controlling groundwater salinity in the domain.

In recent decades, there has been increasing interest in studying the variability in soil water properties and, specifically, the spatiotemporal variability in the soil water content. This is motivated by the notable theoretical and applied research interests in soil moisture dynamics and their implications for many natural processes. This study aimed to study whether there are variations in the spatial pattern of the temporal stability of soil moisture over time and to analyze the possible influences of certain hydroclimatic (soil water content, precipitation, and evapotranspiration) and soil factors (texture, bulk density, and organic matter content) on these variations. This study was conducted within the Soil Moisture Measurement Stations Network of the University of Salamanca (REMEDHUS, Spain) under Mediterranean conditions, with daily surface moisture data (0–5 cm depth) obtained from 20 stations for the 2006-2023 period. The results showed differences between the average pattern obtained with the 18-year data series and that obtained with the data series for each year. In more than half of the years studied, the representative station differed from that derived from the average pattern. The mean annual precipitation and summer precipitation characteristics seem to be the main factors influencing the variability in the spatial pattern of the temporal stability of soil moisture.

Background: Hair has become an increasingly valuable medium to investigate the association between chronic stress, stable differences in systemic cortisol secretion and later health. Assessing cortisol in hair has many advantages, notably its non-invasive and retrospective nature, the need for a single biospecimen and convenient storage until analysis. However, few studies offered empirical evidence documenting the long-term temporal stability of hair cortisol concentration (HCC) prior to analysis, especially in humans. Yet, knowing how long hair samples can be stored without compromising the accuracy of cortisol measurement is of crucial importance when planning data collection and analysis. This study examined the stability of HCC in hair samples assayed twice, five years apart. Methods: We randomly selected from a larger distribution of HCC measured in 17-year-old participants 39 hair samples to be reanalyzed five years later, under the same general conditions. Samples were assayed in duplicate using a luminescence immunoassay and compared with the original HCC using the Lin's concordance correlation coefficient (CCC), Bland-Altman plot analysis and Wilcoxon rank test. Results: Findings indicated a good concordance and temporal stability between the two samples assayed five years apart (CCC [95% confidence interval] = 0.84 [0.72–0.91]), although a small decrease in HCC was noted 5 years later (8.4% reduction, p = 0.001). Conclusion: Our study confirms that hair samples, when stored at room temperature and away from sunlight, can be assayed for at least five years without risking a loss of precision in HCC measurement.

The aim of the present study was to validate the Slovenian version of the ZKPQ-50-CC (Aluja et al., 2006). The ZKPQ-50-CC is a shortened, cross-culturally validated version of the Zuckerman Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire (ZKPQ; Zuckerman et al., 1988), based on an alternative five-factor model of personality. Our sample included 2138 emerging adults (1534 females; Mage = 21.28 years; SD = 3.62) who filled in both the ZKPQ-50-CC and the Big Five Inventory (BFI; John et al., 1991). The results of a confirmatory factor analysis showed similarities to those of the original validation study across four European countries (Aluja et al., 2006). To improve upon the psychometric properties of the ZKPQ-50-CC scales, however, we removed six items with low factor loadings (below .30), resulting in the ZKPQ-44-CC. The five factors (Impulsive Sensation Seeking, Neuroticism-Anxiety, Aggression-Hostility, Activity, and Sociability) of the adjusted instrument suggested acceptable internal reliability, as well as satisfactory convergent and divergent validity against the BFI factors. We also determined relatively high levels of temporal stability (measurements two years apart) of the alternative five factors in a smaller follow-up sample (n = 168). Despite several drawbacks, we consider the ZKPQ-44-CC appropriate for psychological research in Slovenia.

While the gut microbiome has been intensively investigated for more than twenty years already, its role in various disorders remains to be unraveled. At the same time, questions about what changes in the gut microbiota can be considered as normal or pathological and whether communities are able to recover after exposure to negative factors (diseases, medications, environmental factors) are still unclear. Here, we describe changes in the gut microbiota composition and the content of short-chain fatty acids in adult healthy volunteers (n = 15) over a 24 month-period. Intraindividual variability in gut microbial composition was 40%, whereas the short chain fatty acids profile remained relatively stable (2-year variability 20%, inter-individual 26%). The changes tend to accumulate over time. Nevertheless, both short-term and long-term changes in the gut microbiome composition were significantly smaller within individuals than interindividual differences (two-year interindividual variability was 75%). Seasonal changes in gut microbiota were found more often in autumn and spring involving the content of minor representatives (less than 1.5% of the community in average) in the phyla Actinobacteriota, Firmicutes and Proteobacteria.

Calibrating optical sensors has become a priority to maintain data quality and ensure consistency among sensors from different agencies. Achieving and monitoring radiometric calibration often involves the identification of temporally stable targets on the Earth’s surface. Although some locations across North Africa have traditionally been used as primary targets for calibration purposes, it is crucial to explore alternative options to account for potential changes in these sites over time. This study conducted a global assessment of pixel-level temporal stability using Landsat 8 OLI data, with the primary goal of identifying regions suitable for global radiometric calibration efforts. This work followed a two-stage approach, including the testing and selection of an effective combination of statistical tests to differentiate between temporally stable and unstable pixels and the generation of a worldwide mosaic of temporally stable pixels through a per-pixel statistical analysis employing a combination of Spearman’s rho and Pettitt’s test for assessing long-term trends and detecting change points. Notably, comparing the temporal mean top-of-atmosphere (TOA) reflectance before and after applying the generated temporal filter to a site with documented unstable pixels revealed a substantial reduction in mean variation, up to 6%. In addition, slopes observed in the pre-filter mean TOA reflectance, ranging between −0.002 and −0.005, became zero or near-zero and statistically insignificant after the temporal filter was applied, demonstrating a reduction in total uncertainties by 3 to 4%. These findings evidence the potential of this work, placing it as a potential foundation in the continuous search to identify additional targets for global radiometric calibration efforts.

