Climate change exposes ecosystems to strong and rapid changes in their environmental boundary conditions mainly due to the altered temperature and precipitation patterns. It is still poorly understood how fast interlinked ecosystem processes respond to altered environmental conditions, if these responses occur gradually or suddenly when thresholds are exceeded, and if the patterns of the responses will reach a stable state. We conducted an irrigation experiment in the Pfynwald, Switzerland from 2003\uffe2\uff80\uff932018. A naturally dry Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) forest was irrigated with amounts that doubled natural precipitation, thus releasing the forest stand from water limitation. The aim of this study was to provide a quantitative understanding on how different traits and functions of individual trees and the whole ecosystem responded to increased water availability, and how the patterns and magnitudes of these responses developed over time. We found that the response magnitude, the temporal trajectory of responses, and the length of initial lag period prior to significant response largely varied across traits. We detected rapid and stronger responses from aboveground tree traits (e.g., tree\uffe2\uff80\uff90ring width, needle length, and crown transparency) compared to belowground tree traits (e.g., fine\uffe2\uff80\uff90root biomass). The altered aboveground traits during the initial years of irrigation increased the water demand and trees adjusted by increasing root biomass during the later years of irrigation, resulting in an increased survival rate of Scots pine trees in irrigated plots. The irrigation also stimulated ecosystem\uffe2\uff80\uff90level foliar decomposition rate, fungal fruit body biomass, and regeneration abundances of broadleaved tree species. However, irrigation did not promote the regeneration of Scots pine trees, which are reported to be vulnerable to extreme droughts. Our results provide extensive evidence that tree\uffe2\uff80\uff90 and ecosystem\uffe2\uff80\uff90level responses were pervasive across a number of traits on long\uffe2\uff80\uff90term temporal scales. However, after reaching a peak, the magnitude of these responses either decreased or reached a new stable state, providing important insights into how resource alterations could change the system functioning and its boundary conditions.Dissolved organic matter (DOM) composition exerts a direct control on its degradation and subsequent persistence in aquatic ecosystems. Yet, under certain conditions, the degradation patterns of DOM cannot be solely explained by its composition, highlighting the relevance of environmental conditions for DOM degradation. Here, we experimentally assessed the relative influence of composition vs. environment on DOM degradation by performing degradation bioassays using three contrasting DOM sources inoculated with a standardized bacterial inoculum under five distinct environments. The DOM degradation kinetics modeled using reactivity continuum models showed that composition was more important than environment in determining the bulk DOM decay patterns. Changes in DOM composition resulted from the interaction between DOM source and environment. The role of environment was stronger on shaping the bacterial community composition, but the intrinsic nature of the DOM source exerted stronger control on the DOM degradation function.50\u2009years of soil warming. Warming of >50\u2009years drove the ecosystem to a new steady state possessing a distinct biotic composition and reduced species richness, biomass and soil organic matter. However, the warmed state was preceded by an overreaction to warming, which was related to organism physiology and was evident after 5-8\u2009years. Ignoring this overreaction yielded errors of >100% for 83\u2009variables when predicting their responses to a realistic warming scenario of 1\u2009\u00b0C over 50\u2009years, although some, including soil carbon content, remained stable after 5-8\u2009years. This study challenges long-term ecosystem predictions made from short-term observations, and provides a framework for characterization of ecosystem responses to sustained climate change.", "keywords": ["0301 basic medicine", "570", "Environmental management", "INCREASES", "Ecosystem ecology", "Climate Change", "Evolutionary biology", "TERM", "630", "Article", "Carbon Cycle", "Soil", "03 medical and health sciences", "SDG 13 - Climate Action", "106026 Ecosystem research", "Life Below Water", "Ecosystem", "106022 Mikrobiologie", "0303 health sciences", "Ecology", "Climate-change ecology", "SHIFTS", "Biological Sciences", "15. Life on land", "Grassland", "106026 \u00d6kosystemforschung", "13. Climate action", "SDG 13 \u2013 Ma\u00dfnahmen zum Klimaschutz", "FEEDBACKS", "106022 Microbiology", "VEGETATION", "SENSITIVITY", "Environmental Sciences", "SOIL RESPIRATION", "RESPONSES"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://escholarship.org/content/qt99v0g8pc/qt99v0g8pc.pdf"}, {"href": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-019-1055-3"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Nature%20Ecology%20%26amp%3B%20Evolution", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1038/s41559-019-1055-3", "name": "item", "description": "10.1038/s41559-019-1055-3", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1038/s41559-019-1055-3"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2019-12-09T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1126/science.aay5958", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-09-21T16:17:58Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2020-02-14", "title": "Global ecosystem thresholds driven by aridity", "description": "Thresholds of aridity
Increasing aridity due to climate change is expected to affect multiple ecosystem structural and functional attributes in global drylands, which cover \uffe2\uff88\uffbc45% of the terrestrial globe. Berdugo et al. show that increasing aridity promotes thresholds on the structure and functioning of drylands (see the Perspective by Hirota and Oliveira). Their database includes 20 variables summarizing multiple aspects and levels of ecological organization. They found evidence for a series of abrupt ecological events occurring sequentially in three phases, culminating with a shift to low-cover ecosystems that are nutrient- and species-poor at high aridity values. They estimate that more than 20% of land surface will cross at least one of the thresholds by 2100, which can potentially lead to widespread land degradation and desertification worldwide.
