Ideas and perspectives: strengthening the biogeosciences in environmental research networks

Many scientific approaches are improving our understanding and management of the rapidly changing environment. Long-term environmental research networks are one approach to advancing local, regional, and global environmental science and education. A remarkable number and wide variety of environmental research networks operate around the world today. These are diverse in funding, infrastructure, motivating questions, scientific strengths, and the sciences that birthed and maintained the networks. Some networks have individual sites that were selected because they had produced invaluable long-term data, while other networks have new sites selected to span ecological gradients. However, all long-term environmental networks share two challenges. Networks must keep pace with scientific advances and interact with both the scientific community and society at large. If networks fall short of successfully addressing these challenges, they risk becoming irrelevant. The objective of this paper is to assert that the biogeosciences offer environmental research networks a number of opportunities to expand scientific impact and public engagement. We explore some of these opportunities with four networks: the International Long Term Ecological Research programs (ILTERs), the Critical Zone Observatories (CZOs), the Earth and Ecological Observatory networks (EONs), and the FLUXNET program of eddy flux sites. While these networks were founded and grown by interdisciplinary scientists, the preponderance of expertise and funding have gravitated activities of ILTERs and EONs toward ecology and biology, CZOs toward the Earth sciences and geology, and FLUXNET toward ecophysiology and micrometeorology. Our point is not to homogenize networks, nor to diminish disciplinary science. Rather, we argue that by more fully incorporating the integration of biology and geology in long-term environmental research networks, scientists can better leverage network assets, keep pace with the ever-changing science of the environment, and engage with larger scientific and public audiences

Research questions to facilitate the future development of European long-term ecosystem research infrastructures : A horizon scanning exercise

Distributed environmental research infrastructures are important to support assessments of the effects of global change on landscapes, ecosystems and society. These infrastructures need to provide continuity to address long-term change, yet be flexible enough to respond to rapid societal and technological developments that modify research priorities. We used a horizon scanning exercise to identify and prioritize emerging research questions for the future development of ecosystem and socio-ecological research infrastructures in Europe. Twenty research questions covered topics related to (i) ecosystem structures and processes, (ii) the impacts of anthropogenic drivers on ecosystems, (iii) ecosystem services and socio-ecological systems and (iv), methods and research infrastructures. Several key priorities for the development of research infrastructures emerged. Addressing complex environmental issues requires the adoption of a whole-system approach, achieved through integration of biotic, abiotic and socio-economic measurements. Interoperability among different research infrastructures needs to be improved by developing standard measurements, harmonizing methods, and establishing capacities and tools for data integration, processing, storage and analysis. Future research infrastructures should support a range of methodological approaches including observation, experiments and modelling. They should also have flexibility to respond to new requirements, for example by adjusting the spatio-temporal design of measurements. When new methods are introduced, compatibility with important long-term data series must be ensured. Finally, indicators, tools, and transdisciplinary approaches to identify, quantify and value ecosystem services across spatial scales and domains need to be advanced.Peer reviewe

Les variations géologiques du climat

National audienceDans cet exposé nous proposons d’explorer le passé climatique de la Terre, à l’échelle des temps géologiques, c’est à dire plus ou moins de la naissance de l’atmosphère moderne, il y a des milliards d’années, jusqu’à aujourd’hui. Nous verrons comment nous pouvons nous faire une idée des climats anciens, que ce soit par des observations géologiques fines ou par la géochimie ou par modélisation numérique. Les résultats montrent que le climat global n’est pas stable au cours de temps géologiques. La Terre est passée en particulier par une série d’épisodes froids (avec présence d’une calotte de glace aux pôles) et d’épisodes chauds (une Terre sans calotte de glace). La tectonique des plaques en faisant dériver les continents a permis aussi des changements climatiques locaux. Mais les changements de composition de l’atmosphère sont la principale raison des ces variations à long terme. L’exploration paléo-climatique nous permet de réfléchir aux mécanismes régulateurs ou influençant la composition de l’atmosphère de notre planète sur des périodes de temps longues

Observer pour comprendre la Terre : les scientifiques à l’épreuve de l’anthropocène

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Dynamic of boron in forest ecosystems traced by its isotopes: A modeling approach

International audienceUnderstanding the factors that control the cycling of nutrients in terrestrial ecosystems is of fundamental importance given its role for example in nutrient availability to sustain forest productivity, and ultimately in soil carbon storage.In this paper, we developed a model to assess the dynamic of boron in forest ecosystems and to appraise how the impacts on boron cycling by internal or external factors should be reflected in the changes of its isotopic compositions across an ecosystem. Despite the scarcity of data, we tested this model on two case studies and were able to reproduce the distribution of boron isotopes between the different pools of these two contrasted ecosystems. The model shows a time dependency of the boron isotopic composition of the different biotic and abiotic compartments of the ecosystem. When the forest grows, a transient enrichment in the heavy isotope up to 20‰ relative to the values at steady-state is observed in the biomass and the soil solutions. The magnitude of this enrichment, and the return time to steady state, are sensitive to B supply and plant demand for boron. Responses of B dynamic to natural or anthropogenic disturbances is well reflected in the variations of the B isotopic compositions of the different pools that make B isotopes a good potential tracer of nutrient cycling and by extension make boron isotopes a promising proxy for tracing the global functioning of terrestrial biosphere at present and in the past

Critical Zone Science: a new scientific paradigm?

International audienc

Evaluation quantitative de l'impact des activités humaines et des fluctuations climatiques sur l'érosion de la Zone Critique dans les Alpes depuis 10000 ans

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The role of the Beni floodplain on the chemical weathering fluxes in the upper Madeira basin, Bolivia

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