Abstract Key message We found that the stabilizing mechanisms for forest productivity varied across harvesting intensities in a mixed broad-leaved Korean pine forest. Effects of overyielding at high species richness and species asynchrony occurred only in unharvested and lightly harvested plots, whereas asymmetries between individuals of different size contributed significantly to stabilizing productivity when harvestings became intensive. Context Understanding the driving factors of forest ecosystem stability has become increasingly crucial in forest management. However, it remains unclear whether and how the stabilizing mechanisms of forest productivity might be influenced by management practices. Aims We related the temporal stability of aboveground biomass productivity to harvesting history. We further tested how three key driving mechanisms of stability might be modulated by selective harvesting intensities. Methods Based on a 10-year monitoring (five repeated tree inventories) of a mixed broad-leaved Korean pine forest in Northeastern China recovering from selective harvesting, we examined the relative importance of two diversity-dependent mechanisms (overyielding and species asynchrony) and one size-dependent mechanism (asymmetric growth) for productivity stability across a wide range of intensities (0–73.4% basal area removed). Results We found that selective harvesting significantly lowered the productivity stability, species asynchrony, and growth dominance coefficient. Growth dominance coefficient had an overall stronger effect on stability than species richness and asynchrony. Moreover, the strengths of stabilizing mechanisms varied across harvesting intensities: effects of overyielding at high species richness and species asynchrony were detected only in unharvested and lightly harvested plots, whereas the explanatory power of growth dominance coefficient outweighed the diversity-related variables when harvesting became intensive. Conclusions We emphasized the importance to consider both diversity- and size-related explanatory variables as potential mechanisms for the temporal stability of forest productivity. In fact, how growth is partitioned among trees of different species as well as sizes may co-determine the response of forest stability to disturbances.

Background: Previous studies have found that the postdisaster developmental course of depression is more stable than that of other mental disorders among children and adolescents. However, the network structure and temporal stability of depressive symptoms after natural disasters among children and adolescents remain unknown. Objective: This study aims to understand the depressive symptom network and evaluate its temporal stability among children and adolescents after natural disasters. Methods: Three-wave measurements were conducted among 1,466 children and adolescents at 3, 15, and 27 months following the Zhouqu debris flow. Depressive symptoms were evaluated by the Child Depression Inventory (CDI), which was dichotomised to signify the presence or absence of depressive symptoms. Depression networks were estimated with the Ising model, and expected influence was used to assess node centrality. A network comparison test was used to test the differences in the depression networks among the three temporal points. Results: Overall, the depressive symptom network was temporally stable regarding symptom centrality and global connectivity over the two-year study period. Self-hate, loneliness, and sleep disturbance were central symptoms and had low variability in the depressive networks at the three temporal points. Crying and self-deprecation had large temporal variability in centrality. Conclusion: The present study provides the first evidence for the temporal stability of the youth depressive symptom network postdisaster. The similar central symptoms and connectivity of depression symptoms at different temporal points after natural disasters may partially explain the stable prevalence and developmental trajectory of depression. Self-hate, loneliness, and sleep disturbance could be central characteristics, and sleep disturbance and reduced appetite, sadness and crying, and misbehaviour and disobedience could be key associations in the endurance of depression among children and adolescents after experiencing a natural disaster.

Study region: Datong County, located in the loess alpine hills of north-western China. Study focus: This study investigated soil moisture and environmental factors in three catchments (10, 20 and 40 years after afforestation with sparse forests) to examine the influence and dominant factors of afforestation with sparse forests on the stability of soil moisture patterns in the catchment. New hydrological insights for the study region: The results show that long-term afforestation with sparse forests improved the soil moisture in the catchment. The spatial patterns of soil moisture (SMSP) were highly stable in all three catchments, except for surface (0–20 cm) soil moisture. Afforestation with sparse forests improved the stability of the spatial patterns and the fitting of representative locations (R2:0.818–0.878). In the early and middle afforestation periods, soil moisture was mainly influenced by plant indices such as fine root biomass, shrub grass biomass and leaf area index, whereas in the middle and late periods, the temporal stability of soil moisture gradually became more dependent on soil indices such as the clay content and soil organic carbon. This study provides a scientific basis for improving the understanding of soil hydrological processes in areas afforested with sparse forests and for optimising the selection of sample sites in the loess alpine hilly region.

Temporal stability of soil moisture distribution is crucial to revealing the hydrological process of slope, but rarely accounted for during ecological restoration for engineering slopes. In this study, the effects of ecological restoration with different vegetations on soil moisture distribution were assessed by introducing temporal stability analysis. First, the ecological model slopes with grass and shrub covers were constructed to explore soil moisture distribution at the depth of 0 ∼ 100 cm. Then the spatial variability and correlation of soil moisture in ecological slope were analyzed. The similarity of the spatial distribution patterns among different periods were explored by temporal stability indices. Finally, the representative locations of soil moisture for each ecological slope were obtained and discussed. The results showed that soil moisture distribution was largely influenced by vegetation and rainfall. The similarity of spatial distribution patterns in ecological slopes with different vegetations differed from each other. Due to the difference in hydrological effects. The spatial distribution of soil moisture in slope was less similar in time under Cynodon dactylon cover, while it was better under Multiflora magnolia. Based on relative difference and time stability index, most of best representative locations were distributed at the top of the slope, followed by the middle of the slope. The study provides a theoretical basis for the rational monitoring point design of soil moisture content and a guide for the ecological restoration of engineering slopes.

Soil moisture is important for understanding climate, water resources, water storage, and land use management. This study used Sentinel-2 (S-2) satellite optical data to retrieve surface soil moisture at a 10 m scale on grassland sites with low hydraulic conductivity soil in a climate dominated by heavy rainfall. Soil moisture was estimated after modifying the Optical Trapezoidal Model to account for mixed land cover in such conditions. The method uses data from a short-wave infra-red band, which is sensitive to soil moisture, and four vegetation indices from optical bands, which are sensitive to overlying vegetation. Scatter plots of these data from multiple, infrequent satellite passes are used to define the range of surface moisture conditions. The saturated and dry edges are clearly non-linear, regardless of the choice of vegetation index. Land cover masks are used to generate scatter plots from data only over grassland sites. The Enhanced Vegetation Index demonstrated advantages over other vegetation indices for surface moisture estimation over the entire range of grassland conditions. In poorly drained soils, the time lag between satellite surface moisture retrievals and in situ sensor soil moisture at depth must be part of the validation process. This was achieved by combining an approximate solution to the Richards’ Equation, along with measurements of saturated and residual moisture from soil samples, to optimise the correlations between measurements from satellites and sensors at a 15 cm depth. Time lags of 2–4 days resulted in a reduction of the root mean square errors between volumetric soil moisture predicted from S-2 data and that measured by in situ sensors, from ~0.1 m3/m3 to 3/m3. The surface moisture results for two grassland sites were analysed using statistical concepts based upon the temporal stability of soil water content, an ideal framework for the intermittent Sentinel-2 data in conditions of persistent cloud cover. The analysis could discriminate between different natural drainages and surface soil textures in grassland areas and could identify sub-surface artificial drainage channels. The techniques are transferable for land-use and agricultural management in diverse environmental conditions without the need for extensive and expensive in situ sensor networks.