Science , this issue p. 787 ; see also p. 739 Climate change exposes ecosystems to strong and rapid changes in their environmental boundary conditions mainly due to the altered temperature and precipitation patterns. It is still poorly understood how fast interlinked ecosystem processes respond to altered environmental conditions, if these responses occur gradually or suddenly when thresholds are exceeded, and if the patterns of the responses will reach a stable state. We conducted an irrigation experiment in the Pfynwald, Switzerland from 2003\uffe2\uff80\uff932018. A naturally dry Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) forest was irrigated with amounts that doubled natural precipitation, thus releasing the forest stand from water limitation. The aim of this study was to provide a quantitative understanding on how different traits and functions of individual trees and the whole ecosystem responded to increased water availability, and how the patterns and magnitudes of these responses developed over time. We found that the response magnitude, the temporal trajectory of responses, and the length of initial lag period prior to significant response largely varied across traits. We detected rapid and stronger responses from aboveground tree traits (e.g., tree\uffe2\uff80\uff90ring width, needle length, and crown transparency) compared to belowground tree traits (e.g., fine\uffe2\uff80\uff90root biomass). The altered aboveground traits during the initial years of irrigation increased the water demand and trees adjusted by increasing root biomass during the later years of irrigation, resulting in an increased survival rate of Scots pine trees in irrigated plots. The irrigation also stimulated ecosystem\uffe2\uff80\uff90level foliar decomposition rate, fungal fruit body biomass, and regeneration abundances of broadleaved tree species. However, irrigation did not promote the regeneration of Scots pine trees, which are reported to be vulnerable to extreme droughts. Our results provide extensive evidence that tree\uffe2\uff80\uff90 and ecosystem\uffe2\uff80\uff90level responses were pervasive across a number of traits on long\uffe2\uff80\uff90term temporal scales. However, after reaching a peak, the magnitude of these responses either decreased or reached a new stable state, providing important insights into how resource alterations could change the system functioning and its boundary conditions.50\u2009years of soil warming. Warming of >50\u2009years drove the ecosystem to a new steady state possessing a distinct biotic composition and reduced species richness, biomass and soil organic matter. However, the warmed state was preceded by an overreaction to warming, which was related to organism physiology and was evident after 5-8\u2009years. Ignoring this overreaction yielded errors of >100% for 83\u2009variables when predicting their responses to a realistic warming scenario of 1\u2009\u00b0C over 50\u2009years, although some, including soil carbon content, remained stable after 5-8\u2009years. This study challenges long-term ecosystem predictions made from short-term observations, and provides a framework for characterization of ecosystem responses to sustained climate change.", "keywords": ["0301 basic medicine", "570", "Environmental management", "INCREASES", "Ecosystem ecology", "Climate Change", "Evolutionary biology", "TERM", "630", "Article", "Carbon Cycle", "3103 Ecology (for-2020)", "Soil (mesh)", "Soil", "03 medical and health sciences", "14 Life Below Water (sdg)", "SDG 13 - Climate Action", "106026 Ecosystem research", "Life Below Water", "Ecosystem", "106022 Mikrobiologie", "0303 health sciences", "31 Biological Sciences (for-2020)", "41 Environmental Sciences (for-2020)", "Ecology", "Grassland (mesh)", "Climate-change ecology", "Ecosystem (mesh)", "SHIFTS", "3104 Evolutionary biology (for-2020)", "Biological Sciences", "15. Life on land", "4104 Environmental management (for-2020)", "Grassland", "Carbon Cycle (mesh)", "106026 \u00d6kosystemforschung", "13. Climate action", "SDG 13 \u2013 Ma\u00dfnahmen zum Klimaschutz", "FEEDBACKS", "Climate Change (mesh)", "106022 Microbiology", "VEGETATION", "SENSITIVITY", "Environmental Sciences", "SOIL RESPIRATION", "RESPONSES"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://escholarship.org/content/qt99v0g8pc/qt99v0g8pc.pdf"}, {"href": "https://doi.org/1871.1/3309bf72-4ad9-4331-981a-6fc05d319188"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Nature%20Ecology%20%26amp%3B%20Evolution", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "1871.1/3309bf72-4ad9-4331-981a-6fc05d319188", "name": "item", "description": "1871.1/3309bf72-4ad9-4331-981a-6fc05d319188", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/1871.1/3309bf72-4ad9-4331-981a-6fc05d319188"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2019-12-09T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "2994175618", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-09-21T16:22:59Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2019-12-09", "title": "A