Ecosystems

1. Fishes have definite habitat preferences which cause them to be definitely arranged in streams which have a graded series of conditions from mouth to source. 2. Beginning at the sources of the streams of the developmental series considered, we find the same species represented in essentially the same order in all the streams, in so far as the series of conditions is present. The only species in the youngest stream is the same as the species nearest the sources of the larger streams. 3. Migration of conditions for breeding is an important cause of fish migration, but fish reactions outside the breeding season may be often more important than movement of conditions necessary for breeding over the route of migration. Migration may even be due to reactions to a single factor. 4. Fish entering a stream will take a position in the stream suited to their ecological constitution without regard to the time and mode of origin of these conditions. 5. There is a succession of ecological types over a given point. Ecological succession is based on similar mores (physiology, behavior, habits and mode of life) of fish communities as a whole or comparable species of communities. 6. Physiographic analysis locates the animal in its environment and is but a method of studying the organism as a whole and a basis for proceeding to its analysis.1

@article{doi1023071535983,
    author = "Shelford, V. E.",
    title = "ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION",
    year = "1911",
    journal = "Biological Bulletin",
    abstract = "1. Fishes have definite habitat preferences which cause them to be definitely arranged in streams which have a graded series of conditions from mouth to source. 2. Beginning at the sources of the streams of the developmental series considered, we find the same species represented in essentially the same order in all the streams, in so far as the series of conditions is present. The only species in the youngest stream is the same as the species nearest the sources of the larger streams. 3. Migration of conditions for breeding is an important cause of fish migration, but fish reactions outside the breeding season may be often more important than movement of conditions necessary for breeding over the route of migration. Migration may even be due to reactions to a single factor. 4. Fish entering a stream will take a position in the stream suited to their ecological constitution without regard to the time and mode of origin of these conditions. 5. There is a succession of ecological types over a given point. Ecological succession is based on similar mores (physiology, behavior, habits and mode of life) of fish communities as a whole or comparable species of communities. 6. Physiographic analysis locates the animal in its environment and is but a method of studying the organism as a whole and a basis for proceeding to its analysis.1",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.2307/1535983",
    doi = "10.2307/1535983",
    openalex = "W2328004960"
}

@misc{dunbar1960the8,
    author = "Dunbar, M. J",
    title = "The evolution of stability in marine environments",
    year = "1960",
    howpublished = "natural selection at the level of the ecosystem: American Naturalist, v. 94, p. 129-136",
    note = "talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Dunbar, M. J., 1960, The evolution of stability in marine environments: natural selection at the level of the ecosystem: American Naturalist, v. 94, p. 129-136.}"
}

@misc{connell1961the6,
    author = "Connell, J. H",
    title = "The influence of interspecific competition and other factors on the distribution of the barnacle, Chthamalus stellatus",
    year = "1961",
    howpublished = "Ecology, v. 42, p. 710-723",
    note = "talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Connell, J. H., 1961, The influence of interspecific competition and other factors on the distribution of the barnacle, Chthamalus stellatus: Ecology, v. 42, p. 710-723.}"
}

@misc{billings1964plants2,
    author = "Billings, W. D",
    title = "Plants and the Ecosystem",
    year = "1964",
    howpublished = "Belmont, Ca., Wadsworth",
    note = "talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Billings, W. D., 1964, Plants and the Ecosystem: Belmont, Ca., Wadsworth.}"
}

@misc{connell1964the7,
    author = "Connell, J. H. and Orias, E",
    title = "The ecological regulation of species diversity",
    year = "1964",
    howpublished = "American Naturalist, v. 98, p. 399-414",
    note = "talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Connell, J. H., and Orias, E., 1964, The ecological regulation of species diversity: American Naturalist, v. 98, p. 399-414.}"
}

@misc{cody1968on4,
    author = "Cody, M. L",
    title = "On the methods of resource division in grassland bird communities",
    year = "1968",
    howpublished = "American Naturalist, v. 102, p. 107-147",
    note = "talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Cody, M. L., 1968, On the methods of resource division in grassland bird communities: American Naturalist, v. 102, p. 107-147.}"
}

@misc{dunbar1968ecological9,
    author = "Dunbar, M. J",
    title = "Ecological development in polar regions",
    year = "1968",
    howpublished = "Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, Prentice-Hall, 119 p",
    note = "talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Dunbar, M. J., 1968, Ecological development in polar regions: Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, Prentice-Hall, 119 p.}"
}

@misc{colwell1971on5,
    author = "Colwell, R. K. and Futuyma, D. J",
    title = "On the measurement of niche breadth and overlap",
    year = "1971",
    howpublished = "Ecology, v. 52, p. 567-576",
    note = "talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Colwell, R. K., and Futuyma, D. J., 1971, On the measurement of niche breadth and overlap: Ecology, v. 52, p. 567-576.}"
}

Six reasonable models of trophic exploitation in a two-species ecosystem whose exploiters compete only by depleting each other's resource supply are presented. In each case, increasing the supply of limiting nutrients or energy tends to destroy the steady state. Thus man must be very careful in attempting to enrich an ecosystem in order to increase its food yield. There is a real chance that such activity may result in decimation of the food species that are wanted in greater abundance.

@article{doi101126science1713969385,
    author = "Rosenzweig, Michael L.",
    title = "Paradox of Enrichment: Destabilization of Exploitation Ecosystems in Ecological Time",
    year = "1971",
    journal = "Science",
    abstract = "Six reasonable models of trophic exploitation in a two-species ecosystem whose exploiters compete only by depleting each other's resource supply are presented. In each case, increasing the supply of limiting nutrients or energy tends to destroy the steady state. Thus man must be very careful in attempting to enrich an ecosystem in order to increase its food yield. There is a real chance that such activity may result in decimation of the food species that are wanted in greater abundance.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1126/science.171.3969.385",
    doi = "10.1126/science.171.3969.385",
    openalex = "W2060852353",
    references = "doi101086282272"
}

@article{openalexw3164818631,
    author = "Coffman, William P. and Cummins, Kenneth W. and Wuycheck, J.C.",
    title = "Energy flow in a wood land stream ecosystem: I. Tissue support trophic structure of the autumnal community",
    year = "1971",
    journal = "Archiv für Hydrobiologie",
    openalex = "W3164818631"
}

@misc{clapman1973natural3,
    author = "Clapman, W. B",
    title = "Natural Ecosystems",
    year = "1973",
    howpublished = "New York, Macmillan, 248 p",
    note = "talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Clapman, W. B., 1973, Natural Ecosystems: New York, Macmillan, 248 p.}"
}

Individuals die, populations disappear, and species become extinct. That is one view of the world. But another view of the world concentrates not so much on presence or absence as upon the numbers of organisms and the degree of constancy of their numbers. These are two very different ways of viewing the behavior of systems and the usefulness of the view depends very much on the properties of the system concerned. If we are examining a particular device designed by the engineer to perform specific tasks under a rather narrow range of predictable external conditions, we are likely to be more concerned with consistent nonvariable performance in which slight departures from the performance goal are immediately counteracted. A quantitative view of the behavior of the system is, therefore, essential. With attention focused upon achieving constancy, the critical events seem to be the amplitude and frequency of oscillations. But if we are dealing with a system profoundly affected by changes external to it, and continually confronted by the unexpected, the constancy of its behavior becomes less important than the persistence of the relationships. Attention shifts, therefore, to the qualitative and to questions of existence or not. Our traditions of analysis in theoretical and empirical ecology have been largely inherited from developments in classical physics and its applied variants. Inevitably, there has been a tendency to emphasize the quantitative rather than the qualitative, for it is important in this tradition to know not just that a quantity is larger than another quantity, but precisely how much larger. It is similarly important, if a quantity fluctuates, to know its amplitude and period of fluctuation. But this orientation may simply reflect an analytic approach developed in one area because it was useful and then transferred to another where it may not be. Our traditional view of natural systems, therefore, might well be less a meaningful reality than a perceptual convenience. There can in some years be more owls and fewer mice and in others, the reverse. Fish populations wax and wane as a natural condition, and insect populations can range over extremes that only logarithmic

@article{doi101146annureves04110173000245,
    author = "Holling, C. S.",
    title = "Resilience and Stability of Ecological Systems",
    year = "1973",
    journal = "Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics",
    abstract = "Individuals die, populations disappear, and species become extinct. That is one view of the world. But another view of the world concentrates not so much on presence or absence as upon the numbers of organisms and the degree of constancy of their numbers. These are two very different ways of viewing the behavior of systems and the usefulness of the view depends very much on the properties of the system concerned. If we are examining a particular device designed by the engineer to perform specific tasks under a rather narrow range of predictable external conditions, we are likely to be more concerned with consistent nonvariable performance in which slight departures from the performance goal are immediately counteracted. A quantitative view of the behavior of the system is, therefore, essential. With attention focused upon achieving constancy, the critical events seem to be the amplitude and frequency of oscillations. But if we are dealing with a system profoundly affected by changes external to it, and continually confronted by the unexpected, the constancy of its behavior becomes less important than the persistence of the relationships. Attention shifts, therefore, to the qualitative and to questions of existence or not. Our traditions of analysis in theoretical and empirical ecology have been largely inherited from developments in classical physics and its applied variants. Inevitably, there has been a tendency to emphasize the quantitative rather than the qualitative, for it is important in this tradition to know not just that a quantity is larger than another quantity, but precisely how much larger. It is similarly important, if a quantity fluctuates, to know its amplitude and period of fluctuation. But this orientation may simply reflect an analytic approach developed in one area because it was useful and then transferred to another where it may not be. Our traditional view of natural systems, therefore, might well be less a meaningful reality than a perceptual convenience. There can in some years be more owls and fewer mice and in others, the reverse. Fish populations wax and wane as a natural condition, and insect populations can range over extremes that only logarithmic",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.es.04.110173.000245",
    doi = "10.1146/annurev.es.04.110173.000245",
    openalex = "W2011303397",
    references = "doi101038238413a0, doi101111j109636421935tb01680x, doi101126science1713969385, doi101126science1774052900, doi101139f54039, doi101146annureven06010161001115, doi1023071929601, doi1023072257385, doi104039entm9745fv, doi104039entm9848fv"
}

General functional, interrelated components have been defined and initially dimensioned for representative stream ecosystems. Additional or alternative functional criteria are sought to replace classical taxonomic units. Attention is now focused on the efficient conversion of organic matter to CO2 and the maintenance of a minor role for in-stream plant growth.

@article{doi1023071296676,
    author = "Cummins, Kenneth W.",
    title = "Structure and Function of Stream Ecosystems",
    year = "1974",
    journal = "BioScience",
    abstract = "General functional, interrelated components have been defined and initially dimensioned for representative stream ecosystems. Additional or alternative functional criteria are sought to replace classical taxonomic units. Attention is now focused on the efficient conversion of organic matter to CO2 and the maintenance of a minor role for in-stream plant growth.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.2307/1296676",
    doi = "10.2307/1296676",
    openalex = "W2101834583"
}

The very etymology of Ecology, from the greek 'Qikos', 'the household', implies that ecologists should devote some attention to the 'house' or habitat of the population or community they are studying. However, as Charles Elton (1966) has so forcibly pointed out, 'definition of habitats, or rather lack of it, is one of the chief blind spots in Zoology'. Elton himself has provided us with a qualitative classification of habitats, while another past President, Alex Watt (1947) highlighted the dynamic nature of habitats by his phrase, 'pattern and process'. Elton referred to the need to quantify habitat characteristics. In this Address I will attempt some quantification;however, you will all be aware that in doing this I will not be able to emulate those former Presidents who have been able to provide a definitative synthesis of a field or of their own studies, my offering can be but a small beginning, an indication of the type of characteristics we should quantify. In considering ecosystem patterns and environment R. M. May (1974) writes 'it is to be emphasized that although patterns may underlie the rich and varied tapestry of the natural world, there is no single simple pattern. Theories must be pluralistic'. Indeed, the complexity of the subject is daunting and in any attempt to formulate some type of general framework, one is continually beset with exceptions. In stressing the need for a framework I am echoing a plea of my predecessor Amyan Macfadyen (1975) who cited K. E. F. Watt's (1971) vivid image 'if we do not develop a strong theoretical core that will bring all parts of ecology back together we shall all be washed out to sea in an immense tide of unrelated information'. In some ways I think we may see ourselves at a similar point to the inorganic chemist before the development of the periodic table; then he could not predict, for example, how soluble a particular sulphate would be, or what was the likelihood of a particular reaction occurring. Each fact had to be discovered for itself and each must be remembered in isolation. It is noteworthy that from Dobereiner's early efforts in 1816 it took more than fifty years before Mendeleeff ormulated his Periodic Law (1869) and even after this there were various attempts at rearrangement. Another parallel may be drawn with astronomy before the development of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram that relates the evolution and the properties of stars. Again in our own subject biology, the situation is somewhat analagous to that before the formulation of the Linnean system of classification; but now from this system of classification, we are able to organize our knowledge of, for example, the functional morphology of organisms and we can even make assumptions, with a high probability

@article{doi1023073817,
    author = "Southwood, T. R. E.",
    title = "Habitat, the Templet for Ecological Strategies?",
    year = "1977",
    journal = "Journal of Animal Ecology",
    abstract = "The very etymology of Ecology, from the greek 'Qikos', 'the household', implies that ecologists should devote some attention to the 'house' or habitat of the population or community they are studying. However, as Charles Elton (1966) has so forcibly pointed out, 'definition of habitats, or rather lack of it, is one of the chief blind spots in Zoology'. Elton himself has provided us with a qualitative classification of habitats, while another past President, Alex Watt (1947) highlighted the dynamic nature of habitats by his phrase, 'pattern and process'. Elton referred to the need to quantify habitat characteristics. In this Address I will attempt some quantification;however, you will all be aware that in doing this I will not be able to emulate those former Presidents who have been able to provide a definitative synthesis of a field or of their own studies, my offering can be but a small beginning, an indication of the type of characteristics we should quantify. In considering ecosystem patterns and environment R. M. May (1974) writes 'it is to be emphasized that although patterns may underlie the rich and varied tapestry of the natural world, there is no single simple pattern. Theories must be pluralistic'. Indeed, the complexity of the subject is daunting and in any attempt to formulate some type of general framework, one is continually beset with exceptions. In stressing the need for a framework I am echoing a plea of my predecessor Amyan Macfadyen (1975) who cited K. E. F. Watt's (1971) vivid image 'if we do not develop a strong theoretical core that will bring all parts of ecology back together we shall all be washed out to sea in an immense tide of unrelated information'. In some ways I think we may see ourselves at a similar point to the inorganic chemist before the development of the periodic table; then he could not predict, for example, how soluble a particular sulphate would be, or what was the likelihood of a particular reaction occurring. Each fact had to be discovered for itself and each must be remembered in isolation. It is noteworthy that from Dobereiner's early efforts in 1816 it took more than fifty years before Mendeleeff ormulated his Periodic Law (1869) and even after this there were various attempts at rearrangement. Another parallel may be drawn with astronomy before the development of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram that relates the evolution and the properties of stars. Again in our own subject biology, the situation is somewhat analagous to that before the formulation of the Linnean system of classification; but now from this system of classification, we are able to organize our knowledge of, for example, the functional morphology of organisms and we can even make assumptions, with a high probability",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.2307/3817",
    doi = "10.2307/3817",
    openalex = "W2039810102",
    references = "doi101073pnas721143, doi101086282106, doi101086282160, doi101086282697, doi101086400074, doi1023071931746, doi1023071935217, doi1023072256497, openalexw1500291103"
}

@book{bartram1979serengeti1,
    author = "Bartram, B. C. R",
    title = "Serengeti Predators and Their Social Systems, in Sinclair, A. R. E., and Norton-Griffiths, M., eds., Serengeti",
    year = "1979",
    publisher = "Dynamics of an Ecosystem: Chicago, University of Chicago Press, p. 221-248",
    note = "talkorigins\_source = {true}; raw\_reference = {Bartram, B. C. R., 1979, Serengeti Predators and Their Social Systems, in Sinclair, A. R. E., and Norton-Griffiths, M., eds., Serengeti: Dynamics of an Ecosystem: Chicago, University of Chicago Press, p. 221-248.}"
}

Our views of remineralization and nutrient cycling in coastal marine ecosystems have changed considerably over the last 30 years. The major trend has been an increasing appreciation for the complexity of processes involved, including some marked changes in our assessment of the importance of bacteria with respect to smaller animals and in our perception of the association between bacteria and particulate matter in the sea. Among the more recent developments in this area is a growing awareness of the importance of the coupling between benthic and pelagic communities in coastal waters. There appears to be a strong linear correlation between the organic matter produced in the overlying water and the amount of organic matter consumed on the bottom in almost all of the coastal environments for which annual data are available. The large amount of organic matter consumed by the benthos (perhaps 25–50 percent of that produced) is associated with a large flux of inorganic nutrients from the sediments to the overlying water. The stoichiometry of net benthic nutrient regeneration differs from that of pelagic regeneration, however, and simple Redfield type models probably cannot be applied. The amount of fixed inorganic nitrogen returned to the water across the sediment-water interface appears to be about half of that expected on the basis of the flux of phosphorus. This behavior, along with the fact that an appreciable amount of organic matter in coastal waters gets remineralized on the bottom, contributes to the low N/P ratio that is characteristic of these areas and may be responsible for the observation that nitrogen is commonly the nutrient most limiting for primary production. Recent direct measurements of the flux of dissolved N2 across the sediment-water interface indicate that denitrification is probably responsible for the loss of fixed nitrogen during decomposition in the sediments. If this is a widespread phenomenon, estuaries, bays, and other coastal waters may be major sinks in the marine nitrogen cycle and important terms in the global nitrogen budget. However, the fact that eutrophication appears to be an increasing problem in many estuaries is dramatic warning that anthropogenic nutrient inputs can overwhelm the recycling and remineralization processes in coastal waters.

@incollection{doi10100797814612582616,
    author = "Nixon, Scott W.",
    title = "Remineralization and Nutrient Cycling in Coastal Marine Ecosystems",
    year = "1981",
    booktitle = "Humana Press eBooks",
    abstract = "Our views of remineralization and nutrient cycling in coastal marine ecosystems have changed considerably over the last 30 years. The major trend has been an increasing appreciation for the complexity of processes involved, including some marked changes in our assessment of the importance of bacteria with respect to smaller animals and in our perception of the association between bacteria and particulate matter in the sea. Among the more recent developments in this area is a growing awareness of the importance of the coupling between benthic and pelagic communities in coastal waters. There appears to be a strong linear correlation between the organic matter produced in the overlying water and the amount of organic matter consumed on the bottom in almost all of the coastal environments for which annual data are available. The large amount of organic matter consumed by the benthos (perhaps 25–50 percent of that produced) is associated with a large flux of inorganic nutrients from the sediments to the overlying water. The stoichiometry of net benthic nutrient regeneration differs from that of pelagic regeneration, however, and simple Redfield type models probably cannot be applied. The amount of fixed inorganic nitrogen returned to the water across the sediment-water interface appears to be about half of that expected on the basis of the flux of phosphorus. This behavior, along with the fact that an appreciable amount of organic matter in coastal waters gets remineralized on the bottom, contributes to the low N/P ratio that is characteristic of these areas and may be responsible for the observation that nitrogen is commonly the nutrient most limiting for primary production. Recent direct measurements of the flux of dissolved N2 across the sediment-water interface indicate that denitrification is probably responsible for the loss of fixed nitrogen during decomposition in the sediments. If this is a widespread phenomenon, estuaries, bays, and other coastal waters may be major sinks in the marine nitrogen cycle and important terms in the global nitrogen budget. However, the fact that eutrophication appears to be an increasing problem in many estuaries is dramatic warning that anthropogenic nutrient inputs can overwhelm the recycling and remineralization processes in coastal waters.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-5826-1\_6",
    doi = "10.1007/978-1-4612-5826-1\_6",
    openalex = "W2213904111",
    references = "doi101038187123a0"
}

@article{doi101007bf00399542,
    author = "Tiedje, James M. and Sexstone, Alan J. and Myrold, David D. and Robinson, Joseph A.",
    title = "Denitrification: ecological niches, competition and survival",
    year = "1983",
    journal = "Antonie van Leeuwenhoek",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00399542",
    doi = "10.1007/bf00399542",
    openalex = "W2087123805"
}

Nitrogen fixation is mediated by a variety of autotrophic and heterotrophic bacteria. Cyanobacteria appear responsible for most planktonic fixation in aquatic ecosystems, and rates of fixation are high only when these organisms make up a major percentage of the planktonic biomass. Planktonic nitrogen fixation tends to be low in oligotrophic and mesotrophic lakes ≪ 0.1 g N m −2 yr −1) but is often high in eutrophic lakes (0.2–9.2 g N m −2 yr −1). We found no data on planktonic nitrogen fixation in estuaries or coastal seas except for the Baltic Sea and for the Peel‐Harvey estuary in Western Australia. Fixation rates are quite high in the Peel‐Harvey estuary; rates are low offshore in Baltic waters but can be high near shore. As in lakes, fixation in these systems is associated with major blooms of planktonic, heterocystic cyanobacteria. However, nitrogen‐fixing cyanobacteria are much more abundant in the Baltic Sea and in the Peel‐Harvey estuary than in other estuaries or coastal waters. In most estuaries and coastal waters, species of nitrogen‐fixing cyanobacteria are absent or make up a very small percentage of the phytoplankton biomass (20% of the nitrogen input to the Asko region of the Baltic Sea and 17% of the nitrogen input to the Peel‐Harvey estuary in Australia. Fixation in sediments of estuaries and eutrophic and mesotrophic lakes usually constitutes a small percentage of the nitrogen inputs to these systems. However, benthic fixation appears to be a major source of nitrogen for many oligotrophic tropical lagoons and for some oligotrophic lakes, even though fixation rates are moderate because other nitrogen inputs tend to be low. Nitrogen fixation probably is a fairly minor input of nitrogen to marine wetlands, which are generally open to other inputs, but contributes roughly half the total nitrogen input to some freshwater wetlands (bogs, cypress domes), where other inputs are more limited. Nitrogen fixation appears important in making up deficits in nitrogen availability relative to phosphorus availability in many lakes, contributing to the phosphorus‐limited status of these systems. That many estuaries and coastal seas are nitrogen limited is due in part to the generally low rates of nitrogen fixation found in these systems.

@article{doi104319lo1988334part20669,
    author = "Howarth, Robert W. and Marino, Roxanne and Lane, Judith L. and Cole, Jonathan J.",
    title = "Nitrogen fixation in freshwater, estuarine, and marine ecosystems. 1. Rates and importance",
    year = "1988",
    journal = "Limnology and Oceanography",
    abstract = "Nitrogen fixation is mediated by a variety of autotrophic and heterotrophic bacteria. Cyanobacteria appear responsible for most planktonic fixation in aquatic ecosystems, and rates of fixation are high only when these organisms make up a major percentage of the planktonic biomass. Planktonic nitrogen fixation tends to be low in oligotrophic and mesotrophic lakes ≪ 0.1 g N m −2 yr −1) but is often high in eutrophic lakes (0.2–9.2 g N m −2 yr −1). We found no data on planktonic nitrogen fixation in estuaries or coastal seas except for the Baltic Sea and for the Peel‐Harvey estuary in Western Australia. Fixation rates are quite high in the Peel‐Harvey estuary; rates are low offshore in Baltic waters but can be high near shore. As in lakes, fixation in these systems is associated with major blooms of planktonic, heterocystic cyanobacteria. However, nitrogen‐fixing cyanobacteria are much more abundant in the Baltic Sea and in the Peel‐Harvey estuary than in other estuaries or coastal waters. In most estuaries and coastal waters, species of nitrogen‐fixing cyanobacteria are absent or make up a very small percentage of the phytoplankton biomass (20\% of the nitrogen input to the Asko region of the Baltic Sea and 17\% of the nitrogen input to the Peel‐Harvey estuary in Australia. Fixation in sediments of estuaries and eutrophic and mesotrophic lakes usually constitutes a small percentage of the nitrogen inputs to these systems. However, benthic fixation appears to be a major source of nitrogen for many oligotrophic tropical lagoons and for some oligotrophic lakes, even though fixation rates are moderate because other nitrogen inputs tend to be low. Nitrogen fixation probably is a fairly minor input of nitrogen to marine wetlands, which are generally open to other inputs, but contributes roughly half the total nitrogen input to some freshwater wetlands (bogs, cypress domes), where other inputs are more limited. Nitrogen fixation appears important in making up deficits in nitrogen availability relative to phosphorus availability in many lakes, contributing to the phosphorus‐limited status of these systems. That many estuaries and coastal seas are nitrogen limited is due in part to the generally low rates of nitrogen fixation found in these systems.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.1988.33.4\_part\_2.0669",
    doi = "10.4319/lo.1988.33.4\_part\_2.0669",
    openalex = "W2119526669"
}

Denitrification occurs in essentially all river, lake, and coastal marine ecosystems that have been studied. In general, the range of denitrification rates measured in coastal marine sediments is greater than that measured in lake or river sediments. In various estuarine and coastal marine sediments, rates commonly range between 50 and 250 µ mol N m −2 h −1, with extremes from 0 to 1,067. Rates of denitrification in lake sediments measured at near‐ambient conditions range from 2 to 171 µ mol N m −2 h −1. Denitrification rates in river and stream sediments range from 0 to 345 µ mol N m −2 h −1. The higher rates are from systems that receive substantial amounts of anthropogenic nutrient input. In lakes, denitrification also occurs in low oxygen hypolimnetic waters, where rates generally range from 0.2 to 1.9 µ mol N liter −1 d −1. In lakes where denitrification rates in both the water and sediments have been measured, denitrification is greater in the sediments. The major source of nitrate for denitrification in most river, lake, and coastal marine sediments underlying an aerobic water column is nitrate produced in the sediments, not nitrate diffusing into the sediments from the overlying water. During the mineralization of organic matter in sediments, a major portion of the mineralized nitrogen is lost from the ecosystem via denitrification. In freshwater sediments, denitrification appears to remove a larger percentage of the mineralized nitrogen. N 2 fluxes accounted for 76–100% of the sediment‐water nitrogen flux in rivers and lakes, but only 15–70% in estuarine and coastal marine sediments. Benthic N 2 O fluxes were always small compared to N, fluxes. The loss of nitrogen via denitrification exceeds the input of nitrogen via N 2 fixation in almost all river, lake, and coastal marine ecosystems in which both processes have been measured. Denitrification is also important relative to other inputs of fixed N in both freshwater and coastal marine ecosystems. In the two rivers where both denitrification measurements and N input data were available, denitrification removed an amount of nitrogen equivalent to 7 and 35% of the external nitrogen loading. In six lakes and six estuaries where data are available, denitrification is estimated to remove an amount of nitrogen equivalent to between 1 and 36% of the input to the lakes and between 20 and 50% of the input to the estuaries.