Using task-dependent neuroimaging techniques, recent studies discovered a fraction of patients with disorders of consciousness (DOC) who had no command-following behaviors but showed a clear sign of awareness as healthy controls, which was defined as cognitive motor dissociation (CMD). However, existing task-dependent approaches might fail when CMD patients have cognitive function (e.g., attention, memory) impairments, in which patients with covert awareness cannot perform a specific task accurately and are thus wrongly considered unconscious, which leads to false-negative findings. Recent studies have suggested that sustaining a stable functional organization over time, i.e., high temporal stability, is crucial for supporting consciousness. Thus, temporal stability could be a powerful tool to detect the patient's cognitive functions (e.g., consciousness), while its alteration in the DOC and its capacity for identifying CMD were unclear. The resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI) study included 119 participants from three independent research sites. A sliding-window approach was used to investigate global and regional temporal stability, which measured how stable the brain's functional architecture was across time. The temporal stability was compared in the first dataset (36/16 DOC/controls), and then a Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier was built to discriminate DOC from controls. Furthermore, the generalizability of the SVM classifier was tested in the second independent dataset (35/21 DOC/controls). Finally, the SVM classifier was applied to the third independent dataset, where patients underwent rs-fMRI and brain-computer interface assessment (4/7 CMD/potential non-CMD), to test its performance in identifying CMD. Our results showed that global and regional temporal stability was impaired in DOC patients, especially in regions of the cingulo-opercular task control network, default-mode network, fronto-parietal task control network, and salience network. Using temporal stability as the feature, the SVM model not only showed good performance in the first dataset (accuracy = 90%), but also good generalizability in the second dataset (accuracy = 84%). Most importantly, the SVM model generalized well in identifying CMD in the third dataset (accuracy = 91%). Our preliminary findings suggested that temporal stability could be a potential tool to assist in diagnosing CMD. Furthermore, the temporal stability investigated in this study also contributed to a deeper understanding of the neural mechanism of consciousness.

Enteric bacterial pathogen levels can influence the suitability of irrigation water sources for fruits and vegetables. We hypothesize that stable spatial patterns of Salmonella enterica and Listeria monocytogenes levels may exist across surface water sources in the Mid-Atlantic U.S. Water samples were collected at four streams and two pond sites in the mid-Atlantic U.S. over 2 years, biweekly during the fruit and vegetable growing seasons, and once a month during nongrowing seasons. Two stream sites and one pond site had significantly different mean concentrations in growing and nongrowing seasons. Stable spatial patterns were determined for relative differences between the site concentrations and average concentration of both pathogens across the study area. Mean relative differences were significantly different from zero at four of the six sites for S. enterica and three of six sites for L. monocytogenes. There was a similarity between the mean relative difference distribution between sites over growing season, nongrowing season, and the entire observation period. Mean relative differences were determined for temperature, oxidation-reduction potential, specific electrical conductance, pH, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, and cumulative rainfall. A moderate-to-strong Spearman correlation (rs > 0.657) was found between spatial patterns of S. enterica and 7-day rainfall, and between relative difference patterns of L. monocytogenes and temperature (rs = 0.885) and dissolved oxygen (rs = -0.885). Persistence in ranking sampling sites by the concentrations of the two pathogens was also observed. Finding spatially stable patterns in pathogen concentrations highlights spatiotemporal dynamics of these microorganisms across the study area can facilitate the design of an effective microbial water quality monitoring program for surface irrigation water.

Understanding the link between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning is imperative for ecosystem-based management. The role of multitrophic diversity in sustaining multifunctionality remains unclear, especially in highly diverse aquatic ecosystems. We performed a species-addition experiment consisting of one, two, three, and five species in simulated multitrophic ecosystems to evaluate biodiversity and ecosystem functioning relationships within and across trophic levels. Our results showed that there are positive species richness–productivity relationships within and across trophic levels. We found significant negative correlations between species richness and the cumulative variation of total phosphorus, and between species richness and ecosystem multifunctionality across trophic levels. Also, we found that the relationships between ecosystem multifunctionality and species richness within and across the trophic levels are mediated by a combination of environmental factors, including water temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, irradiance, and time, rather than by species richness. Our results imply that species richness–ecosystem functioning relationships vary for different ecological functions; the individual ecosystem functions selected and the way multifunctionality calculated are critical when examining links between biodiversity and ecosystem multifunctionality. Our study highlights that multitrophic richness, such as for consumers, is crucial for driving ecosystem multifunctionality. Furthermore, our study implies that management practices for restoring the diversity of aquatic macrophytes in wetlands should consider not only macrophyte richness but also different functional groups and life-forms.

Abstract Background Late talking (LT) in toddlers is a risk factor for language weakness that may interfere with the development of using language to regulate behavior and emotion and contribute to the development of behavior problems from early childhood. This study examined the temporal stability of parent-reported behavior problems among Mandarin-speaking LT toddlers from ages 2 to 4 in Taiwan. Methods Thirty-one LT and 31 typical language development (TLD) toddlers were assessed for their vocabulary production at age 2 with the Words and Sentences Forms of the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Developmental Inventories Toddler Form (Taiwan version). Additionally, participants’ receptive and expressive language abilities were assessed using the receptive and expressive language subscales of the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Third Edition. At age 4, the Child Language Disorder Scale-Revised was applied and included the two core subtests for auditory comprehension and expressive communication. At ages 2 and 4 years, behavior problems were assessed with the Child Behavior Checklist. Results There was a higher percentage of participants with persistent behavior problems among LT toddlers than among TLD toddlers. Moreover, toddlers with larger vocabularies were less likely to develop withdrawal behaviors by preschool age. Conclusions This study supported the temporal stability of parent-reported behavior problems among LT toddlers across early childhood. Early identification of and intervention for behavior problems associated with LT in toddlerhood is essential to alleviate their behavior problems later in preschool years.