systemic overreaction to years versus decades of warming in a subarctic grassland ecosystem", "description": "Temperature governs most biotic processes, yet we know little about how warming affects whole ecosystems. Here we examined the responses of 128\u2009components of a subarctic grassland to either 5-8 or >50\u2009years of soil warming. Warming of >50\u2009years drove the ecosystem to a new steady state possessing a distinct biotic composition and reduced species richness, biomass and soil organic matter. However, the warmed state was preceded by an overreaction to warming, which was related to organism physiology and was evident after 5-8\u2009years. Ignoring this overreaction yielded errors of >100% for 83\u2009variables when predicting their responses to a realistic warming scenario of 1\u2009\u00b0C over 50\u2009years, although some, including soil carbon content, remained stable after 5-8\u2009years. This study challenges long-term ecosystem predictions made from short-term observations, and provides a framework for characterization of ecosystem responses to sustained climate change.", "keywords": ["0301 basic medicine", "570", "Environmental management", "INCREASES", "Ecosystem ecology", "Climate Change", "Evolutionary biology", "TERM", "630", "Article", "Carbon Cycle", "Soil", "03 medical and health sciences", "SDG 13 - Climate Action", "106026 Ecosystem research", "Life Below Water", "Ecosystem", "106022 Mikrobiologie", "0303 health sciences", "Ecology", "Climate-change ecology", "SHIFTS", "Biological Sciences", "15. Life on land", "Grassland", "106026 \u00d6kosystemforschung", "13. Climate action", "SDG 13 \u2013 Ma\u00dfnahmen zum Klimaschutz", "FEEDBACKS", "106022 Microbiology", "VEGETATION", "SENSITIVITY", "Environmental Sciences", "SOIL RESPIRATION", "RESPONSES"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://escholarship.org/content/qt99v0g8pc/qt99v0g8pc.pdf"}, {"href": "https://doi.org/2994175618"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Nature%20Ecology%20%26amp%3B%20Evolution", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "2994175618", "name": "item", "description": "2994175618", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/2994175618"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2019-12-09T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10261/378668", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-09-21T16:22:07Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2020-09-25", "title": "The relevance of environment vs. composition on dissolved organic matter degradation in freshwaters", "description": "Abstract
Dissolved organic matter (DOM) composition exerts a direct control on its degradation and subsequent persistence in aquatic ecosystems. Yet, under certain conditions, the degradation patterns of DOM cannot be solely explained by its composition, highlighting the relevance of environmental conditions for DOM degradation. Here, we experimentally assessed the relative influence of composition vs. environment on DOM degradation by performing degradation bioassays using three contrasting DOM sources inoculated with a standardized bacterial inoculum under five distinct environments. The DOM degradation kinetics modeled using reactivity continuum models showed that composition was more important than environment in determining the bulk DOM decay patterns. Changes in DOM composition resulted from the interaction between DOM source and environment. The role of environment was stronger on shaping the bacterial community composition, but the intrinsic nature of the DOM source exerted stronger control on the DOM degradation function. Increasing aridity due to climate change is expected to affect multiple ecosystem structural and functional attributes in global drylands, which cover \uffe2\uff88\uffbc45% of the terrestrial globe. Berdugo et al. show that increasing aridity promotes thresholds on the structure and functioning of drylands (see the Perspective by Hirota and Oliveira). Their database includes 20 variables summarizing multiple aspects and levels of ecological organization. They found evidence for a series of abrupt ecological events occurring sequentially in three phases, culminating with a shift to low-cover ecosystems that are nutrient- and species-poor at high aridity values. They estimate that more than 20% of land surface will cross at least one of the thresholds by 2100, which can potentially lead to widespread land degradation and desertification worldwide.
Science , this issue p. 787 ; see also p. 739