More tree growth reduction due to consecutive drought and its legacy effect for a semiarid larch plantation in Northwest China

Extreme climate has increasingly led to negative impacts on forest ecosystems globally,especially in semiarid areas where forest ecosystems are more vulnerable.However,it is poorly understood how tree growth is affected by different drought events.In 2006–2009,the larch plantations in the semiarid areas of Northwest China were negatively affected by four consecutive dry years,which was a very rare phenomenon that may occur frequently under future climate warming.In this study,we analyzed the effect of these consecutive dry years on tree growth based on the data of the tree rings in the dominant layer of the forest canopy on a larch plantation.We found that the tree-ring width index(RWI)in dry years was lower than that in normal years,and it experienced a rapidly decreasing trend from 2006 to 2009(slope=-0.139 year^(-1),r=-0.94)due to water supply deficits in those dry years.Drought induced legacy effects of tree growth reduction,and consecutive dry years corresponded with greater growth reductions and legacy effects.Growth reductions and legacy effects were significantly stronger in the third and fourth consecutive dry years than that of single dry year(p<0.05),which might have been due to the cumulative stress caused by consecutive dry years.Our results showed that larch trees experienced greater tree growth reduction due to consecutive dry years and their legacy effect,and the trees had lower recovery rates after consecutive dry years.Our results highlight that consecutive dry years pose a new threat to plantations under climate warming,and thus,the effect of climate extremes on tree growth should be considered in growth models in semiarid areas.

The legacy effects of rubber defoliation period on the refoliation phenology,leaf disease,and latex yield

The leaf phenology of trees has received particular attention for its crucial role in the global water and carbon balances,ecosystem,and species distribution.However,current studies on leaf phenology have mainly focused on temperate trees,while few studies including tropical trees.Little attention has been paid to globally extensive industrial plantations.Rubber plantations are important to both the local and global economies.In this study,we investigated the legacy effects of defoliation phenology on the following year’s leaf flushing,leaf disease,and also latex yield of rubber trees,an economically important tree to local people and the world.Results show that extended duration of defoliation increased the subsequent duration of refoliation and rates of infection by powdery mildew disease,but led to reduced latex yield in March.This legacy effect of rubber defoliation may relate to the carbohydrate reserved in the trees.A longer duration of defoliation would consume more reserved carbohydrates,reducing available reserves for disease defense and latex production.Extended duration of defoliation period was associated with either a lower temperature before the cessation of latex tapping in October-November and/or a higher temperature after the cessation of latex tapping in December-January.Leaf falling signals the end of photosynthetic activities in deciduous trees.Thus,the leaf falling phenology will impact ecological processes involving rubber trees.Our findings indicated that the inclusion of defoliation periods in future rubber trees’ research,will be crucial to furthering our understanding of leaf flushing,powdery mildew disease,and latex yield.

Persistent greening against drying in northeast Asian semiarid grasslands:Asymmetrical responses of direct and legacy effects to intensified drought

Despite experiencing a decadal shift towards drought conditions at the end of the 2Oth century,semiarid grasslands in northeast Asia(NEA)exhibited an evident greening trend from 1982 to 2020.However,the mechanism behind this phenomenon remains unclear.Hence,we analysed the interdecadal changes in vegetation response to drought on the basis of the standardised precipitation evapotranspiration index(SPEI)and Global Inventory Modelling and Mapping Studies LAI4g datasets,with an emphasis on the differences between direct and legacy effects(as measured by resilience),to explore the mechanism of persistent grassland greening.Results revealed that during the post-drought shift period(2000-2020),the sudden decrease in the water content of the intermediate soil layer triggered an intensified vegetation response to drought.Specifically,although direct effects and resilience were amplified,they exhibited asymmetric changes.Resilience was stronger than direct effects,and this difference increased with increasing drought(drought recovery)levels.These combined effects may account for persistent greening against intensified drying in the semiarid grasslands in NEA.Given the projected exacerbation of future droughts,this study holds notable importance for comprehending the long-term change dynamics of dryland ecosystems.

