Reserve Accumulation Is Prioritized Over Growth Following Single or Combined Injuries in Three Common North American Urban Tree Species

Trees that grow in urban areas are confronted with a wide variety of stresses that undermine their long-term survival. These include mechanical damage to the crown, root reduction and stem injury, all of which remove significant parts of plant tissues. The single or combined effects of these stresses generate a complex array of growth and ecophysiological responses that are hard to predict. Here we evaluated the effects of different individual and combined damage on the dynamics of non-structural carbohydrates (NSC, low weight sugars plus starch) concentration and new tissue growth (diameter increment) in young trees. We hypothesized that (i) tissue damage will induce larger reductions in diameter growth than in NSC concentrations and (ii) combinations of stress treatments that minimally alter the "functional equilibrium" (e.g., similar reductions of leaf and root area) would have the least impact on NSC concentrations (although not on growth) helping to maintain tree health and integrity. To test these hypotheses, we set up a manipulative field experiment with 10-year-old trees of common urban species (Celtis occidentalis, Fraxinus pennsylvanica, and Tilia cordata). These trees were treated with a complete array of mechanical damage combinations at different levels of intensity (i.e., three levels of defoliation and root reduction, and two levels of stem damage). We found that tree growth declined in relation to the total amount of stress inflicted on the trees, i.e., when the combined highest level of stress was applied, but NSC concentrations were either not affected or, in some cases, increased with an increasing level of stress. We did not find a consistent response in concentration of reserves in relation to the combined stress treatments. Therefore, trees appear to reach a new "functional equilibrium" that allows them to adjust their levels of carbohydrate reserves, especially in stems and roots, to meet their metabolic demand under stressful situations. Our results provide a unique insight into the carbon economy of trees facing multiple urban stress conditions in order to better predict long-term tree performance and vitality

Urban forest invertebrates : how they shape and respond to the urban environment

Invertebrates comprise the most diversified animal group on Earth. Due to their long evolutionary history and small size, invertebrates occupy a remarkable range of ecological niches, and play an important role as "ecosystem engineers" by structuring networks of mutualistic and antagonistic ecological interactions in almost all terrestrial ecosystems. Urban forests provide critical ecosystem services to humans, and, as in other systems, invertebrates are central to structuring and maintaining the functioning of urban forests. Identifying the role of invertebrates in urban forests can help elucidate their importance to practitioners and the public, not only to preserve biodiversity in urban environments, but also to make the public aware of their functional importance in maintaining healthy greenspaces. In this review, we examine the multiple functional roles that invertebrates play in urban forests that contribute to ecosystem service provisioning, including pollination, predation, herbivory, seed and microorganism dispersal and organic matter decomposition, but also those that lead to disservices, primarily from a public health perspective, e.g., transmission of invertebrate-borne diseases. We then identify a number of ecological filters that structure urban forest invertebrate communities, such as changes in habitat structure, increased landscape imperviousness, microclimatic changes and pollution. We also discuss the complexity of ways that forest invertebrates respond to urbanisation, including acclimation, local extinction and evolution. Finally, we present management recommendations to support and conserve viable and diverse urban forest invertebrate populations into the future.Peer reviewe

Globally invariant metabolism but density-diversity mismatch in springtails.

Soil life supports the functioning and biodiversity of terrestrial ecosystems. Springtails (Collembola) are among the most abundant soil arthropods regulating soil fertility and flow of energy through above- and belowground food webs. However, the global distribution of springtail diversity and density, and how these relate to energy fluxes remains unknown. Here, using a global dataset representing 2470 sites, we estimate the total soil springtail biomass at 27.5 megatons carbon, which is threefold higher than wild terrestrial vertebrates, and record peak densities up to 2 million individuals per square meter in the tundra. Despite a 20-fold biomass difference between the tundra and the tropics, springtail energy use (community metabolism) remains similar across the latitudinal gradient, owing to the changes in temperature with latitude. Neither springtail density nor community metabolism is predicted by local species richness, which is high in the tropics, but comparably high in some temperate forests and even tundra. Changes in springtail activity may emerge from latitudinal gradients in temperature, predation and resource limitation in soil communities. Contrasting relationships of biomass, diversity and activity of springtail communities with temperature suggest that climate warming will alter fundamental soil biodiversity metrics in different directions, potentially restructuring terrestrial food webs and affecting soil functioning

Global fine-resolution data on springtail abundance and community structure

Springtails (Collembola) inhabit soils from the Arctic to the Antarctic and comprise an estimated ~32% of all terrestrial arthropods on Earth. Here, we present a global, spatially-explicit database on springtail communities that includes 249,912 occurrences from 44,999 samples and 2,990 sites. These data are mainly raw sample-level records at the species level collected predominantly from private archives of the authors that were quality-controlled and taxonomically-standardised. Despite covering all continents, most of the sample-level data come from the European continent (82.5% of all samples) and represent four habitats: woodlands (57.4%), grasslands (14.0%), agrosystems (13.7%) and scrublands (9.0%). We included sampling by soil layers, and across seasons and years, representing temporal and spatial within-site variation in springtail communities. We also provided data use and sharing guidelines and R code to facilitate the use of the database by other researchers. This data paper describes a static version of the database at the publication date, but the database will be further expanded to include underrepresented regions and linked with trait data.</p