@article{doi104319lo1988334part20702,
    author = "Seitzinger, Sybil P.",
    title = "Denitrification in freshwater and coastal marine ecosystems: Ecological and geochemical significance",
    year = "1988",
    journal = "Limnology and Oceanography",
    abstract = "Denitrification occurs in essentially all river, lake, and coastal marine ecosystems that have been studied. In general, the range of denitrification rates measured in coastal marine sediments is greater than that measured in lake or river sediments. In various estuarine and coastal marine sediments, rates commonly range between 50 and 250 µ mol N m −2 h −1, with extremes from 0 to 1,067. Rates of denitrification in lake sediments measured at near‐ambient conditions range from 2 to 171 µ mol N m −2 h −1. Denitrification rates in river and stream sediments range from 0 to 345 µ mol N m −2 h −1. The higher rates are from systems that receive substantial amounts of anthropogenic nutrient input. In lakes, denitrification also occurs in low oxygen hypolimnetic waters, where rates generally range from 0.2 to 1.9 µ mol N liter −1 d −1. In lakes where denitrification rates in both the water and sediments have been measured, denitrification is greater in the sediments. The major source of nitrate for denitrification in most river, lake, and coastal marine sediments underlying an aerobic water column is nitrate produced in the sediments, not nitrate diffusing into the sediments from the overlying water. During the mineralization of organic matter in sediments, a major portion of the mineralized nitrogen is lost from the ecosystem via denitrification. In freshwater sediments, denitrification appears to remove a larger percentage of the mineralized nitrogen. N 2 fluxes accounted for 76–100\% of the sediment‐water nitrogen flux in rivers and lakes, but only 15–70\% in estuarine and coastal marine sediments. Benthic N 2 O fluxes were always small compared to N, fluxes. The loss of nitrogen via denitrification exceeds the input of nitrogen via N 2 fixation in almost all river, lake, and coastal marine ecosystems in which both processes have been measured. Denitrification is also important relative to other inputs of fixed N in both freshwater and coastal marine ecosystems. In the two rivers where both denitrification measurements and N input data were available, denitrification removed an amount of nitrogen equivalent to 7 and 35\% of the external nitrogen loading. In six lakes and six estuaries where data are available, denitrification is estimated to remove an amount of nitrogen equivalent to between 1 and 36\% of the input to the lakes and between 20 and 50\% of the input to the estuaries.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.1988.33.4\_part\_2.0702",
    doi = "10.4319/lo.1988.33.4\_part\_2.0702",
    openalex = "W2096365814",
    references = "doi101002qj49709640815, doi10100797814612582616, doi101007bf00399542, doi1010160006291x76909323, doi101126science17139751008, doi101126science1944266685, doi101128aem4035265321980, doi104319lo1988334part20669, doi104319lo1988334part20725, openalexw2278428621"
}

Journal Article Nitrogen Saturation in Northern Forest Ecosystems: Excess nitrogen from fossil fuel combustion may stress the biosphere Get access John D. Aber, John D. Aber Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Knute J. Nadelhoffer, Knute J. Nadelhoffer Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Paul Steudler, Paul Steudler Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Jerry M. Melillo Jerry M. Melillo Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar BioScience, Volume 39, Issue 6, June 1989, Pages 378–386, https://doi.org/10.2307/1311067 Published: 01 June 1989

@article{doi1023071311067,
    author = "Aber, John D. and Nadelhoffer, Knute J. and Steudler, Paul A. and Melillo, Jerry M.",
    title = "Nitrogen Saturation in Northern Forest Ecosystems",
    year = "1989",
    journal = "BioScience",
    abstract = "Journal Article Nitrogen Saturation in Northern Forest Ecosystems: Excess nitrogen from fossil fuel combustion may stress the biosphere Get access John D. Aber, John D. Aber Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Knute J. Nadelhoffer, Knute J. Nadelhoffer Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Paul Steudler, Paul Steudler Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Jerry M. Melillo Jerry M. Melillo Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar BioScience, Volume 39, Issue 6, June 1989, Pages 378–386, https://doi.org/10.2307/1311067 Published: 01 June 1989",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.2307/1311067",
    doi = "10.2307/1311067",
    openalex = "W2044200233",
    references = "doi1010079781441985361, doi1010079781461262329"
}

@book{openalexw1588599659,
    author = "Kerry, Knowles and Hempel, Gotthilf",
    title = "Antarctic ecosystems: ecological change and conservation",
    year = "1990",
    booktitle = "Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar-und Meeresforschung (Alfred-Wegener-Institut)",
    url = "https://openalex.org/W1588599659",
    openalex = "W1588599659"
}

Journal Article An Ecosystem Perspective of Riparian Zones: Focus on links between land and water Get access Stanley V. Gregory, Stanley V. Gregory Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Frederick J. Swanson, Frederick J. Swanson Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar W. Arthur McKee, W. Arthur McKee Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Kenneth W. Cummins Kenneth W. Cummins Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar BioScience, Volume 41, Issue 8, September 1991, Pages 540–551, https://doi.org/10.2307/1311607 Published: 01 September 1991

@article{doi1023071311607,
    author = "Gregory, Stanley V. and Swanson, Frederick J. and McKee, W. Arthur and Cummins, Kenneth W.",
    title = "An Ecosystem Perspective of Riparian Zones",
    year = "1991",
    journal = "BioScience",
    abstract = "Journal Article An Ecosystem Perspective of Riparian Zones: Focus on links between land and water Get access Stanley V. Gregory, Stanley V. Gregory Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Frederick J. Swanson, Frederick J. Swanson Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar W. Arthur McKee, W. Arthur McKee Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Kenneth W. Cummins Kenneth W. Cummins Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar BioScience, Volume 41, Issue 8, September 1991, Pages 540–551, https://doi.org/10.2307/1311607 Published: 01 September 1991",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.2307/1311607",
    doi = "10.2307/1311607",
    openalex = "W59689390",
    references = "doi101016s006525040860121x, doi101139f80017, doi105962bhltitle4108"
}

@article{doi101016000632079390392e,
    author = "Spellerberg, Ian F. 1942-",
    title = "Monitoring ecological change",
    year = "1993",
    journal = "Biological Conservation",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1016/0006-3207(93)90392-e",
    doi = "10.1016/0006-3207(93)90392-e",
    openalex = "W2074276731",
    references = "doi101007bf00400057, openalexw1588599659"
}

Ocean-going ships carry, as ballast, seawater that is taken on in port and released at subsequent ports of call. Plankton samples from Japanese ballast water released in Oregon contained 367 taxa. Most taxa with a planktonic phase in their life cycle were found in ballast water, as were all major marine habitat and trophic groups. Transport of entire coastal planktonic assemblages across oceanic barriers to similar habitats renders bays, estuaries, and inland waters among the most threatened ecosystems in the world. Presence of taxonomically difficult or inconspicuous taxa in these samples suggests that ballast water invasions are already pervasive.

@article{doi101126science261511778,
    author = "Cariton, James T. and Geller, Jonathan B.",
    title = "Ecological Roulette: The Global Transport of Nonindigenous Marine Organisms",
    year = "1993",
    journal = "Science",
    abstract = "Ocean-going ships carry, as ballast, seawater that is taken on in port and released at subsequent ports of call. Plankton samples from Japanese ballast water released in Oregon contained 367 taxa. Most taxa with a planktonic phase in their life cycle were found in ballast water, as were all major marine habitat and trophic groups. Transport of entire coastal planktonic assemblages across oceanic barriers to similar habitats renders bays, estuaries, and inland waters among the most threatened ecosystems in the world. Presence of taxonomically difficult or inconspicuous taxa in these samples suggests that ballast water invasions are already pervasive.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1126/science.261.5117.78",
    doi = "10.1126/science.261.5117.78",
    openalex = "W2079889397",
    references = "doi1010079781461249887, doi1010079789400918764, doi101016016953479390025k, doi101093plankt1481067, doi101111j152317391989tb00086x, doi101139f91165, doi101139f92047, doi102216i00318884322791, doi1023071942601, openalexw1605546520"
}

Hydrologic regimes play a major role in determining the biotic composition, structure, and function of aquatic, wetland, and riparian ecosystems. But human land and water uses are substantially altering hydrologic regimes around the world. Improved quantitative evaluations of human‐induced hydrologic changes are needed to advance research on the biotic implications of hydrologic alteration and to support ecosystem management and restoration plans. We propose a method for assessing the degree of hydrologic alteration attributable to human influence within an ecosystem. This method, referred to as the “Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration,” is based upon an analysis of hydrologic data available either from existing measurement points within an ecosystem (such as at stream gauges or wells) or model‐generated data. We use 32 parameters, organized into five groups, to statistically characterize hydrologic variation within each year. These 32 parameters provide information on ecologically significant features of surface and ground water regimes influencing aquatic, wetland, and riparian ecosystems. We then assess the hydrologic perturbations associated with activities such as dam operations, flow diversion, groundwater pumping, or intensive land‐use conversion by comparing measures of central tendency and dispersion for each parameter between user‐defined “pre‐impact” and “post‐impact” time frames, generating 64 Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration. This method is intended for use with other ecosystem metrics in inventories of ecosystem integrity, in planning ecosystem management activities, and in setting and measuring progress toward conservation or restoration goals.

@article{doi101046j15231739199610041163x,
    author = "Richter, Brian D. and Baumgartner, Jeffrey V. and Powell, Jennifer R. and Braun, David P.",
    title = "A Method for Assessing Hydrologic Alteration within Ecosystems",
    year = "1996",
    journal = "Conservation Biology",
    abstract = "Hydrologic regimes play a major role in determining the biotic composition, structure, and function of aquatic, wetland, and riparian ecosystems. But human land and water uses are substantially altering hydrologic regimes around the world. Improved quantitative evaluations of human‐induced hydrologic changes are needed to advance research on the biotic implications of hydrologic alteration and to support ecosystem management and restoration plans. We propose a method for assessing the degree of hydrologic alteration attributable to human influence within an ecosystem. This method, referred to as the “Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration,” is based upon an analysis of hydrologic data available either from existing measurement points within an ecosystem (such as at stream gauges or wells) or model‐generated data. We use 32 parameters, organized into five groups, to statistically characterize hydrologic variation within each year. These 32 parameters provide information on ecologically significant features of surface and ground water regimes influencing aquatic, wetland, and riparian ecosystems. We then assess the hydrologic perturbations associated with activities such as dam operations, flow diversion, groundwater pumping, or intensive land‐use conversion by comparing measures of central tendency and dispersion for each parameter between user‐defined “pre‐impact” and “post‐impact” time frames, generating 64 Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration. This method is intended for use with other ecosystem metrics in inventories of ecosystem integrity, in planning ecosystem management activities, and in setting and measuring progress toward conservation or restoration goals.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1523-1739.1996.10041163.x",
    doi = "10.1046/j.1523-1739.1996.10041163.x",
    openalex = "W2022413055",
    references = "doi101093forestscience263435, doi1023071942661, doi105860choice330333"
}

The relationships between biodiversity and stability were determined for both population and ecosystem traits in a long—term study of 207 grassland plots. Results demonstrate that biodiversity stabilizes community and ecosystem processes, but not population processes. Specifically, year—to—year variability in total aboveground plant community biomass was significantly lower in plots with greater plant species richness both for the entire 11—yr period and for the nine non—drought years. The change in total plant community biomass from before the drought to the peak of the drought was also highly dependent on species richness. For all three measures of total community biomass stability, multiple regressions that controlled for covariates showed similar significant relationships between plant diversity and stability. In contrast, year—to—year variability in species abundances was not stabilized by plant species richness for either all years or non—drought years. This difference between species vs. community biomass likely results from interspecific competition. When climatic variations harm some species, unharmed competitors increase. Such compensatory increases stabilize total community biomass, but cause species abundances to be more variable. These results support both the predictions of Robert May concerning the effects of diversity on population stability and the diversity—stability hypothesis as applied to community and ecosystem processes, thus helping to reconcile a long—standing dispute.

@article{doi1023072265614,
    author = "Tilman, David",
    title = "Biodiversity: Population Versus Ecosystem Stability",
    year = "1996",
    journal = "Ecology",
    abstract = "The relationships between biodiversity and stability were determined for both population and ecosystem traits in a long—term study of 207 grassland plots. Results demonstrate that biodiversity stabilizes community and ecosystem processes, but not population processes. Specifically, year—to—year variability in total aboveground plant community biomass was significantly lower in plots with greater plant species richness both for the entire 11—yr period and for the nine non—drought years. The change in total plant community biomass from before the drought to the peak of the drought was also highly dependent on species richness. For all three measures of total community biomass stability, multiple regressions that controlled for covariates showed similar significant relationships between plant diversity and stability. In contrast, year—to—year variability in species abundances was not stabilized by plant species richness for either all years or non—drought years. This difference between species vs. community biomass likely results from interspecific competition. When climatic variations harm some species, unharmed competitors increase. Such compensatory increases stabilize total community biomass, but cause species abundances to be more variable. These results support both the predictions of Robert May concerning the effects of diversity on population stability and the diversity—stability hypothesis as applied to community and ecosystem processes, thus helping to reconcile a long—standing dispute.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.2307/2265614",
    doi = "10.2307/2265614",
    openalex = "W1977200897"
}

Ecosystem management is management driven by explicit goals, executed by policies, protocols, and practices, and made adaptable by monitoring and research based on our best understanding of the ecological interactions and processes necessary to sustain ecosystem composition, structure, and function. In recent years, sustainability has become an explicitly stated, even legislatively mandated, goal of natural resource management agencies. In practice, however, management approaches have often focused on maximizing short‐term yield and economic gain rather than long‐term sustainability. Several obstacles contribute to this disparity, including: (1) inadequate information on the biological diversity of environments; (2) widespread ignorance of the function and dynamics of ecosystems; (3) the openness and interconnectedness of ecosystems on scales that transcend management boundaries; (4) a prevailing public perception that the immediate economic and social value of supposedly renewable resources outweighs the risk of future ecosystem damage or the benefits of alternative management approaches. The goal of ecosystem management is to overcome these obstacles. Ecosystem management includes the following elements: (1) Sustainability. Ecosystem management does not focus primarily on deliverables" but rather regards intergenerational sustainability as a precondition. (2) Goals. Ecosystem management establishes measurable goals that specify future processes and outcomes necessary for sustainability. (3) Sound ecological models and understanding. Ecosystem management relies on research performed at all levels of ecological organization. (4) Complexity and connectedness. Ecosystem management recognizes that biological diversity and structural complexity strengthen ecosystems against disturbance and supply the genetic resources necessary to adapt to long‐term change. (5) The dynamic character of ecosystems. Recognizing that change and evolution are inherent in ecosystem sustainability, ecosystem management avoids attempts to freeze" ecosystems in a particular state or configuration. (6) Context and scale. Ecosystem processes operate over a wide range of spatial and temporal scales, and their behavior at any given location is greatly affected by surrounding systems. Thus, there is no single appropriate scale or time frame for management. (7) Humans as ecosystem components. Ecosystem management values the active role of humans in achieving sustainable management goals. (8) Adaptability and accountability. Ecosystem management acknowledges that current knowledge and paradigms of ecosystem function are provisional, incomplete, and subject to change. Management approaches must be viewed as hypotheses to be tested by research and monitoring programs. The following are fundamental scientific precepts for ecosystem management. (1) Spatial and temporal scale are critical. Ecosystem function includes inputs, outputs, cycling of materials and energy, and the interactions of organisms. Boundaries defined for the study or management of one process are often inappropriate for the study of others; thus, ecosystem management requires a broad view. (2) Ecosystem function depends on its structure, diversity, and integrity. Ecosystem management seeks to maintain biological diversity as a critical component in strengthening ecosystems against disturbance. Thus, management of biological diversity requires a broad perspective and recognition that the complexity and function of any particular location is influenced heavily by the surrounding system. (3) Ecosystems are dynamic in space and time. Ecosystem management is challenging in part because ecosystems are constantly changing. Over time scales of decades or centuries, many landscapes are altered by natural disturbances that lead to mosaics of successional patches of different ages. Such patch dynamics are critical to ecosystem structure and function. (4) Uncertainty, surprise, and limits to knowledge. Ecosystem management acknowledges that, given sufficient time and space, unlikely events are certain to occur. Adaptive management addresses this uncertainty by combining democratic principles, scientific analysis, education, and institutional learning to increase our understanding of ecosystem processes and the consequences of management interventions, and to improve the quality of data upon which decisions must be made. Ecosystem management requires application of ecological science to natural resource actions. Moving from concepts to practice is a daunting challenge and will require the following steps and actions. (1) Defining sustainable goals and objectives. Sustainable strategies for the provision of ecosystem goods and services cannot take as their starting points statements of need or want such as mandated timber supply, water demand, or arbitrarily set harvests of shrimp or fish. Rather, sustainability must be the primary objective, and levels of commodity and amenity provision must be adjusted to meet that goal. (2) Reconciling spatial scales. Implementation of ecosystem management would be greatly simplified if management jurisdictions were spatially congruent with the behavior of ecosystem processes. Given the variation in spatial domain among processes, one perfect fit for all processes is virtually impossible; rather, ecosystem management must seek consensus among the various stakeholders within each ecosystem. (3) Reconciling temporal scales. Whereas management agencies are often forced to make decisions on a fiscal‐year basis, ecosystem management must deal with time scales that transcend human lifetimes. Ecosystem management requires long‐term planning and commitment. (4) Making the system adaptable and accountable. Successful ecosystem management requires institutions that are adaptable to changes in ecosystem characteristics and in our knowledge base. Adaptive management by definition requires the scientist's ongoing interaction with managers and the public. Communication must flow in both directions, and scientists must be willing to prioritize their research with regard to critical management needs. Scientists have much to offer in the development of monitoring programs, particularly in creating sampling approaches, statistical analyses, and scientific models. As our knowledge base evolves, scientists must develop new mechanisms to communicate research and management results. More professionals with an understanding of scientific, management, and social issues, and the ability to communicate with scientists, managers, and the public are needed. Ecosystem management is not a rejection of an anthropocentric for a totally biocentric worldview. Rather it is management that acknowledges the importance of human needs while at the same time confronting the reality that the capacity of our world to meet those needs in perpetuity has limits and depends on the functioning of ecosystems.

@article{doi1023072269460,
    author = "Christensen, Norman L. and Bartuska, Ann M. and Brown, James H. and Carpenter, Stephen R. and D’Antonio, Carla M. and Francis, Rober and Franklin, Jerry F. and MacMahon, James A. and Noss, Reed F. and Parsons, David and Peterson, Charles H. and Turner, Monica G. and Woodmansee, Robert G.",
    title = "The Report of the Ecological Society of America Committee on the Scientific Basis for Ecosystem Management",
    year = "1996",
    journal = "Ecological Applications",
    abstract = {Ecosystem management is management driven by explicit goals, executed by policies, protocols, and practices, and made adaptable by monitoring and research based on our best understanding of the ecological interactions and processes necessary to sustain ecosystem composition, structure, and function. In recent years, sustainability has become an explicitly stated, even legislatively mandated, goal of natural resource management agencies. In practice, however, management approaches have often focused on maximizing short‐term yield and economic gain rather than long‐term sustainability. Several obstacles contribute to this disparity, including: (1) inadequate information on the biological diversity of environments; (2) widespread ignorance of the function and dynamics of ecosystems; (3) the openness and interconnectedness of ecosystems on scales that transcend management boundaries; (4) a prevailing public perception that the immediate economic and social value of supposedly renewable resources outweighs the risk of future ecosystem damage or the benefits of alternative management approaches. The goal of ecosystem management is to overcome these obstacles. Ecosystem management includes the following elements: (1) Sustainability. Ecosystem management does not focus primarily on deliverables" but rather regards intergenerational sustainability as a precondition. (2) Goals. Ecosystem management establishes measurable goals that specify future processes and outcomes necessary for sustainability. (3) Sound ecological models and understanding. Ecosystem management relies on research performed at all levels of ecological organization. (4) Complexity and connectedness. Ecosystem management recognizes that biological diversity and structural complexity strengthen ecosystems against disturbance and supply the genetic resources necessary to adapt to long‐term change. (5) The dynamic character of ecosystems. Recognizing that change and evolution are inherent in ecosystem sustainability, ecosystem management avoids attempts to freeze" ecosystems in a particular state or configuration. (6) Context and scale. Ecosystem processes operate over a wide range of spatial and temporal scales, and their behavior at any given location is greatly affected by surrounding systems. Thus, there is no single appropriate scale or time frame for management. (7) Humans as ecosystem components. Ecosystem management values the active role of humans in achieving sustainable management goals. (8) Adaptability and accountability. Ecosystem management acknowledges that current knowledge and paradigms of ecosystem function are provisional, incomplete, and subject to change. Management approaches must be viewed as hypotheses to be tested by research and monitoring programs. The following are fundamental scientific precepts for ecosystem management. (1) Spatial and temporal scale are critical. Ecosystem function includes inputs, outputs, cycling of materials and energy, and the interactions of organisms. Boundaries defined for the study or management of one process are often inappropriate for the study of others; thus, ecosystem management requires a broad view. (2) Ecosystem function depends on its structure, diversity, and integrity. Ecosystem management seeks to maintain biological diversity as a critical component in strengthening ecosystems against disturbance. Thus, management of biological diversity requires a broad perspective and recognition that the complexity and function of any particular location is influenced heavily by the surrounding system. (3) Ecosystems are dynamic in space and time. Ecosystem management is challenging in part because ecosystems are constantly changing. Over time scales of decades or centuries, many landscapes are altered by natural disturbances that lead to mosaics of successional patches of different ages. Such patch dynamics are critical to ecosystem structure and function. (4) Uncertainty, surprise, and limits to knowledge. Ecosystem management acknowledges that, given sufficient time and space, unlikely events are certain to occur. Adaptive management addresses this uncertainty by combining democratic principles, scientific analysis, education, and institutional learning to increase our understanding of ecosystem processes and the consequences of management interventions, and to improve the quality of data upon which decisions must be made. Ecosystem management requires application of ecological science to natural resource actions. Moving from concepts to practice is a daunting challenge and will require the following steps and actions. (1) Defining sustainable goals and objectives. Sustainable strategies for the provision of ecosystem goods and services cannot take as their starting points statements of need or want such as mandated timber supply, water demand, or arbitrarily set harvests of shrimp or fish. Rather, sustainability must be the primary objective, and levels of commodity and amenity provision must be adjusted to meet that goal. (2) Reconciling spatial scales. Implementation of ecosystem management would be greatly simplified if management jurisdictions were spatially congruent with the behavior of ecosystem processes. Given the variation in spatial domain among processes, one perfect fit for all processes is virtually impossible; rather, ecosystem management must seek consensus among the various stakeholders within each ecosystem. (3) Reconciling temporal scales. Whereas management agencies are often forced to make decisions on a fiscal‐year basis, ecosystem management must deal with time scales that transcend human lifetimes. Ecosystem management requires long‐term planning and commitment. (4) Making the system adaptable and accountable. Successful ecosystem management requires institutions that are adaptable to changes in ecosystem characteristics and in our knowledge base. Adaptive management by definition requires the scientist's ongoing interaction with managers and the public. Communication must flow in both directions, and scientists must be willing to prioritize their research with regard to critical management needs. Scientists have much to offer in the development of monitoring programs, particularly in creating sampling approaches, statistical analyses, and scientific models. As our knowledge base evolves, scientists must develop new mechanisms to communicate research and management results. More professionals with an understanding of scientific, management, and social issues, and the ability to communicate with scientists, managers, and the public are needed. Ecosystem management is not a rejection of an anthropocentric for a totally biocentric worldview. Rather it is management that acknowledges the importance of human needs while at the same time confronting the reality that the capacity of our world to meet those needs in perpetuity has limits and depends on the functioning of ecosystems.},
    url = "https://doi.org/10.2307/2269460",
    doi = "10.2307/2269460",
    openalex = "W2055740081",
    references = "doi101007bf02860857, doi101086284105, doi1023071312148"
}

@article{doi101038387253a0,
    author = "Costanza, Robert and d’Arge, Ralph C. and de Groot, R.S. and Färber, Stephen and Grasso, Monica and Hannon, Bruce and Limburg, Karin E. and Naeem, Shahid and O’Neill, Robert V. and Paruelo, José M. and Raskin, R. and Sutton, Paul C. and van den Belt, Marjan",
    title = "The value of the world's ecosystem services and natural capital",
    year = "1997",
    journal = "Nature",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1038/387253a0",
    doi = "10.1038/387253a0",
    openalex = "W2746485780",
    references = "doi101126science166390172"
}

Ecosystem processes are thought to depend on both the number and identity of the species present in an ecosystem, but mathematical theory predicting this has been lacking. Here we present three simple models of interspecific competitive interactions in communities containing various numbers of randomly chosen species. All three models predict that, on average, productivity increases asymptotically with the original biodiversity of a community. The two models that address plant nutrient competition also predict that ecosystem nutrient retention increases with biodiversity and that the effects of biodiversity on productivity and nutrient retention increase with interspecific differences in resource requirements. All three models show that both species identity and biodiversity simultaneously influence ecosystem functioning, but their relative importance varies greatly among the models. This theory reinforces recent experimental results and shows that effects of biodiversity on ecosystem functioning are predicted by well-known ecological processes.

@article{doi101073pnas9451857,
    author = "Tilman, David and Lehman, Clarence and Thomson, Kendall T.",
    title = "Plant diversity and ecosystem productivity: Theoretical considerations",
    year = "1997",
    journal = "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences",
    abstract = "Ecosystem processes are thought to depend on both the number and identity of the species present in an ecosystem, but mathematical theory predicting this has been lacking. Here we present three simple models of interspecific competitive interactions in communities containing various numbers of randomly chosen species. All three models predict that, on average, productivity increases asymptotically with the original biodiversity of a community. The two models that address plant nutrient competition also predict that ecosystem nutrient retention increases with biodiversity and that the effects of biodiversity on productivity and nutrient retention increase with interspecific differences in resource requirements. All three models show that both species identity and biodiversity simultaneously influence ecosystem functioning, but their relative importance varies greatly among the models. This theory reinforces recent experimental results and shows that effects of biodiversity on ecosystem functioning are predicted by well-known ecological processes.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.94.5.1857",
    doi = "10.1073/pnas.94.5.1857",
    openalex = "W2016418366"
}

Human alteration of Earth is substantial and growing. Between one-third and one-half of the land surface has been transformed by human action; the carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere has increased by nearly 30 percent since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution; more atmospheric nitrogen is fixed by humanity than by all natural terrestrial sources combined; more than half of all accessible surface fresh water is put to use by humanity; and about one-quarter of the bird species on Earth have been driven to extinction. By these and other standards, it is clear that we live on a human-dominated planet.

@article{doi101126science2775325494,
    author = "Vitousek, Peter M. and Mooney, Harold A. and Lubchenco, Jane and Melillo, Jerry M.",
    title = "Human Domination of Earth's Ecosystems",
    year = "1997",
    journal = "Science",
    abstract = "Human alteration of Earth is substantial and growing. Between one-third and one-half of the land surface has been transformed by human action; the carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere has increased by nearly 30 percent since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution; more atmospheric nitrogen is fixed by humanity than by all natural terrestrial sources combined; more than half of all accessible surface fresh water is put to use by humanity; and about one-quarter of the bird species on Earth have been driven to extinction. By these and other standards, it is clear that we live on a human-dominated planet.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1126/science.277.5325.494",
    doi = "10.1126/science.277.5325.494",
    openalex = "W2102200338",
    references = "doi1010079781489972149, doi1010079789400958517, doi101038371065a0, doi101038374255a0, doi101111j152317391991tb00384x, doi101126science2695222347, doi101146annureves23110192000431, doi102216i00318884322791, doi1023071310258, doi1023072257385, openalexw1625730066"
}

Expansion and intensification of cultivation are among the predominant global changes of this century. Intensification of agriculture by use of high-yielding crop varieties, fertilization,irrigation, and pesticides has contributed substantially to the tremendous increases in food production over the past 50 years. Land conversion and intensification,however, also alter the biotic interactions and patterns of resource availability in ecosystems and can have serious local, regional, and global environmental consequences.The use of ecologically based management strategies can increase the sustainability of agricultural production while reducing off-site consequences.