Soil water content plays an important role in crop production, especially in the main rice production areas of China. The temporal stability of soil water content was studied in a paddy field of Taihu Lake region, southeast China. There were two treatments in this experiment, one was mulch with rice straw and the other was without mulch. Soil water content of the two treatments was monitored at the interval of 10 days by the Time Domain Reflectometer probes which were installed in situ, and measured both at 14 and 33 cm soil layers. The data were evaluated by temporal stability methods and Spearman's correlation. Results showed that mulching with rice straw proved to be efficient in retaining the soil water at the 14 cm soil layer. Based on the relative difference method, the representative positions of the experiment field were identified, which accurately represented the field-mean soil water at the experiment field was detected in terms of root mean square error, less than 2.18%. The Spearman's correlation values were high, which indicates temporal dependence along the experiment period. The data of soil water temporal stability could provide scientific basis for adequate water management in paddy field. HIGHLIGHTS The deeper the soil layer, the better the temporal stability of soil moisture.; Temporal stability of soil moisture affects agricultural production.; The temporal stability of soil moisture can provide information in large area.; Straw mulching had significant effect on temporal stability of soil surface water.; The use of field water stability can reduce the number of observations required for soil water management.;

Roundabout crashes are common worldwide but have received little attention. In particular, the investigation remains relatively understudied in distinct collision modes of roundabout crashes, including angle and non-angle crashes. This study investigates differences in factors affecting injury severity between angle and non-angle crashes and how these differences change over time. Random parameter logit models with heterogeneity in mean and variance were estimated using 2012–2019 Florida crash data. Variables considered for the modeling include temporal characteristics, environmental characteristics, road characteristics, spatial characteristics, vehicle characteristics, crash characteristics, and human characteristics. In addition, likelihood ratio tests were used to investigate the temporal instabilities of the models and differences in collision modes. The results showed that only a few variables demonstrated temporally stable effects for angle collisions (weekend and dark-lighted) and non-angle collisions (paved shoulders and cyclists), respectively. Unique influencing factors of injury severity were identified for different collision modes, such as dark-lighted, straight alignment, merge, lane departure, the disabled driver for angle collisions, and clear, fog, commercial vehicles, and aggressive driving for non-angle collisions. The results of the out-of-sample prediction simulations further demonstrate the difference in injury severity over time for angle and non-angle collisions. Overall results suggest that countermeasures can be implemented to reduce the injury severity of angle crashes/non-angle crashes based on the significant variables identified. This study may be used to improve roundabout safety by considering different collision modes.

The spatiotemporal variation of the model parameters of the soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC) reflect the soil water holding capacity and soil pore distribution state. It is an integral part of interdisciplinary disciplines such as soil hydrodynamics and ecohydrology. The authors selected the optimal SWCC model for the Lanzhou collapsible loess, used classical statistics and geostatistics methods to study the spatiotemporal variability of the SWCC model parameters, and using the comprehensive comparison of the mean relative differences (MRD), standard deviations (SDRD) and an index of temporal stability (ITS) determined the representativeness measuring point. The results showed that the SWCC parameter α was medium variability in the 0–30 cm soil layer, n and θs were of low variability, and the spatial distribution of the parameters of different soil layers was consistent. Migration direction prediction of θs was very similar in each layer, α, n and θs were all strongly significantly correlated positively. Moreover, the determination coefficient of representative measuring point 16 had the highest prediction accuracy for the measured values of SWCC. The results of this paper can be used as a simple method to predict SWCC and provide theoretical guidance for soil water management and soil collapse erosion monitoring in the collapsible loess area. HIGHLIGHTS A study is presented of the temporal stability and variability of SWCC in the Lanzhou collapsible loess, using the comprehensive comparison of the mean relative differences (MRD), standard deviations (SDRD) and an index of temporal stability (ITS), and the representativeness measuring point was determined.; The SWCC parameter α is medium variability in the 0–30 cm soil layer, n and θs are of low variability. The spatial distribution of the SWCC parameters was consistent. Migration direction prediction of θs was very similar in each layer. α, n and θs were all strongly significantly correlated positively.; A small amount of observations was used to monitor SWCC on a large scale, providing a fast and effective monitoring method for soil erosion in the Loess Plateau.;

This study analyzed the spatiotemporal dynamics of surficial benthic microbial communities in a bathymetric gradient (44 - 3573 m) across four oceanographic campaigns at the Perdido Fold Belt (PFB) in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico (nwGoM). Bioinformatic analysis of 16S rRNA gene amplicons grouped the 27 samples into three clusters according to a longitudinal bathymetric gradient. Differences in community structure among clusters, based on PERMANOVA analysis, were partially explained by cruise, water depth, temperature, salinity, nitrate plus nitrite, silicate, redox potential, Ni, Cd, Pb, and Al, as well by aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations. Into microbial community composition, Gemmatimonadaceae, Planctomycetaceae, and the JTB255 were detected at all depths across the four campaigns. Members of Anaerolinaceae and specific sulfate-reducing bacteria were more abundant in sites located between 43 and 1200 m, and Rhodospirillaceae, wb1-A12, OM1 clade, Desulfurellaceae, Gemmatimonadetes, Nitrospinaceae, and Clostridiaceae 1 were better represented in deeper sites. Alpha diversity was similar between the three groups and remained stable; however, 10 samples presented changes in the community structure across the four campaigns. Finally, a multivariable association analysis revealed 25 bacterial genera positively related with physicochemical parameters that characterized the environment from shallow to deep sea sites. Taken together, these results yield insights into the temporal stability of 17 of 27 sites in the PFB and revealed signature taxa with putatively ecological relevance in sedimentary environments.

