C-Age of Carbon Used to Grow Fine Roots Reflects Tree Carbon Status.

The time elapsed between carbon fixation into nonstructural carbohydrates (NSC) and their use to grow tree structural tissues can be estimated by C ages. Reported C-ages indicate that NSC used to grow root tissues (growth NSC) can vary from < 1 year to decades. To understand the controls of this variability, we compared C-ages of leaf, branch, and root tissues from two conifers (Larix decidua, Pinus mugo) in a control valley site and an alpine treeline ecotone where low temperatures restrict tree growth.

Real-time malaria detection in the Amazon rainforest via drone-collected eDNA and portable qPCR.

Zoonotic malaria risk at human-wildlife-environment interfaces requires surveillance that integrates signals from reservoirs, vectors and the environment. We coupled a drone-based environmental DNA (eDNA) canopy swabbing approach with portable quantitative PCR (qPCR) to detect DNA in situ during a 24-h field exercise in the Amazon rainforest. Drone-lowered sterile swabs into the canopy, which were then extracted and subjected to a multiplex pan- assay targeting five human-infecting species (limit of detection 0.

Substantial Deep-Soil Carbon Losses Outweigh Topsoil Gains in European Beech Forests Since the 1980s.

Soils are a major reservoir for organic carbon (C), with subsoils (> 20-30 cm soil depth) storing most of this C. Predicting the response of deep-soil C to global change remains a critical research priority; yet long-term field observations for forests are scarce. In this study, we assessed decadal C dynamics in mineral soils to 90 cm depth of 62 temperate mature stands of European beech (Fagus sylvatica) in Austria using data from sampling campaigns in 1984, 2012, and 2022.

Herbivory mediates the response of below-ground food webs to invasive grasses.

Below-ground food webs in grasslands are affected by both above-ground herbivory and invasive plant species. However, the combined effects of these factors on soil organisms and their interactions with plant communities remain poorly understood. We investigated how the invasive African lovegrass (ALG) influenced below-ground food webs in south-eastern Australian grasslands under different herbivory regimes.

Evolutionary age correlates with range size across plants and animals.

More than 40 thousand species of plants and animals are facing extinction worldwide. Range size is one of the strongest determinants of extinction risk, but the causes underlying the wide variation in natural range sizes remain poorly understood. Here, we investigate how species' age is related to present-day range size for over 26,000 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, reef fishes, and plants.

Dual Isotope Analysis Reveals Phylogenetic Patterns and Novel Insights Into Methoxy Group Synthesis of Structural Biomolecules in Leaf and Woody Plant Tissues.

Stable carbon and hydrogen isotopes of wood methoxy groups (δH, δC), mainly sourced by structural biomolecules like lignin and pectin, provide important insights into climatic, hydrological and physiological conditions. This study systematically investigated species-specific δH and δC variations in leaves and woody twigs of 65 different tree species grown in a common garden. Significant phylogenetic patterns were observed in δH and δC of both tissues, with stronger signals in leaves and the most pronounced differences between angiosperms and gymnosperms.

Limited plastic responses in safety traits support greater hydraulic risk under drier conditions.

Understanding how plants adjust their hydraulic system to the environment is essential to predict how these organisms will respond to global change. Here we compiled a dataset and performed meta-analysis on 223 studies on plastic and evolutionary adjustments of hydraulic traits to air temperature, CO concentration, irradiance, soil nutrient and water availability. On average, species plastically increased embolism resistance and sapwood area per leaf area under drier conditions, with a decrease in stem-specific hydraulic conductivity and water potential at the turgor loss point, which are consistent with adaptive responses.

Developing a conceptual framework for interdisciplinary communication, collaboration, and integration: A structured approach.

Interdisciplinary research is essential to address the complex environmental challenges faced by social-ecological systems (SES). However, it is often hindered by difficulties in integrating diverse knowledge and perspectives. Conceptual Frameworks (CFs) can act as boundary objects, facilitating integration in contexts with incomplete knowledge, nonlinearity, and divergent interests.

Emerging trend of increasing spring frost damage for beech at higher elevations in the Jura Mountains: evidence from tree-ring data.