@article{doi101126science2775325504,
    author = "Matson, Pamela A. and Parton, W. J. and Power, Alison G. and Swift, M. J.",
    title = "Agricultural Intensification and Ecosystem Properties",
    year = "1997",
    journal = "Science",
    abstract = "Expansion and intensification of cultivation are among the predominant global changes of this century. Intensification of agriculture by use of high-yielding crop varieties, fertilization,irrigation, and pesticides has contributed substantially to the tremendous increases in food production over the past 50 years. Land conversion and intensification,however, also alter the biotic interactions and patterns of resource availability in ecosystems and can have serious local, regional, and global environmental consequences.The use of ecologically based management strategies can increase the sustainability of agricultural production while reducing off-site consequences.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1126/science.277.5325.504",
    doi = "10.1126/science.277.5325.504",
    openalex = "W2097102631",
    references = "doi101007bf02179825, doi10102995gb00158, doi101098rstb19900177, doi101126science2715250785, doi101146annureven36010191003021, doi101146annureves11110180001003, doi101146annureves23110192000351, doi102136sssaj198903615995005300030029x, doi102136sssaj199203615995005600020023x, doi1023072937317"
}

This study examines N 2 O emissions from aquatic environments globally, particularly as they are affected by anthropogenic activity. The global distribution of N 2 O production in rivers and estuaries was modeled as a function of nitrification and denitrification rates, which were related to external nitrogen (N) inputs. N loading rates were estimated as a function of environmental parameters in the watersheds using two existing models that we adapted for global databases. Model estimated export of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) by world rivers to estuaries in 1990 is 20.8 Tg N yr −1; approximately 75% is estimated to be anthropogenic. DIN export to the Atlantic and Indian Oceans is similar (5.4 Tg N yr −1 and 4.6 Tg N yr −1, respectively); inputs to the Pacific are approximately 50% greater. China and southeast Asia account for over 50% of DIN export by world rivers. Globally, anthropogenic DIN export is predominately attributed to fertilizer N, followed by sewage and atmospheric deposition. About 8% of the total N inputs to the terrestrial environment can be accounted for as DIN export by rivers. Worldwide N 2 O emissions from rivers (55%), estuaries (11%), and continental shelves (33%) are calculated to be 1.9 Tg N yr −1. For rivers and estuaries, approximately 90% of N 2 O emissions are in the northern hemisphere in line with the regional distribution of DIN export by rivers. China and India account for about 50% of N 2 O emissions from rivers and estuaries. About 1% of the N input from fertilizers, atmospheric deposition, and sewage to watersheds is lost as N 2 O in rivers and estuaries. Globally, rivers and estuaries could account for approximately 20% of the current global anthropogenic N 2 O emissions and are similar in magnitude to a number of previously identified sources including direct emissions of N 2 O from soils induced by anthropogenic N inputs.

@article{doi10102997gb03657,
    author = "Seitzinger, Sybil P. and Kroeze, Carolien",
    title = "Global distribution of nitrous oxide production and N inputs in freshwater and coastal marine ecosystems",
    year = "1998",
    journal = "Global Biogeochemical Cycles",
    abstract = "This study examines N 2 O emissions from aquatic environments globally, particularly as they are affected by anthropogenic activity. The global distribution of N 2 O production in rivers and estuaries was modeled as a function of nitrification and denitrification rates, which were related to external nitrogen (N) inputs. N loading rates were estimated as a function of environmental parameters in the watersheds using two existing models that we adapted for global databases. Model estimated export of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) by world rivers to estuaries in 1990 is 20.8 Tg N yr −1; approximately 75\% is estimated to be anthropogenic. DIN export to the Atlantic and Indian Oceans is similar (5.4 Tg N yr −1 and 4.6 Tg N yr −1, respectively); inputs to the Pacific are approximately 50\% greater. China and southeast Asia account for over 50\% of DIN export by world rivers. Globally, anthropogenic DIN export is predominately attributed to fertilizer N, followed by sewage and atmospheric deposition. About 8\% of the total N inputs to the terrestrial environment can be accounted for as DIN export by rivers. Worldwide N 2 O emissions from rivers (55\%), estuaries (11\%), and continental shelves (33\%) are calculated to be 1.9 Tg N yr −1. For rivers and estuaries, approximately 90\% of N 2 O emissions are in the northern hemisphere in line with the regional distribution of DIN export by rivers. China and India account for about 50\% of N 2 O emissions from rivers and estuaries. About 1\% of the N input from fertilizers, atmospheric deposition, and sewage to watersheds is lost as N 2 O in rivers and estuaries. Globally, rivers and estuaries could account for approximately 20\% of the current global anthropogenic N 2 O emissions and are similar in magnitude to a number of previously identified sources including direct emissions of N 2 O from soils induced by anthropogenic N inputs.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1029/97gb03657",
    doi = "10.1029/97gb03657",
    openalex = "W2164994170",
    references = "doi104319lo1988334part20702"
}

1 It is useful to distinguish between the immediate effects of species richness on ecosystems and those which become apparent on a longer time scale, described here as filter and founder effects. 2 Relationships between plant diversity and ecosystem properties can be explored by classifying component species into three categories – dominants, subordinates and transients. Dominants recur in particular vegetation types, are relatively large, exhibit coarse‐grained foraging for resources and, as individual species, make a substantial contribution to the plant biomass. Subordinates also show high fidelity of association with particular vegetation types but they are smaller in stature, forage on a more restricted scale and tend to occupy microhabitats delimited by the architecture and phenology of their associated dominants. Transients comprise a heterogeneous assortment of species of low abundance and persistence; a high proportion are juveniles of species that occur as dominants or subordinates in neighbouring ecosystems. 3 A ‘mass ratio’ theory proposes that immediate controls are in proportion to inputs to primary production, are determined to an overwhelming extent by the traits and functional diversity of the dominant plants and are relatively insensitive to the richness of subordinates and transients. Recent experiments support the mass ratio hypothesis and the conclusion of Huston (1997) that claims of immediate benefits of high species richness to ecosystem functions arise from misinterpretation of data. 4 Attribution of immediate control to dominants does not exclude subordinates and transients from involvement in the determination of ecosystem function and sustainability. Both are suspected to play a crucial, if intermittent, role by influencing the recruitment of dominants. Some subordinates may act as a filter influencing regeneration by dominants following major perturbations. 5 Transients originate from the seed rain and seed banks and provide an index of the pool of potential dominants and subordinates at specific sites. Where the landscape carousel operates against a background of declining diversity in the reservoir of colonizing transients, we may predict that a progressive loss of ecosystem functions will arise from the decline in the precision with which dominants can engage in the re‐assembly and relocation of ecosystems.

@article{doi101046j13652745199800306x,
    author = "Grime, J. Philip",
    title = "Benefits of plant diversity to ecosystems: immediate, filter and founder effects",
    year = "1998",
    journal = "Journal of Ecology",
    abstract = "1 It is useful to distinguish between the immediate effects of species richness on ecosystems and those which become apparent on a longer time scale, described here as filter and founder effects. 2 Relationships between plant diversity and ecosystem properties can be explored by classifying component species into three categories – dominants, subordinates and transients. Dominants recur in particular vegetation types, are relatively large, exhibit coarse‐grained foraging for resources and, as individual species, make a substantial contribution to the plant biomass. Subordinates also show high fidelity of association with particular vegetation types but they are smaller in stature, forage on a more restricted scale and tend to occupy microhabitats delimited by the architecture and phenology of their associated dominants. Transients comprise a heterogeneous assortment of species of low abundance and persistence; a high proportion are juveniles of species that occur as dominants or subordinates in neighbouring ecosystems. 3 A ‘mass ratio’ theory proposes that immediate controls are in proportion to inputs to primary production, are determined to an overwhelming extent by the traits and functional diversity of the dominant plants and are relatively insensitive to the richness of subordinates and transients. Recent experiments support the mass ratio hypothesis and the conclusion of Huston (1997) that claims of immediate benefits of high species richness to ecosystem functions arise from misinterpretation of data. 4 Attribution of immediate control to dominants does not exclude subordinates and transients from involvement in the determination of ecosystem function and sustainability. Both are suspected to play a crucial, if intermittent, role by influencing the recruitment of dominants. Some subordinates may act as a filter influencing regeneration by dominants following major perturbations. 5 Transients originate from the seed rain and seed banks and provide an index of the pool of potential dominants and subordinates at specific sites. Where the landscape carousel operates against a background of declining diversity in the reservoir of colonizing transients, we may predict that a progressive loss of ecosystem functions will arise from the decline in the precision with which dominants can engage in the re‐assembly and relocation of ecosystems.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2745.1998.00306.x",
    doi = "10.1046/j.1365-2745.1998.00306.x",
    openalex = "W2064604453",
    references = "doi1010079781461262329, doi1010160006320787901224, doi101038379718a0, doi101086283241, doi101111j1469185x1977tb01347x, doi101126science1473655250, doi1023072256497"
}

Life itself as well as the entire human economy depends on goods and services provided by earth's natural systems. The processes of cleansing, recycling, and renewal, along with goods such as seafood, forage, and timber, are worth many trillions of dollars annually, and nothing could live without them. Yet growing human impacts on the environment are profoundly disrupting the functioning of natural systems and imperiling the delivery of these services.Nature's Services brings together world-renowned scientists from a variety of disciplines to examine the character and value of ecosystem services, the damage that has been done to them, and the consequent implications for human society. Contributors including Paul R. Ehrlich, Donald Kennedy, Pamela A. Matson, Robert Costanza, Gary Paul Nabhan, Jane Lubchenco, Sandra Postel, and Norman Myers present a detailed synthesis of our current understanding of a suite of ecosystem services and a preliminary assessment of their economic value. Chapters consider: major services including climate regulation, soil fertility, pollination, and pest control philosophical and economic issues of valuation case studies of specific ecosystems and services implication of recent findings and steps that must be taken to address the most pressing concerns Nature's Services represents one of the first efforts by scientists to provide an overview of the many benefits and services that nature offers to people and the extent to which we are all vitally dependent on those services. The book enhances our understanding of the value of the natural systems that surround us and can play an essential role in encouraging greater efforts to protect the earth's basic life-support systems before it is too late. -- publisher's description

@article{doi1023073244191,
    author = "Pharo, Emma and Daily, Gretchen C.",
    title = "Nature's Services: Societal Dependence on Natural Ecosystems",
    year = "1998",
    journal = "The Bryologist",
    abstract = "Life itself as well as the entire human economy depends on goods and services provided by earth's natural systems. The processes of cleansing, recycling, and renewal, along with goods such as seafood, forage, and timber, are worth many trillions of dollars annually, and nothing could live without them. Yet growing human impacts on the environment are profoundly disrupting the functioning of natural systems and imperiling the delivery of these services.Nature's Services brings together world-renowned scientists from a variety of disciplines to examine the character and value of ecosystem services, the damage that has been done to them, and the consequent implications for human society. Contributors including Paul R. Ehrlich, Donald Kennedy, Pamela A. Matson, Robert Costanza, Gary Paul Nabhan, Jane Lubchenco, Sandra Postel, and Norman Myers present a detailed synthesis of our current understanding of a suite of ecosystem services and a preliminary assessment of their economic value. Chapters consider: major services including climate regulation, soil fertility, pollination, and pest control philosophical and economic issues of valuation case studies of specific ecosystems and services implication of recent findings and steps that must be taken to address the most pressing concerns Nature's Services represents one of the first efforts by scientists to provide an overview of the many benefits and services that nature offers to people and the extent to which we are all vitally dependent on those services. The book enhances our understanding of the value of the natural systems that surround us and can play an essential role in encouraging greater efforts to protect the earth's basic life-support systems before it is too late. -- publisher's description",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.2307/3244191",
    doi = "10.2307/3244191",
    openalex = "W2003605835"
}

@article{doi101016s0269749199000913,
    author = "Smith, Val H. and Tilman, David and Nekola, Jeffrey C.",
    title = "Eutrophication: impacts of excess nutrient inputs on freshwater, marine, and terrestrial ecosystems",
    year = "1999",
    journal = "Environmental Pollution",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1016/s0269-7491(99)00091-3",
    doi = "10.1016/s0269-7491(99)00091-3",
    openalex = "W2101791894",
    references = "doi101007bf00002772, doi101016016953479390254m, doi101016c20120016547, doi101021es960803f, doi10108000785236199510422044, doi101111j136524861995tb00008x, doi101126science1954275260, doi101126science2775325494, doi101126science2775325504, doi1018900012965819980792057etoeop20co2, doi1018901051076119970070737haotgn20co2, doi1018901051076119980080559nposww20co2, doi1023074549, doi105860choice266277, openalexw2280564438"
}

@article{doi101016s0921800999000099,
    author = "Moberg, Fredrik and Folke, Carl",
    title = "Ecological goods and services of coral reef ecosystems",
    year = "1999",
    journal = "Ecological Economics",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1016/s0921-8009(99)00009-9",
    doi = "10.1016/s0921-8009(99)00009-9",
    openalex = "W2161890892",
    references = "doi101016017626809290034e, doi101038387253a0, doi101086282400, doi101093icb326674, doi101126science19943351302, doi101126science260510417, doi101126science26551781547, doi101146annureves04110173000245, doi1023072269460, doi1023073146384, doi1023073244191"
}

@article{doi101023a1010034312781,
    author = "Parker, Ingrid M. and Simberloff, Daniel and Lonsdale, W. M. and Goodell, Karen and Wonham, Marjorie J. and Kareiva, Peter and Williamson, Michael H. and Holle, Betsy Von and Moyle, Peter B. and Byers, James E. and Goldwasser, Lloyd",
    title = "Impact: Toward a Framework for Understanding the Ecological Effects of Invaders",
    year = "1999",
    journal = "Biological Invasions",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1010034312781",
    doi = "10.1023/a:1010034312781",
    openalex = "W1572650998",
    references = "doi101023a1010086329619, doi101146annurevecolsys27183"
}

@article{doi10103835098000,
    author = "Scheffer, Marten and Carpenter, Stephen R. and Foley, Jonathan A. and Folke, Carl and Walker, Brian R.",
    title = "Catastrophic shifts in ecosystems",
    year = "2001",
    journal = "Nature",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1038/35098000",
    doi = "10.1038/35098000",
    openalex = "W2103948957",
    references = "doi1010079781402031540, doi1010079781475739787, doi101016016953479390254m, doi101016s0277379199000815, doi101038269471a0, doi101046j15231739199610020328x, doi101086284105, doi101093icb326674, doi101126science1057544, doi101126science2775325494, doi101146annureves04110173000245, doi1023071941447"
}

Ecological extinction caused by overfishing precedes all other pervasive human disturbance to coastal ecosystems, including pollution, degradation of water quality, and anthropogenic climate change. Historical abundances of large consumer species were fantastically large in comparison with recent observations. Paleoecological, archaeological, and historical data show that time lags of decades to centuries occurred between the onset of overfishing and consequent changes in ecological communities, because unfished species of similar trophic level assumed the ecological roles of overfished species until they too were overfished or died of epidemic diseases related to overcrowding. Retrospective data not only help to clarify underlying causes and rates of ecological change, but they also demonstrate achievable goals for restoration and management of coastal ecosystems that could not even be contemplated based on the limited perspective of recent observations alone.

@article{doi101126science1059199,
    author = "Jackson, Jeremy B. C. and Kirby, Michael X. and Berger, Wolfgang and Bjorndal, Karen A. and Botsford, Louis W. and Bourque, Bruce J. and Bradbury, Roger and Cooke, Richard G. and Erlandson, Jon M. and Estes, James A. and Hughes, Terry P. and Kidwell, Susan M. and Lange, Carina B. and Lenihan, Hunter S. and Pandolfi, John M. and Peterson, Charles H. and Steneck, Robert S. and Tegner, Mia J. and Warner, Robert R.",
    title = "Historical Overfishing and the Recent Collapse of Coastal Ecosystems",
    year = "2001",
    journal = "Science",
    abstract = "Ecological extinction caused by overfishing precedes all other pervasive human disturbance to coastal ecosystems, including pollution, degradation of water quality, and anthropogenic climate change. Historical abundances of large consumer species were fantastically large in comparison with recent observations. Paleoecological, archaeological, and historical data show that time lags of decades to centuries occurred between the onset of overfishing and consequent changes in ecological communities, because unfished species of similar trophic level assumed the ecological roles of overfished species until they too were overfished or died of epidemic diseases related to overcrowding. Retrospective data not only help to clarify underlying causes and rates of ecological change, but they also demonstrate achievable goals for restoration and management of coastal ecosystems that could not even be contemplated based on the limited perspective of recent observations alone.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1059199",
    doi = "10.1126/science.1059199",
    openalex = "W2147807123",
    references = "doi1010079781475707403, doi101038368619a0, doi10108000785236199510422044, doi101093icb326674, doi101126science18541561058, doi101126science215452819, doi101126science261511778, doi101126science26551781547, doi101126science27452952025, doi101126science2795352860, doi101126science2825388473, doi101126science28554331505, doi1023071185219"
}

The ecological consequences of biodiversity loss have aroused considerable interest and controversy during the past decade. Major advances have been made in describing the relationship between species diversity and ecosystem processes, in identifying functionally important species, and in revealing underlying mechanisms. There is, however, uncertainty as to how results obtained in recent experiments scale up to landscape and regional levels and generalize across ecosystem types and processes. Larger numbers of species are probably needed to reduce temporal variability in ecosystem processes in changing environments. A major future challenge is to determine how biodiversity dynamics, ecosystem processes, and abiotic factors interact.

@article{doi101126science1064088,
    author = "Loreau, Michel and Naeem, Shahid and Inchausti, Pablo and Bengtsson, Jan and Grime, J. Philip and Hector, Andy and Hooper, David U. and Huston, Michael A. and Raffaelli, Dave and Schmid, Bernhard and Tilman, David and Wardle, David A.",
    title = "Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning: Current Knowledge and Future Challenges",
    year = "2001",
    journal = "Science",
    abstract = "The ecological consequences of biodiversity loss have aroused considerable interest and controversy during the past decade. Major advances have been made in describing the relationship between species diversity and ecosystem processes, in identifying functionally important species, and in revealing underlying mechanisms. There is, however, uncertainty as to how results obtained in recent experiments scale up to landscape and regional levels and generalize across ecosystem types and processes. Larger numbers of species are probably needed to reduce temporal variability in ecosystem processes in changing environments. A major future challenge is to determine how biodiversity dynamics, ecosystem processes, and abiotic factors interact.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1064088",
    doi = "10.1126/science.1064088",
    openalex = "W2144845076",
    references = "doi101038307321a0, doi10103835012234, doi10103835012241, doi101038379718a0, doi101086320866, doi101126science2775325494, doi1018900012965819990801455tecoci20co2, openalexw2097450069"
}

@book{doi1015159780691206912,
    author = "May, Robert M.",
    title = "Stability and Complexity in Model Ecosystems",
    year = "2001",
    booktitle = "Princeton University Press eBooks",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1515/9780691206912",
    doi = "10.1515/9780691206912",
    openalex = "W4299993032"
}

Preface. Preface to First Edition. Introduction. Chapter Summaries. PLANT STRATEGIES. Primary Strategies in the Established Phase. Secondary Strategies in the Established Phase. Regenerative Strategies. PLANT STRATEGIES AND VEGETATION PROCESSES. Dominance. Assembling of Communities. Rarification and Extinction. Colonisation and Invasion. Succession. Co-existence. PLANT STRATEGIES AND ECOSYSTEM PROPERTIES. Trophic Structure, Productivity, and Stability. References. Species list. Index

@book{openalexw2097450069,
    author = "Grime, J. P.",
    title = "Plant Strategies, Vegetation Processes, and Ecosystem Properties",
    year = "2001",
    abstract = "Preface. Preface to First Edition. Introduction. Chapter Summaries. PLANT STRATEGIES. Primary Strategies in the Established Phase. Secondary Strategies in the Established Phase. Regenerative Strategies. PLANT STRATEGIES AND VEGETATION PROCESSES. Dominance. Assembling of Communities. Rarification and Extinction. Colonisation and Invasion. Succession. Co-existence. PLANT STRATEGIES AND ECOSYSTEM PROPERTIES. Trophic Structure, Productivity, and Stability. References. Species list. Index",
    openalex = "W2097450069"
}

@article{doi101007s0026700227370,
    author = "Bunn, Stuart E. and Arthington, Angela H.",
    title = "Basic Principles and Ecological Consequences of Altered Flow Regimes for Aquatic Biodiversity",
    year = "2002",
    journal = "Environmental Management",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-002-2737-0",
    doi = "10.1007/s00267-002-2737-0",
    openalex = "W1982901688",
    references = "doi101139f80017"
}

Running waters are perhaps the most impacted ecosystem on the planet as they have been the focus for human settlement and are heavily exploited for water supplies, irrigation, electricity generation, and waste disposal. Lotic systems also have an intimate contact with their catchments and so land-use alterations affect them directly. Here long-term trends in the factors that currently impact running waters are reviewed with the aim of predicting what the main threats to rivers will be in the year 2025. The main ultimate factors forcing change in running waters (ecosystem destruction, physical habitat and water chemistry alteration, and the direct addition or removal of species) stem from proximate influences from urbanization, industry, land-use change and water-course alterations. Any one river is likely to be subjected to several types of impact, and the management of impacts on lotic systems is complicated by numerous links between different forms of anthropogenic effect. Long-term trends for different impacts vary. Concentrations of chemical pollutants such as toxins and nutrients have increased in rivers in developed countries over the past century, with recent reductions for some pollutants (e.g. metals, organic toxicants, acidification), and continued increases in others (e.g. nutrients); there are no long-term chemical data for developing countries. Dam construction increased rapidly during the twentieth century, peaking in the 1970s, and the number of reservoirs has stabilized since this time, whereas the transfer of exotic species between lotic systems continues to increase. Hence, there have been some success stories in the attempts to reduce the impacts from anthropogenic impacts in developed nations. Improvements in the pH status of running waters should continue with lower sulphurous emissions, although emissions of nitrous oxides are set to continue under current legislation and will continue to contribute to acidification and nutrient loadings. Climate change also will impact running waters through alterations in hydrology and thermal regimes, although precise predictions are problematic; effects are likely to vary between regions and to operate alongside rather than override those from other impacts. Effects from climate change may be more extreme over longer time scales (>50 years). The overriding pressure on running water ecosystems up to 2025 will stem from the predicted increase in the human population, with concomitant increases in urban development, industry, agricultural activities and water abstraction, diversion and damming. Future degradation could be substantial and rapid (c. 10 years) and will be concentrated in those areas of the world where resources for conservation are most limited and knowledge of lotic ecosystems most incomplete; damage will centre on lowland rivers, which are also relatively poorly studied. Changes in management practices and public awareness do appear to be benefiting running water ecosystems in developed countries, and could underpin conservation strategies in developing countries if they were implemented in a relevant way.

@article{doi101017s0376892902000097,
    author = "Malmqvist, Björn and Rundle, Simon D.",
    title = "Threats to the running water ecosystems of the world",
    year = "2002",
    journal = "Environmental Conservation",
    abstract = "Running waters are perhaps the most impacted ecosystem on the planet as they have been the focus for human settlement and are heavily exploited for water supplies, irrigation, electricity generation, and waste disposal. Lotic systems also have an intimate contact with their catchments and so land-use alterations affect them directly. Here long-term trends in the factors that currently impact running waters are reviewed with the aim of predicting what the main threats to rivers will be in the year 2025. The main ultimate factors forcing change in running waters (ecosystem destruction, physical habitat and water chemistry alteration, and the direct addition or removal of species) stem from proximate influences from urbanization, industry, land-use change and water-course alterations. Any one river is likely to be subjected to several types of impact, and the management of impacts on lotic systems is complicated by numerous links between different forms of anthropogenic effect. Long-term trends for different impacts vary. Concentrations of chemical pollutants such as toxins and nutrients have increased in rivers in developed countries over the past century, with recent reductions for some pollutants (e.g. metals, organic toxicants, acidification), and continued increases in others (e.g. nutrients); there are no long-term chemical data for developing countries. Dam construction increased rapidly during the twentieth century, peaking in the 1970s, and the number of reservoirs has stabilized since this time, whereas the transfer of exotic species between lotic systems continues to increase. Hence, there have been some success stories in the attempts to reduce the impacts from anthropogenic impacts in developed nations. Improvements in the pH status of running waters should continue with lower sulphurous emissions, although emissions of nitrous oxides are set to continue under current legislation and will continue to contribute to acidification and nutrient loadings. Climate change also will impact running waters through alterations in hydrology and thermal regimes, although precise predictions are problematic; effects are likely to vary between regions and to operate alongside rather than override those from other impacts. Effects from climate change may be more extreme over longer time scales (>50 years). The overriding pressure on running water ecosystems up to 2025 will stem from the predicted increase in the human population, with concomitant increases in urban development, industry, agricultural activities and water abstraction, diversion and damming. Future degradation could be substantial and rapid (c. 10 years) and will be concentrated in those areas of the world where resources for conservation are most limited and knowledge of lotic ecosystems most incomplete; damage will centre on lowland rivers, which are also relatively poorly studied. Changes in management practices and public awareness do appear to be benefiting running water ecosystems in developed countries, and could underpin conservation strategies in developing countries if they were implemented in a relevant way.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1017/s0376892902000097",
    doi = "10.1017/s0376892902000097",
    openalex = "W2082750332",
    references = "doi10103844114, doi1016410006356820010510180aditnu20co2, doi105860choice330333, openalexw3133631291"
}

@article{doi101038416389a,
    author = "Walther, Gian-Reto and Post, Eric and Convey, Peter and Menzel, Annette and Parmesan, Camille and Beebee, Trevor J. C. and Fromentin, Jean‐Marc and Hoegh‐Guldberg, Ove and Bairlein, Franz",
    title = "Ecological responses to recent climate change",
    year = "2002",
    journal = "Nature",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1038/416389a",
    doi = "10.1038/416389a",
    openalex = "W2024649846",
    references = "doi101016s0169534799016882, doi10103835079180, doi101038369448a0, doi101038382146a0, doi101038386698a0, doi101071mf99078, doi101126science28954872068"
}

Summary The concept of plant functional type proposes that species can be grouped according to common responses to the environment and/or common effects on ecosystem processes. However, the knowledge of relationships between traits associated with the response of plants to environmental factors such as resources and disturbances (response traits), and traits that determine effects of plants on ecosystem functions (effect traits), such as biogeochemical cycling or propensity to disturbance, remains rudimentary. We present a framework using concepts and results from community ecology, ecosystem ecology and evolutionary biology to provide this linkage. Ecosystem functioning is the end result of the operation of multiple environmental filters in a hierarchy of scales which, by selecting individuals with appropriate responses, result in assemblages with varying trait composition. Functional linkages and trade‐offs among traits, each of which relates to one or several processes, determine whether or not filtering by different factors gives a match, and whether ecosystem effects can be easily deduced from the knowledge of the filters. To illustrate this framework we analyse a set of key environmental factors and ecosystem processes. While traits associated with response to nutrient gradients strongly overlapped with those determining net primary production, little direct overlap was found between response to fire and flammability. We hypothesize that these patterns reflect general trends. Responses to resource availability would be determined by traits that are also involved in biogeochemical cycling, because both these responses and effects are driven by the trade‐off between acquisition and conservation. On the other hand, regeneration and demographic traits associated with response to disturbance, which are known to have little connection with adult traits involved in plant ecophysiology, would be of little relevance to ecosystem processes. This framework is likely to be broadly applicable, although caution must be exercised to use trait linkages and trade‐offs appropriate to the scale, environmental conditions and evolutionary context. It may direct the selection of plant functional types for vegetation models at a range of scales, and help with the design of experimental studies of relationships between plant diversity and ecosystem properties.

@article{doi101046j13652435200200664x,
    author = "Lavorel, Sandra and Garnier, Éric",
    title = "Predicting changes in community composition and ecosystem functioning from plant traits: revisiting the Holy Grail",
    year = "2002",
    journal = "Functional Ecology",
    abstract = "Summary The concept of plant functional type proposes that species can be grouped according to common responses to the environment and/or common effects on ecosystem processes. However, the knowledge of relationships between traits associated with the response of plants to environmental factors such as resources and disturbances (response traits), and traits that determine effects of plants on ecosystem functions (effect traits), such as biogeochemical cycling or propensity to disturbance, remains rudimentary. We present a framework using concepts and results from community ecology, ecosystem ecology and evolutionary biology to provide this linkage. Ecosystem functioning is the end result of the operation of multiple environmental filters in a hierarchy of scales which, by selecting individuals with appropriate responses, result in assemblages with varying trait composition. Functional linkages and trade‐offs among traits, each of which relates to one or several processes, determine whether or not filtering by different factors gives a match, and whether ecosystem effects can be easily deduced from the knowledge of the filters. To illustrate this framework we analyse a set of key environmental factors and ecosystem processes. While traits associated with response to nutrient gradients strongly overlapped with those determining net primary production, little direct overlap was found between response to fire and flammability. We hypothesize that these patterns reflect general trends. Responses to resource availability would be determined by traits that are also involved in biogeochemical cycling, because both these responses and effects are driven by the trade‐off between acquisition and conservation. On the other hand, regeneration and demographic traits associated with response to disturbance, which are known to have little connection with adult traits involved in plant ecophysiology, would be of little relevance to ecosystem processes. This framework is likely to be broadly applicable, although caution must be exercised to use trait linkages and trade‐offs appropriate to the scale, environmental conditions and evolutionary context. It may direct the selection of plant functional types for vegetation models at a range of scales, and help with the design of experimental studies of relationships between plant diversity and ecosystem properties.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2435.2002.00664.x",
    doi = "10.1046/j.1365-2435.2002.00664.x",
    openalex = "W2168173042",
    references = "doi1010079783642809132, doi101007bf00002772, doi101023a1004327224729, openalexw2097450069, openalexw2169917233"
}

▪ Abstract An important aim of plant ecology is to identify leading dimensions of ecological variation among species and to understand the basis for them. Dimensions that can readily be measured would be especially useful, because they might offer a path towards improved worldwide synthesis across the thousands of field experiments and ecophysiological studies that use just a few species each. Four dimensions are reviewed here. The leaf mass per area–leaf lifespan (LMA-LL) dimension expresses slow turnover of plant parts (at high LMA and long LL), long nutrient residence times, and slow response to favorable growth conditions. The seed mass–seed output (SM-SO) dimension is an important predictor of dispersal to establishment opportunities (seed output) and of establishment success in the face of hazards (seed mass). The LMA-LL and SM-SO dimensions are each underpinned by a single, comprehensible tradeoff, and their consequences are fairly well understood. The leaf size–twig size (LS-TS) spectrum has obvious consequences for the texture of canopies, but the costs and benefits of large versus small leaf and twig size are poorly understood. The height dimension has universally been seen as ecologically important and included in ecological strategy schemes. Nevertheless, height includes several tradeoffs and adaptive elements, which ideally should be treated separately. Each of these four dimensions varies at the scales of climate zones and of site types within landscapes. This variation can be interpreted as adaptation to the physical environment. Each dimension also varies widely among coexisting species. Most likely this within-site variation arises because the ecological opportunities for each species depend strongly on which other species are present, in other words, because the set of species at a site is a stable mixture of strategies.