There are still uncertainties on the impacts of season-non-uniform-warming on plant precipitation use efficiency (PUE) and its temporal stability (PUEstability) in alpine areas. Here, we examined the changes of PUE and PUEstability under two scenes of non-growing/growing season non-uniform-warming (i.e., GLNG: growing-season-warming lower than non-growing-season-warming; GHNG: growing-season-warming higher than non-growing-season-warming) based on a five-year non-uniform-warming of non-growing/growing season experiment. The GLNG treatment increased PUE by 38.70% and reduced PUEstability by 50.47%, but the GHNG treatment did not change PUE and PUEstability. This finding was mainly due to the fact that the GLNG treatment had stronger influences on aboveground biomass (AGB), non-growing-season soil moisture (SMNG), temporal stability of AGB (AGBstability), temporal stability of non-growing-season air temperature (Ta_NG_stability), temporal stability of growing-season vapor pressure deficit (VPDG_stability) and temporal stability of start of growing-season (SGSstability). Therefore, the warming scene with a higher non-growing-season-warming can have greater influences on PUE and PUEstability than the warming scene with a higher growing-season-warming, and there were possibly trade-offs between plant PUE and PUEstability under season-non-uniform-warming scenes in the alpine meadow.

Afforestation as an effective measure for wind and sand control has achieved remarkable results in northern China, and has also greatly changed the land use and vegetation characteristics of the region. It is important to study the spatial and temporal dynamics of soil water content (SWC) in different afforestation years and its temporal stability to understand the dynamic characteristics of SWC during afforestation. In order to reveal the spatiotemporal dynamic characteristics of SWC in desert area Haloxylon ammodendron (HA)plantations, in this study, five restorative-aged HA plantations in desert areas were selected and their SWC was measured in stratified layers for the 0–400 cm soil profile; we also analyzed the spatiotemporal dynamics and temporal stability of the SWC. The results showed that the SWC of HA plantations decreased with the increase in planting age in the measurement period, and the SWC of deep layers increased by more than that of shallow layers with planting age. Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients for SWC of 0–400 cm in both 5- and 11-year-old HA plantations reached above 0.8 and were highly significantly correlated; the temporal stability of SWC tends to increase as the depth of the soil layer deepens. In contrast, the temporal stability of SWC in deeper layers (200–400 cm) of 22-, 34- and 46-year-old stands showed a decreasing trend with depth. Based on the relative difference analysis, representative sampling points can be selected to monitor the regional average SWC, but for older HA plantations, the uncertainty factor of stand age should be considered in the regional moisture simulation. This study verified that it is feasible to simulate large-scale SWC in fewer observations for HA plantations younger than 11 years old, while large errors exist for older stands, especially for deeper soils. This will help soil moisture management in HA plantations in arid desert areas.

Throughfall (TF) is an important water input of rainfall redistribution into floor, and its spatial–temporal variability under some species' canopies has been documented to evaluate effect on splash erosion. However, the understanding of TF variability under large broad-leaved canopy remains insufficient. In this study, the spatial heterogeneity, temporal stability and drop size of TF were quantified using variogram fitting, normalised ranking and filter paper staining, respectively, under banana (Musa nana Lour.) canopy comprising long and wide leaves. Results indicated TF pattern showed strong spatial correlation at a range of 3–5 m. High spatial variability of TF was found, which was affected by rainfall event size and was accompanied by great canopy disturbance. TF plots revealed high time variability, which was mainly controlled by unstable banana canopy structure. TF drop size from leaf dripping points varied in 3–10 mm and showed significant differences (p < 0.05) among five kinds of leaf shapes, implying that concave and broken banana leaves were involved in the variability of TF drop size. Overall, results demonstrate the spatial–temporal variability of TF is dramatically induced by banana canopy with broad leaves, which may result in non-uniform soil water content and splash erosion under the canopy. HIGHLIGHTS The specific banana canopy notably modifies spatial-temporal variability of throughfall.; The spatial variability of throughfall was high and correlated with the rainfall event size.; The spatial pattern of throughfall showed low time stability based on multi-temporal levels.; Drop size of throughfall at different leaf shapes showed variable distribution in 3–10 mm.;

Abstract Negative effects of long‐term overgrazing have been seriously, grasslands temporal stability is an important ecological concern we need to research. Here, we performed a 12‐year‐long (2007–2018) two‐factor controlled experiment on Kobresia humilis meadow on the Tibetan Plateau. The manipulations included three clipping levels (no clipping, NC; moderate clipping, MC; heavy clipping, HC) and two fertilization levels (no fertilization, NF; fertilization, F). Our results revealed that the two clipping manipulations significantly increased the temporal stability of alpine meadow communities, whose significant increase was more pronounced under the MC than HC treatment. Species asynchrony had a significant positive correlation with species abundance along with compound community gradient. Moreover, asynchrony effects, portfolio effects, and facilitation interactions were all present in the communities under the six types of experimental treatment combinations. Additionally, a selection effect was detected in the compound communities, demonstrating characteristics that are common to different mechanisms. There were no significant differences in the effects of these mechanisms on community temporal stability between the NC–NF and MC–NF interactive communities. The portfolio effects predominated when clipping intensity was moderate under both fertilization and nonfertilization conditions. By contrast, in the compound communities, the selection effect predominated. In summary, we conclude that in meadow communities that undergo clipping and fertilization disturbances, facilitation interactions and weak interactions make a greater contribution toward maintaining their temporal stability.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) maintains seven in situ soil moisture networks throughout the continental United States, some since 2002. These networks are crucial for understanding the spatial and temporal extent of droughts in their historical context, parameterization of hydrologic models, and local agricultural decision support. However, the estimates from these networks are dependent upon their ability to provide reliable soil moisture information at a large scale. It is also not known how many network stations are sufficient to monitor watershed scale dynamics. Therefore, the objectives of this research were to: (1) determine how temporally stable these networks are, including the relationships between various sensors on a year-to-year and seasonal basis, and (2) attempt to determine how many sensors are required, within a network, to approximate the full network average. Using data from seven in situ, it is concluded that approximately 12 soil moisture sensors are sufficient in most environments, presuming their locations are distributed to capture the hydrologic heterogeneity of the watershed. It is possible to install a temporary network containing a suitable number of sensors for an appropriate length of time, glean stable relationships between locations, and retain these insights moving forward with fewer sensor resources.