Effects of combined antibiotics on nitrification, bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes in activated sludge: Insights from legacy effect of antibiotics

The effect of combined antibiotics exposure on nitrogen removal,microbial community assembly and proliferation of antibiotics resistance genes(ARGs)is a hotspot in activated sludge system.However,it is unclear that how the historical antibiotic stress affects the subsequent responses of microbes and ARGs to combined antibiotics.In this study,the effects of combined sulfamethoxazole(SMX)and trimethoprim(TMP)pollution on activated sludge under legacy of SMX or TMP stress with different doses(0.005-30 mg/L)were investigated to clarify antibiotic legacy effects.Nitrification activity was inhibited under higher level of combined exposure but a high total nitrogen removal(∼70%)occurred.Based on the full-scale classification,the legacy effect of past antibiotic stress had a marked effect on community composition of conditionally abundant taxa(CAT)and conditionally rare or abundant taxa(CRAT).Rare taxa(RT)were the keystone taxa in the microbial network,and the responses of hub genera were also affected by the legacy of antibiotic stress.Nitrifying bacteria and genes were inhibited by the antibiotics and aerobic denitrifying bacteria(Pseudomonas,Thaurea and Hydrogenophaga)were enriched under legacy of high dose,as were the key denitrifying genes(napA,nirK and norB).Furthermore,the occurrences and co-selection relationship of 94 ARGs were affected by legacy effect.While,some shared hosts(eg.,Citrobacter)and hub ARGs(eg.,mdtD,mdtE and acrD)were identified.Overall,antibiotic legacy could affect responses of activated sludge to combined antibiotic and the legacy effect was stronger at higher exposure levels.

Soil legacy effects and plant-soil feedback contribution to secondary succession processes

Secondary succession is the process by which a community develops into a climax community over time.However,knowledge on the mechanisms,relating to soil legacy effects(soil chemistry and enzyme activity)and plant-soil feedback(PSF),driving community succession remains limited.In this work,we examined the PSF associated with three succession stage species through a 2-year greenhouse experiment.Setaria viridis,Stipa bungeana,and Bothriochloa ischemum were selected to represent dominant and representative early-,mid-,and late-successional stage species,respectively,of semiarid grasslands on the Loess Plateau.In response to the different soil origin,the shoot biomass of early-,mid-,and late-species were all higher when grown in their own soil than in other species’soils,which indicated that the PSF of three species were positive.Over two growth periods,the early-species experienced a negative PSF,but the mid-and late-species experienced negative,neutral and positive PSF in the soil of early-,mid-and late-species,respectively.Our study demonstrates that soil legacy effects and PSF have a significant impact on community succession processes.

Negative legacy effects of rainfall and nitrogen amendment on leaf lifespan of steppe species

Aims Studying legacy effects(i.e.the indirect effect that persists for a period after casual factors cease)can provide novel insights into the role of ecological drivers.Leaf lifespan is among the key traits with multi-level functions.It is clear about the direct effects of water and nitrogen(N)amendment on leaf lifespan,but it remains unclear about their legacy effects on leaf lifespan and the associated mechanisms.Methods We performed a five-year field experiment with supplemental water and N,and quantified the legacy effects of field water and N addi-tion on the leaf lifespan,length and growth rate of four dominant species,Agropyron cristatum,Cleistogenes squarrosa,Leymus chin-ensis and Stipa grandis in a temperate steppe.Important Findings Across all the species,the legacies of water and N addition increased their leaf length and growth rate directly but decreased their leaf lifespan through direct and indirect pathways.Leaf lifes-pan was positively linked with leaf length but negatively associ-ated to leaf growth rate.the legacy effect of water addition on leaf lifespan was greater than that of N addition.Field N addition induced soil acidification and eutrophication,as well as altered soil microbes,but only eutrophication had negative legacy effects on leaf lifespan.these findings provide substantial evidence that rainfall and N amendment have negative legacy effects on leaf lifespan,and also highlight that multiple mechanisms or pathways determine legacy effects.Additionally,our results suggest that field water and N manipulations may influence the other leaf traits and functions.