@article{doi101146annurevecolsys33010802150452,
    author = "Westoby, Mark and Falster, Daniel S. and Moles, Angela T. and Vesk, Peter A. and Wright, Ian J.",
    title = "Plant Ecological Strategies: Some Leading Dimensions of Variation Between Species",
    year = "2002",
    journal = "Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics",
    abstract = "▪ Abstract An important aim of plant ecology is to identify leading dimensions of ecological variation among species and to understand the basis for them. Dimensions that can readily be measured would be especially useful, because they might offer a path towards improved worldwide synthesis across the thousands of field experiments and ecophysiological studies that use just a few species each. Four dimensions are reviewed here. The leaf mass per area–leaf lifespan (LMA-LL) dimension expresses slow turnover of plant parts (at high LMA and long LL), long nutrient residence times, and slow response to favorable growth conditions. The seed mass–seed output (SM-SO) dimension is an important predictor of dispersal to establishment opportunities (seed output) and of establishment success in the face of hazards (seed mass). The LMA-LL and SM-SO dimensions are each underpinned by a single, comprehensible tradeoff, and their consequences are fairly well understood. The leaf size–twig size (LS-TS) spectrum has obvious consequences for the texture of canopies, but the costs and benefits of large versus small leaf and twig size are poorly understood. The height dimension has universally been seen as ecologically important and included in ecological strategy schemes. Nevertheless, height includes several tradeoffs and adaptive elements, which ideally should be treated separately. Each of these four dimensions varies at the scales of climate zones and of site types within landscapes. This variation can be interpreted as adaptation to the physical environment. Each dimension also varies widely among coexisting species. Most likely this within-site variation arises because the ecological opportunities for each species depend strongly on which other species are present, in other words, because the set of species at a site is a stable mixture of strategies.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.33.010802.150452",
    doi = "10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.33.010802.150452",
    openalex = "W2167109558",
    references = "doi1010079789401090131, doi101007bf02860997, doi101016s0065250408600161, doi101023a1004327224729, doi10103823251, doi101086283244, doi101086284133, doi101086284165, doi101086284325, doi101086285357, doi101086417659, doi101111j109583121989tb00492x, doi101126science2304728895, doi101146annurevecolsys311343, doi101146annureves11110180001313, doi1023071942495, openalexw2169917233"
}

@article{doi101016jtree200309002,
    author = "Scheffer, Marten and Carpenter, Stephen R.",
    title = "Catastrophic regime shifts in ecosystems: linking theory to observation",
    year = "2003",
    journal = "Trends in Ecology \& Evolution",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2003.09.002",
    doi = "10.1016/j.tree.2003.09.002",
    openalex = "W2169715400",
    references = "doi1010079781475739787, doi101016016953479390254m, doi10103835098000, doi10108007474939608800353, doi101086284105, doi101126science24749461043, doi101126science2635147641, doi1011751520047719970781069apicow20co2, doi1012019780429246593, doi1018900012965819970781966tiofac20co2, doi1023072988198, doi1023073150485"
}

@article{doi101065espr200212142,
    author = "Smith, Val H.",
    title = "Eutrophication of freshwater and coastal marine ecosystems a global problem",
    year = "2003",
    journal = "Environmental Science and Pollution Research",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1065/espr2002.12.142",
    doi = "10.1065/espr2002.12.142",
    openalex = "W2043544053",
    references = "doi1010079781402031540, doi10100797836421144347, doi101016016953479390254m, doi101016s0269749199000913, doi101126science1954275260, doi101126science2775325504, doi1018901051076119970070737haotgn20co2, doi1018901051076119980080559nposww20co2, doi102134jeq199800472425002700020004x, doi104319lo19772220361, doi104319lo1988334part20823"
}

▪ Abstract We review the evidence of regime shifts in terrestrial and aquatic environments in relation to resilience of complex adaptive ecosystems and the functional roles of biological diversity in this context. The evidence reveals that the likelihood of regime shifts may increase when humans reduce resilience by such actions as removing response diversity, removing whole functional groups of species, or removing whole trophic levels; impacting on ecosystems via emissions of waste and pollutants and climate change; and altering the magnitude, frequency, and duration of disturbance regimes. The combined and often synergistic effects of those pressures can make ecosystems more vulnerable to changes that previously could be absorbed. As a consequence, ecosystems may suddenly shift from desired to less desired states in their capacity to generate ecosystem services. Active adaptive management and governance of resilience will be required to sustain desired ecosystem states and transform degraded ecosystems into fundamentally new and more desirable configurations.

@article{doi101146annurevecolsys35021103105711,
    author = "Folke, Carl and Carpenter, Steve and Walker, Brian and Scheffer, Marten and Elmqvist, Thomas and Gunderson, Lance and Holling, C. S.",
    title = "Regime Shifts, Resilience, and Biodiversity in Ecosystem Management",
    year = "2004",
    journal = "Annual Review of Ecology Evolution and Systematics",
    abstract = "▪ Abstract We review the evidence of regime shifts in terrestrial and aquatic environments in relation to resilience of complex adaptive ecosystems and the functional roles of biological diversity in this context. The evidence reveals that the likelihood of regime shifts may increase when humans reduce resilience by such actions as removing response diversity, removing whole functional groups of species, or removing whole trophic levels; impacting on ecosystems via emissions of waste and pollutants and climate change; and altering the magnitude, frequency, and duration of disturbance regimes. The combined and often synergistic effects of those pressures can make ecosystems more vulnerable to changes that previously could be absorbed. As a consequence, ecosystems may suddenly shift from desired to less desired states in their capacity to generate ecosystem services. Active adaptive management and governance of resilience will be required to sustain desired ecosystem states and transform degraded ecosystems into fundamentally new and more desirable configurations.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.35.021103.105711",
    doi = "10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.35.021103.105711",
    openalex = "W2142289369",
    references = "doi101016jtree200309002, doi101016s0169534703001009, doi101016s0169534799017231, doi10103835012241, doi10103835098000, doi101038nature02691, doi101086285824, doi101093icb326674, doi101098rstb19980195, doi101126science1059199"
}

▪ Abstract Deer have expanded their range and increased dramatically in abundance worldwide in recent decades. They inflict major economic losses in forestry, agriculture, and transportation and contribute to the transmission of several animal and human diseases. Their impact on natural ecosystems is also dramatic but less quantified. By foraging selectively, deer affect the growth and survival of many herb, shrub, and tree species, modifying patterns of relative abundance and vegetation dynamics. Cascading effects on other species extend to insects, birds, and other mammals. In forests, sustained overbrowsing reduces plant cover and diversity, alters nutrient and carbon cycling, and redirects succession to shift future overstory composition. Many of these simplified alternative states appear to be stable and difficult to reverse. Given the influence of deer on other organisms and natural processes, ecologists should actively participate in efforts to understand, monitor, and reduce the impact of deer on ecosystems.

@article{doi101146annurevecolsys35021103105725,
    author = "Côté, Steeve D. and Rooney, Thomas P. and Tremblay, Jean‐Pierre and Dussault, Christian and Waller, Donald M.",
    title = "Ecological Impacts of Deer Overabundance",
    year = "2004",
    journal = "Annual Review of Ecology Evolution and Systematics",
    abstract = "▪ Abstract Deer have expanded their range and increased dramatically in abundance worldwide in recent decades. They inflict major economic losses in forestry, agriculture, and transportation and contribute to the transmission of several animal and human diseases. Their impact on natural ecosystems is also dramatic but less quantified. By foraging selectively, deer affect the growth and survival of many herb, shrub, and tree species, modifying patterns of relative abundance and vegetation dynamics. Cascading effects on other species extend to insects, birds, and other mammals. In forests, sustained overbrowsing reduces plant cover and diversity, alters nutrient and carbon cycling, and redirects succession to shift future overstory composition. Many of these simplified alternative states appear to be stable and difficult to reverse. Given the influence of deer on other organisms and natural processes, ecologists should actively participate in efforts to understand, monitor, and reduce the impact of deer on ecosystems.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.35.021103.105725",
    doi = "10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.35.021103.105725",
    openalex = "W2126891096",
    references = "doi1010160304380080900472, doi101016jtree200309002, doi10103823028, doi101038269471a0, doi10103835098000, doi101086283241, doi101086283426, doi101093forestscience263435, doi1023071383287, doi1023071942661, doi1023072531565, doi1023073899492"
}

▪ Abstract Local habitat and biological diversity of streams and rivers are strongly influenced by landform and land use within the surrounding valley at multiple scales. However, empirical associations between land use and stream response only varyingly succeed in implicating pathways of influence. This is the case for a number of reasons, including (a) covariation of anthropogenic and natural gradients in the landscape; (b) the existence of multiple, scale-dependent mechanisms; (c) nonlinear responses; and (d) the difficulties of separating present-day from historical influences. Further research is needed that examines responses to land use under different management strategies and that employs response variables that have greater diagnostic value than many of the aggregated measures in current use. In every respect, the valley rules the stream. H.B.N. Hynes (1975)

@article{doi101146annurevecolsys35120202110122,
    author = "Allan, J. David",
    title = "Landscapes and Riverscapes: The Influence of Land Use on Stream Ecosystems",
    year = "2004",
    journal = "Annual Review of Ecology Evolution and Systematics",
    abstract = "▪ Abstract Local habitat and biological diversity of streams and rivers are strongly influenced by landform and land use within the surrounding valley at multiple scales. However, empirical associations between land use and stream response only varyingly succeed in implicating pathways of influence. This is the case for a number of reasons, including (a) covariation of anthropogenic and natural gradients in the landscape; (b) the existence of multiple, scale-dependent mechanisms; (c) nonlinear responses; and (d) the difficulties of separating present-day from historical influences. Further research is needed that examines responses to land use under different management strategies and that employs response variables that have greater diagnostic value than many of the aggregated measures in current use. In every respect, the valley rules the stream. H.B.N. Hynes (1975)",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.35.120202.110122",
    doi = "10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.35.120202.110122",
    openalex = "W2125360150",
    references = "doi101139f80017, doi1018901051076119980080559nposww20co2, doi1023072389612, doi105860choice330333"
}

This first report of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment describes the conceptual framework that is being used in the MA. It is not a formal assessment of the literature, but rather a scientifically informed presentation of the choices made by the assessment team in structuring the analysis and framing the issues. The conceptual framework elaborated in this report describes the approach and assumptions that will underlie the analysis conducted in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. The framework was developed through interactions among the experts involved in the MA as well as stakeholders who will use its findings. It represents one means of examining the linkages between ecosystems and human well-being that is both scientifically credible and relevant to decision-makers. This framework for analysis and decision-making should be of use to a wide array of individuals and institutions in government, the private sector, and civil society that seek to incorporate considerations of ecosystem services in their assessments, plans, and actions.

@article{doi105860choice414645,
    title = "Ecosystems and human well-being: a framework for assessment",
    year = "2004",
    journal = "Choice Reviews Online",
    abstract = "This first report of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment describes the conceptual framework that is being used in the MA. It is not a formal assessment of the literature, but rather a scientifically informed presentation of the choices made by the assessment team in structuring the analysis and framing the issues. The conceptual framework elaborated in this report describes the approach and assumptions that will underlie the analysis conducted in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. The framework was developed through interactions among the experts involved in the MA as well as stakeholders who will use its findings. It represents one means of examining the linkages between ecosystems and human well-being that is both scientifically credible and relevant to decision-makers. This framework for analysis and decision-making should be of use to a wide array of individuals and institutions in government, the private sector, and civil society that seek to incorporate considerations of ecosystem services in their assessments, plans, and actions.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.5860/choice.41-4645",
    doi = "10.5860/choice.41-4645",
    openalex = "W1496684753",
    references = "doi101002hyp3360090305, doi101007978113728787894, doi101007978146124018114, doi10100797894010183408, doi101016s0921800999000099, doi101016s1352023701003070, doi10103835098000, doi101038387253a0, doi101038nature01286, doi101086285824, doi101086419172, doi101126science2795352860, doi101126science28754591770, doi101146annurevecolsys120213091917, doi1012019780429258411, doi10129879780300188479022, doi1023071930070, doi1023071930126, doi1023071941447, doi1023072389612, doi1023072521228, doi1023073146384, doi102307jctv16h2njd11, openalexw1621450917"
}

▪ Abstract We explore the social dimension that enables adaptive ecosystem-based management. The review concentrates on experiences of adaptive governance of social-ecological systems during periods of abrupt change (crisis) and investigates social sources of renewal and reorganization. Such governance connects individuals, organizations, agencies, and institutions at multiple organizational levels. Key persons provide leadership, trust, vision, meaning, and they help transform management organizations toward a learning environment. Adaptive governance systems often self-organize as social networks with teams and actor groups that draw on various knowledge systems and experiences for the development of a common understanding and policies. The emergence of “bridging organizations” seem to lower the costs of collaboration and conflict resolution, and enabling legislation and governmental policies can support self-organization while framing creativity for adaptive comanagement efforts. A resilient social-ecological system may make use of crisis as an opportunity to transform into a more desired state.

@article{doi101146annurevenergy30050504144511,
    author = "Folke, Carl and Hahn, Thomas P. and Olsson, Per and Norberg, Jon",
    title = "ADAPTIVE GOVERNANCE OF SOCIAL-ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS",
    year = "2005",
    journal = "Annual Review of Environment and Resources",
    abstract = "▪ Abstract We explore the social dimension that enables adaptive ecosystem-based management. The review concentrates on experiences of adaptive governance of social-ecological systems during periods of abrupt change (crisis) and investigates social sources of renewal and reorganization. Such governance connects individuals, organizations, agencies, and institutions at multiple organizational levels. Key persons provide leadership, trust, vision, meaning, and they help transform management organizations toward a learning environment. Adaptive governance systems often self-organize as social networks with teams and actor groups that draw on various knowledge systems and experiences for the development of a common understanding and policies. The emergence of “bridging organizations” seem to lower the costs of collaboration and conflict resolution, and enabling legislation and governmental policies can support self-organization while framing creativity for adaptive comanagement efforts. A resilient social-ecological system may make use of crisis as an opportunity to transform into a more desired state.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.energy.30.050504.144511",
    doi = "10.1146/annurev.energy.30.050504.144511",
    openalex = "W1976759885",
    references = "doi101007s002679900246, doi101007s1002100101015, doi10103835098000, doi101093forestscience263435, doi101126science1059199, doi101146annureves04110173000245, doi1015159780822386421, doi101890040922, doi10230740184705, doi105751es01606110119"
}

Humans are altering the composition of biological communities through a variety of activities that increase rates of species invasions and species extinctions, at all scales, from local to global. These changes in components of the Earth's biodiversity cause concern for ethical and aesthetic reasons, but they also have a strong potential to alter ecosystem properties and the goods and services they provide to humanity. Ecological experiments, observations, and theoretical developments show that ecosystem properties depend greatly on biodiversity in terms of the functional characteristics of organisms present in the ecosystem and the distribution and abundance of those organisms over space and time. Species effects act in concert with the effects of climate, resource availability, and disturbance regimes in influencing ecosystem properties. Human activities can modify all of the above factors; here we focus on modification of these biotic controls. The scientific community has come to a broad consensus on many aspects of the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, including many points relevant to management of ecosystems. Further progress will require integration of knowledge about biotic and abiotic controls on ecosystem properties, how ecological communities are structured, and the forces driving species extinctions and invasions. To strengthen links to policy and management, we also need to integrate our ecological knowledge with understanding of the social and economic constraints of potential management practices. Understanding this complexity, while taking strong steps to minimize current losses of species, is necessary for responsible management of Earth's ecosystems and the diverse biota they contain. Based on our review of the scientific literature, we are certain of the following conclusions: 1) Species' functional characteristics strongly influence ecosystem properties. Functional characteristics operate in a variety of contexts, including effects of dominant species, keystone species, ecological engineers, and interactions among species (e.g., competition, facilitation, mutualism, disease, and predation). Relative abundance alone is not always a good predictor of the ecosystem-level importance of a species, as even relatively rare species (e.g., a keystone predator) can strongly influence pathways of energy and material flows. 2) Alteration of biota in ecosystems via species invasions and extinctions caused by human activities has altered ecosystem goods and services in many well-documented cases. Many of these changes are difficult, expensive, or impossible to reverse or fix with technological solutions. 3) The effects of species loss or changes in composition, and the mechanisms by which the effects manifest themselves, can differ among ecosystem properties, ecosystem types, and pathways of potential community change. 4) Some ecosystem properties are initially insensitive to species loss because (a) ecosystems may have multiple species that carry out similar functional roles, (b) some species may contribute relatively little to ecosystem properties, or (c) properties may be primarily controlled by abiotic environmental conditions. 5) More species are needed to insure a stable supply of ecosystem goods and services as spatial and temporal variability increases, which typically occurs as longer time periods and larger areas are considered. We have high confidence in the following conclusions: 1) Certain combinations of species are complementary in their patterns of resource use and can increase average rates of productivity and nutrient retention. At the same time, environmental conditions can influence the importance of complementarity in structuring communities. Identification of which and how many species act in a complementary way in complex communities is just beginning. 2) Susceptibility to invasion by exotic species is strongly influenced by species composition and, under similar environmental conditions, generally decreases with increasing species richness. However, several other factors, such as propagule pressure, disturbance regime, and resource availability also strongly influence invasion success and often override effects of species richness in comparisons across different sites or ecosystems. 3) Having a range of species that respond differently to different environmental perturbations can stabilize ecosystem process rates in response to disturbances and variation in abiotic conditions. Using practices that maintain a diversity of organisms of different functional effect and functional response types will help preserve a range of management options. Uncertainties remain and further research is necessary in the following areas: 1) Further resolution of the relationships among taxonomic diversity, functional diversity, and community structure is important for identifying mechanisms of biodiversity effects. 2) Multiple trophic levels are common to ecosystems but have been understudied in biodiversity/ecosystem functioning research. The response of ecosystem properties to varying composition and diversity of consumer organisms is much more complex than responses seen in experiments that vary only the diversity of primary producers. 3) Theoretical work on stability has outpaced experimental work, especially field research. We need long-term experiments to be able to assess temporal stability, as well as experimental perturbations to assess response to and recovery from a variety of disturbances. Design and analysis of such experiments must account for several factors that covary with species diversity. 4) Because biodiversity both responds to and influences ecosystem properties, understanding the feedbacks involved is necessary to integrate results from experimental communities with patterns seen at broader scales. Likely patterns of extinction and invasion need to be linked to different drivers of global change, the forces that structure communities, and controls on ecosystem properties for the development of effective management and conservation strategies. 5) This paper focuses primarily on terrestrial systems, with some coverage of freshwater systems, because that is where most empirical and theoretical study has focused. While the fundamental principles described here should apply to marine systems, further study of that realm is necessary. Despite some uncertainties about the mechanisms and circumstances under which diversity influences ecosystem properties, incorporating diversity effects into policy and management is essential, especially in making decisions involving large temporal and spatial scales. Sacrificing those aspects of ecosystems that are difficult or impossible to reconstruct, such as diversity, simply because we are not yet certain about the extent and mechanisms by which they affect ecosystem properties, will restrict future management options even further. It is incumbent upon ecologists to communicate this need, and the values that can derive from such a perspective, to those charged with economic and policy decision-making.

@article{doi101890040922,
    author = "Hooper, David U. and Chapin, F. Stuart and Ewel, John J. and Hector, Andy and Inchausti, Pablo and Lavorel, Sandra and Lawton, John H. and Lodge, David M. and Loreau, Michel and Naeem, Shahid and Schmid, Bernhard and Setälä, Heikki and Symstad, Amy J. and Vandermeer, John and Wardle, David A.",
    title = "EFFECTS OF BIODIVERSITY ON ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONING: A CONSENSUS OF CURRENT KNOWLEDGE",
    year = "2005",
    journal = "Ecological Monographs",
    abstract = "Humans are altering the composition of biological communities through a variety of activities that increase rates of species invasions and species extinctions, at all scales, from local to global. These changes in components of the Earth's biodiversity cause concern for ethical and aesthetic reasons, but they also have a strong potential to alter ecosystem properties and the goods and services they provide to humanity. Ecological experiments, observations, and theoretical developments show that ecosystem properties depend greatly on biodiversity in terms of the functional characteristics of organisms present in the ecosystem and the distribution and abundance of those organisms over space and time. Species effects act in concert with the effects of climate, resource availability, and disturbance regimes in influencing ecosystem properties. Human activities can modify all of the above factors; here we focus on modification of these biotic controls. The scientific community has come to a broad consensus on many aspects of the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, including many points relevant to management of ecosystems. Further progress will require integration of knowledge about biotic and abiotic controls on ecosystem properties, how ecological communities are structured, and the forces driving species extinctions and invasions. To strengthen links to policy and management, we also need to integrate our ecological knowledge with understanding of the social and economic constraints of potential management practices. Understanding this complexity, while taking strong steps to minimize current losses of species, is necessary for responsible management of Earth's ecosystems and the diverse biota they contain. Based on our review of the scientific literature, we are certain of the following conclusions: 1) Species' functional characteristics strongly influence ecosystem properties. Functional characteristics operate in a variety of contexts, including effects of dominant species, keystone species, ecological engineers, and interactions among species (e.g., competition, facilitation, mutualism, disease, and predation). Relative abundance alone is not always a good predictor of the ecosystem-level importance of a species, as even relatively rare species (e.g., a keystone predator) can strongly influence pathways of energy and material flows. 2) Alteration of biota in ecosystems via species invasions and extinctions caused by human activities has altered ecosystem goods and services in many well-documented cases. Many of these changes are difficult, expensive, or impossible to reverse or fix with technological solutions. 3) The effects of species loss or changes in composition, and the mechanisms by which the effects manifest themselves, can differ among ecosystem properties, ecosystem types, and pathways of potential community change. 4) Some ecosystem properties are initially insensitive to species loss because (a) ecosystems may have multiple species that carry out similar functional roles, (b) some species may contribute relatively little to ecosystem properties, or (c) properties may be primarily controlled by abiotic environmental conditions. 5) More species are needed to insure a stable supply of ecosystem goods and services as spatial and temporal variability increases, which typically occurs as longer time periods and larger areas are considered. We have high confidence in the following conclusions: 1) Certain combinations of species are complementary in their patterns of resource use and can increase average rates of productivity and nutrient retention. At the same time, environmental conditions can influence the importance of complementarity in structuring communities. Identification of which and how many species act in a complementary way in complex communities is just beginning. 2) Susceptibility to invasion by exotic species is strongly influenced by species composition and, under similar environmental conditions, generally decreases with increasing species richness. However, several other factors, such as propagule pressure, disturbance regime, and resource availability also strongly influence invasion success and often override effects of species richness in comparisons across different sites or ecosystems. 3) Having a range of species that respond differently to different environmental perturbations can stabilize ecosystem process rates in response to disturbances and variation in abiotic conditions. Using practices that maintain a diversity of organisms of different functional effect and functional response types will help preserve a range of management options. Uncertainties remain and further research is necessary in the following areas: 1) Further resolution of the relationships among taxonomic diversity, functional diversity, and community structure is important for identifying mechanisms of biodiversity effects. 2) Multiple trophic levels are common to ecosystems but have been understudied in biodiversity/ecosystem functioning research. The response of ecosystem properties to varying composition and diversity of consumer organisms is much more complex than responses seen in experiments that vary only the diversity of primary producers. 3) Theoretical work on stability has outpaced experimental work, especially field research. We need long-term experiments to be able to assess temporal stability, as well as experimental perturbations to assess response to and recovery from a variety of disturbances. Design and analysis of such experiments must account for several factors that covary with species diversity. 4) Because biodiversity both responds to and influences ecosystem properties, understanding the feedbacks involved is necessary to integrate results from experimental communities with patterns seen at broader scales. Likely patterns of extinction and invasion need to be linked to different drivers of global change, the forces that structure communities, and controls on ecosystem properties for the development of effective management and conservation strategies. 5) This paper focuses primarily on terrestrial systems, with some coverage of freshwater systems, because that is where most empirical and theoretical study has focused. While the fundamental principles described here should apply to marine systems, further study of that realm is necessary. Despite some uncertainties about the mechanisms and circumstances under which diversity influences ecosystem properties, incorporating diversity effects into policy and management is essential, especially in making decisions involving large temporal and spatial scales. Sacrificing those aspects of ecosystems that are difficult or impossible to reconstruct, such as diversity, simply because we are not yet certain about the extent and mechanisms by which they affect ecosystem properties, will restrict future management options even further. It is incumbent upon ecologists to communicate this need, and the values that can derive from such a perspective, to those charged with economic and policy decision-making.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1890/04-0922",
    doi = "10.1890/04-0922",
    openalex = "W2103317434",
    references = "doi1010079789400958517, doi101016s0169534702000459, doi101016s0169534702024953, doi101023a1004327224729, doi101023a1006219721151, doi101038307321a0, doi10103835012234, doi10103835012241, doi101038379718a0, doi101086283241, doi101086283366, doi101086285824, doi101126science1060391, doi101126science1064088, doi101126science19943351302, doi101126science28754591770, doi101146annurevecolsys120213091917, doi101146annurevecolsys311343, doi101146annureves11110180001313, doi1015159780691206912, doi1018900012961520000700237siogao20co2, doi1018900012965819990801455tecoci20co2, doi1023071929601, doi1023071942327, doi1023071942484, doi1023072257385, doi1023072937039, doi1023073244191, openalexw2037503630, openalexw2077454220, openalexw2097450069, openalexw2169917233"
}

Chesapeake Bay is a large estuary which has undergone many changes in its ecological properties and processes in response to nutrient enrichment over the last 2 centuries. Susceptibility of the Bay to eutrophication arises in part from the long dendritic shoreline that intimately connects it to its large watershed (covering an area 15 times that of the Bay) which contains expanding human population centers and extensive agricultural activities.