Late spring frost (LSF) severely impacts tree growth and forest productivity, with global warming potentially altering LSF risk due to asymmetric changes in vegetation onset and frost timing. However, reconstructing past frost regimes with climatic and phenological data remains challenging. Using phenological models, high-resolution climate and tree-ring data, we identified damaging LSF on European beech at two sites in the Swiss Jura mountains over nine decades.

Contrasting Daytime Habitat Selection in Wild Red Deer Within and Outside Hunting Ban Areas Emphasises Importance of Small-Scale Refuges From Humans.

Prey species such as red deer () select their habitats according to their requirements for landscape features and adapt this selection to the presence of predators and humans. We tested how networks of different types of protected areas-the Swiss National Park (SNP) without hunting but with additional regulations for humans, and smaller-scale hunting ban areas (all types together = HBAs)-influenced diurnal and nocturnal habitat selection in red deer compared with unprotected areas.Using integrated step selection functions, we compared habitat selection of 243 GPS-collared individuals from six study areas across the Central Alps during day and night, during the year and specifically during the short autumnal hunting season.

Calving-driven fjord dynamics resolved by seafloor fibre sensing.

Interactions between melting ice and a warming ocean drive the present-day retreat of tidewater glaciers of Greenland, with consequences for both sea level rise and the global climate system. Controlling glacier frontal ablation, these ice-ocean interactions involve chains of small-scale processes that link glacier calving-the detachment of icebergs-and submarine melt to the broader fjord dynamics. However, understanding these processes remains limited, in large part due to the challenge of making targeted observations in hazardous environments near calving fronts with sufficient temporal and spatial resolution.

Optimizing sustainable and multifunctional management of Alpine Forests under climate change.

Climate change is challenging the sustainable provision of biodiversity and ecosystem services in mountain forests, including the important protection service against gravitational natural hazards. Forests offer a relatively cost-efficient measure to protect humans and infrastructure from natural hazards. Forest managers are faced with the question of how to adapt their forest to climate change and optimally manage their forests to guarantee future forest multifunctionality.

Ericoid mycorrhizal growth response is influenced by host plant phylogeny.

Ericoid mycorrhizal (ErM) fungi (ErMF) are crucial for the establishment of thousands of ericaceous species in heathlands and wetlands by increasing their tolerance to harsh conditions and improving nutrient uptake. However, ErM research has largely focused on a limited number of host species and four ErMF species (especially Hyaloscypha hepaticicola and Oidiodendron maius, to a lesser extent H. bicolor/H.

Biological invasions: a global assessment of geographic distributions, long-term trends, and data gaps.

Biological invasions are one of the major drivers of biodiversity decline and have been shown to have far-reaching consequences for society and the economy. Preventing the introduction and spread of alien species represents the most effective solution to reducing their impacts on nature and human well-being. However, implementing effective solutions requires a good understanding of where the species are established and how biological invasions develop over time.

Impact of emerging compound droughts on forests: A water supply and demand perspective.

The intensification of climate change-induced drought results in unprecedented tree and forest die-offs worldwide, increasingly driven by compound droughts. In this review, we examine the impacts of emerging compound droughts, which involve co-occurring stressors like soil drought and high temperature, along with elevated vapour pressure deficit over prolonged periods and at higher frequency. We explore the physiological and ecological mechanisms underlying tree water and carbon regulation during these extreme conditions, focusing on the balance between water demand and supply, the role of acclimation, and its consequences for ecosystem-level functions.

Randomised trial reveals a mismatch between preferences for and hormonal responses to anthropogenic light colour temperatures.

Public streetlights are universally used to improve visibility after dark and improve residents' safety. However, anthropogenic light negatively impacts human health and well-being, biodiversity and energy consumption. Anthropogenic light impacts could be mitigated by technological changes optimising light characteristics, yet we know little of light colour temperature's influence on well-being.

Rethinking the interpretation of spring phenological temperature sensitivity.

Recent publications showed a substantial decline in spring phenological responses of temperate trees to temperature increase and suggested this was evidence that warming has caused chilling and/or photoperiod to constrain phenology. We show that the apparent decrease in phenological sensitivity is mathematically expected under warming climates without any constraints from photoperiod or chilling. We substantiate the proposed mechanism using data from controlled conditions, simulations, and a long-term cherry blooming record series.

