One sixth of Amazonian tree diversity is dependent on river floodplains

Amazonia's floodplain system is the largest and most biodiverse on Earth. Although forests are crucial to the ecological integrity of floodplains, our understanding of their species composition and how this may differ from surrounding forest types is still far too limited, particularly as changing inundation regimes begin to reshape floodplain tree communities and the critical ecosystem functions they underpin. Here we address this gap by taking a spatially explicit look at Amazonia-wide patterns of tree-species turnover and ecological specialization of the region's floodplain forests. We show that the majority of Amazonian tree species can inhabit floodplains, and about a sixth of Amazonian tree diversity is ecologically specialized on floodplains. The degree of specialization in floodplain communities is driven by regional flood patterns, with the most compositionally differentiated floodplain forests located centrally within the fluvial network and contingent on the most extraordinary flood magnitudes regionally. Our results provide a spatially explicit view of ecological specialization of floodplain forest communities and expose the need for whole-basin hydrological integrity to protect the Amazon's tree diversity and its function.Naturali

Mapping density, diversity and species-richness of the Amazon tree flora

Using 2.046 botanically-inventoried tree plots across the largest tropical forest on Earth, we mapped tree species-diversity and tree species-richness at 0.1-degree resolution, and investigated drivers for diversity and richness. Using only location, stratified by forest type, as predictor, our spatial model, to the best of our knowledge, provides the most accurate map of tree diversity in Amazonia to date, explaining approximately 70% of the tree diversity and species-richness. Large soil-forest combinations determine a significant percentage of the variation in tree species-richness and tree alpha-diversity in Amazonian forest-plots. We suggest that the size and fragmentation of these systems drive their large-scale diversity patterns and hence local diversity. A model not using location but cumulative water deficit, tree density, and temperature seasonality explains 47% of the tree species-richness in the terra-firme forest in Amazonia. Over large areas across Amazonia, residuals of this relationship are small and poorly spatially structured, suggesting that much of the residual variation may be local. The Guyana Shield area has consistently negative residuals, showing that this area has lower tree species-richness than expected by our models. We provide extensive plot meta-data, including tree density, tree alpha-diversity and tree species-richness results and gridded maps at 0.1-degree resolution

Consistent patterns of common species across tropical tree communities

Trees structure the Earth’s most biodiverse ecosystem, tropical forests. The vast number of tree species presents a formidable challenge to understanding these forests, including their response to environmental change, as very little is known about most tropical tree species. A focus on the common species may circumvent this challenge. Here we investigate abundance patterns of common tree species using inventory data on 1,003,805 trees with trunk diameters of at least 10 cm across 1,568 locations1,2,3,4,5,6 in closed-canopy, structurally intact old-growth tropical forests in Africa, Amazonia and Southeast Asia. We estimate that 2.2%, 2.2% and 2.3% of species comprise 50% of the tropical trees in these regions, respectively. Extrapolating across all closed-canopy tropical forests, we estimate that just 1,053 species comprise half of Earth’s 800 billion tropical trees with trunk diameters of at least 10 cm. Despite differing biogeographic, climatic and anthropogenic histories7, we find notably consistent patterns of common species and species abundance distributions across the continents. This suggests that fundamental mechanisms of tree community assembly may apply to all tropical forests. Resampling analyses show that the most common species are likely to belong to a manageable list of known species, enabling targeted efforts to understand their ecology. Although they do not detract from the importance of rare species, our results open new opportunities to understand the world’s most diverse forests, including modelling their response to environmental change, by focusing on the common species that constitute the majority of their trees

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Alpages sentinelles Écrins : Zoom Alpage du Distroit (Châteauroux-les Alpes)

Fiche techniqueCette synthèse en 6 pages présente l'alpage du Distroit dans l'Embrunais qui fait partie du réseau Alpages sentinelles dans le Parc national des Ecrins. Sont abordés notamment la configuration de l'alpage, la gestion pastorale, l'évolution de la ressource pastorale et les pratiques pastorales, la conduite technique, l'organisation spatiale et les enjeux des deux exploitations agricoles utilisatrices de cet alpage et suivies dans le cadre de ce réseau

Two excitation pathways of Pr3+ ion emission in HfO2:Si:Pr films depending on crystalline phase transformations in annealing

International audienceThe impact of annealing on the emission and transformation of the crystalline phases in Si rich HfO 2 :Pr films was investigated by analyzing the morphology, chemical composition, structure, and photoluminescence (PL) characteristics. Films were prepared by RF magnetron sputtering and monitored as-prepared and after annealing at 1000 • C for 5-60 min. Emission through host HfO 2 defects has only been detected in spectra of as-prepared Si rich HfO 2 :Pr films. Heat treatment for 30 min stimulates a phase transformation together with the appearance of a tetragonal HfO 2 phase and Si quantum dot (QDs). This last process is accompanied by appearance of bright emission of rare earth (RE) ions Pr 3+ related to the transitions in the 4f energy levels. Additional annealing for 60 min stimulates the complete oxidation of the Si QDs with the formation of the SiO 2 phase along with partial destruction of a tetragonal HfO 2 phase. This last process is accompanied by the significant increase of the intensity of Pr 3+ ion emission. Two forms of luminescence excitation in 4f energy levels of Pr 3+ ions are discussed, related to energy transfer to Pr 3+ ions, first from Si QDs and then from host defects in HfO 2. These changes in the excitation pathways of Pr 3+ ion emissions are stimulated by the transformations of the crystalline phases in the thermal treatment together with the generation of host HfO 2 defects. Hafnia-based materials doped with RE elements are interesting for telecommunication technology and applications in waveguides and optoelectronic devices