@article{doi103354meps303001,
    author = "Kemp, WM and Boynton, Walter R. and Adolf, JE and Boesch, DF and Boicourt, WC and Brush, Grace S. and Cornwell, Jeffrey C. and Fisher, TR and Glibert, Patricia M. and Hagy, JD and Harding, LW and Houde, ED and Kimmel, David G. and Miller, W. David and Newell, R. I. E. and Roman, MR and Smith, EM and Stevenson, J. Court",
    title = "Eutrophication of Chesapeake Bay: historical trends and ecological interactions",
    year = "2005",
    journal = "Marine Ecology Progress Series",
    abstract = "Chesapeake Bay is a large estuary which has undergone many changes in its ecological properties and processes in response to nutrient enrichment over the last 2 centuries. Susceptibility of the Bay to eutrophication arises in part from the long dendritic shoreline that intimately connects it to its large watershed (covering an area 15 times that of the Bay) which contains expanding human population centers and extensive agricultural activities.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.3354/meps303001",
    doi = "10.3354/meps303001",
    openalex = "W2012107446",
    references = "doi101007bf02804901, doi101065espr200212142, doi10108000785236199510422044, doi104319lo1988334part20823, doi104319lo1997425part21137"
}

@article{doi101016jenvint200605002,
    author = "Camargo, Julio A. and Alonso, Álvaro",
    title = "Ecological and toxicological effects of inorganic nitrogen pollution in aquatic ecosystems: A global assessment",
    year = "2006",
    journal = "Environment International",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2006.05.002",
    doi = "10.1016/j.envint.2006.05.002",
    openalex = "W2089894319",
    references = "doi101007bf02804901, doi101016s0269749199000913, doi101065espr200212142, doi10108000785236199510422044, doi101126science1954275260, doi1018901051076119970070737haotgn20co2, doi1018901051076119980080559nposww20co2, doi102216i00318884322791, doi105860choice330333, openalexw2280564438"
}

@article{doi101016jgloenvcha200604002,
    author = "Folke, Carl",
    title = "Resilience: The emergence of a perspective for social–ecological systems analyses",
    year = "2006",
    journal = "Global Environmental Change",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2006.04.002",
    doi = "10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2006.04.002",
    openalex = "W2084530896",
    references = "doi101007s1002100101015, doi101007s100219900037, doi101016jgloenvcha200602006, doi101016jgloenvcha200603008, doi10103835098000, doi101038nature02691, doi101086285824, doi101093forestscience263435, doi101126science1059199, doi101146annurevenergy30050504144511, doi101146annureves04110173000245, doi101146annureves20110189001131, doi1015159781400831739, doi101890040922, doi1023071941447, doi1023072531565, doi1023072937313, doi1023073244191, doi105751es00650090205"
}

@article{doi101038nature05202,
    author = "Cardinale, Bradley J. and Srivastava, Diane S. and Duffy, J. Emmett and Wright, Justin P. and Downing, Amy L. and Sankaran, Mahesh and Jouseau, Claire",
    title = "Effects of biodiversity on the functioning of trophic groups and ecosystems",
    year = "2006",
    journal = "Nature",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1038/nature05202",
    doi = "10.1038/nature05202",
    openalex = "W2160021859",
    references = "doi10103835083573, doi101038379718a0, doi1010970001069419360200000018, doi101126science1064088, doi101126science2695222347, doi101126science2775325494, doi101126science28754591770, doi1018900012965819990801150tmaorr20co2, doi101890040922, doi104324978184977263119, doi105962bhltitle4489"
}

Human-dominated marine ecosystems are experiencing accelerating loss of populations and species, with largely unknown consequences. We analyzed local experiments, long-term regional time series, and global fisheries data to test how biodiversity loss affects marine ecosystem services across temporal and spatial scales. Overall, rates of resource collapse increased and recovery potential, stability, and water quality decreased exponentially with declining diversity. Restoration of biodiversity, in contrast, increased productivity fourfold and decreased variability by 21%, on average. We conclude that marine biodiversity loss is increasingly impairing the ocean's capacity to provide food, maintain water quality, and recover from perturbations. Yet available data suggest that at this point, these trends are still reversible.

@article{doi101126science1132294,
    author = "Worm, Boris and Barbier, Edward B. and Beaumont, Nicola and Duffy, J. Emmett and Folke, Carl and Halpern, Benjamin S. and Jackson, Jeremy B. C. and Lotze, Heike K. and Micheli, Fiorenza and Palumbi, Stephen R. and Sala, Enric and Selkoe, Kimberley A. and Stachowicz, John J. and Watson, Reg",
    title = "Impacts of Biodiversity Loss on Ocean Ecosystem Services",
    year = "2006",
    journal = "Science",
    abstract = "Human-dominated marine ecosystems are experiencing accelerating loss of populations and species, with largely unknown consequences. We analyzed local experiments, long-term regional time series, and global fisheries data to test how biodiversity loss affects marine ecosystem services across temporal and spatial scales. Overall, rates of resource collapse increased and recovery potential, stability, and water quality decreased exponentially with declining diversity. Restoration of biodiversity, in contrast, increased productivity fourfold and decreased variability by 21\%, on average. We conclude that marine biodiversity loss is increasingly impairing the ocean's capacity to provide food, maintain water quality, and recover from perturbations. Yet available data suggest that at this point, these trends are still reversible.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1132294",
    doi = "10.1126/science.1132294",
    openalex = "W2156709416",
    references = "doi101126science1059199, doi101126science1085706, doi1018900012965819990801455tecoci20co2, doi101890040922, doi102216i00318884322791"
}

Despite increasing attention to the human dimension of conservation projects, a rigorous, systematic methodology for planning for ecosystem services has not been developed. This is in part because flows of ecosystem services remain poorly characterized at local-to-regional scales, and their protection has not generally been made a priority. We used a spatially explicit conservation planning framework to explore the trade-offs and opportunities for aligning conservation goals for biodiversity with six ecosystem services (carbon storage, flood control, forage production, outdoor recreation, crop pollination, and water provision) in the Central Coast ecoregion of California, United States. We found weak positive and some weak negative associations between the priority areas for biodiversity conservation and the flows of the six ecosystem services across the ecoregion. Excluding the two agriculture-focused services-crop pollination and forage production-eliminates all negative correlations. We compared the degree to which four contrasting conservation network designs protect biodiversity and the flow of the six services. We found that biodiversity conservation protects substantial collateral flows of services. Targeting ecosystem services directly can meet the multiple ecosystem services and biodiversity goals more efficiently but cannot substitute for targeted biodiversity protection (biodiversity losses of 44% relative to targeting biodiversity alone). Strategically targeting only biodiversity plus the four positively associated services offers much promise (relative biodiversity losses of 7%). Here we present an initial analytical framework for integrating biodiversity and ecosystem services in conservation planning and illustrate its application. We found that although there are important potential trade-offs between conservation for biodiversity and for ecosystem services, a systematic planning framework offers scope for identifying valuable synergies.

@article{doi101371journalpbio0040379,
    author = "Chan, Kai M. A. and Shaw, M. Rebecca and Cameron, David and Underwood, Emma C. and Daily, Gretchen C.",
    title = "Conservation Planning for Ecosystem Services",
    year = "2006",
    journal = "PLoS Biology",
    abstract = "Despite increasing attention to the human dimension of conservation projects, a rigorous, systematic methodology for planning for ecosystem services has not been developed. This is in part because flows of ecosystem services remain poorly characterized at local-to-regional scales, and their protection has not generally been made a priority. We used a spatially explicit conservation planning framework to explore the trade-offs and opportunities for aligning conservation goals for biodiversity with six ecosystem services (carbon storage, flood control, forage production, outdoor recreation, crop pollination, and water provision) in the Central Coast ecoregion of California, United States. We found weak positive and some weak negative associations between the priority areas for biodiversity conservation and the flows of the six ecosystem services across the ecoregion. Excluding the two agriculture-focused services-crop pollination and forage production-eliminates all negative correlations. We compared the degree to which four contrasting conservation network designs protect biodiversity and the flow of the six services. We found that biodiversity conservation protects substantial collateral flows of services. Targeting ecosystem services directly can meet the multiple ecosystem services and biodiversity goals more efficiently but cannot substitute for targeted biodiversity protection (biodiversity losses of 44\% relative to targeting biodiversity alone). Strategically targeting only biodiversity plus the four positively associated services offers much promise (relative biodiversity losses of 7\%). Here we present an initial analytical framework for integrating biodiversity and ecosystem services in conservation planning and illustrate its application. We found that although there are important potential trade-offs between conservation for biodiversity and for ecosystem services, a systematic planning framework offers scope for identifying valuable synergies.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.0040379",
    doi = "10.1371/journal.pbio.0040379",
    openalex = "W1981502333"
}

The first special volume of Limnology and Oceanography, published in 1972, focused on whether phosphorus (P) or carbon (C) is the major agent causing eutrophication in aquatic ecosystems. Only slight mention was made that estuaries may behave differently from lakes and that nitrogen (N) may cause eutrophication in estuaries. In the following decade, an understanding of eutrophication in estuaries proceeded in relative isolation from the community of scientists studying lakes. National water quality policy in the United States was directed almost solely toward P control for both lakes and estuaries, and similarly, European nations tended to focus on P control in lakes. Although bioassay data indicated N control of eutrophication in estuaries as early as the 1970s, this body of knowledge was treated with skepticism by many freshwater scientists and water‐quality managers, because bioassay data in lakes often did not properly indicate the importance of P relative to C in those ecosystems. Hence, the bioassay data in estuaries had little influence on water‐quality management. Over the past two decades, a strong consensus has evolved among the scientific community that N is the primary cause of eutrophication in many coastal ecosystems. The development of this consensus was based in part on data from whole‐ecosystem studies and on a growing body of evidence that presented convincing mechanistic reasons why the controls of eutrophication in lakes and coastal marine ecosystems may differ. Even though N is probably the major cause of eutrophication in most coastal systems in the temperate zone, optimal management of coastal eutrophication suggests controlling both N and P, in part because P can limit primary production in some systems. In addition, excess P in estuaries can interact with the availability of N and silica (Si) to adversely affect ecological structure. Reduction of P to upstream freshwater ecosystems can also benefit coastal marine ecosystems through mechanisms such as increased Si fluxes.

@article{doi104319lo2006511part20364,
    author = "Howarth, Robert W. and Marino, Roxanne",
    title = "Nitrogen as the limiting nutrient for eutrophication in coastal marine ecosystems: Evolving views over three decades",
    year = "2006",
    journal = "Limnology and Oceanography",
    abstract = "The first special volume of Limnology and Oceanography, published in 1972, focused on whether phosphorus (P) or carbon (C) is the major agent causing eutrophication in aquatic ecosystems. Only slight mention was made that estuaries may behave differently from lakes and that nitrogen (N) may cause eutrophication in estuaries. In the following decade, an understanding of eutrophication in estuaries proceeded in relative isolation from the community of scientists studying lakes. National water quality policy in the United States was directed almost solely toward P control for both lakes and estuaries, and similarly, European nations tended to focus on P control in lakes. Although bioassay data indicated N control of eutrophication in estuaries as early as the 1970s, this body of knowledge was treated with skepticism by many freshwater scientists and water‐quality managers, because bioassay data in lakes often did not properly indicate the importance of P relative to C in those ecosystems. Hence, the bioassay data in estuaries had little influence on water‐quality management. Over the past two decades, a strong consensus has evolved among the scientific community that N is the primary cause of eutrophication in many coastal ecosystems. The development of this consensus was based in part on data from whole‐ecosystem studies and on a growing body of evidence that presented convincing mechanistic reasons why the controls of eutrophication in lakes and coastal marine ecosystems may differ. Even though N is probably the major cause of eutrophication in most coastal systems in the temperate zone, optimal management of coastal eutrophication suggests controlling both N and P, in part because P can limit primary production in some systems. In addition, excess P in estuaries can interact with the availability of N and silica (Si) to adversely affect ecological structure. Reduction of P to upstream freshwater ecosystems can also benefit coastal marine ecosystems through mechanisms such as increased Si fluxes.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.2006.51.1\_part\_2.0364",
    doi = "10.4319/lo.2006.51.1\_part\_2.0364",
    openalex = "W2112448118",
    references = "doi101016s0269749199000913"
}

@article{doi101038nature05947,
    author = "Hector, Andy and Bagchi, Robert",
    title = "Biodiversity and ecosystem multifunctionality",
    year = "2007",
    journal = "Nature",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1038/nature05947",
    doi = "10.1038/nature05947",
    openalex = "W2060514797",
    references = "doi101038nature05202, doi101111j109636421858tb02500x"
}

The cycles of the key nutrient elements nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) have been massively altered by anthropogenic activities. Thus, it is essential to understand how photosynthetic production across diverse ecosystems is, or is not, limited by N and P. Via a large-scale meta-analysis of experimental enrichments, we show that P limitation is equally strong across these major habitats and that N and P limitation are equivalent within both terrestrial and freshwater systems. Furthermore, simultaneous N and P enrichment produces strongly positive synergistic responses in all three environments. Thus, contrary to some prevailing paradigms, freshwater, marine and terrestrial ecosystems are surprisingly similar in terms of N and P limitation.

@article{doi101111j14610248200701113x,
    author = "Elser, James J. and Bracken, Matthew E. S. and Cleland, Elsa E. and Gruner, Daniel S. and Harpole, W. Stanley and Hillebrand, Helmut and Ngai, Jacqueline T. and Seabloom, Eric W. and Shurin, Jonathan B. and Smith, Jennifer E.",
    title = "Global analysis of nitrogen and phosphorus limitation of primary producers in freshwater, marine and terrestrial ecosystems",
    year = "2007",
    journal = "Ecology Letters",
    abstract = "The cycles of the key nutrient elements nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) have been massively altered by anthropogenic activities. Thus, it is essential to understand how photosynthetic production across diverse ecosystems is, or is not, limited by N and P. Via a large-scale meta-analysis of experimental enrichments, we show that P limitation is equally strong across these major habitats and that N and P limitation are equivalent within both terrestrial and freshwater systems. Furthermore, simultaneous N and P enrichment produces strongly positive synergistic responses in all three environments. Thus, contrary to some prevailing paradigms, freshwater, marine and terrestrial ecosystems are surprisingly similar in terms of N and P limitation.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2007.01113.x",
    doi = "10.1111/j.1461-0248.2007.01113.x",
    openalex = "W2164087962",
    references = "doi101007bf00002772, doi101016c20120016547, doi101016s0269749199000913, doi101126science1954275260, doi1018901051076119980080559nposww20co2, doi1023075483"
}

Microbes are the unseen majority in soil and comprise a large portion of life's genetic diversity. Despite their abundance, the impact of soil microbes on ecosystem processes is still poorly understood. Here we explore the various roles that soil microbes play in terrestrial ecosystems with special emphasis on their contribution to plant productivity and diversity. Soil microbes are important regulators of plant productivity, especially in nutrient poor ecosystems where plant symbionts are responsible for the acquisition of limiting nutrients. Mycorrhizal fungi and nitrogen-fixing bacteria are responsible for c. 5-20% (grassland and savannah) to 80% (temperate and boreal forests) of all nitrogen, and up to 75% of phosphorus, that is acquired by plants annually. Free-living microbes also strongly regulate plant productivity, through the mineralization of, and competition for, nutrients that sustain plant productivity. Soil microbes, including microbial pathogens, are also important regulators of plant community dynamics and plant diversity, determining plant abundance and, in some cases, facilitating invasion by exotic plants. Conservative estimates suggest that c. 20 000 plant species are completely dependent on microbial symbionts for growth and survival pointing to the importance of soil microbes as regulators of plant species richness on Earth. Overall, this review shows that soil microbes must be considered as important drivers of plant diversity and productivity in terrestrial ecosystems.

@article{doi101111j14610248200701139x,
    author = "van der Heijden, Marcel G. A. and Bardgett, Richard D. and van Straalen, Nico M.",
    title = "The unseen majority: soil microbes as drivers of plant diversity and productivity in terrestrial ecosystems",
    year = "2007",
    journal = "Ecology Letters",
    abstract = "Microbes are the unseen majority in soil and comprise a large portion of life's genetic diversity. Despite their abundance, the impact of soil microbes on ecosystem processes is still poorly understood. Here we explore the various roles that soil microbes play in terrestrial ecosystems with special emphasis on their contribution to plant productivity and diversity. Soil microbes are important regulators of plant productivity, especially in nutrient poor ecosystems where plant symbionts are responsible for the acquisition of limiting nutrients. Mycorrhizal fungi and nitrogen-fixing bacteria are responsible for c. 5-20\% (grassland and savannah) to 80\% (temperate and boreal forests) of all nitrogen, and up to 75\% of phosphorus, that is acquired by plants annually. Free-living microbes also strongly regulate plant productivity, through the mineralization of, and competition for, nutrients that sustain plant productivity. Soil microbes, including microbial pathogens, are also important regulators of plant community dynamics and plant diversity, determining plant abundance and, in some cases, facilitating invasion by exotic plants. Conservative estimates suggest that c. 20 000 plant species are completely dependent on microbial symbionts for growth and survival pointing to the importance of soil microbes as regulators of plant species richness on Earth. Overall, this review shows that soil microbes must be considered as important drivers of plant diversity and productivity in terrestrial ecosystems.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2007.01139.x",
    doi = "10.1111/j.1461-0248.2007.01139.x",
    openalex = "W2118269781",
    references = "doi101016c20120016547, doi101086284967, doi101111j13652745200501017x, doi101126science1094875, doi1023072960528"
}

Green roofs (roofs with a vegetated surface and substrate) provide ecosystem services in urban areas, including improved storm-water management, better regulation of building temperatures, reduced urban heat-island effects, and increased urban wildlife habitat. This article reviews the evidence for these benefits and examines the biotic and abiotic components that contribute to overall ecosystem services. We emphasize the potential for improving green-roof function by understanding the interactions between its ecosystem elements, especially the relationships among growing media, soil biota, and vegetation, and the interactions between community structure and ecosystem functioning. Further research into green-roof technology should assess the efficacy of green roofs compared to other technologies with similar ends, and ultimately focus on estimates of aggregate benefits at landscape scales and on more holistic cost-benefit analyses.

@article{doi101641b571005,
    author = "Oberndorfer, Erica and Lundholm, Jeremy and Bass, Brad and Coffman, Reid and Doshi, Hitesh and Dunnett, Nigel and Gaffin, Stuart R. and Köhler, Manfred and Liu, Karen K. Y. and Rowe, Bradley",
    title = "Green Roofs as Urban Ecosystems: Ecological Structures, Functions, and Services",
    year = "2007",
    journal = "BioScience",
    abstract = "Green roofs (roofs with a vegetated surface and substrate) provide ecosystem services in urban areas, including improved storm-water management, better regulation of building temperatures, reduced urban heat-island effects, and increased urban wildlife habitat. This article reviews the evidence for these benefits and examines the biotic and abiotic components that contribute to overall ecosystem services. We emphasize the potential for improving green-roof function by understanding the interactions between its ecosystem elements, especially the relationships among growing media, soil biota, and vegetation, and the interactions between community structure and ecosystem functioning. Further research into green-roof technology should assess the efficacy of green roofs compared to other technologies with similar ends, and ultimately focus on estimates of aggregate benefits at landscape scales and on more holistic cost-benefit analyses.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1641/b571005",
    doi = "10.1641/b571005",
    openalex = "W2096853679",
    references = "doi101016jlandurbplan200502010, doi101046j13652745199800306x, doi101073pnas9451857, doi1011770013916591231001, doi1021273hortsci4151276, doi102134jeq20040364, doi1043249780203407219, openalexw1482570471, openalexw2097450069"
}

@article{doi101016jecolecon200809014,
    author = "Fisher, Brendan and Turner, R. Kerry and Morling, Paul",
    title = "Defining and classifying ecosystem services for decision making",
    year = "2008",
    journal = "Ecological Economics",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2008.09.014",
    doi = "10.1016/j.ecolecon.2008.09.014",
    openalex = "W1991538680",
    references = "doi101890040922, doi1023071929601, doi104324978184977263119"
}

Payments for ecosystem services (PES) policies compensate individuals or communities for undertaking actions that increase the provision of ecosystem services such as water purification, flood mitigation, or carbon sequestration. PES schemes rely on incentives to induce behavioral change and can thus be considered part of the broader class of incentive- or market-based mechanisms for environmental policy. By recognizing that PES programs are incentive-based, policymakers can draw on insights from the substantial body of accumulated knowledge about this class of instruments. In particular, this article offers a set of lessons about how the environmental, socioeconomic, political, and dynamic context of a PES policy is likely to interact with policy design to produce policy outcomes, including environmental effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and poverty alleviation.

@article{doi101073pnas0705503104,
    author = "Jack, B. Kelsey and Kousky, Carolyn and Sims, Katharine R. E.",
    title = "Designing payments for ecosystem services: Lessons from previous experience with incentive-based mechanisms",
    year = "2008",
    journal = "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences",
    abstract = "Payments for ecosystem services (PES) policies compensate individuals or communities for undertaking actions that increase the provision of ecosystem services such as water purification, flood mitigation, or carbon sequestration. PES schemes rely on incentives to induce behavioral change and can thus be considered part of the broader class of incentive- or market-based mechanisms for environmental policy. By recognizing that PES programs are incentive-based, policymakers can draw on insights from the substantial body of accumulated knowledge about this class of instruments. In particular, this article offers a set of lessons about how the environmental, socioeconomic, political, and dynamic context of a PES policy is likely to interact with policy design to produce policy outcomes, including environmental effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and poverty alleviation.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0705503104",
    doi = "10.1073/pnas.0705503104",
    openalex = "W2071040227",
    references = "doi101111j15231739200600559x"
}

Global efforts to conserve biodiversity have the potential to deliver economic benefits to people (i.e., "ecosystem services"). However, regions for which conservation benefits both biodiversity and ecosystem services cannot be identified unless ecosystem services can be quantified and valued and their areas of production mapped. Here we review the theory, data, and analyses needed to produce such maps and find that data availability allows us to quantify imperfect global proxies for only four ecosystem services. Using this incomplete set as an illustration, we compare ecosystem service maps with the global distributions of conventional targets for biodiversity conservation. Our preliminary results show that regions selected to maximize biodiversity provide no more ecosystem services than regions chosen randomly. Furthermore, spatial concordance among different services, and between ecosystem services and established conservation priorities, varies widely. Despite this lack of general concordance, "win-win" areas-regions important for both ecosystem services and biodiversity-can be usefully identified, both among ecoregions and at finer scales within them. An ambitious interdisciplinary research effort is needed to move beyond these preliminary and illustrative analyses to fully assess synergies and trade-offs in conserving biodiversity and ecosystem services.

@article{doi101073pnas0707823105,
    author = "Naidoo, Robin and Balmford, Andrew and Costanza, Robert and Fisher, Brendan and Green, R. E. and Lehner, Bernhard and Malcolm, Trent R. and Ricketts, Taylor H.",
    title = "Global mapping of ecosystem services and conservation priorities",
    year = "2008",
    journal = "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences",
    abstract = {Global efforts to conserve biodiversity have the potential to deliver economic benefits to people (i.e., "ecosystem services"). However, regions for which conservation benefits both biodiversity and ecosystem services cannot be identified unless ecosystem services can be quantified and valued and their areas of production mapped. Here we review the theory, data, and analyses needed to produce such maps and find that data availability allows us to quantify imperfect global proxies for only four ecosystem services. Using this incomplete set as an illustration, we compare ecosystem service maps with the global distributions of conventional targets for biodiversity conservation. Our preliminary results show that regions selected to maximize biodiversity provide no more ecosystem services than regions chosen randomly. Furthermore, spatial concordance among different services, and between ecosystem services and established conservation priorities, varies widely. Despite this lack of general concordance, "win-win" areas-regions important for both ecosystem services and biodiversity-can be usefully identified, both among ecoregions and at finer scales within them. An ambitious interdisciplinary research effort is needed to move beyond these preliminary and illustrative analyses to fully assess synergies and trade-offs in conserving biodiversity and ecosystem services.},
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0707823105",
    doi = "10.1073/pnas.0707823105",
    openalex = "W2027370059",
    references = "doi101111j15231739200600559x"
}

Around the world, leaders are increasingly recognizing ecosystems as natural capital assets that supply life-support services of tremendous value. The challenge is to turn this recognition into incentives and institutions that will guide wise investments in natural capital, on a large scale. Advances are required on three key fronts, each featured here: the science of ecosystem production functions and service mapping; the design of appropriate finance, policy, and governance systems; and the art of implementing these in diverse biophysical and social contexts. Scientific understanding of ecosystem production functions is improving rapidly but remains a limiting factor in incorporating natural capital into decisions, via systems of national accounting and other mechanisms. Novel institutional structures are being established for a broad array of services and places, creating a need and opportunity for systematic assessment of their scope and limitations. Finally, it is clear that formal sharing of experience, and defining of priorities for future work, could greatly accelerate the rate of innovation and uptake of new approaches.

@article{doi101073pnas0804960105,
    author = "Daily, Gretchen C. and Matson, Pamela A.",
    title = "Ecosystem services: From theory to implementation",
    year = "2008",
    journal = "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences",
    abstract = "Around the world, leaders are increasingly recognizing ecosystems as natural capital assets that supply life-support services of tremendous value. The challenge is to turn this recognition into incentives and institutions that will guide wise investments in natural capital, on a large scale. Advances are required on three key fronts, each featured here: the science of ecosystem production functions and service mapping; the design of appropriate finance, policy, and governance systems; and the art of implementing these in diverse biophysical and social contexts. Scientific understanding of ecosystem production functions is improving rapidly but remains a limiting factor in incorporating natural capital into decisions, via systems of national accounting and other mechanisms. Novel institutional structures are being established for a broad array of services and places, creating a need and opportunity for systematic assessment of their scope and limitations. Finally, it is clear that formal sharing of experience, and defining of priorities for future work, could greatly accelerate the rate of innovation and uptake of new approaches.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0804960105",
    doi = "10.1073/pnas.0804960105",
    openalex = "W2140005563"
}

Lake 227, a small lake in the Precambrian Shield at the Experimental Lakes Area (ELA), has been fertilized for 37 years with constant annual inputs of phosphorus and decreasing inputs of nitrogen to test the theory that controlling nitrogen inputs can control eutrophication. For the final 16 years (1990-2005), the lake was fertilized with phosphorus alone. Reducing nitrogen inputs increasingly favored nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria as a response by the phytoplankton community to extreme seasonal nitrogen limitation. Nitrogen fixation was sufficient to allow biomass to continue to be produced in proportion to phosphorus, and the lake remained highly eutrophic, despite showing indications of extreme nitrogen limitation seasonally. To reduce eutrophication, the focus of management must be on decreasing inputs of phosphorus.

@article{doi101073pnas0805108105,
    author = "Schindler, David W. and Hecky, Robert E. and Findlay, D. L. and Stainton, M. P. and Parker, Brian and Paterson, Michael J. and Beaty, K. G. and Lyng, M. and Kasian, S. E. M.",
    title = "Eutrophication of lakes cannot be controlled by reducing nitrogen input: Results of a 37-year whole-ecosystem experiment",
    year = "2008",
    journal = "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences",
    abstract = "Lake 227, a small lake in the Precambrian Shield at the Experimental Lakes Area (ELA), has been fertilized for 37 years with constant annual inputs of phosphorus and decreasing inputs of nitrogen to test the theory that controlling nitrogen inputs can control eutrophication. For the final 16 years (1990-2005), the lake was fertilized with phosphorus alone. Reducing nitrogen inputs increasingly favored nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria as a response by the phytoplankton community to extreme seasonal nitrogen limitation. Nitrogen fixation was sufficient to allow biomass to continue to be produced in proportion to phosphorus, and the lake remained highly eutrophic, despite showing indications of extreme nitrogen limitation seasonally. To reduce eutrophication, the focus of management must be on decreasing inputs of phosphorus.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0805108105",
    doi = "10.1073/pnas.0805108105",
    openalex = "W1978007507",
    references = "doi101007bf02804901, doi104319lo1988334part20702"
}

The main drivers of global environmental change (CO2 enrichment, nitrogen deposition, climate, biotic invasions and land use) cause extinctions and alter species distributions, and recent evidence shows that they exert pervasive impacts on various antagonistic and mutualistic interactions among species. In this review, we synthesize data from 688 published studies to show that these drivers often alter competitive interactions among plants and animals, exert multitrophic effects on the decomposer food web, increase intensity of pathogen infection, weaken mutualisms involving plants, and enhance herbivory while having variable effects on predation. A recurrent finding is that there is substantial variability among studies in both the magnitude and direction of effects of any given GEC driver on any given type of biotic interaction. Further, we show that higher order effects among multiple drivers acting simultaneously create challenges in predicting future responses to global environmental change, and that extrapolating these complex impacts across entire networks of species interactions yields unanticipated effects on ecosystems. Finally, we conclude that in order to reliably predict the effects of GEC on community and ecosystem processes, the greatest single challenge will be to determine how biotic and abiotic context alters the direction and magnitude of GEC effects on biotic interactions.