The ecological scale mediates whether trees experience drought legacies in radial growth

The impact of lag effects produced by disturbances on primary production has been a major concern among ecologists during the last decade.Sudden and extreme climatic events are imposing drastic reductions in radial growth of trees as evidenced in tree-rings series Dendrochronological samples are obtained at tree level but analyzed at an aggregated scale(i.e.,mean chronologies),although aggregating tree-ring chronology on a regional scale may reduce the possibility of studying the variability of individual tree response to drought,by amplifying the average population response.Here,we conducted experimental research in which 370 trees of 5 species were analyzed to assess the potential statistical and scaling issues that may occur when using regressionbased methods to analyze ecosystem responses to disturbances.Drought legacy effects were quantified using individual and aggregated scales.Then,lag effects were validated using confidence and prediction intervals to identify values falling outside the certainty of the climate-growth model Individual scale legacy effects contrasted with confidence intervals were commonly distributed across species but were scarce when compared with prediction intervals.The analysis of aggregated scale legacies detected significant growth reductions when validated using prediction intervals;however,individual scale legacy lag effects were not detected.This finding directly contrasts the results obtained when using an aggregated scale.Our results provide empirical evidence on how aggregating ecological data to infer processes that emerge from an individual scale can lead to distorted conclusions.We therefore encourage the use of individual based statistical and ecological procedures to analyze tree rings as a means of further understanding the ecosystem responses to disturbances.

Seasonal compensation implied no weakening of the land carbon sink in the Northern Hemisphere under the 2015/2016 El Niño

The recurrent extreme El Niño events are commonly linked to reduced vegetation growth and the land carbon sink over many but discrete regions of the Northern Hemisphere(NH).However,we reported here a pervasive and continuous vegetation greening and no weakened land carbon sink in the maturation phase of the 2015/2016 El Niño event over the NH(mainly in the extra-tropics),based on multiple evidences from remote sensing observations,global ecosystem model simulations and atmospheric CO_(2)inversions.We discovered a significant compensation effect of the enhanced vegetation growth in spring on subsequent summer/autumn vegetation growth that sustained vegetation greening and led to a slight increase in the land carbon sink over the spring and summer of 2015(average increases of 23.34%and 0.63%in net ecosystem exchange from two independent datasets relative to a 5-years average before the El Niño event,respectively)and spring of 2016(6.82%),especially in the extra-tropics of the NH,where the water supply during the pre-growing-season(November of the previous year to March of the current year)had a positive anomaly.This seasonal compensation effect was much stronger than that in 1997 and 1998 and significantly alleviated the adverse impacts of the 2015/2016 El Niño event on vegetation growth during its maturation phase.The legacy effect of water supply during the pre-growing-season on subsequent vegetation growth lasted up to approximately six months.Our findings highlight the role of seasonal compensation effects on mediating the land carbon sink in response to episodic extreme El Niño events.

Immediate and long-term effects of invasive plant species on soil characteristics

Invasive plant species may alter soil characteristics or interact with the soil microbial community resulting in a competitive advantage.Our objectives were to determine:i)if invasive plant species alter soil properties;and ii)the long-term effects of invasive plant species on soil properties and subsequent implications on ecological restoration efforts.We focused on Lespedeza cuneata,a plant that may be allelopathic.Soil samples were collected from four locations in Central Missouri,USA:an old-field with abundant L.cuneata,two reconstructed sites,and a remnant prairie that has never been plowed.Soil health indictors were used to characterize soil properties at these sites.Nearly every soil property differed significantly between the unplowed prairie reference site and the other three sites.The reconstructed sites,however,generally did not differ from the invaded old-field.These results indicate that the reconstructed prairies are not fully recovered.Although above-ground traits,such as the plant community structure,appear similar to the prairie,the soil microbial community structure still resembles that of an invaded old-field site.These results indicate that more time may be needed before soil microbial populations fully recover after invasive plant removal.