Search results for " Ecosystem"

Holocene land-cover reconstructions for studies on land cover-climate feedbacks

2010

The major objectives of this paper are: (1) to review the pros and cons of the scenarios of past anthropogenic land cover change (ALCC) developed during the last ten years, (2) to discuss issues related to pollen-based reconstruction of the past land-cover and introduce a new method, REVEALS (Regional Estimates of VEgetation Abundance from Large Sites), to infer long-term records of past land-cover from pollen data, (3) to present a new project (LANDCLIM: LAND cover – CLIMate interactions in NW Europe during the Holocene) currently underway, and show preliminary results of REVEALS reconstructions of the regional land-cover in the Czech Republic for five selected time windows of the Holocene…

Climate variability and lake ecosystem responses in western Scandinavia (Norway) during the last Millennium

2017

This paper provides a high-resolution temperature reconstruction for the last Millennium from Lake Atnsjøen, SE Norway (61°52′31″N, 10°10′37″E). The sedimentary record reveals strong influence of the large-scale global climate patterns on the local climate in southern part of Eastern Norway. We reconstructed mean July air temperature using Chironomidae-based transfer function and fossil Chironomidae assemblages. The reconstruction was supported by a selection of climate-sensitive geochemical and paleoecological sedimentary proxies of terrestrial and aquatic origin, including Cladocera, pollen and macrofossils. Presented results revealed that summer temperatures were 1–2 °C warmer than the m…

Response of the aquatic plants and mollusc communities in Lake Kojle (central Europe) to climatic changes between 250 BCE and 1550 CE

2018

Abstract Sediments of Lake Kojle, located in the transition zone between the nemoral and boreal biogeographic zones in NE Poland, were analysed to verify the response of the aquatic ecosystem to major environmental changes. High-resolution plant macrofossil, mollusc and pollen data were derived from two replicate parallel cores and revealed several shifts in the biota composition within the littoral zone between 250 BCE and 1550 CE. The reaction of the aquatic ecosystem to temperature changes was found to be minor, which is ascribed to the mitigating influence of water and the wide ecological tolerance of most of the taxa. Najas marina, considered as an indicator of warmer conditions, was t…

The response of a shallow lake and its catchment to Late Glacial climate changes — A case study from eastern Poland

2015

In this study we investigate how climate fluctuation in the Late Glacial period influenced the development of a lake and its catchment located in the East European Plain. We analyzed the sediments of the lake for pollen, subfossil Cladocera, macrofossils and chemical composition. We aimed at disentangling: (1) the climate changes and their limno-ecological responses, (2) temperature dynamics with the use of Cladocera-based transfer function (MJT) and macrofossil-based reconstruction of mean minimum July temperature (MMJT), (3) timing of the response of different proxies to environmental changes. The results of multiproxy analyses explicitly suggest that the main driver for changes in aquati…

The stable isotope composition of organic and inorganic fossils in lake sediment records: current understanding, challenges, and future directions

2018

This paper provides an overview of stable isotope analysis (H, C, N, O, Si) of the macro- and microscopic remains from aquatic organisms found in lake sediment records and their application in (palaeo)environmental science. Aquatic organisms, including diatoms, macrophytes, invertebrates, and fish, can produce sufficiently robust remains that preserve well as fossils and can be identified in lake sediment records. Stable isotope analyses of these remains can then provide valuable insights into habitat-specific biogeochemistry, feeding ecology, but also on climatic and hydrological changes in and around lakes. Since these analyses focus on the remains of known and identified organisms, they …

The influence of religious identity and socio-economic status on diet over time, an example from medieval France

2019

International audience; In Southern France as in other parts of Europe, significant changes occurred in settlement patterns between the end of Antiquity and the beginning of the Middle Ages. Small communities gathered to form, by the tenth century, villages organized around a church. This development was the result of a new social and agrarian organization. Its impact on lifestyles and, more precisely, on diet is still poorly understood. The analysis of carbon and nitrogen isotopes in bone collagen from the inhabitants of the well-preserved medieval rural site Missignac-Saint Gilles le Vieux (fifth to thirteenth centuries, Gard, France) provides insight into their dietary practices and enab…

Carbon sequestration potential of Italian orchards and vineyards

2017

From 2004 to 2012 carbon (C) fluxes between the soil-vegetation system and the atmosphere in apple, grape, olive and orange orchards planted in different Italian regions were measured. Above-ground net primary productivity (ANPP) ranged from 4 (olive) to 9 (apple) Mg C ha-1. Alley grass contribution to total ANPP significantly varied among the systems, reaching a maximum of 60% in vineyards. The harvest index ranged from 46% for apple, to 58% for orange, 60% for grape and 41% for olive, while abscised leaves accounted for 30% of ANPP, on average. Soil respiration fluxes ranged from 6 (orange) to 10 (grape) Mg C ha-1. Results indicate the potential of these fruit crop to sequester atmospheri…

Implementation of IUCN criteria for the definition of the Red List of Ecosystems in Italy

2020

The present work is aimed at presenting the data, methods and criteria that are being used for the assessment of ecosystem collapse risk in Italy.

2021

Ecological and climatological signals in tree-ring width and density chronologies along a latitudinal boreal transect

2016

ABSTRACTShifts in the climate sensitivity of trees throughout the twentieth century might indicate climate change effects in the boreal forest ecosystem. We here evaluated such potential changes by analyzing six tree-ring width (TRW) and maximum latewood density (MXD) chronologies from northern, central and southern boreal forests in Finland (60°N–69°N). Besides latitudinal effects, differing micro-sites (lakeshore and inland) were considered to evaluate the influence of ground water access on twentieth-century tree-ring formation and climate sensitivity. Overall, the boreal MXD chronologies appeared less affected by micro-site conditions compared to the TRW chronologies. Along the boreal t…