@article{doi101111j14610248200801250x,
    author = "Tylianakis, Jason M. and Didham, Raphaël K. and Bascompte, Jordi and Wardle, David A.",
    title = "Global change and species interactions in terrestrial ecosystems",
    year = "2008",
    journal = "Ecology Letters",
    abstract = "The main drivers of global environmental change (CO2 enrichment, nitrogen deposition, climate, biotic invasions and land use) cause extinctions and alter species distributions, and recent evidence shows that they exert pervasive impacts on various antagonistic and mutualistic interactions among species. In this review, we synthesize data from 688 published studies to show that these drivers often alter competitive interactions among plants and animals, exert multitrophic effects on the decomposer food web, increase intensity of pathogen infection, weaken mutualisms involving plants, and enhance herbivory while having variable effects on predation. A recurrent finding is that there is substantial variability among studies in both the magnitude and direction of effects of any given GEC driver on any given type of biotic interaction. Further, we show that higher order effects among multiple drivers acting simultaneously create challenges in predicting future responses to global environmental change, and that extrapolating these complex impacts across entire networks of species interactions yields unanticipated effects on ecosystems. Finally, we conclude that in order to reliably predict the effects of GEC on community and ecosystem processes, the greatest single challenge will be to determine how biotic and abiotic context alters the direction and magnitude of GEC effects on biotic interactions.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2008.01250.x",
    doi = "10.1111/j.1461-0248.2008.01250.x",
    openalex = "W2106276251",
    references = "doi101038nature04246, doi101038nature05956, doi101073pnas1633576100, doi1023072407184"
}

The management and conservation of the world's oceans require synthesis of spatial data on the distribution and intensity of human activities and the overlap of their impacts on marine ecosystems. We developed an ecosystem-specific, multiscale spatial model to synthesize 17 global data sets of anthropogenic drivers of ecological change for 20 marine ecosystems. Our analysis indicates that no area is unaffected by human influence and that a large fraction (41%) is strongly affected by multiple drivers. However, large areas of relatively little human impact remain, particularly near the poles. The analytical process and resulting maps provide flexible tools for regional and global efforts to allocate conservation resources; to implement ecosystem-based management; and to inform marine spatial planning, education, and basic research.

@article{doi101126science1149345,
    author = "Halpern, Benjamin S. and Walbridge, Shaun and Selkoe, Kimberly A. and Kappel, Carrie V. and Micheli, Fiorenza and D'Agrosa, Caterina and Bruno, John F. and Casey, Kenneth S. and Ebert, Colin M. and Fox, Helen and Fujita, Rod and Heinemann, Dennis and Lenihan, Hunter S. and Madin, Elizabeth M. P. and Perry, Matthew T. and Selig, Elizabeth R. and Spalding, Mark and Steneck, Robert S. and Watson, Reg",
    title = "A Global Map of Human Impact on Marine Ecosystems",
    year = "2008",
    journal = "Science",
    abstract = "The management and conservation of the world's oceans require synthesis of spatial data on the distribution and intensity of human activities and the overlap of their impacts on marine ecosystems. We developed an ecosystem-specific, multiscale spatial model to synthesize 17 global data sets of anthropogenic drivers of ecological change for 20 marine ecosystems. Our analysis indicates that no area is unaffected by human influence and that a large fraction (41\%) is strongly affected by multiple drivers. However, large areas of relatively little human impact remain, particularly near the poles. The analytical process and resulting maps provide flexible tools for regional and global efforts to allocate conservation resources; to implement ecosystem-based management; and to inform marine spatial planning, education, and basic research.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1149345",
    doi = "10.1126/science.1149345",
    openalex = "W2124565737",
    references = "doi101126science1059199, doi101126science1085706, doi1018901051076119970070737haotgn20co2"
}

Despite continued forest conversion and degradation, forest cover is increasing in countries across the globe. New forests are regenerating on former agricultural land, and forest plantations are being established for commercial and restoration purposes. Plantations and restored forests can improve ecosystem services and enhance biodiversity conservation, but will not match the composition and structure of the original forest cover. Approaches to restoring forest ecosystems depend strongly on levels of forest and soil degradation, residual vegetation, and desired restoration outcomes. Opportunities abound to combine ambitious forest restoration and regeneration goals with sustainable rural livelihoods and community participation. New forests will require adaptive management as dynamic, resilient systems that can withstand stresses of climate change, habitat fragmentation, and other anthropogenic effects.

@article{doi101126science1155365,
    author = "Chazdon, Robin L.",
    title = "Beyond Deforestation: Restoring Forests and Ecosystem Services on Degraded Lands",
    year = "2008",
    journal = "Science",
    abstract = "Despite continued forest conversion and degradation, forest cover is increasing in countries across the globe. New forests are regenerating on former agricultural land, and forest plantations are being established for commercial and restoration purposes. Plantations and restored forests can improve ecosystem services and enhance biodiversity conservation, but will not match the composition and structure of the original forest cover. Approaches to restoring forest ecosystems depend strongly on levels of forest and soil degradation, residual vegetation, and desired restoration outcomes. Opportunities abound to combine ambitious forest restoration and regeneration goals with sustainable rural livelihoods and community participation. New forests will require adaptive management as dynamic, resilient systems that can withstand stresses of climate change, habitat fragmentation, and other anthropogenic effects.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1155365",
    doi = "10.1126/science.1155365",
    openalex = "W2124070575",
    references = "doi101111j1466822x200600212x, doi101146annurevecolsys35021103105725"
}

Dead zones in the coastal oceans have spread exponentially since the 1960s and have serious consequences for ecosystem functioning. The formation of dead zones has been exacerbated by the increase in primary production and consequent worldwide coastal eutrophication fueled by riverine runoff of fertilizers and the burning of fossil fuels. Enhanced primary production results in an accumulation of particulate organic matter, which encourages microbial activity and the consumption of dissolved oxygen in bottom waters. Dead zones have now been reported from more than 400 systems, affecting a total area of more than 245,000 square kilometers, and are probably a key stressor on marine ecosystems.

@article{doi101126science1156401,
    author = "Díaz, Robert J. and Rosenberg, Rutger",
    title = "Spreading Dead Zones and Consequences for Marine Ecosystems",
    year = "2008",
    journal = "Science",
    abstract = "Dead zones in the coastal oceans have spread exponentially since the 1960s and have serious consequences for ecosystem functioning. The formation of dead zones has been exacerbated by the increase in primary production and consequent worldwide coastal eutrophication fueled by riverine runoff of fertilizers and the burning of fossil fuels. Enhanced primary production results in an accumulation of particulate organic matter, which encourages microbial activity and the consumption of dissolved oxygen in bottom waters. Dead zones have now been reported from more than 400 systems, affecting a total area of more than 245,000 square kilometers, and are probably a key stressor on marine ecosystems.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1156401",
    doi = "10.1126/science.1156401",
    openalex = "W2130231032",
    references = "doi1010160009254194900620, doi101126science1057544, doi101126science1136674, openalexw1520428197"
}

@article{doi101016jtree200903016,
    author = "Pejchar, Liba and Mooney, Harold A.",
    title = "Invasive species, ecosystem services and human well-being",
    year = "2009",
    journal = "Trends in Ecology \& Evolution",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2009.03.016",
    doi = "10.1016/j.tree.2009.03.016",
    openalex = "W2095654750"
}

Ecosystem management that attempts to maximize the production of one ecosystem service often results in substantial declines in the provision of other ecosystem services. For this reason, recent studies have called for increased attention to development of a theoretical understanding behind the relationships among ecosystem services. Here, we review the literature on ecosystem services and propose a typology of relationships between ecosystem services based on the role of drivers and the interactions between services. We use this typology to develop three propositions to help drive ecological science towards a better understanding of the relationships among multiple ecosystem services. Research which aims to understand the relationships among multiple ecosystem services and the mechanisms behind these relationships will improve our ability to sustainably manage landscapes to provide multiple ecosystem services.

@article{doi101111j14610248200901387x,
    author = "Bennett, Elena M. and Peterson, Garry and Gordon, Line",
    title = "Understanding relationships among multiple ecosystem services",
    year = "2009",
    journal = "Ecology Letters",
    abstract = "Ecosystem management that attempts to maximize the production of one ecosystem service often results in substantial declines in the provision of other ecosystem services. For this reason, recent studies have called for increased attention to development of a theoretical understanding behind the relationships among ecosystem services. Here, we review the literature on ecosystem services and propose a typology of relationships between ecosystem services based on the role of drivers and the interactions between services. We use this typology to develop three propositions to help drive ecological science towards a better understanding of the relationships among multiple ecosystem services. Research which aims to understand the relationships among multiple ecosystem services and the mechanisms behind these relationships will improve our ability to sustainably manage landscapes to provide multiple ecosystem services.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2009.01387.x",
    doi = "10.1111/j.1461-0248.2009.01387.x",
    openalex = "W2170805839",
    references = "doi101016jagee200803013, doi101016jecolecon200806014, doi101016jtree200309002, doi101017s1464793105006950, doi101038nature02691, doi101126science26752011117, doi101890080126, doi1018901051076119980080559nposww20co2, doi105860choice414645"
}

Ecological restoration is widely used to reverse the environmental degradation caused by human activities. However, the effectiveness of restoration actions in increasing provision of both biodiversity and ecosystem services has not been evaluated systematically. A meta-analysis of 89 restoration assessments in a wide range of ecosystem types across the globe indicates that ecological restoration increased provision of biodiversity and ecosystem services by 44 and 25%, respectively. However, values of both remained lower in restored versus intact reference ecosystems. Increases in biodiversity and ecosystem service measures after restoration were positively correlated. Results indicate that restoration actions focused on enhancing biodiversity should support increased provision of ecosystem services, particularly in tropical terrestrial biomes.

@article{doi101126science1172460,
    author = "Beñayas, José María Rey and Newton, Adrian C. and Díaz, Anita and Bullock, James M.",
    title = "Enhancement of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services by Ecological Restoration: A Meta-Analysis",
    year = "2009",
    journal = "Science",
    abstract = "Ecological restoration is widely used to reverse the environmental degradation caused by human activities. However, the effectiveness of restoration actions in increasing provision of both biodiversity and ecosystem services has not been evaluated systematically. A meta-analysis of 89 restoration assessments in a wide range of ecosystem types across the globe indicates that ecological restoration increased provision of biodiversity and ecosystem services by 44 and 25\%, respectively. However, values of both remained lower in restored versus intact reference ecosystems. Increases in biodiversity and ecosystem service measures after restoration were positively correlated. Results indicate that restoration actions focused on enhancing biodiversity should support increased provision of ecosystem services, particularly in tropical terrestrial biomes.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1172460",
    doi = "10.1126/science.1172460",
    openalex = "W2068464578",
    references = "doi101038nature05947, doi101073pnas0705503104, doi101073pnas0707823105, doi101073pnas0804960105, doi101126science1073947, doi101126science1097920, doi101126science1132294, doi101126science1155365, doi101126science28754591770, doi101371journalpbio0040379"
}

At the close of the Fourth International Polar Year, we take stock of the ecological consequences of recent climate change in the Arctic, focusing on effects at population, community, and ecosystem scales. Despite the buffering effect of landscape heterogeneity, Arctic ecosystems and the trophic relationships that structure them have been severely perturbed. These rapid changes may be a bellwether of changes to come at lower latitudes and have the potential to affect ecosystem services related to natural resources, food production, climate regulation, and cultural integrity. We highlight areas of ecological research that deserve priority as the Arctic continues to warm.

@article{doi101126science1173113,
    author = "Post, Eric and Forchhammer, Mads C. and Bret‐Harte, M. Syndonia and Callaghan, Terry V. and Christensen, Torben R. and Elberling, Bo and Fox, Anthony David and Gilg, Olivier and Hik, David S. and Høye, Toke T. and Ims, Rolf A. and Jeppesen, Erik and Klein, David R. and Madsen, Jesper and McGuire, A. David and Rysgaard, Søren and Schindler, Daniel E. and Stirling, Ian and Tamstorf, Mikkel P. and Tyler, N. J. C. and van der Wal, René and Welker, J. M. and Wookey, Philip A. and Schmidt, Niels Martin and Aastrup, Peter",
    title = "Ecological Dynamics Across the Arctic Associated with Recent Climate Change",
    year = "2009",
    journal = "Science",
    abstract = "At the close of the Fourth International Polar Year, we take stock of the ecological consequences of recent climate change in the Arctic, focusing on effects at population, community, and ecosystem scales. Despite the buffering effect of landscape heterogeneity, Arctic ecosystems and the trophic relationships that structure them have been severely perturbed. These rapid changes may be a bellwether of changes to come at lower latitudes and have the potential to affect ecosystem services related to natural resources, food production, climate regulation, and cultural integrity. We highlight areas of ecological research that deserve priority as the Arctic continues to warm.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1173113",
    doi = "10.1126/science.1173113",
    openalex = "W2163504043",
    references = "doi101007978331925582810037, doi101007s1058400553522, doi101023a1005504031923, doi101038416389a, doi101038nature01333, doi101038nature04604, doi101038nature06937, doi101073pnas0503198103, doi101111j13652486200601128x, doi1023071941447, openalexw2939474406"
}

@incollection{doi10100797836421144347,
    author = "Méndez, Vicenç and Федотов, С. А. and Horsthemke, Werner",
    title = "Ecological Applications",
    year = "2010",
    booktitle = "Springer series in synergetics",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-11443-4\_7",
    doi = "10.1007/978-3-642-11443-4\_7",
    openalex = "W4254528901"
}

@article{doi101016jforeco201007004,
    author = "Holl, Karen D. and Aide, T. Mitchell",
    title = "When and where to actively restore ecosystems?",
    year = "2010",
    journal = "Forest Ecology and Management",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2010.07.004",
    doi = "10.1016/j.foreco.2010.07.004",
    openalex = "W2168165111",
    references = "doi101111j15231739200600559x, doi101126science1172460"
}

@article{doi101016jpolar201005001,
    author = "Massom, Robert A. and Stammerjohn, Sharon",
    title = "Antarctic sea ice change and variability – Physical and ecological implications",
    year = "2010",
    journal = "Polar Science",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polar.2010.05.001",
    doi = "10.1016/j.polar.2010.05.001",
    openalex = "W2015827190",
    references = "doi1010292007rg000231, openalexw1588599659"
}

The global decline in estuarine and coastal ecosystems (ECEs) is affecting a number of critical benefits, or ecosystem services. We review the main ecological services across a variety of ECEs, including marshes, mangroves, nearshore coral reefs, seagrass beds, and sand beaches and dunes. Where possible, we indicate estimates of the key economic values arising from these services, and discuss how the natural variability of ECEs impacts their benefits, the synergistic relationships of ECEs across seascapes, and management implications. Although reliable valuation estimates are beginning to emerge for the key services of some ECEs, such as coral reefs, salt marshes, and mangroves, many of the important benefits of seagrass beds and sand dunes and beaches have not been assessed properly. Even for coral reefs, marshes, and mangroves, important ecological services have yet to be valued reliably, such as cross-ecosystem nutrient transfer (coral reefs), erosion control (marshes), and pollution control (mangroves). An important issue for valuing certain ECE services, such as coastal protection and habitat-fishery linkages, is that the ecological functions underlying these services vary spatially and temporally. Allowing for the connectivity between ECE habitats also may have important implications for assessing the ecological functions underlying key ecosystems services, such coastal protection, control of erosion, and habitat-fishery linkages. Finally, we conclude by suggesting an action plan for protecting and/or enhancing the immediate and longer-term values of ECE services. Because the connectivity of ECEs across land-sea gradients also influences the provision of certain ecosystem services, management of the entire seascape will be necessary to preserve such synergistic effects. Other key elements of an action plan include further ecological and economic collaborative research on valuing ECE services, improving institutional and legal frameworks for management, controlling and regulating destructive economic activities, and developing ecological restoration options.

@article{doi1018901015101,
    author = "Barbier, Edward B. and Hacker, Sally D. and Kennedy, Chris and Koch, Evamaria W. and Stier, Adrian C. and Silliman, Brian R.",
    title = "The value of estuarine and coastal ecosystem services",
    year = "2010",
    journal = "Ecological Monographs",
    abstract = "The global decline in estuarine and coastal ecosystems (ECEs) is affecting a number of critical benefits, or ecosystem services. We review the main ecological services across a variety of ECEs, including marshes, mangroves, nearshore coral reefs, seagrass beds, and sand beaches and dunes. Where possible, we indicate estimates of the key economic values arising from these services, and discuss how the natural variability of ECEs impacts their benefits, the synergistic relationships of ECEs across seascapes, and management implications. Although reliable valuation estimates are beginning to emerge for the key services of some ECEs, such as coral reefs, salt marshes, and mangroves, many of the important benefits of seagrass beds and sand dunes and beaches have not been assessed properly. Even for coral reefs, marshes, and mangroves, important ecological services have yet to be valued reliably, such as cross-ecosystem nutrient transfer (coral reefs), erosion control (marshes), and pollution control (mangroves). An important issue for valuing certain ECE services, such as coastal protection and habitat-fishery linkages, is that the ecological functions underlying these services vary spatially and temporally. Allowing for the connectivity between ECE habitats also may have important implications for assessing the ecological functions underlying key ecosystems services, such coastal protection, control of erosion, and habitat-fishery linkages. Finally, we conclude by suggesting an action plan for protecting and/or enhancing the immediate and longer-term values of ECE services. Because the connectivity of ECEs across land-sea gradients also influences the provision of certain ecosystem services, management of the entire seascape will be necessary to preserve such synergistic effects. Other key elements of an action plan include further ecological and economic collaborative research on valuing ECE services, improving institutional and legal frameworks for management, controlling and regulating destructive economic activities, and developing ecological restoration options.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1890/10-1510.1",
    doi = "10.1890/10-1510.1",
    openalex = "W2126154792",
    references = "doi101016jaquabot200802009, doi101016s0921800999000099, doi101038nature02691, doi101071mf99078, doi101126science1152509, doi101890080126"
}

@article{doi101016jtree201106011,
    author = "Bullock, James M. and Aronson, James and Newton, Adrian C. and Pywell, Richard F. and Beñayas, José María Rey",
    title = "Restoration of ecosystem services and biodiversity: conflicts and opportunities",
    year = "2011",
    journal = "Trends in Ecology \& Evolution",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2011.06.011",
    doi = "10.1016/j.tree.2011.06.011",
    openalex = "W2085168606",
    references = "doi101126science1172460"
}

@article{doi101038nature10386,
    author = "Schmidt, Michael W. and Torn, Margaret and Abiven, Samuel and Dittmar, Thorsten and Guggenberger, Georg and Janssens, Ivan A. and Kleber, Markus and Kögel‐Knabner, Ingrid and Lehmann, Johannes and Manning, David A.C. and Nannipieri, P. and Rasse, Daniel P. and Weiner, Steve and Trumbore, Susan",
    title = "Persistence of soil organic matter as an ecosystem property",
    year = "2011",
    journal = "Nature",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1038/nature10386",
    doi = "10.1038/nature10386",
    openalex = "W2132484323",
    references = "doi101021es9031419, doi1010292008gb003327, doi101038447143a, doi101038nature04514, doi101038nature06275, doi101111j13652389200600809x, doi101175jcli38001, doi101641b580807, doi1018901051076120000100423tvdoso20co2, doi1023071936780, doi105281zenodo7356334"
}

Abstract Recent research using repeat photography, long-term ecological monitoring and dendrochronology has documented shrub expansion in arctic, high-latitude and alpine tundra ecosystems. Here, we (1) synthesize these findings, (2) present a conceptual framework that identifies mechanisms and constraints on shrub increase, (3) explore causes, feedbacks and implications of the increased shrub cover in tundra ecosystems, and (4) address potential lines of investigation for future research. Satellite observations from around the circumpolar Arctic, showing increased productivity, measured as changes in ‘greenness’, have coincided with a general rise in high-latitude air temperatures and have been partly attributed to increases in shrub cover. Studies indicate that warming temperatures, changes in snow cover, altered disturbance regimes as a result of permafrost thaw, tundra fires, and anthropogenic activities or changes in herbivory intensity are all contributing to observed changes in shrub abundance. A large-scale increase in shrub cover will change the structure of tundra ecosystems and alter energy fluxes, regional climate, soil–atmosphere exchange of water, carbon and nutrients, and ecological interactions between species. In order to project future rates of shrub expansion and understand the feedbacks to ecosystem and climate processes, future research should investigate the species or trait-specific responses of shrubs to climate change including: (1) the temperature sensitivity of shrub growth, (2) factors controlling the recruitment of new individuals, and (3) the relative influence of the positive and negative feedbacks involved in shrub expansion.

@article{doi1010881748932664045509,
    author = "Myers‐Smith, Isla H. and Forbes, Bruce C. and Wilmking, Martin and Hallinger, Martin and Lantz, Trevor C. and Blok, Daan and Tape, Ken D. and Macias‐Fauria, Marc and Sass‐Klaassen, Ute and Lévesque, Esther and Boudreau, Stéphane and Ropars, Pascale and Hermanutz, Luise and Trant, Andrew J. and Collier, Laura Siegwart and Weijers, Stef and Rozema, J. and Rayback, Shelly A. and Schmidt, Niels Martin and Schaepman‐Strub, Gabriela and Wipf, Sonja and Rixen, Christian and Ménard, Cécile B. and Venn, Susanna and Goetz, S. J. and Andreu‐Hayles, Laia and Elmendorf, Sarah C. and Ravolainen, Virve and Welker, J. M. and Grogan, Paul and Epstein, Howard E. and Hik, David S.",
    title = "Shrub expansion in tundra ecosystems: dynamics, impacts and research priorities",
    year = "2011",
    journal = "Environmental Research Letters",
    abstract = "Abstract Recent research using repeat photography, long-term ecological monitoring and dendrochronology has documented shrub expansion in arctic, high-latitude and alpine tundra ecosystems. Here, we (1) synthesize these findings, (2) present a conceptual framework that identifies mechanisms and constraints on shrub increase, (3) explore causes, feedbacks and implications of the increased shrub cover in tundra ecosystems, and (4) address potential lines of investigation for future research. Satellite observations from around the circumpolar Arctic, showing increased productivity, measured as changes in ‘greenness’, have coincided with a general rise in high-latitude air temperatures and have been partly attributed to increases in shrub cover. Studies indicate that warming temperatures, changes in snow cover, altered disturbance regimes as a result of permafrost thaw, tundra fires, and anthropogenic activities or changes in herbivory intensity are all contributing to observed changes in shrub abundance. A large-scale increase in shrub cover will change the structure of tundra ecosystems and alter energy fluxes, regional climate, soil–atmosphere exchange of water, carbon and nutrients, and ecological interactions between species. In order to project future rates of shrub expansion and understand the feedbacks to ecosystem and climate processes, future research should investigate the species or trait-specific responses of shrubs to climate change including: (1) the temperature sensitivity of shrub growth, (2) factors controlling the recruitment of new individuals, and (3) the relative influence of the positive and negative feedbacks involved in shrub expansion.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/6/4/045509",
    doi = "10.1088/1748-9326/6/4/045509",
    openalex = "W2100636547",
    references = "doi101007s1058400553522, doi101023a1005504031923, doi1010292005gl024960, doi1010292010rg000345, doi10103835079180, doi101038nature08031, doi101073pnas0503198103, doi101111j13652486200601128x, doi101126science1117368, doi101126science1173113, doi1023071939337"
}

Abstract With the growing body of literature assessing the impact of invasive alien plants on resident species and ecosystems, a comprehensive assessment of the relationship between invasive species traits and environmental settings of invasion on the characteristics of impacts is needed. Based on 287 publications with 1551 individual cases that addressed the impact of 167 invasive plant species belonging to 49 families, we present the first global overview of frequencies of significant and non‐significant ecological impacts and their directions on 15 outcomes related to the responses of resident populations, species, communities and ecosystems. Species and community outcomes tend to decline following invasions, especially those for plants, but the abundance and richness of the soil biota, as well as concentrations of soil nutrients and water, more often increase than decrease following invasion. Data mining tools revealed that invasive plants exert consistent significant impacts on some outcomes (survival of resident biota, activity of resident animals, resident community productivity, mineral and nutrient content in plant tissues, and fire frequency and intensity), whereas for outcomes at the community level, such as species richness, diversity and soil resources, the significance of impacts is determined by interactions between species traits and the biome invaded. The latter outcomes are most likely to be impacted by annual grasses, and by wind pollinated trees invading mediterranean or tropical biomes. One of the clearest signals in this analysis is that invasive plants are far more likely to cause significant impacts on resident plant and animal richness on islands rather than mainland. This study shows that there is no universal measure of impact and the pattern observed depends on the ecological measure examined. Although impact is strongly context dependent, some species traits, especially life form, stature and pollination syndrome, may provide a means to predict impact, regardless of the particular habitat and geographical region invaded.

@article{doi101111j13652486201102636x,
    author = "Pyšek, Petr and Jaros̆ı́k, Vojtĕch and Hulme, Philip E. and Pergl, Jan and Hejda, Martin and Schaffner, Urs and Vilà, Montserrat",
    title = "A global assessment of invasive plant impacts on resident species, communities and ecosystems: the interaction of impact measures, invading species' traits and environment",
    year = "2011",
    journal = "Global Change Biology",
    abstract = "Abstract With the growing body of literature assessing the impact of invasive alien plants on resident species and ecosystems, a comprehensive assessment of the relationship between invasive species traits and environmental settings of invasion on the characteristics of impacts is needed. Based on 287 publications with 1551 individual cases that addressed the impact of 167 invasive plant species belonging to 49 families, we present the first global overview of frequencies of significant and non‐significant ecological impacts and their directions on 15 outcomes related to the responses of resident populations, species, communities and ecosystems. Species and community outcomes tend to decline following invasions, especially those for plants, but the abundance and richness of the soil biota, as well as concentrations of soil nutrients and water, more often increase than decrease following invasion. Data mining tools revealed that invasive plants exert consistent significant impacts on some outcomes (survival of resident biota, activity of resident animals, resident community productivity, mineral and nutrient content in plant tissues, and fire frequency and intensity), whereas for outcomes at the community level, such as species richness, diversity and soil resources, the significance of impacts is determined by interactions between species traits and the biome invaded. The latter outcomes are most likely to be impacted by annual grasses, and by wind pollinated trees invading mediterranean or tropical biomes. One of the clearest signals in this analysis is that invasive plants are far more likely to cause significant impacts on resident plant and animal richness on islands rather than mainland. This study shows that there is no universal measure of impact and the pattern observed depends on the ecological measure examined. Although impact is strongly context dependent, some species traits, especially life form, stature and pollination syndrome, may provide a means to predict impact, regardless of the particular habitat and geographical region invaded.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2011.02636.x",
    doi = "10.1111/j.1365-2486.2011.02636.x",
    openalex = "W2043734488",
    references = "doi101046j14724642200000083x, doi101111j14610248201101628x, doi101111j1466822x200600212x"
}

Biological invasions cause ecological and economic impacts across the globe. However, it is unclear whether there are strong patterns in terms of their major effects, how the vulnerability of different ecosystems varies and which ecosystem services are at greatest risk. We present a global meta-analysis of 199 articles reporting 1041 field studies that in total describe the impacts of 135 alien plant taxa on resident species, communities and ecosystems. Across studies, alien plants had a significant effect in 11 of 24 different types of impact assessed. The magnitude and direction of the impact varied both within and between different types of impact. On average, abundance and diversity of the resident species decreased in invaded sites, whereas primary production and several ecosystem processes were enhanced. While alien N-fixing species had greater impacts on N-cycling variables, they did not consistently affect other impact types. The magnitude of the impacts was not significantly different between island and mainland ecosystems. Overall, alien species impacts are heterogeneous and not unidirectional even within particular impact types. Our analysis also reveals that by the time changes in nutrient cycling are detected, major impacts on plant species and communities are likely to have already occurred.

