Testing for hysteresis in unemployment in OECD countries. New evidence using stationarity panel tests with breaks

This paper tests hysteresis effects in unemployment using panel data for 19 OECD countries covering the period 1956-2001. The tests exploit the cross-section variations of the series, and additionally, allow for a different number of endogenous breakpoints in the unemployment series. The critical values are simulated based on our specic panel sizes and time periods. The ndings stress the importance of accounting for exogenous shocks in the series and give support to the natural-rate hypothesis of unemployment for the majority of the countries analyzed.structural breaks, panel unit root tests, hysteresis

New evidence of the real interest rate parity for OECD countries using panel unit root tests with breaks

This paper tests for real interest parity (RIRP) among the nineteen major OECD countries over the period 1978:Q2-1998:Q4. The econometric methods applied consist of combining the use of several unit root or stationarity tests designed for panels valid under cross-section dependence and presence of multiple structural breaks. Our results strongly support the fulfilment of the weak version of the RIRP for the studied period once dependence and structural breaks are accounted for.structural breaks, economic integration, unit root tests, cross-section dependence, real interest rate parity, panel data

Denitrification rates in lake sediments of mountains affected by high atmospheric nitrogen deposition

During the last decades, atmospheric nitrogen loading in mountain ranges of the Northern Hemisphere has increased substantially, resulting in high nitrate concentrations in many lakes. Yet, how increased nitrogen has affected denitrification, a key process for nitrogen removal, is poorly understood. We measured actual and potential (nitrate and carbon amended) denitrification rates in sediments of several lake types and habitats in the Pyrenees during the ice-free season. Actual denitrification rates ranged from 0 to 9 mu mol N2O m(-2) h(-1) (mean, 1.5 +/- 1.6 SD), whereas potential rates were about 10times higher. The highest actual rates occurred in warmer sediments with more nitrate available in the overlying water. Consequently, littoral habitats showed, on average, 3-fold higher rates than the deep zone. The highest denitrification potentials were found in more productive lakes located at relatively low altitude and small catchments, with warmer sediments, high relative abundance of denitrification nitrite reductase genes, and sulphate-rich waters. We conclude that increased nitrogen deposition has resulted in elevated denitrification rates, but not sufficiently to compensate for the atmospheric nitrogen loading in most of the highly oligotrophic lakes. However, there is potential for high rates, especially in the more productive lakes and landscape features largely govern this

Bacterioplankton seasonality in deep high-mountain lakes

Due to global warming, shorter ice cover duration might drastically affect the ecology of lakes currently undergoing seasonal surface freezing. High-mountain lakes show snow-rich ice covers that determine contrasting conditions between ice-off and ice-on periods. We characterized the bacterioplankton seasonality in a deep high-mountain lake ice-covered for half a year. The lake shows a rich core bacterioplankton community consisting of three components: (i) an assemblage stable throughout the year, dominated by Actinobacteria, resistant to all environmental conditions; (ii) an ice-on-resilient assemblage dominating during the ice-covered period, which is more diverse than the other components and includes a high abundance of Verrucomicrobia; the deep hypolimnion constitutes a refuge for many of the typical under-ice taxa, many of which recover quickly during autumn mixing; and (iii) an ice-off-resilient assemblage, which members peak in summer in epilimnetic waters when the rest decline, characterized by a dominance of Flavobacterium, and Limnohabitans. The rich core community and low random elements compared to other relatively small cold lakes can be attributed to its simple hydrological network in a poorly-vegetated catchment, the long water-residence time (ca. 4 years), and the long ice-cover duration; features common to many headwater deep high-mountain lakes

The REPLIM Project: a lake and wetland network to monitor global changes in the Pyrenees

IPA-IAL 2018 Joint Meeting (2018. Estocolmo)Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología, EspañaCentre National de la Recherche Scientifique, FranciaLaboratoire Geode, FranciaUniversité Toulouse, FranciaCentre d'Estudis Avançats de Blanes, EspañaUniversidad del País Vasco, EspañaCentro de Investigación Ecológica y Aplicaciones Forestales, EspañaUniversité de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour, FranciaUniversidad de Navarra, EspañaInstituto Geológico y Minero de España, EspañaPeer reviewe

Seasonal Changes of Freshwater Ammonia-Oxidizing Archaeal Assemblages and Nitrogen Species in Oligotrophic Alpine Lakes▿ †

The annual changes in the composition and abundance of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) were analyzed monthly in surface waters of three high mountain lakes within the Limnological Observatory of the Pyrenees (LOOP; northeast Spain) using both 16S rRNA and functional (ammonia monooxygenase gene, amoA) gene sequencing as well as quantitative PCR amplification. The set of biological data was related to changes in nitrogen species and to other relevant environmental variables. The whole archaeal assemblage was dominated by phylotypes closely related to the crenarchaeal 1.1a group (58% ± 18% of total 16S rRNA gene sequences), and consistent structural changes were detected during the study. Water temperature was the environmental variable that better explained spring, summer, and winter (ice-covered lakes) archaeal assemblage structure. The amoA gene was detected year round, and seasonal changes in amoA gene composition were well correlated with changes in the archaeal 16S rRNA gene pool. In addition, copy numbers of both the specific 1.1a group 16 rRNA and archaeal amoA genes were well correlated, suggesting that most freshwater 1.1a Crenarchaeota had the potential to carry out ammonia oxidation. Seasonal changes in the diversity and abundance of AOA (i.e., amoA) were better explained by temporal changes in ammonium, the substrate for nitrification, and mostly nitrite, the product of ammonia oxidation. Lacustrine amoA gene sequences grouped in coherent freshwater phylogenetic clusters, suggesting that freshwater habitats harbor typical amoA-containing ecotypes, which is different from soils and seas. We observed within the freshwater amoA gene sequence pool a high genetic divergence (translating to up to 32% amino acid divergence) between the spring and the remaining AOA assemblages. This suggests that different AOA ecotypes are adapted to different temporal ecological niches in these lakes