ABSTRACT It is not clear whether the bacterial strains that comprise our microbiota are mostly long-term colonizers or transient residents. Studies have demonstrated decades-long persistence of bacterial strains within the gut, but persistence at other body sites has yet to be determined. The vaginal microbiota (VMB) is often dominated by Lactobacillus, although it is also commonly comprised of a more diverse set of other facultative and obligate anaerobes. Longitudinal studies have demonstrated that these communities can be stable over several menstrual cycles or can fluctuate temporally in species composition. We sought to determine whether the bacterial strains that comprise the VMB were capable of persisting over longer time periods. We performed shotgun metagenomics on paired samples from 10 participants collected 1 and 2 years apart. The resulting sequences were de novo assembled and binned into high-quality metagenome assembled genomes. Persistent strains were identified based on the sequence similarity between the genomes present at the two time points and were found in the VMB of six of the participants, three of which had multiple persistent strains. The VMB of the remaining four participants was similar in species composition at the two time points but was comprised of different strains. For the persistent strains, we were able to identify the mutations that were fixed in the populations over the observed time period, giving insight into the evolution of these bacteria. These results indicate that bacterial strains can persist in the vagina for extended periods of time, providing an opportunity for them to evolve in the host microenvironment. IMPORTANCE The stability of strains within the vaginal microbiota is largely uncharacterized. Should these strains be capable of persisting for extended periods of time, they could evolve within their host in response to selective pressures exerted by the host or by other members of the community. Here, we present preliminary findings demonstrating that bacterial strains can persist in the vagina for at least 1 year. We further characterized in vivo evolution of the persistent strains. Several participants were also found to not have persistent strains, despite having a vaginal microbiota (VMB) with similar species composition at the two time points. Our observations motivate future studies that collect samples from more participants, at more time points, and over even longer periods of time. Understanding which strains persist, what factors drive their persistence, and what selective pressures they face will inform the development and delivery of rationally designed live biotherapeutics for the vagina.

Disturbances, including anthropogenic disturbances, are integral to the maintenance of grassland ecosystems. Most research on anthropogenic disturbances focuses on the effects of intensification, yet cessation of disturbance can have equally important effects on grassland biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Natural disturbances have largely been replaced by anthropogenic disturbance, which has pronounced effects on community function and structure in grassland ecosystems. It is still unclear how changing disturbance intensity affects community stability and its mechanisms. We examined the temporal stability of above-ground net primary productivity (ANPP) in a seven-year field mowing experiment which included normal disturbance (control, mowing annually at 5 cm stubble height), increasing disturbance (mowing annually at 2 cm stubble height) and ceasing disturbance (no mowing) in a typical steppe in Inner Mongolia. Overall, ceasing disturbance increased ANPP of whole community but increasing disturbance had no significant effect on community ANPP, which was driven by ANPP of dominant species; and species richness and asynchrony were independent of changing disturbance. Despite having no effect on species richness, both intensification and cessation of disturbance destabilized plant community productivity, primarily through effects on the stability of the dominant species. This highlights the importance of dominant species in driving community dynamics. Maintaining disturbance intensity is an appropriate strategy to maintain hay production and community stability in typical steppe in Inner Mongolia, and may be beneficial to the development of sustainable utilization of grassland and may ensure the income of resident population.

Environmental change is a crucial driver shaping grassland biodiversity and stability. Both environmental change and stability contain multiple dimensions. Nonetheless, few studies examined multiple dimensions of stability in response to environmental change, especially under the combined effects of climatic variability and grazing intensity. Here, we conducted a 7-year field sheep grazing experiment, and we evaluated the impacts of grazing intensity (GI) and climate variability (temperature and precipitation variability) on plant community diversity and productivity and multi-dimensional stability using linear and structural equation models. Our results show that increasing grazing intensity significantly decreased temporal stability but did not affect resistance stability. Compared with the non-grazing (NG) treatment, grazing reduced temporal stability by 35.78%. The decline is primarily attributed to the grazing-induced reduction in evenness and weakening of species asynchrony, which in turn impairs insurance effects. The insignificant change in resistance stability was attributed to a trade-off between reduced interspecific competition and direct negative effects. Furthermore, temperature variability and precipitation variability exacerbate and mitigate the effects of grazing on temporal stability (negative) and resistance stability (positive), respectively. Overall, temporal stability is mainly influenced by temperature variability and GI, while resistance stability is mainly affected by GI. Our findings highlight the importance of considering the dimensions of stability and disturbance. Different dimensions of stability may respond differently to disturbance. Multiple disturbances may also interact synergistically or antagonistically on plant community stability.

In order to enhance food security and promote sustainable agricultural development, there is extensive utilization of sloping land in China. However, soil and water loss are severe in sloping lands. Understanding the spatiotemporal variability of soil water content (θ) is therefore important for determining suitable soil and water conservation strategies. Nevertheless, there exists a dearth of current research that focuses on the spatiotemporal variability of θ in microscale sloping lands. This study used statistical and temporal stability (TS) analyses to explore the characteristics of the spatiotemporal variability of θ on slopes. Furthermore, this study aimed to quantify the impacts of soil depth, slope position, air temperature, and hydrological conditions on the TS of θ. The average θ increases with depth, and it follows a logarithmic increase above 1.3 m and a linear increase below 1.3 m. The spatial variability of θ is higher in shallow soils and wet seasons compared with deep soils and dry seasons. The temporal stability of θ is higher on the upper and lower slopes compared with the middle slope. Day-MRD is more effective at capturing the temporal stability of θ than all-MRD. The diurnal variation of the TS of θ on slopes is primarily influenced by soil depth, slope position, air temperature, and hydrological conditions. We found that soil depth had a greater impact on the TS of θ than the slope position and that air temperature has a greater influence than the hydrological conditions. This study accurately describes the spatiotemporal variability of θ at the microscale slope, which helps solve the problems of soil and water conservation and water resource management on slopes.