@article{doi101111j14610248201101628x,
    author = "Vilà, Montserrat and Espinar, José L. and Hejda, Martin and Hulme, Philip E. and Jaros̆ı́k, Vojtĕch and Maron, John L. and Pergl, Jan and Schaffner, Urs and Sun, Yan and Pyšek, Petr",
    title = "Ecological impacts of invasive alien plants: a meta-analysis of their effects on species, communities and ecosystems",
    year = "2011",
    journal = "Ecology Letters",
    abstract = "Biological invasions cause ecological and economic impacts across the globe. However, it is unclear whether there are strong patterns in terms of their major effects, how the vulnerability of different ecosystems varies and which ecosystem services are at greatest risk. We present a global meta-analysis of 199 articles reporting 1041 field studies that in total describe the impacts of 135 alien plant taxa on resident species, communities and ecosystems. Across studies, alien plants had a significant effect in 11 of 24 different types of impact assessed. The magnitude and direction of the impact varied both within and between different types of impact. On average, abundance and diversity of the resident species decreased in invaded sites, whereas primary production and several ecosystem processes were enhanced. While alien N-fixing species had greater impacts on N-cycling variables, they did not consistently affect other impact types. The magnitude of the impacts was not significantly different between island and mainland ecosystems. Overall, alien species impacts are heterogeneous and not unidirectional even within particular impact types. Our analysis also reveals that by the time changes in nutrient cycling are detected, major impacts on plant species and communities are likely to have already occurred.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2011.01628.x",
    doi = "10.1111/j.1461-0248.2011.01628.x",
    openalex = "W2116964561",
    references = "doi101007s1002100201513, doi101016jtree200903016, doi101023a1010034312781, doi10103700332909863638, doi101038nature05202, doi101098rspb20032327, doi101111j14610248200801250x, doi101111j14610248200901418x, doi101126science1172460, doi1018900012965819990801522gpopia20co2"
}

Urban green space is purported to offset greenhouse‐gas (GHG) emissions, remove air and water pollutants, cool local climate, and improve public health. To use these services, municipalities have focused efforts on designing and implementing ecosystem‐services‐based “green infrastructure” in urban environments. In some cases the environmental benefits of this infrastructure have been well documented, but they are often unclear, unquantified, and/or outweighed by potential costs. Quantifying biogeochemical processes in urban green infrastructure can improve our understanding of urban ecosystem services and disservices (negative or unintended consequences) resulting from designed urban green spaces. Here we propose a framework to integrate biogeochemical processes into designing, implementing, and evaluating the net effectiveness of green infrastructure, and provide examples for GHG mitigation, stormwater runoff mitigation, and improvements in air quality and health.

@article{doi101890090220,
    author = "Pataki, Diane E and Carreiro, Margaret M. and Cherrier, Jennifer and Grulke, N. E. and Jennings, Viniece and Pincetl, Stephanie and Pouyat, Richard V. and Whitlow, Thomas H. and Zipperer, Wayne C.",
    title = "Coupling biogeochemical cycles in urban environments: ecosystem services, green solutions, and misconceptions",
    year = "2011",
    journal = "Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment",
    abstract = "Urban green space is purported to offset greenhouse‐gas (GHG) emissions, remove air and water pollutants, cool local climate, and improve public health. To use these services, municipalities have focused efforts on designing and implementing ecosystem‐services‐based “green infrastructure” in urban environments. In some cases the environmental benefits of this infrastructure have been well documented, but they are often unclear, unquantified, and/or outweighed by potential costs. Quantifying biogeochemical processes in urban green infrastructure can improve our understanding of urban ecosystem services and disservices (negative or unintended consequences) resulting from designed urban green spaces. Here we propose a framework to integrate biogeochemical processes into designing, implementing, and evaluating the net effectiveness of green infrastructure, and provide examples for GHG mitigation, stormwater runoff mitigation, and improvements in air quality and health.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1890/090220",
    doi = "10.1890/090220",
    openalex = "W2145357497",
    references = "doi101641b571005"
}

Nutrient fluxes to coastal areas have risen in recent decades, leading to widespread hypoxia and other ecological damage, particularly from nitrogen (N). Several factors make N more limiting in estuaries and coastal waters than in lakes: desorption (release) of phosphorus (P) bound to clay as salinity increases, lack of planktonic N fixation in most coastal ecosystems, and flux of relatively P‐rich, N‐poor waters from coastal oceans into estuaries. During eutrophication, biogeochemical feedbacks further increase the supply of N and P, but decrease availability of silica – conditions that can favor the formation and persistence of harmful algal blooms. Given sufficient N inputs, estuaries and coastal marine ecosystems can be driven to P limitation. This switch contributes to greater far‐field N pollution; that is, the N moves further and contributes to eutrophication at greater distances. The physical oceanography (extent of stratification, residence time, and so forth) of coastal systems determines their sensitivity to hypoxia, and recent changes in physics have made some ecosystems more sensitive to hypoxia. Coastal hypoxia contributes to ocean acidification, which harms calcifying organisms such as mollusks and some crustaceans.

@article{doi101890100008,
    author = "Howarth, Robert W. and Chan, Francis and Conley, Daniel J. and Garnier, Josette and Doney, Scott C. and Marino, Roxanne and Billen, Gilles",
    title = "Coupled biogeochemical cycles: eutrophication and hypoxia in temperate estuaries and coastal marine ecosystems",
    year = "2011",
    journal = "Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment",
    abstract = "Nutrient fluxes to coastal areas have risen in recent decades, leading to widespread hypoxia and other ecological damage, particularly from nitrogen (N). Several factors make N more limiting in estuaries and coastal waters than in lakes: desorption (release) of phosphorus (P) bound to clay as salinity increases, lack of planktonic N fixation in most coastal ecosystems, and flux of relatively P‐rich, N‐poor waters from coastal oceans into estuaries. During eutrophication, biogeochemical feedbacks further increase the supply of N and P, but decrease availability of silica – conditions that can favor the formation and persistence of harmful algal blooms. Given sufficient N inputs, estuaries and coastal marine ecosystems can be driven to P limitation. This switch contributes to greater far‐field N pollution; that is, the N moves further and contributes to eutrophication at greater distances. The physical oceanography (extent of stratification, residence time, and so forth) of coastal systems determines their sensitivity to hypoxia, and recent changes in physics have made some ecosystems more sensitive to hypoxia. Coastal hypoxia contributes to ocean acidification, which harms calcifying organisms such as mollusks and some crustaceans.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1890/100008",
    doi = "10.1890/100008",
    openalex = "W2011908879",
    references = "doi101073pnas0803833105, doi104319lo1988334part20702"
}

Species diversity is a major determinant of ecosystem productivity, stability, invasibility, and nutrient dynamics. Hundreds of studies spanning terrestrial, aquatic, and marine ecosystems show that high-diversity mixtures are approximately twice as productive as monocultures of the same species and that this difference increases through time. These impacts of higher diversity have multiple causes, including interspecific complementarity, greater use of limiting resources, decreased herbivory and disease, and nutrient-cycling feedbacks that increase nutrient stores and supply rates over the long term. These experimentally observed effects of diversity are consistent with predictions based on a variety of theories that share a common feature: All have trade-off-based mechanisms that allow long-term coexistence of many different competing species. Diversity loss has an effect as great as, or greater than, the effects of herbivory, fire, drought, nitrogen addition, elevated CO 2, and other drivers of environmental change. The preservation, conservation, and restoration of biodiversity should be a high global priority.

@article{doi101146annurevecolsys120213091917,
    author = "Tilman, David and Isbell, Forest and Cowles, Jane",
    title = "Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning",
    year = "2012",
    journal = "Annual Review of Ecology Evolution and Systematics",
    abstract = "Species diversity is a major determinant of ecosystem productivity, stability, invasibility, and nutrient dynamics. Hundreds of studies spanning terrestrial, aquatic, and marine ecosystems show that high-diversity mixtures are approximately twice as productive as monocultures of the same species and that this difference increases through time. These impacts of higher diversity have multiple causes, including interspecific complementarity, greater use of limiting resources, decreased herbivory and disease, and nutrient-cycling feedbacks that increase nutrient stores and supply rates over the long term. These experimentally observed effects of diversity are consistent with predictions based on a variety of theories that share a common feature: All have trade-off-based mechanisms that allow long-term coexistence of many different competing species. Diversity loss has an effect as great as, or greater than, the effects of herbivory, fire, drought, nitrogen addition, elevated CO 2, and other drivers of environmental change. The preservation, conservation, and restoration of biodiversity should be a high global priority.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-120213-091917",
    doi = "10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-120213-091917",
    openalex = "W2133946740",
    references = "doi1010079781489972149, doi10103823932, doi101038307321a0, doi101038nature05202, doi101038nature11148, doi101086282070, doi101086282146, doi101111j14610248200600963x, doi101126science1060391, doi101126science1064088, doi101126science1132294, doi101126science1172460, doi1015159780691206912, doi1018900012965819990801455tecoci20co2, doi1018900012965820020831713eogpsd20co2, doi101890040922, doi1023072402622, openalexw2077454220"
}

Wetlands are among the most productive and economically valuable ecosystems in the world. However, because of human activities, over half of the wetland ecosystems existing in North America, Europe, Australia, and China in the early 20th century have been lost. Ecological restoration to recover critical ecosystem services has been widely attempted, but the degree of actual recovery of ecosystem functioning and structure from these efforts remains uncertain. Our results from a meta-analysis of 621 wetland sites from throughout the world show that even a century after restoration efforts, biological structure (driven mostly by plant assemblages), and biogeochemical functioning (driven primarily by the storage of carbon in wetland soils), remained on average 26% and 23% lower, respectively, than in reference sites. Either recovery has been very slow, or postdisturbance systems have moved towards alternative states that differ from reference conditions. We also found significant effects of environmental settings on the rate and degree of recovery. Large wetland areas (>100 ha) and wetlands restored in warm (temperate and tropical) climates recovered more rapidly than smaller wetlands and wetlands restored in cold climates. Also, wetlands experiencing more (riverine and tidal) hydrologic exchange recovered more rapidly than depressional wetlands. Restoration performance is limited: current restoration practice fails to recover original levels of wetland ecosystem functions, even after many decades. If restoration as currently practiced is used to justify further degradation, global loss of wetland ecosystem function and structure will spread.

@article{doi101371journalpbio1001247,
    author = "Moreno‐Mateos, David and Power, Mary E. and Comı́n, Francisco A. and Yockteng, Roxana",
    title = "Structural and Functional Loss in Restored Wetland Ecosystems",
    year = "2012",
    journal = "PLoS Biology",
    abstract = "Wetlands are among the most productive and economically valuable ecosystems in the world. However, because of human activities, over half of the wetland ecosystems existing in North America, Europe, Australia, and China in the early 20th century have been lost. Ecological restoration to recover critical ecosystem services has been widely attempted, but the degree of actual recovery of ecosystem functioning and structure from these efforts remains uncertain. Our results from a meta-analysis of 621 wetland sites from throughout the world show that even a century after restoration efforts, biological structure (driven mostly by plant assemblages), and biogeochemical functioning (driven primarily by the storage of carbon in wetland soils), remained on average 26\% and 23\% lower, respectively, than in reference sites. Either recovery has been very slow, or postdisturbance systems have moved towards alternative states that differ from reference conditions. We also found significant effects of environmental settings on the rate and degree of recovery. Large wetland areas (>100 ha) and wetlands restored in warm (temperate and tropical) climates recovered more rapidly than smaller wetlands and wetlands restored in cold climates. Also, wetlands experiencing more (riverine and tidal) hydrologic exchange recovered more rapidly than depressional wetlands. Restoration performance is limited: current restoration practice fails to recover original levels of wetland ecosystem functions, even after many decades. If restoration as currently practiced is used to justify further degradation, global loss of wetland ecosystem function and structure will spread.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001247",
    doi = "10.1371/journal.pbio.1001247",
    openalex = "W2041396888",
    references = "doi101007s004420000544, doi101016jtree200310005, doi101016jtree200905012, doi101038387253a0, doi101038nature05202, doi101111j14610248200801164x, doi101126science1172460, doi1011270941294820060130, doi1012019781003059813, doi105194hess1116332007, openalexw1596646469"
}

Alterations to the natural flow regime affect the structure and function of rivers and wetlands and contribute to loss of biodiversity worldwide. Although the effects of flow regulation have been relatively well studied, a lack of synthesis of the ecological consequences of low flows and droughts impedes research progress and our grasp of the mechanistic effects of human-induced water reductions on riverine ecosystems. We identified 6 ecologically relevant hydrological attributes of low flow (antecedent conditions, duration, magnitude, timing and seasonality, rate of change, and frequency) that act within the temporal hierarchy of the flow regime and a spatial context. We synthesized the literature to propose 4 principles that outline the mechanistic links between these low-flow attributes and the processes and patterns within riverine ecosystems. First, low flows control the extent of physical aquatic habitat, thereby affecting the composition of biota, trophic structure, and carrying capacity. Second, low flows mediate changes in habitat conditions and water quality, which in turn, drive patterns of distribution and recruitment of biota. Third, low flows affect sources and exchange of material and energy in riverine ecosystems, thereby affecting ecosystem production and biotic composition. Last, low flows restrict connectivity and diversity of habitat, thereby increasing the importance of refugia and driving multiscale patterns in biotic diversity. These principles do not operate in isolation, and many of the ecological pathways that are affected by low flows are likely to overlap or occur simultaneously, potentially resulting in synergistic and complex effects. Last, we outlined major human-induced threats to low-flow hydrology and how they act upon the ecologically relevant hydrological attributes of low flow to affect potential changes in riverine ecosystem integrity. The mechanistic links described in this synthesis can be used to develop and test hypotheses of low-flow hydrological-ecological response relationships in a cause-effect framework that will have value for both research and river flow management. Continued experimental research and ongoing consolidation of ecological information will improve our understanding and ability to predict consequences of low-flow alteration on river, floodplain, and estuarine ecosystems.

@article{doi101899120021,
    author = "Rolls, Robert J. and Leigh, Catherine and Sheldon, Fran",
    title = "Mechanistic effects of low-flow hydrology on riverine ecosystems: ecological principles and consequences of alteration",
    year = "2012",
    journal = "Freshwater Science",
    abstract = "Alterations to the natural flow regime affect the structure and function of rivers and wetlands and contribute to loss of biodiversity worldwide. Although the effects of flow regulation have been relatively well studied, a lack of synthesis of the ecological consequences of low flows and droughts impedes research progress and our grasp of the mechanistic effects of human-induced water reductions on riverine ecosystems. We identified 6 ecologically relevant hydrological attributes of low flow (antecedent conditions, duration, magnitude, timing and seasonality, rate of change, and frequency) that act within the temporal hierarchy of the flow regime and a spatial context. We synthesized the literature to propose 4 principles that outline the mechanistic links between these low-flow attributes and the processes and patterns within riverine ecosystems. First, low flows control the extent of physical aquatic habitat, thereby affecting the composition of biota, trophic structure, and carrying capacity. Second, low flows mediate changes in habitat conditions and water quality, which in turn, drive patterns of distribution and recruitment of biota. Third, low flows affect sources and exchange of material and energy in riverine ecosystems, thereby affecting ecosystem production and biotic composition. Last, low flows restrict connectivity and diversity of habitat, thereby increasing the importance of refugia and driving multiscale patterns in biotic diversity. These principles do not operate in isolation, and many of the ecological pathways that are affected by low flows are likely to overlap or occur simultaneously, potentially resulting in synergistic and complex effects. Last, we outlined major human-induced threats to low-flow hydrology and how they act upon the ecologically relevant hydrological attributes of low flow to affect potential changes in riverine ecosystem integrity. The mechanistic links described in this synthesis can be used to develop and test hypotheses of low-flow hydrological-ecological response relationships in a cause-effect framework that will have value for both research and river flow management. Continued experimental research and ongoing consolidation of ecological information will improve our understanding and ability to predict consequences of low-flow alteration on river, floodplain, and estuarine ecosystems.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1899/12-002.1",
    doi = "10.1899/12-002.1",
    openalex = "W2136831558",
    references = "doi101007bf01867358, doi101007s0026700227370, doi101016jtree200309002, doi101016jtree200310002, doi101038nature04312, doi101111j14610248201001552x, doi101126science1155398, doi101899040281, doi1023071313099, openalexw2297370949"
}

Abstract Assessing the success of ecological restoration projects is critical to justify the use of restoration in natural resource management and to improve best practice. Although there are extensive discussions surrounding the characteristics that define and measure successful restoration, monitoring or evaluation of projects in practice is widely thought to have lagged behind. We conducted a literature review to determine trends in evaluations of restoration projects and identify key knowledge gaps that need to be addressed. We searched the Web of Knowledge plus two additional restoration journals not found in the database for empirical papers that assessed restoration projects post‐implementation. We quantified the extent that key attributes of success, including ecological (vegetation structure, species diversity and abundance, and ecosystem functioning) and socioeconomic, were addressed by these papers along with trends in publication and restoration characteristics. Encouragingly, we found the number of empirical evaluations has grown substantially in recent years. The increased age of restoration projects and number of papers that assessed ecological functions since previous reviews of the literature is also a positive development. Research is still heavily skewed toward United States and Australia, however, and identifying an appropriate reference site needs further investigation. Of particular concern is the dearth of papers identified in the literature search that included any measure of socioeconomic attributes. Focusing future empirical research on quantifying ecosystem services and other socioeconomic outcomes is essential for understanding the full benefits and costs of ecological restoration and to support its use in natural resource management.

@article{doi101111rec12028,
    author = "Wortley, Liana and Hero, Jean‐Marc and Howes, Michael",
    title = "Evaluating Ecological Restoration Success: A Review of the Literature",
    year = "2013",
    journal = "Restoration Ecology",
    abstract = "Abstract Assessing the success of ecological restoration projects is critical to justify the use of restoration in natural resource management and to improve best practice. Although there are extensive discussions surrounding the characteristics that define and measure successful restoration, monitoring or evaluation of projects in practice is widely thought to have lagged behind. We conducted a literature review to determine trends in evaluations of restoration projects and identify key knowledge gaps that need to be addressed. We searched the Web of Knowledge plus two additional restoration journals not found in the database for empirical papers that assessed restoration projects post‐implementation. We quantified the extent that key attributes of success, including ecological (vegetation structure, species diversity and abundance, and ecosystem functioning) and socioeconomic, were addressed by these papers along with trends in publication and restoration characteristics. Encouragingly, we found the number of empirical evaluations has grown substantially in recent years. The increased age of restoration projects and number of papers that assessed ecological functions since previous reviews of the literature is also a positive development. Research is still heavily skewed toward United States and Australia, however, and identifying an appropriate reference site needs further investigation. Of particular concern is the dearth of papers identified in the literature search that included any measure of socioeconomic attributes. Focusing future empirical research on quantifying ecosystem services and other socioeconomic outcomes is essential for understanding the full benefits and costs of ecological restoration and to support its use in natural resource management.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.12028",
    doi = "10.1111/rec.12028",
    openalex = "W2162347291",
    references = "doi101126science1172460"
}

Abstract Hydroelectricity is increasingly used worldwide as a source of renewable energy, and many mountain ranges have dozens or hundreds of hydropower plants, with many more being under construction or planned. Although the ecological impacts of large dams are relatively well known, the effects of small hydropower plants and their weirs have been much less investigated. We studied the effects of water diversion of small hydropower plants on fish assemblages in the upper Ter river basin (Catalonia, NE Spain), which has headwater reaches with good water quality and no large dams but many of such plants. We studied fish populations and habitat features on control and impacted reaches for water diversion of 16 hydropower plants. In the impacted reaches, there was a significantly lower presence of refuges for fish, poorer habitat quality, more pools and less riffles and macrophytes, and shallower water levels. We also observed higher fish abundance, larger mean fish size and better fish condition in the control than in impacted reaches, although the results were species‐specific. Accordingly, species composition was also affected, with lower relative abundance of brown trout (Salmo trutta) and Pyrenean minnow (Phoxinus bigerri) in the impacted reaches and higher presence of stone loach (Barbatula quignardi) and Mediterranean barbel (Barbus meridionalis). Our study highlights the effects of water diversion of small hydropower plants from the individual to the population and community levels but probably underestimates them, urging for further assessment and mitigation of these ecological impacts.

@article{doi101111eff12210,
    author = "Benejam, Lluís and Saura‐Mas, Sandra and Bardina, Mònica and Solà, Carolina and Munné, Antoni and García‐Berthou, Emili",
    title = "Ecological impacts of small hydropower plants on headwater stream fish: from individual to community effects",
    year = "2014",
    journal = "Ecology Of Freshwater Fish",
    abstract = "Abstract Hydroelectricity is increasingly used worldwide as a source of renewable energy, and many mountain ranges have dozens or hundreds of hydropower plants, with many more being under construction or planned. Although the ecological impacts of large dams are relatively well known, the effects of small hydropower plants and their weirs have been much less investigated. We studied the effects of water diversion of small hydropower plants on fish assemblages in the upper Ter river basin (Catalonia, NE Spain), which has headwater reaches with good water quality and no large dams but many of such plants. We studied fish populations and habitat features on control and impacted reaches for water diversion of 16 hydropower plants. In the impacted reaches, there was a significantly lower presence of refuges for fish, poorer habitat quality, more pools and less riffles and macrophytes, and shallower water levels. We also observed higher fish abundance, larger mean fish size and better fish condition in the control than in impacted reaches, although the results were species‐specific. Accordingly, species composition was also affected, with lower relative abundance of brown trout (Salmo trutta) and Pyrenean minnow (Phoxinus bigerri) in the impacted reaches and higher presence of stone loach (Barbatula quignardi) and Mediterranean barbel (Barbus meridionalis). Our study highlights the effects of water diversion of small hydropower plants from the individual to the population and community levels but probably underestimates them, urging for further assessment and mitigation of these ecological impacts.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1111/eff.12210",
    doi = "10.1111/eff.12210",
    openalex = "W2065518213",
    references = "doi101899120021"
}

The introduction of invasive species, which often differ functionally from the components of the recipient community, generates ecological impacts that propagate along the food web. This review aims to determine how consistent the impacts of aquatic invasions are across taxa and habitats. To that end, we present a global meta-analysis from 151 publications (733 cases), covering a wide range of invaders (primary producers, filter collectors, omnivores and predators), resident aquatic community components (macrophytes, phytoplankton, zooplankton, benthic invertebrates and fish) and habitats (rivers, lakes and estuaries). Our synthesis suggests a strong negative influence of invasive species on the abundance of aquatic communities, particularly macrophytes, zooplankton and fish. In contrast, there was no general evidence for a decrease in species diversity in invaded habitats, suggesting a time lag between rapid abundance changes and local extinctions. Invaded habitats showed increased water turbidity, nitrogen and organic matter concentration, which are related to the capacity of invaders to transform habitats and increase eutrophication. The expansion of invasive macrophytes caused the largest decrease in fish abundance, the filtering activity of filter collectors depleted planktonic communities, omnivores (including both facultative and obligate herbivores) were responsible for the greatest decline in macrophyte abundance, and benthic invertebrates were most negatively affected by the introduction of new predators. These impacts were relatively consistent across habitats and experimental approaches. Based on our results, we propose a framework of positive and negative links between invasive species at four trophic positions and the five different components of recipient communities. This framework incorporates both direct biotic interactions (predation, competition, grazing) and indirect changes to the water physicochemical conditions mediated by invaders (habitat alteration). Considering the strong trophic links that characterize aquatic ecosystems, this framework is relevant to anticipate the far-reaching consequences of biological invasions on the structure and functionality of aquatic ecosystems.

@article{doi101111gcb13004,
    author = "Gallardo, Belinda and Clavero, Miguel and Sánchez, Marta I. and Vilà, Montserrat",
    title = "Global ecological impacts of invasive species in aquatic ecosystems",
    year = "2015",
    journal = "Global Change Biology",
    abstract = "The introduction of invasive species, which often differ functionally from the components of the recipient community, generates ecological impacts that propagate along the food web. This review aims to determine how consistent the impacts of aquatic invasions are across taxa and habitats. To that end, we present a global meta-analysis from 151 publications (733 cases), covering a wide range of invaders (primary producers, filter collectors, omnivores and predators), resident aquatic community components (macrophytes, phytoplankton, zooplankton, benthic invertebrates and fish) and habitats (rivers, lakes and estuaries). Our synthesis suggests a strong negative influence of invasive species on the abundance of aquatic communities, particularly macrophytes, zooplankton and fish. In contrast, there was no general evidence for a decrease in species diversity in invaded habitats, suggesting a time lag between rapid abundance changes and local extinctions. Invaded habitats showed increased water turbidity, nitrogen and organic matter concentration, which are related to the capacity of invaders to transform habitats and increase eutrophication. The expansion of invasive macrophytes caused the largest decrease in fish abundance, the filtering activity of filter collectors depleted planktonic communities, omnivores (including both facultative and obligate herbivores) were responsible for the greatest decline in macrophyte abundance, and benthic invertebrates were most negatively affected by the introduction of new predators. These impacts were relatively consistent across habitats and experimental approaches. Based on our results, we propose a framework of positive and negative links between invasive species at four trophic positions and the five different components of recipient communities. This framework incorporates both direct biotic interactions (predation, competition, grazing) and indirect changes to the water physicochemical conditions mediated by invaders (habitat alteration). Considering the strong trophic links that characterize aquatic ecosystems, this framework is relevant to anticipate the far-reaching consequences of biological invasions on the structure and functionality of aquatic ecosystems.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13004",
    doi = "10.1111/gcb.13004",
    openalex = "W2167895849",
    references = "doi101016s0169534799017231, doi101111j14610248201101628x, doi101126science1172460"
}

Abstract. The Arctic is a water-rich region, with freshwater systems covering about 16 % of the northern permafrost landscape. Permafrost thaw creates new freshwater ecosystems, while at the same time modifying the existing lakes, streams, and rivers that are impacted by thaw. Here, we describe the current state of knowledge regarding how permafrost thaw affects lentic (still) and lotic (moving) systems, exploring the effects of both thermokarst (thawing and collapse of ice-rich permafrost) and deepening of the active layer (the surface soil layer that thaws and refreezes each year). Within thermokarst, we further differentiate between the effects of thermokarst in lowland areas vs. that on hillslopes. For almost all of the processes that we explore, the effects of thaw vary regionally, and between lake and stream systems. Much of this regional variation is caused by differences in ground ice content, topography, soil type, and permafrost coverage. Together, these modifying factors determine (i) the degree to which permafrost thaw manifests as thermokarst, (ii) whether thermokarst leads to slumping or the formation of thermokarst lakes, and (iii) the manner in which constituent delivery to freshwater systems is altered by thaw. Differences in thaw-enabled constituent delivery can be considerable, with these modifying factors determining, for example, the balance between delivery of particulate vs. dissolved constituents, and inorganic vs. organic materials. Changes in the composition of thaw-impacted waters, coupled with changes in lake morphology, can strongly affect the physical and optical properties of thermokarst lakes. The ecology of thaw-impacted lakes and streams is also likely to change; these systems have unique microbiological communities, and show differences in respiration, primary production, and food web structure that are largely driven by differences in sediment, dissolved organic matter, and nutrient delivery. The degree to which thaw enables the delivery of dissolved vs. particulate organic matter, coupled with the composition of that organic matter and the morphology and stratification characteristics of recipient systems will play an important role in determining the balance between the release of organic matter as greenhouse gases (CO2 and CH4), its burial in sediments, and its loss downstream. The magnitude of thaw impacts on northern aquatic ecosystems is increasing, as is the prevalence of thaw-impacted lakes and streams. There is therefore an urgent need to quantify how permafrost thaw is affecting aquatic ecosystems across diverse Arctic landscapes, and the implications of this change for further climate warming.