Atmospheric deposition of polybromodiphenyl ethers in remote mountain regions of Europe

olybromodiphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were analyzed in bulk atmospheric deposition collected in four European remote mountain areas over a period of two years (2004-2006): Lake Redon (Pyrenees, Catalonia, Spain), Gossenköllesee (Alps, Austria), Lochnagar (Grampian Mountains, Scotland) and Skalnate (Tatras, Slovakia). In all sites, the PBDE distributions were dominated by BDE209. BDE47 and BDE99 were the major low-brominated congeners, followed by BDE100 and BDE183. This composition is consistent with predominant inputs from the commercial mixtures decaBDE and pentaBDE. The total congener site-averaged fluxes ranged between 100 ng m-2 mo-1 (Alps) and 190 ng m-2 mo-1 (Tatras). Significant correlations between PBDE deposition and percent of North Atlantic backwards air mass trajectories in the collected samples of the westernmost sites, Lochnagar and Redon, suggested an impact of transcontinental transfer of these pollutants from North American sources into Europe. Skalnate, and to a lower extent Redon, recorded another main PBDE source from central Europe corresponding to secondary emissions of the pentaBDE commercial mixture. The fluxes of these secondary emissions were temperature dependent and correlated to total particle deposition and rainfall. Higher PBDE fluxes were observed at increasing temperature, particle deposition and precipitation. Another specific PBDE source was observed in United Kingdom and recorded in Lochnagar. Photolytic degradation during transport decreased the relative abundance of BDE209 and modified the emitted pentaBDE technical mixtures by depletion of the relative composition of BDE99 and, to a lower extent, BDE47. The transformations were more intense in the sites located above 2000 m (Redon and Gossenköllesee) and, particularly, during the warm periods.a Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDCÆA-CSIC), Jordi Girona 18, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain b Environmental Change Research Centre, University College London, Gower Street, London, United Kingdom c Institute of Meteorology and Geophysics, University of Innsbruck, Innrain 52, Innsbruck, Austria d Institute of Zoology and Limnology, University of Innsbruck, Technikerstrasse 25, Innsbruck, Austria e Hydrobiological Station, Institute for Environmental Studies, Charles University in Prague, P.O. Box 47, Blatna, Czech Republic f Centre for Advanced Studies of Blanes (CEAB-CSIC), Accés a la Cala St. Francesc 14, Blanes, Catalonia, Spain g Centre for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (CREAF), Campus UAB, Edifici C, Cerdanyola, Catalonia, SpainPeer reviewe

The main features of seasonal variability in the external forcing and dynamics of a deep mountain lake (Redó, Pyrenees)

Lake Redó, a dimictic oligotrophic mountain lake, was monitored for two complete years from July 1996 to July 1998. The main seasonal variations in the physical, chemical and biological parameters are described, with special emphasis on the comparison of external forcing (weather and atmospheric deposition) with internal lake dynamics. Annual mean air temperature was estimated to be 3.6 °C. The duration of ice cover on the lake was 4.5 months in 1996/97 and 5.8 months in 1997/98. The lake water was very ionpoor (mean annual conductivity 12 μS cm-1); however, ion concentrations in the lake were higher than in the precipitation, the differences being due mainly to Ca2+ and bicarbonates originating in the catchment. NH4 + was the main ion in the precipitation, with an average concentration of 17 μM, while in the lake it was always below 3 μM. However, the concentration of dissolved inorganic nitrogen always exceeded that of soluble reactive phosphorus by two or three orders of magnitude, so the latter is likely to be the limiting nutrient for phytoplankton growth. Four main production episodes were identified, occurring during spring and autumn overturn, in the upper hypolimnion during summer stratification, and under the ice at the beginning of the ice-covered period. The highest chlorophyll-a concentrations (1.2-2.2 μg l-1) were attained during spring overturn; concentrations of chlorophyll-c were high during both spring and autumn overturn, while chlorophyll-b was comparatively important in the upper hypolimnion during the stratification period. Daphnia pulicaria was the most abundant macrozooplankton species; its abundance was highest during the icecovered period, when its biomass was comparable to the measured sestonic particulate carbon concentration. The Daphnia maximum was associated with higher concentrations of NH4 + and dissolved organic carbon, suggesting that it may play an important role in the pelagic biogeochemical compartment of the lake under ice. Winter respiration rates for the lake were estimated to be 339 mg O2 m-2 d-1 for 1996/97 and 281 mg O2 m-2 d-1 for 1997/98