Here, we follow the call to target measurement reliability as a key prerequisite for individual-level predictions in translational neuroscience by investigating (1) longitudinal reliability at the individual and (2) group level, (3) internal consistency and (4) response predictability across experimental phases. One hundred and twenty individuals performed a fear conditioning paradigm twice 6 months apart. Analyses of skin conductance responses, fear ratings and blood oxygen level dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging (BOLD fMRI) with different data transformations and included numbers of trials were conducted. While longitudinal reliability was rather limited at the individual level, it was comparatively higher for acquisition but not extinction at the group level. Internal consistency was satisfactory. Higher responding in preceding phases predicted higher responding in subsequent experimental phases at a weak to moderate level depending on data specifications. In sum, the results suggest that while individual-level predictions are meaningful for (very) short time frames, they also call for more attention to measurement properties in the field.

Abstract Global declines of foundation species have reduced ecological function at population, community, and ecosystem levels. Restoration of foundation species promises to counter such losses, despite unknown recovery timelines, undefined benchmarks, and uncertainty about whether restored ecosystems approximate natural ones. Here, we demonstrate through a 15‐year large‐scale experiment in coastal Virginia, USA, that restored oyster reefs can quickly recover multiple ecological functions and match natural reefs. Specifically, abundances of oysters and a key crab mesopredator on restored reefs equaled reference reefs in approximately 6 years, indicating that restoration can initiate rapid, sustained recovery of foundation species and associated consumers. As reefs matured and accrued biomass, they became more temporally stable, suggesting that restoration can increase resilience and may stabilize those ecosystem processes that scale with foundation species biomass. Together, these results demonstrate that restoration can catalyze rapid recovery of imperiled coastal foundation species, reclaim lost community interactions, and help reverse decades of degradation.

Abstract Anthropogenic impacts at isolated and inaccessible reefs are often minimal, offering rare opportunities to observe fish assemblages in a relatively undisturbed state. The remote Rowley Shoals are regarded as one of the healthiest reef systems in the Indian Ocean with demonstrated resilience to natural disturbance, no permanent human population nearby, low visitation rates, and large protected areas where fishing prohibitions are enforced. We used baited remote underwater video systems (BRUVS) to quantify fish assemblages and the relative abundance of regionally fished species within the lagoon, on the slope and in the mesophotic habitat at the Rowley Shoals at three times spanning 14 years and compared abundances of regionally fished species and the length distributions of predatory species to other isolated reefs in the northeast Indian Ocean. Fish assemblage composition and the relative abundance of regionally fished species were remarkably stable through time. We recorded high abundances of regionally fished species relative to other isolated reefs, including globally threatened humphead Maori wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus) and bumphead parrotfish (Bolbometopon muricatum). Length distributions of fish differed among habitats at the Rowley Shoals, suggesting differences in ontogenetic shifts among species. The Cocos (Keeling) Islands typically had larger‐bodied predatory species than at the Rowley Shoals. Differences in geomorphology, lagoonal habitats, and fishing history likely contribute to the differences among remote reefs. Rowley Shoals is a rare example of a reef system demonstrating ecological stability in reef fish assemblages during a time of unprecedented degradation of coral reefs.

Citizens’ attitudes towards and their perceptions of climate change are widely believed to influence citizens’ actions related to climate change. Knowledge of these attitudes and willingness to pay (WTP) for environmental improvement can be useful in designing an environmental policy. Although citizens’ attitudes and perceptions are likely to affect their WTP, they are rarely included in the non-market valuation. Furthermore, over time, attitudes and perceptions of environmental issues are likely to change. An understanding of temporal stability of attitudes towards climate change could shed the light on changes in citizens’ WTP for environmental quality over time. This study examined changes in perceptions, attitudes, and actions towards climate change using two surveys in Queensland, Australia. The surveys were administered 10 years apart (2009 and 2018). The effect of attitudes over time on WTP was analysed using a contingent valuation (CV) method. The results confirmed that attitudes and perceptions of climate change were important factors affecting actions of respondents. Furthermore, over time, some attitudes and perceptions changed significantly. However, only some attitudes and perceptions were significant predictors of consumers’ WTP for a change in environmental quality.

Anne Schienle,1 Nina Jurinec1,2 1 Instiute of Psychology, University of Graz, Graz, Austria; 2Community Health Center Gornja Radgona, Gornja Radgona, SloveniaCorrespondence: Anne Schienle Instiute of Psychology, University of Graz, Universitätsplatz 2, Graz, 8010, AustriaEmail anne.schienle@uni-graz.atIntroduction: A previous study revealed that patients with depression who received a combination of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and placebo treatment (CBT+placebo) showed greater symptom reduction than a CBT group without a placebo. Moreover, the CBT+placebo group practiced relaxation training more frequently. We conducted a 3-month follow-up assessment to investigate the temporal stability of the placebo effects.Methods: Eighty-two outpatients with a diagnosis of major depressive disorder who had participated in a 4-week CBT course (CBT: n = 40; CBT with daily placebo treatment: n = 42) returned to a 3-month follow-up assessment. The participants of the CBT+placebo group had been debriefed directly after the course.Results: Compared to the CBT group, the CBT+placebo group had lower scores on the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) at follow-up and more participants were below the clinical cut-off score of the BDI-II. Additionally, the CBT+placebo group continued to practice relaxation more frequently.Discussion: This study demonstrates that placebo effects are not short-lived and continue to be present after the debriefing.Keywords: placebo effects, temporal stability, depression, cognitive-behavioral therapy

Abstract Identification of stocks and quantification of their relative contribution to recruitment are major objectives toward improving the management and conservation of marine exploited species. Next‐generation sequencing allows for thousands of genomic markers to be analyzed, which provides the resolution needed to address these questions in marine species with weakly differentiated populations. Greenland Halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides) is one of the most important exploited demersal species throughout the North Atlantic, in particular in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada. There, two nurseries are known, the St. Lawrence Estuary and the northern Anticosti Island, but their contribution to the renewal of stocks remains unknown. The goals of this study were (a) to document the genetic structure and (b) to estimate the contribution of the different identified breeding stocks to nurseries. We sampled 100 juveniles per nursery and 50 adults from seven sites ranging from Saguenay Fjord to offshore Newfoundland, with some sites sampled over two consecutive years in order to evaluate the temporal stability of the contribution. Our results show that after removing sex‐linked markers, the Estuary/Gulf of St. Lawrence represents a single stock which is genetically distinct from the Atlantic around Newfoundland (FST = 0.00146, p‐value = .001). Population assignment showed that recruitment in both nurseries is predominantly associated with the St. Lawrence stock. However, we found that the relative contribution of both stocks to the nurseries is temporally variable with 1% contribution of the Newfoundland stock one year but up to 33% for the second year, which may be caused by year‐to‐year variation in larval transport into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. This study serves as a model for the identification of stocks for fisheries resources in a context where few barriers to dispersal occur, in addition to demonstrating the importance of considering sex‐linked markers and temporal replicates in studies of population genomics.