Trees use exogenous sugars for growth, but excess triggers negative feedback reducing photosynthetic carbon gain.

Plants' non structural carbohydrates (NSCs) serve as their capital for growth, reproduction, defense and survival. To increase the NSC availability of carbon-limited trees, a recent study revealed the possibility of adding exogenous soluble sugars to carbon-starved trees. This provides an opportunity to investigate carbon allocation between source and sink, as well as the growth and physiological responses to external sugars.

Comparative transcriptomics uncovers poplar and fungal genetic determinants of ectomycorrhizal compatibility.

Ectomycorrhizal symbiosis supports tree growth and is crucial for nutrient cycling and temperate and boreal ecosystems functioning. The establishment of functional ectomycorrhiza (ECM) first requires the association of compatible partners. However, host and fungal genetic determinants governing mycorrhizal compatibility are unknown.

Shifting Heights? A 40-Year Resurvey of Alpine Marmot Distribution in Response to Climate Change.

Alpine species are severely affected by climate change, with elevational range shifts being one key response of mountain species to the rapidly warming environment. The Alpine marmot () is suggested to be particularly susceptible to ongoing warming. However, it is largely unknown how climate change affected the Alpine marmot distribution in recent decades.

Detailed observations reveal the genesis and dynamics of destructive debris-flow surges.

Debris flows are one of the most damaging natural hazards in mountainous terrain. Their dynamics are controlled by both surging behaviour and the influence of large boulders. However, a lack of high-resolution field measurements has limited our mechanistic understanding of these important processes.

Shifting Carbon Fractions in Forest Soils Offset C-Based Turnover Times Along a 1700 m Elevation Gradient.

Climate change impacts the soil carbon cycle, yet there is no scientific consensus on the vulnerability of soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks to global warming. Here, we studied soil organic matter (SOM) changes across 50 Swiss forest sites covering an elevation gradient from 270 to 2020 m, with dominant tree species changing from sub-Mediterranean pubescent oak to mountain pine at treeline. We sought to assess how elevation, serving as an integrating variable for climate variation, affects the stocks, transformation state, and radiocarbon (C)-based turnover of SOM fractions in the organic layer, as well as in particulate organic matter (POM) and mineral-associated organic matter (MOM) fractions in forest mineral soils (0-20 cm).

Strong strain dependence of friction in graphene kirigami allows engineering a negative coefficient of friction.

The friction force typically increases linearly with normal load with a constant of proportionality called the coefficient of friction. Most materials exhibit a positive friction coefficient, so that an increase in the normal load leads to an increase in the friction force. Recently, materials with negative friction coefficients have been observed at meticulously constructed interfaces due to an interplay between superstructures at heterojunctions, out-of-plane buckling, or the ordering of thin water films.

Decreasing Stem Growth in Common European Tree Species Despite Earlier Growth Onset.

Recent findings suggest that global warming is altering the timing of trees' phenological activities, including earlier emergence from winter dormancy. While early-season warming can boost carbon uptake, tree growth does not seem to benefit. The underlying mechanisms and the altered intra- and inter-annual growth dynamics, as well as their interaction with environmental factors, remain poorly understood.

Effects of organic ligands, phosphate and Ca on the structure and composition of Fe(III)-precipitates formed by Fe(II) oxidation at near-neutral pH.

The oxidation of dissolved Fe(II) in near-neutral natural waters leads to the formation of Fe(III)-precipitates. Organic ligands, PO, calcium (Ca) and other solutes affect the composition, bulk and nanoscale structure and colloidal properties of Fe(III)-precipitates and their impacts on co-precipitated compounds in interdependent ways. In this study, we quantified the effects of four low molecular weight organic acids (LMWOAs) with different Fe(III) complexation strengths (2,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid (2,4-DHB) ∼ galacturonic acid (Galact) ≪ 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid (3,4-DHB) < citric acid (Citr)) and of leonardite humic acid (LH) in combination with PO and Ca on Fe(III)-precipitate structure and composition in a multifactorial experiment.