Battelle’s Post

Ever wonder about climate change’s effects on the interrelation between fungi and forests? Or about the impact of plant diversity management and intensification methods on grazing lands, or how using satellite data can inform us about plant traits? Read the new Inside Battelle blog, where we highlighting the latest research leveraging data from the NEON Program that we proudly operate for the National Science Foundation (NSF). Originally conceived at the turn of the millennium and designed to collect measurements for three decades, NEON is a U.S.-wide network of 81 field sites that offers the global scientific community access to rich, continent-scale datasets that are driving ecological research. https://okt.to/aYEZoJ

Are you interested in climate change’s effects on the relationship between fungi and forests? Would you like to know the impact of plant diversity management and intensification methods on grazing lands? Do you want to learn about how using satellite data can inform us about plant traits? Wonder no more, we've got you covered in the latest edition of the Inside Battelle blog covering the current news at America's NEON Program, a continental-scale network we operate for the National Science Foundation (NSF). https://okt.to/xJiXlQ

Source: Scientific reports eBryoSoil app enables citizen scientists to map biological soil covers (BSCs) in the Iberian Peninsula, crucial for ecosystem health. Data collected from Nov 2019 to Jan 2021 highlights BSCs' interactions with climate, emphasizing habitat conservation. Despite COVID-19 challenges, the project successfully gathered insights on BSC vulnerability to climate change, showcasing citizen science's potential in studying understudied organisms.

🌍💧🌿 Dear friends and colleagues, please consider submitting your AGU24 abstracts to: GC027 - Advancing Soil Moisture Research in the Context of Global Environmental Change Submission Link:   https://lnkd.in/gQ98drJE   Submission Deadline:  31 July (Wed) 23:59 EDT/03:59 +1 GMT   Invited Presenters: Sonia I. Seneviratne (https://lnkd.in/gdw4JauP) Paul A. Dirmeyer (https://lnkd.in/gyfBUWM3)   Session Description: At the nexus of hydrology, climate dynamics, and ecology, soil moisture (SM) is an essential variable within Earth system science. The RUBISCO Soil Moisture Working Group (SMWG) invites contributions for this session that delve into the multifaceted role of SM against the backdrop of global environmental change. Highly desired are submissions showcasing novel methodologies, particularly those incorporating machine learning, to improve SM estimation at multiple scales. Furthermore, we seek insights applying new SM datasets to benchmark critical ecohydrological and biogeochemical cycles, thereby aiding in the modeling of Earth's long-term perturbations. Contributors are also encouraged to present studies focused on developing novel understanding on the quality of existing SM datasets, and detecting and attributing the impacts of SM on climate hazards, ecosystem health, and human-ecosystem-climate interactions. This dialogue aims to deepen our collective knowledge and catalyze a dynamic global discourse on the pivotal role of SM in understanding, modeling, and adapting to our changing environment over the coming decades and centuries.

📢 Are you working on modelling of forest ecosystems and climate change? The European Geosciences Union (EGU) is organising a special session on this topic during the EGU general assembly. Submit your abstract by January 10th ⏱! #forestry #modelling #climatechange #ForestNavigator

Challenging traditional views: Asserting that #ecology and #climate are the same! 🌱 In a time where 75% of Earth’s land surface has been significantly altered, climate scientist Roger Pielke Sr. establishes that the climate impact of increased photosynthesis is many times more potent than any other single action to reverse climate change! 🌍🌿 That’s right! This holistic approach recognises climate not just as atmospheric conditions over time, but as a complex web of interactions among the atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere! 🌊 Since all the components of the water cycle are connected (and linked to the carbon cycle!), changes in land use trickle down to many other components of the water cycle and climate system. 🔄 Climate and ecology being the same is huge because people tend to look at climate as physics, and ecology as a ‘hippy’ movement... There seems to have grown an institutional suspicion of perspectives that don’t fit a strictly physical, CO2-driven interpretation of climate... 🤔 It’s crucial to highlight the importance of integrating both biological and physical elements for a comprehensive understanding of climate dynamics. 📚🌿 Actions such as syntropic forests, successional mob grazing, and regenerative arable farming, can store huge amounts of carbon and restore the short water cycle. Cooling the area. 🌳 Between 2010 and 2015, over 123,000 square miles of primary forest were lost. 🌲 Bringing back plants and vegetables will cool the area and restore life! 🥦 To delve deeper into this transformative perspective on climate and ecology, read the full article at: https://lnkd.in/ejU9a-3e 📖

I’m unsure what the consensus is on this, but I’ve had much fun collaborating with two of my closest friends (Bhavya Thapa, DIKSHA VERMA). Recently, we worked together on a book chapter that has now been published in "Forests and Climate Change" by Springer Nature. Our chapter focuses on the flow of forest ecosystem services in the context of disturbances. As climate change continues to alter ecosystems, particularly forests, we explore how disturbances like fires, storms, and pest outbreaks impact the flow of crucial ecosystem services. Using forests as a model, we dive into topics like long-term ecosystem monitoring, the need for identifying critical thresholds to prevent irreversible damage, and the role of modern tools like remote sensing and ecosystem modeling. We also emphasize the importance of stakeholder participation, including citizen scientists, in understanding and managing these shifts. Our ultimate goal is strengthening communities’ capacity to adapt and make informed decisions for a sustainable future. We’re incredibly grateful to Dr. Hukum Singh for giving us the opportunity to contribute to this book. To more such collaborations with friends. :) https://lnkd.in/dnQ6FQMD

William Dietrich (Miller Professor 1998) is a co-author of the paper "Anticipating responses to climate change and planning for resilience in California’s freshwater ecosystems," published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. It calls on California leaders to do more to recover degraded freshwater ecosystems and protect the resilience, health, and viability of existing ecosystems. #ecology #ecosystems #climate #science #stem #millerfellow

Low-intensity #grassland is better able to withstand climate change Climate change has an impact on the biodiversity and productivity of #meadows and #pastures. Species-rich grasslands that are less frequently mown / grazed were more resistant to the heat and #drought than the intensively used meadows, write biologists Lotte Korell and Harald Auge from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) and collegues from the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, The Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Leuphana University of Lüneburg and University of Potsdam in Global Change Biology. This was made possible by the large-scale and long-term experiment of the UFZ in Bad Lauchstädt near Halle, the Global Change Experimental Facility (#GCEF). https://lnkd.in/dPBF3wXT #climatechange #biodiversity #science #publication

#Trees are some of Earth’s longest-living organisms. Yet, we still don't know a lot about the way they progress through life & strive for survival. We are now thrilled to share a new paper in Science Magazine in which we take a deep dive into tree longevity. By joining forces with 100+ amazing #scientists from across the globe, among others the #ForestPlots network and #TreeMort project, we were able to gather millions (!) of measurements to calculate the life expectancies of 1127 #tree species. 🌳 🌲 Our results show: trees' #lifestrategies are much more varied than previously assumed. This #diversity of life strategies has important implications for our understanding of #forest #ecosystems and their #climatemitigation potential, i.e. through #carbonsequestration. Why? Find out below in our #explainer 👇 Read the full paper: https://lnkd.in/dVaJv68V ETH Zürich Department of Environmental Systems Science (D-USYS), ETH Zürich