Background: Muscle fatigue affects the precision of the subjects' performance and limits the range of physical and sports activities. There is limited scientific evidence to support the use of soft tissue manipulation for enhancing muscle performance and its recovery. The aim of this study is to compare the effects of soft tissue manipulation and rest on the knee extensor muscle fatigue after maximal isokinetic contractions. Methods: Fifteen healthy females 20–30 years of age were selected for this research. This study implemented a semi-experimental test–retest measurement method. The subjects then either rested or received soft tissue manipulation on the knee extensors for a duration of 15 min. After intervention (soft tissue manipulation or rest), the parameters were evaluated for the third time. Results: The stability of the average of peak torque (APT), average power (AP), and visual analog scale (VAS) before performing fatigue protocol was 85%, 83%, and 31.9%, respectively. The stability after fatigue was 43%, 50%, and 93%, respectively. After maximal fatigue and a decrease in torque output to below 50% maximal torque, 15 min of soft tissue manipulation could change the APT after fatigue from a mean of 58.3 (nm) to 91.5 (nm), the AP from 39.4 to 63.6 (nm/s), and the VAS, from 90.0 to 12 (mm). But 15 min of rest could change the APT from 52.5 to 68.1 (nm), the AP from 37.6 to 48 (nm/s), and the VAS from 90.0 to 27.3 (mm). Conclusion: The study showed that soft tissue manipulation was more effective than rest as a strategy to return muscles to a normal state and caused more relief in perceived fatigue.

Leymus chinensis steppe is subject to degradation under the combined stresses of climate change and human disturbance. This study aimed to determine the independent and compound effects of precipitation and clipping frequency on the community structure and species temporal stability of L. chinensis steppe. Six treatments were applied in a 9-year field study, comprising three precipitation regimes (precipitation reduced by 50%, R1; unchanged from ambient precipitation, R2; and increased by 50%, R3) and two clipping frequencies (clipping once or twice per year, C1 and C2). We evaluated the soil hydrothermal status, dry matter, importance value and temporal stability of five important species (L. chinensis, Artemisia eriopoda, Cleistogenes squarrosa, Potentilla tanacetifolia, and Stipa krylovii) in the L. chinensis community. The results showed: Change in the soil volumetric water content (±2.4%) altered the competitive capability of L. chinensis relative to its associated species. Drought was beneficial to S. krylovii, wet status was favorable to C. squarrosa and P. tanacetifolia, whereas drought and a wet regime both reduced the importance value and temporal stability of L. chinensis. Erratic precipitation, rather than clipping frequency, decreased the temporal stability of L. chinensis. Net primary productivity and dry matter of L. chinensis were strongly correlated under drought or wet regimes. Restoration of the key species L. chinensis and controlling grazing intensity in severe drought or wet conditions are recommended strategies for sustainable management of L. chinensis steppe.

Subtropical regions have clay-rich, weathered soils, and long dry periods followed by intense rainfall that produces large fluctuations in soil water content (SWC) and hydrological behavior. This complicates predictions of spatio-temporal dynamics, as datasets are typically collected at too coarse resolution and observations often represent a duration that is too short to capture temporal stability. The aim of the present study was to gain further insights into the role of temporal sampling scale on the observed temporal stability features of SWC order to aid the design of optimal SWC sampling strategies. This focused on both sampling frequency and total monitoring duration, as previous analyses have not considered both of these sampling aspects simultaneously. We collected relatively high resolution data of SWC (fortnightly over 3.5 years) for various soil depths and under contrasting crops (peanuts and citrus) at the red soil region of southeast China. The dataset was split into a three-year training period and a six-month evaluation period. Altogether 13 sampling frequencies (intervals ranging from 15 to 240 days) and eight monitoring duration periods (between three and 36 months) were derived from the training period to identify temporal stability features and the most time stable location (MTSL). The prediction accuracies of these MTSLs were tested using the independent evaluation data. Results showed that vegetation type did affect the spatio-temporal patterns of SWC, whereby the citrus site exhibited a stronger temporal variation and weaker temporal stability than the peanut site. However, the effects of both sampling frequency and observation duration were more pronounced, irrespective of the role of vegetation type or soil depth. With increasing sampling interval or decreasing monitoring duration, temporal stability of SWC was generally overestimated; by less than 10% when sampling interval increased from every 15 to 240 days and by up to 40% with duration decreasing from 36 to 3 months. Our results suggest that sampling strategies and trade-offs between sampling interval and duration should focus on capturing the main variability in hydro-climatological conditions. For subtropical conditions, we found that sampling once every 45 days over 24 months to be the minimum sampling strategy to ensure errors in SWC temporal stability of less than 10%.

Mixed evergreen-deciduous broadleaved forest is the transitional type of evergreen broadleaved forest and deciduous broadleaved forest, and plays a unique eco-hydrologic role in terrestrial ecosystem. We investigated the spatio-temporal patterns of throughfall volume of the forest type in Shennongjia, central China. The results indicated that throughfall represented 84.8% of gross rainfall in the forest. The mean CV (coefficient of variation) of throughfall was 27.27%. Inter-event variability in stand-scale throughfall generation can be substantially altered due to changes in rainfall characteristics, throughfall CV decreased with increasing rainfall amount and intensity, and reached a quasi-constant level when rainfall amount reached 25 mm or rainfall intensity reached 2 mm h−1. During the leafed period, the spatial pattern of throughfall was highly temporal stable, which may result in spatial heterogeneity of soil moisture.