Global fine-resolution data on springtail abundance and community structure

CODE AVAILABILITY : Programming R code is openly available together with the database from Figshare.SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL 1 : Template for data collectionSUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL 2 : Data Descriptor WorksheetSpringtails (Collembola) inhabit soils from the Arctic to the Antarctic and comprise an estimated ~32% of all terrestrial arthropods on Earth. Here, we present a global, spatially-explicit database on springtail communities that includes 249,912 occurrences from 44,999 samples and 2,990 sites. These data are mainly raw sample-level records at the species level collected predominantly from private archives of the authors that were quality-controlled and taxonomically-standardised. Despite covering all continents, most of the sample-level data come from the European continent (82.5% of all samples) and represent four habitats: woodlands (57.4%), grasslands (14.0%), agrosystems (13.7%) and scrublands (9.0%). We included sampling by soil layers, and across seasons and years, representing temporal and spatial within-site variation in springtail communities. We also provided data use and sharing guidelines and R code to facilitate the use of the database by other researchers. This data paper describes a static version of the database at the publication date, but the database will be further expanded to include underrepresented regions and linked with trait data.Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL.http://www.nature.com/sdatahj2024Plant Production and Soil ScienceSDG-15:Life on lan

Revegetation trials in degraded coastal marshes of the Hudson Bay Lowlands.

Intense foraging by an increasing population of lesser snow geese, Anser caerulescens L., has led to the conversion of former salt-marsh swards, dominated by Puccinellia phryganodes and Carex subspothacea to hypersaline mudflats, and the conversion of former fresh-water sedge meadows, dominated by Carex aquatilis, to moss carpets. This study reports the potential for natural and assisted revegetation by the dominant graminoids of the former plant communities at La Perouse Bay, Manitoba in the absence of goose foraging. Natural recolonization by P. phryganodes was observed within five years where edaphic conditions were suitable. Transplants of P. phryganodes established readily in an intertidal marsh, and growth was enhanced by amelioration treatments of peat mulch and fertilizer to the soil surface. Natural recolonization by Carex subsparhacea was not observed. Transplants of the sedge did not establish readily in an inland marsh and amelioration treatments showed no effect. In fresh-water areas, tillers of Carex aquatilis established readily in moss carpets and growth was not enhanced by fertilizer application. The potential for revegetation is discussed within the context of vegetational succession and the ongoing degradation processes

A test of the tree-line carbon limitation hypothesis by in situ CO2 enrichment and defoliation

Historically, carbon limitation, through a shortage of photoassimilates has been argued to limit the growth of trees at the upper altitudinal treeline. In a three-year free-air CO2 enrichment (FACE) experiment, two species of 30-year-old alpine conifers (Larix decidua and Pinus uncinata) were studied to test this hypothesis in situ in the Swiss Central Alps (2180 m above sea level). CO2 enrichment was combined with foliage removal to test the effect of altered source-sink relationships on tree growth and leaf level responses. Elevated CO2 enhanced photosynthesis and increased nonstructural carbohydrate (NSC) concentrations in the needles of both species. While the deciduous larch trees showed longer needles and a stimulation of shoot growth over all three seasons when grown in situ under elevated CO2, pine trees showed no such responses. Irrespective of CO2 concentration, defoliation in both species stimulated photosynthesis and increased stomatal conductance in remaining current-year needles in the treatment year and reduced leaf nitrogen concentration in the year following defoliation. Defoliated larch trees had fewer and shorter needles with reduced NSC concentrations in the year following defoliation and showed no stimulation in shoot elongation when exposed to elevated CO2. In contrast, defoliation of evergreen pine trees had no effect on needle NSC concentrations, but stimulated shoot elongation when defoliated trees were exposed to elevated CO2. After three years, our results suggest that deciduous larch is carbon limited at treeline, while evergreen pine is not. However, as indicated by the defoliation treatment, the carbon economy of these trees can clearly be modified by extreme events. The expected changes in growth of these treeline trees with improving carbon availability as atmospheric CO2 continues to increase will thus depend on both the interplay between biotic and abiotic processes, and the species or tree functional types involved

Interaction matrix of ground beetles and prey

This dataset presents the interaction matrix between the ground beetles and the prey. The data are presented as species pair matches

First record on the biology of Sarcophaga (Bulbostyla) (Diptera, Sarcophagidae)

A first breeding record for Sarcophaga (Bulbostyla) cadyi Giroux & Wheeler on the American giant millipede Narceus americanus (de Beauvois) (Spirobolida, Spirobolidae) is reported. Digital photographs of the terminalia of S. (B.) cadyi and of Sarcophaga (Bulbostyla) yorkii Parker are also provided