@article{doi105194bg1271292015,
    author = "Vonk, Jorien E. and Tank, Suzanne E. and Bowden, William B. and Laurion, Isabelle and Vincent, Warwick F. and Alekseychik, Pavel and Amyot, Marc and Billet, M. F. and Canário, João and Cory, Rose M. and Deshpande, Bethany and Helbig, Manuel and Jammet, Mathilde and Karlsson, J. and Larouche, J. R. and MacMillan, Gwyneth A. and Rautio, Milla and Anthony, Katey Walter and Wickland, Kimberly P.",
    title = "Reviews and syntheses: Effects of permafrost thaw on Arctic aquatic ecosystems",
    year = "2015",
    journal = "Biogeosciences",
    abstract = "Abstract. The Arctic is a water-rich region, with freshwater systems covering about 16 \% of the northern permafrost landscape. Permafrost thaw creates new freshwater ecosystems, while at the same time modifying the existing lakes, streams, and rivers that are impacted by thaw. Here, we describe the current state of knowledge regarding how permafrost thaw affects lentic (still) and lotic (moving) systems, exploring the effects of both thermokarst (thawing and collapse of ice-rich permafrost) and deepening of the active layer (the surface soil layer that thaws and refreezes each year). Within thermokarst, we further differentiate between the effects of thermokarst in lowland areas vs. that on hillslopes. For almost all of the processes that we explore, the effects of thaw vary regionally, and between lake and stream systems. Much of this regional variation is caused by differences in ground ice content, topography, soil type, and permafrost coverage. Together, these modifying factors determine (i) the degree to which permafrost thaw manifests as thermokarst, (ii) whether thermokarst leads to slumping or the formation of thermokarst lakes, and (iii) the manner in which constituent delivery to freshwater systems is altered by thaw. Differences in thaw-enabled constituent delivery can be considerable, with these modifying factors determining, for example, the balance between delivery of particulate vs. dissolved constituents, and inorganic vs. organic materials. Changes in the composition of thaw-impacted waters, coupled with changes in lake morphology, can strongly affect the physical and optical properties of thermokarst lakes. The ecology of thaw-impacted lakes and streams is also likely to change; these systems have unique microbiological communities, and show differences in respiration, primary production, and food web structure that are largely driven by differences in sediment, dissolved organic matter, and nutrient delivery. The degree to which thaw enables the delivery of dissolved vs. particulate organic matter, coupled with the composition of that organic matter and the morphology and stratification characteristics of recipient systems will play an important role in determining the balance between the release of organic matter as greenhouse gases (CO2 and CH4), its burial in sediments, and its loss downstream. The magnitude of thaw impacts on northern aquatic ecosystems is increasing, as is the prevalence of thaw-impacted lakes and streams. There is therefore an urgent need to quantify how permafrost thaw is affecting aquatic ecosystems across diverse Arctic landscapes, and the implications of this change for further climate warming.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-7129-2015",
    doi = "10.5194/bg-12-7129-2015",
    openalex = "W2149888331",
    references = "doi101002hyp7196, doi101006qres19960031, doi101007s1002100690138, doi101016jjhydrol200403028, doi101017cbo9781107415324018, doi1010292007gl030216, doi1010292008gb003327, doi101038nature14338, doi101038nrmicro1750, doi101126science1142924, doi101139f80017, doi1011751520047720010822415fantts23co2, doi1018900820251, doi103389fmicb201500192, doi104319lo2009546part22298, openalexw1979335362"
}

Abstract Numerous international scientific assessments and related articles have, during the last decade, described the observed and potential impacts of climate change as well as other related environmental stressors on Arctic ecosystems. There is increasing recognition that observed and projected changes in freshwater sources, fluxes, and storage will have profound implications for the physical, biogeochemical, biological, and ecological processes and properties of Arctic terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems. However, a significant level of uncertainty remains in relation to forecasting the impacts of an intensified hydrological regime and related cryospheric change on ecosystem structure and function. As the terrestrial and freshwater ecology component of the Arctic Freshwater Synthesis, we review these uncertainties and recommend enhanced coordinated circumpolar research and monitoring efforts to improve quantification and prediction of how an altered hydrological regime influences local, regional, and circumpolar‐level responses in terrestrial and freshwater systems. Specifically, we evaluate (i) changes in ecosystem productivity; (ii) alterations in ecosystem‐level biogeochemical cycling and chemical transport; (iii) altered landscapes, successional trajectories, and creation of new habitats; (iv) altered seasonality and phenological mismatches; and (v) gains or losses of species and associated trophic interactions. We emphasize the need for developing a process‐based understanding of interecosystem interactions, along with improved predictive models. We recommend enhanced use of the catchment scale as an integrated unit of study, thereby more explicitly considering the physical, chemical, and ecological processes and fluxes across a full freshwater continuum in a geographic region and spatial range of hydroecological units (e.g., stream‐pond‐lake‐river‐near shore marine environments).

@article{doi1010022015jg003133,
    author = "Wrona, Frederick J. and Johansson, Margareta and Culp, Joseph M. and Jenkins, Alan and Mård, Johanna and Myers‐Smith, Isla H. and Prowse, Terry D. and Vincent, Warwick F. and Wookey, Philip A.",
    title = "Transitions in Arctic ecosystems: Ecological implications of a changing hydrological regime",
    year = "2016",
    journal = "Journal of Geophysical Research Biogeosciences",
    abstract = "Abstract Numerous international scientific assessments and related articles have, during the last decade, described the observed and potential impacts of climate change as well as other related environmental stressors on Arctic ecosystems. There is increasing recognition that observed and projected changes in freshwater sources, fluxes, and storage will have profound implications for the physical, biogeochemical, biological, and ecological processes and properties of Arctic terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems. However, a significant level of uncertainty remains in relation to forecasting the impacts of an intensified hydrological regime and related cryospheric change on ecosystem structure and function. As the terrestrial and freshwater ecology component of the Arctic Freshwater Synthesis, we review these uncertainties and recommend enhanced coordinated circumpolar research and monitoring efforts to improve quantification and prediction of how an altered hydrological regime influences local, regional, and circumpolar‐level responses in terrestrial and freshwater systems. Specifically, we evaluate (i) changes in ecosystem productivity; (ii) alterations in ecosystem‐level biogeochemical cycling and chemical transport; (iii) altered landscapes, successional trajectories, and creation of new habitats; (iv) altered seasonality and phenological mismatches; and (v) gains or losses of species and associated trophic interactions. We emphasize the need for developing a process‐based understanding of interecosystem interactions, along with improved predictive models. We recommend enhanced use of the catchment scale as an integrated unit of study, thereby more explicitly considering the physical, chemical, and ecological processes and fluxes across a full freshwater continuum in a geographic region and spatial range of hydroecological units (e.g., stream‐pond‐lake‐river‐near shore marine environments).",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1002/2015jg003133",
    doi = "10.1002/2015jg003133",
    openalex = "W2293141016",
    references = "doi1010022015jg003131, doi1010022015jg003132, doi101007s1058400553522, doi101016jearscirev201002004, doi101016jtree200309002, doi1010881748932664045509, doi101126science1077445, doi101139f80017, doi101146annureves04110173000245, doi101641b580807, doi101890040922, doi103389fmicb201500192, openalexw1520428197"
}

@article{doi101038nature16986,
    author = "Seddon, Alistair W. R. and Macias‐Fauria, Marc and Long, Peter R. and Benz, David and Willis, Kathy J.",
    title = "Sensitivity of global terrestrial ecosystems to climate variability",
    year = "2016",
    journal = "Nature",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1038/nature16986",
    doi = "10.1038/nature16986",
    openalex = "W2283727311",
    references = "doi1010881748932664045509"
}

Bivalve molluscs are abundant in marine and freshwater ecosystems and perform important ecological functions. Bivalves have epifaunal or infaunal lifestyles but are largely filter feeders that couple the water column and benthos. Bivalve ecology is a large field of study, but few comparisons among aquatic ecosystems or lifestyles have been conducted. Bivalves impact nutrient cycling, create and modify habitat, and affect food webs directly (i.e., prey) and indirectly (i.e., movement of nutrients and energy). Materials accumulated in soft tissue and shells are used as environmental monitors. Freshwater mussel and oyster aggregations in rivers and estuaries are hot spots for biodiversity and biogeochemical transformations. Historically, human use includes food, tools, currency, and ornamentation. Bivalves provide direct benefits to modern cultures as food, building materials, and jewelry and provide indirect benefits by stabilizing shorelines and mitigating nutrient pollution. Research on bivalve-mediated ecological processes is diverse, and future synthesis will require collaboration across conventional disciplinary boundaries.

@article{doi101146annurevecolsys110617062703,
    author = "Vaughn, Caryn C. and Hoellein, Timothy J.",
    title = "Bivalve Impacts in Freshwater and Marine Ecosystems",
    year = "2018",
    journal = "Annual Review of Ecology Evolution and Systematics",
    abstract = "Bivalve molluscs are abundant in marine and freshwater ecosystems and perform important ecological functions. Bivalves have epifaunal or infaunal lifestyles but are largely filter feeders that couple the water column and benthos. Bivalve ecology is a large field of study, but few comparisons among aquatic ecosystems or lifestyles have been conducted. Bivalves impact nutrient cycling, create and modify habitat, and affect food webs directly (i.e., prey) and indirectly (i.e., movement of nutrients and energy). Materials accumulated in soft tissue and shells are used as environmental monitors. Freshwater mussel and oyster aggregations in rivers and estuaries are hot spots for biodiversity and biogeochemical transformations. Historically, human use includes food, tools, currency, and ornamentation. Bivalves provide direct benefits to modern cultures as food, building materials, and jewelry and provide indirect benefits by stabilizing shorelines and mitigating nutrient pollution. Research on bivalve-mediated ecological processes is diverse, and future synthesis will require collaboration across conventional disciplinary boundaries.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-110617-062703",
    doi = "10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-110617-062703",
    openalex = "W2885405672",
    references = "doi101146annurevecolsys121415032349"
}

The Arctic may seem remote, but the unprecedented environmental changes occurring there have important consequences for global society. Of all Arctic system components, changes in permafrost (perennially frozen ground) are one of the least documented. Permafrost is degrading as a result of climate warming, and evidence is mounting that changing permafrost will have significant impacts within and outside the region. This review asks: What are key structural and functional properties of ecosystems that interact with changing permafrost, and how do these ecosystem changes affect local and global society? Here, we look beyond the classic definition of permafrost to include a broadened focus on the composition of frozen ground, including the ice and the soil organic carbon content, and how it is changing. This ecological perspective of permafrost serves to identify areas of both vulnerability and resilience as climate, ecological disturbance regimes, and the human footprint all continue to change in this sensitive and critical region of Earth.

@article{doi101146annurevecolsys121415032349,
    author = "Schuur, Edward A. G. and Mack, Michelle C.",
    title = "Ecological Response to Permafrost Thaw and Consequences for Local and Global Ecosystem Services",
    year = "2018",
    journal = "Annual Review of Ecology Evolution and Systematics",
    abstract = "The Arctic may seem remote, but the unprecedented environmental changes occurring there have important consequences for global society. Of all Arctic system components, changes in permafrost (perennially frozen ground) are one of the least documented. Permafrost is degrading as a result of climate warming, and evidence is mounting that changing permafrost will have significant impacts within and outside the region. This review asks: What are key structural and functional properties of ecosystems that interact with changing permafrost, and how do these ecosystem changes affect local and global society? Here, we look beyond the classic definition of permafrost to include a broadened focus on the composition of frozen ground, including the ice and the soil organic carbon content, and how it is changing. This ecological perspective of permafrost serves to identify areas of both vulnerability and resilience as climate, ecological disturbance regimes, and the human footprint all continue to change in this sensitive and critical region of Earth.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-121415-032349",
    doi = "10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-121415-032349",
    openalex = "W2898973969",
    references = "doi1010022015jg003133, doi1010292008gb003327, doi101038nature08031, doi101038nature14338, doi1010881748932664045509, doi1016410006356820010510933teotwa20co2, doi101641b580807, doi1018901051076120000100423tvdoso20co2, doi1023071941811, doi105194bg1165732014, doi105194bg1271292015, doi105194essd96972017"
}

@article{doi101016jearscirev2020103446,
    author = "Žák, Dominik and Hupfer, Michael and Cabezas, Álvaro and Jurasinski, Gerald and Audet, Joachim and Kleeberg, Andreas and McInnes, Robert J. and Kristiansen, Søren Munch and Petersen, Rasmus Jes and Liu, Haojie and Goldhammer, Tobias",
    title = "Sulphate in freshwater ecosystems: A review of sources, biogeochemical cycles, ecotoxicological effects and bioremediation",
    year = "2020",
    journal = "Earth-Science Reviews",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2020.103446",
    doi = "10.1016/j.earscirev.2020.103446",
    openalex = "W3107435934",
    references = "doi1010022017rg000559"
}

Abstract Vegetation composition shifts, and in particular, shrub expansion across the Arctic tundra are some of the most important and widely observed responses of high-latitude ecosystems to rapid climate warming. These changes in vegetation potentially alter ecosystem carbon balances by affecting a complex set of soil–plant–atmosphere interactions. In this review, we synthesize the literature on (a) observed shrub expansion, (b) key climatic and environmental controls and mechanisms that affect shrub expansion, (c) impacts of shrub expansion on ecosystem carbon balance, and (d) research gaps and future directions to improve process representations in land models. A broad range of evidence, including in-situ observations, warming experiments, and remotely sensed vegetation indices have shown increases in growth and abundance of woody plants, particularly tall deciduous shrubs, and advancing shrublines across the circumpolar Arctic. This recent shrub expansion is affected by several interacting factors including climate warming, accelerated nutrient cycling, changing disturbance regimes, and local variation in topography and hydrology. Under warmer conditions, tall deciduous shrubs can be more competitive than other plant functional types in tundra ecosystems because of their taller maximum canopy heights and often dense canopy structure. Competitive abilities of tall deciduous shrubs vs herbaceous plants are also controlled by variation in traits that affect carbon and nutrient investments and retention strategies in leaves, stems, and roots. Overall, shrub expansion may affect tundra carbon balances by enhancing ecosystem carbon uptake and altering ecosystem respiration, and through complex feedback mechanisms that affect snowpack dynamics, permafrost degradation, surface energy balance, and litter inputs. Observed and projected tall deciduous shrub expansion and the subsequent effects on surface energy and carbon balances may alter feedbacks to the climate system. Land models, including those integrated in Earth System Models, need to account for differences in plant traits that control competitive interactions to accurately predict decadal- to centennial-scale tundra vegetation and carbon dynamics.

@article{doi10108817489326abf28b,
    author = "Mekonnen, Z. A. and Riley, W. J. and Berner, Logan T. and Bouskill, Nicholas and Torn, Margaret and Iwahana, Go and Breen, Amy and Myers‐Smith, Isla H. and Criado, Mariana García and Liu, Yanlan and Euskirchen, E. S. and Goetz, S. J. and Mack, Michelle C. and Grant, R. F.",
    title = "Arctic tundra shrubification: a review of mechanisms and impacts on ecosystem carbon balance",
    year = "2021",
    journal = "Environmental Research Letters",
    abstract = "Abstract Vegetation composition shifts, and in particular, shrub expansion across the Arctic tundra are some of the most important and widely observed responses of high-latitude ecosystems to rapid climate warming. These changes in vegetation potentially alter ecosystem carbon balances by affecting a complex set of soil–plant–atmosphere interactions. In this review, we synthesize the literature on (a) observed shrub expansion, (b) key climatic and environmental controls and mechanisms that affect shrub expansion, (c) impacts of shrub expansion on ecosystem carbon balance, and (d) research gaps and future directions to improve process representations in land models. A broad range of evidence, including in-situ observations, warming experiments, and remotely sensed vegetation indices have shown increases in growth and abundance of woody plants, particularly tall deciduous shrubs, and advancing shrublines across the circumpolar Arctic. This recent shrub expansion is affected by several interacting factors including climate warming, accelerated nutrient cycling, changing disturbance regimes, and local variation in topography and hydrology. Under warmer conditions, tall deciduous shrubs can be more competitive than other plant functional types in tundra ecosystems because of their taller maximum canopy heights and often dense canopy structure. Competitive abilities of tall deciduous shrubs vs herbaceous plants are also controlled by variation in traits that affect carbon and nutrient investments and retention strategies in leaves, stems, and roots. Overall, shrub expansion may affect tundra carbon balances by enhancing ecosystem carbon uptake and altering ecosystem respiration, and through complex feedback mechanisms that affect snowpack dynamics, permafrost degradation, surface energy balance, and litter inputs. Observed and projected tall deciduous shrub expansion and the subsequent effects on surface energy and carbon balances may alter feedbacks to the climate system. Land models, including those integrated in Earth System Models, need to account for differences in plant traits that control competitive interactions to accurately predict decadal- to centennial-scale tundra vegetation and carbon dynamics.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abf28b",
    doi = "10.1088/1748-9326/abf28b",
    openalex = "W3157366532",
    references = "doi101038ngeo2674, doi101038s4158601805637"
}

In this article we review the physical and chemical properties of methane (CH4) relevant to impacts on climate, ecosystems, and air pollution, and examine the extent to which this is reflected in climate and air pollution governance. Although CH4 is governed under the UNFCCC climate regime, its treatment there is limited to the ways in which it acts as a “CO2 equivalent” climate forcer on a 100-year time frame. The UNFCCC framework neglects the impacts that CH4 has on near-term climate, as well its impacts on human health and ecosystems, which are primarily mediated by methane’s role as a precursor to tropospheric ozone. Frameworks for air quality governance generally address tropospheric ozone as a pollutant, but do not regulate CH4 itself. Methane’s climate and air quality impacts, together with its alarming rise in atmospheric concentrations in recent years, make it clear that mitigation of CH4 emissions needs to be accelerated globally. We examine challenges and opportunities for further progress on CH4 mitigation within the international governance landscapes for climate change and air pollution.

@article{doi101016jenvsci202203027,
    author = "Mar, Kathleen A. and Unger, Charlotte and Walderdorff, Ludmila and Butler, Tim",
    title = "Beyond CO2 equivalence: The impacts of methane on climate, ecosystems, and health",
    year = "2022",
    journal = "Environmental Science \& Policy",
    abstract = "In this article we review the physical and chemical properties of methane (CH4) relevant to impacts on climate, ecosystems, and air pollution, and examine the extent to which this is reflected in climate and air pollution governance. Although CH4 is governed under the UNFCCC climate regime, its treatment there is limited to the ways in which it acts as a “CO2 equivalent” climate forcer on a 100-year time frame. The UNFCCC framework neglects the impacts that CH4 has on near-term climate, as well its impacts on human health and ecosystems, which are primarily mediated by methane’s role as a precursor to tropospheric ozone. Frameworks for air quality governance generally address tropospheric ozone as a pollutant, but do not regulate CH4 itself. Methane’s climate and air quality impacts, together with its alarming rise in atmospheric concentrations in recent years, make it clear that mitigation of CH4 emissions needs to be accelerated globally. We examine challenges and opportunities for further progress on CH4 mitigation within the international governance landscapes for climate change and air pollution.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2022.03.027",
    doi = "10.1016/j.envsci.2022.03.027",
    openalex = "W4225103235",
    references = "doi1010022017rg000559"
}

Snow is an important driver of ecosystem processes in cold biomes. Snow accumulation determines ground temperature, light conditions, and moisture availability during winter. It also affects the growing season’s start and end, and plant access to moisture and nutrients. Here, we review the current knowledge of the snow cover’s role for vegetation, plant-animal interactions, permafrost conditions, microbial processes, and biogeochemical cycling. We also compare studies of natural snow gradients with snow experimental manipulation studies to assess time scale difference of these approaches. The number of tundra snow studies has increased considerably in recent years, yet we still lack a comprehensive overview of how altered snow conditions will affect these ecosystems. Specifically, we found a mismatch in the timing of snowmelt when comparing studies of natural snow gradients with snow manipulations. We found that snowmelt timing achieved by snow addition and snow removal manipulations (average 7.9 days advance and 5.5 days delay, respectively) were substantially lower than the temporal variation over natural spatial gradients within a given year (mean range 56 days) or among years (mean range 32 days). Differences between snow study approaches need to be accounted for when projecting snow dynamics and their impact on ecosystems in future climates.

@article{doi101139as20200058,
    author = "Rixen, Christian and Høye, Toke T. and Macek, Petr and Aerts, Rien and Alatalo, Juha M. and Anderson, Jill T. and Arnold, Pieter A. and Barrio, Isabel C. and Bjerke, Jarle W. and Björkman, Mats P. and Blok, Daan and Blume‐Werry, Gesche and Boike, Julia and Bokhorst, Stef and Carbognani, Michele and Christiansen, Casper T. and Convey, Peter and Cooper, Elisabeth J. and Cornelissen, J. Hans C. and Coulson, Stephen J. and Dorrepaal, Ellen and Elberling, Bo and Elmendorf, Sarah C. and Elphinstone, Cassandra and Forte, T’ai G. W. and Frei, Esther R. and Geange, Sonya R. and Gehrmann, Friederike and Gibson, Casey and Grogan, Paul and Halbritter, Aud H. and Harte, John and Henry, Gregory H. R. and Inouye, David W. and Irwin, Rebecca E. and Jespersen, Gus and Jónsdóttir, Ingibjörg S. and Jung, Ji Young and Klinges, David H. and Kudo, Gaku and Lämsä, Juho and Lee, Hanna and Lembrechts, Jonas J. and Lett, Signe and Lynn, Joshua S. and Mann, Hjalte M. R. and Mastepanov, Mikhail and Morse, Jennifer F. and Myers‐Smith, Isla H. and Olofsson, Johan and Paavola, Riku and Petraglia, Alessandro and Phoenix, Gareth K. and Semenchuk, Philipp and Siewert, Matthias and Slatyer, Rachel and Spasojevic, Marko J. and Suding, Katharine N. and Sullivan, Patrick F. and Thompson, Kimberly L. and Väisänen, Maria and Vandvik, Vigdis and Venn, Susanna and Walz, Josefine and Way, Robert G. and Welker, J. M. and Wipf, Sonja and Zong, Shengwei",
    title = "Winters are changing: snow effects on Arctic and alpine tundra ecosystems",
    year = "2022",
    journal = "Arctic Science",
    abstract = "Snow is an important driver of ecosystem processes in cold biomes. Snow accumulation determines ground temperature, light conditions, and moisture availability during winter. It also affects the growing season’s start and end, and plant access to moisture and nutrients. Here, we review the current knowledge of the snow cover’s role for vegetation, plant-animal interactions, permafrost conditions, microbial processes, and biogeochemical cycling. We also compare studies of natural snow gradients with snow experimental manipulation studies to assess time scale difference of these approaches. The number of tundra snow studies has increased considerably in recent years, yet we still lack a comprehensive overview of how altered snow conditions will affect these ecosystems. Specifically, we found a mismatch in the timing of snowmelt when comparing studies of natural snow gradients with snow manipulations. We found that snowmelt timing achieved by snow addition and snow removal manipulations (average 7.9 days advance and 5.5 days delay, respectively) were substantially lower than the temporal variation over natural spatial gradients within a given year (mean range 56 days) or among years (mean range 32 days). Differences between snow study approaches need to be accounted for when projecting snow dynamics and their impact on ecosystems in future climates.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2020-0058",
    doi = "10.1139/as-2020-0058",
    openalex = "W4212974703",
    references = "doi101038s41598018344503"
}

Abstract Climate change is expected to impact the functioning of the entire Earth system. However, detecting changes in ecosystem dynamics and attributing such change to anthropogenic climate change has proved difficult. Here we analyse the vegetation dynamics of 100 sites representative of the diversity of terrestrial ecosystem types using remote-sensing data spanning the past 40 years and a dynamic model of plant growth, forced by climate reanalysis data. We detect a change in vegetation activity for all ecosystem types and find these changes can be attributed to trends in climate-system parameters. Ecosystems in dry and warm locations responded primarily to changes in soil moisture, whereas ecosystems in cooler locations responded primarily to changes in temperature. We find that the effects of CO 2 fertilization on vegetation are limited, potentially due to masking by other environmental drivers. Observed trend switching is widespread and dominated by shifts from greening to browning, suggesting many of the ecosystems studied are accumulating less carbon. Our study reveals a clear fingerprint of climate change in the change exhibited by terrestrial ecosystems over recent decades.

@article{doi101038s4156102201114x,
    author = "Higgins, Steven I. and Conradi, Timo and Muhoko, Edward",
    title = "Shifts in vegetation activity of terrestrial ecosystems attributable to climate trends",
    year = "2023",
    journal = "Nature Geoscience",
    abstract = "Abstract Climate change is expected to impact the functioning of the entire Earth system. However, detecting changes in ecosystem dynamics and attributing such change to anthropogenic climate change has proved difficult. Here we analyse the vegetation dynamics of 100 sites representative of the diversity of terrestrial ecosystem types using remote-sensing data spanning the past 40 years and a dynamic model of plant growth, forced by climate reanalysis data. We detect a change in vegetation activity for all ecosystem types and find these changes can be attributed to trends in climate-system parameters. Ecosystems in dry and warm locations responded primarily to changes in soil moisture, whereas ecosystems in cooler locations responded primarily to changes in temperature. We find that the effects of CO 2 fertilization on vegetation are limited, potentially due to masking by other environmental drivers. Observed trend switching is widespread and dominated by shifts from greening to browning, suggesting many of the ecosystems studied are accumulating less carbon. Our study reveals a clear fingerprint of climate change in the change exhibited by terrestrial ecosystems over recent decades.",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-022-01114-x",
    doi = "10.1038/s41561-022-01114-x",
    openalex = "W4319311840",
    references = "doi101038s4158601805637"
}

The fall webworm moth, Hyphantria cunea, is a highly invasive defoliator that threatens forest ecosystems in China. The parasitoid wasp Chouioia cunea has been mass-reared and widely released for biological control of H. cunea. Climate change can alter climatic suitability and potentially reshape the spatial matching between hosts and natural enemies, thereby affecting biological control outcomes. Here, we used an ensemble species distribution modeling (SDM) framework to project current (WorldClim 1971-2000) and future (2030s and 2050s) suitable habitats for H. cunea and C. cunea in China under three Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, and SSP5-8.5). We quantified changes in suitable area and host-parasitoid overlap and estimated climatic niche overlap using Schoener's D. Both species were projected to maintain broadly similar suitability patterns with a general northward shift and an increase in total suitable area under several scenarios, leading to extensive overlaps in eastern and central China. Schoener's D (0.738) indicated substantial climatic niche overlap between the two species. Among the retained predictors, the minimum temperature of the coldest month (bio6) and the Human Influence Index were most important for C. cunea. Under SSP5-8.5, overlapping suitable areas were projected to increase to approximately 1.15 million km2 by the 2050s. These results provided a spatial basis for anticipating where biocontrol releases may be most effective and where potential host-parasitoid mismatches could require strengthened monitoring under climate change.

@article{doi101002ece373469,
    author = "Ouyang, Xianheng and Nan, Xiaoning and Zhong, Fushi and Sun, Qiaoyun and Liu, Yang",
    title = "Climate Change Shapes Suitable Habitat and Ecological Niche Overlap Between Hyphantria cunea and Its Parasitoid Chouioia cunea in China.",
    year = "2026",
    journal = "Ecology and evolution",
    abstract = "The fall webworm moth, Hyphantria cunea, is a highly invasive defoliator that threatens forest ecosystems in China. The parasitoid wasp Chouioia cunea has been mass-reared and widely released for biological control of H. cunea. Climate change can alter climatic suitability and potentially reshape the spatial matching between hosts and natural enemies, thereby affecting biological control outcomes. Here, we used an ensemble species distribution modeling (SDM) framework to project current (WorldClim 1971-2000) and future (2030s and 2050s) suitable habitats for H. cunea and C. cunea in China under three Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, and SSP5-8.5). We quantified changes in suitable area and host-parasitoid overlap and estimated climatic niche overlap using Schoener's D. Both species were projected to maintain broadly similar suitability patterns with a general northward shift and an increase in total suitable area under several scenarios, leading to extensive overlaps in eastern and central China. Schoener's D (0.738) indicated substantial climatic niche overlap between the two species. Among the retained predictors, the minimum temperature of the coldest month (bio6) and the Human Influence Index were most important for C. cunea. Under SSP5-8.5, overlapping suitable areas were projected to increase to approximately 1.15 million km2 by the 2050s. These results provided a spatial basis for anticipating where biocontrol releases may be most effective and where potential host-parasitoid mismatches could require strengthened monitoring under climate change.",
    url = "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13124676/",
    doi = "10.1002/ece3.73469",
    pmcid = "PMC13124676",
    pmid = "42063660"
}