Microenvironmental and seasonal variations in soil water content of the unsaturated zone of a sand dune system at Pinery Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada

Ensign, K.; Webb, Elizabeth; Longstaffe, Frederick J.

doi:10.1016/j.geoderma.2006.06.009

Cited by 29 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…We therefore ruled out the possibility that these red soils developed because of deeper groundwater levels controlled by topographic features. It is likely that the sandier texture of these soils, rather than topography, plays a greater role in forming homogeneous red soils (Ensign et al, 2006). Further study is required to clarify the formation of these coastal red soils.…”

Section: Patterns Of Soil Distribution Upon Spindle-and Fanshaped Surmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationships between topography and spatial variations in groundwater and soil morphology within the Taoyuan–Hukou Tableland, Northwestern Taiwan

Lin

Wang

et al. 2007

Geomorphology

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Section: Patterns Of Soil Distribution Upon Spindle-and Fanshaped Surmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationships between topography and spatial variations in groundwater and soil morphology within the Taoyuan–Hukou Tableland, Northwestern Taiwan

Lin

Wang

et al. 2007

Geomorphology

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“…This is especially important as coastal and lacustrine ecosystems are expected to be among the most vulnerable to climate change due to increases in the intensity of severe weather events, such as storms and droughts, which will accelerate erosion and reduce dune stability , Schlacher et al 2008. Under the highest CO 2 emissions general circulation models, the Great Lakes region is expected to experience altered rates of annual precipitation (IPCC 2012) and an increase of 58C in annual temperature by 2070-2099 (Hayhoe et al 2010), which pose a direct threat to dune habitats that are already water limited (Lichter 2000, Ensign et al 2006. Understanding how climate influences population traits of A. breviligulata is a first step in predicting how dune habitats will respond to climate change.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biotic and abiotic predictors of ecosystem engineering traits of the dune building grass, Ammophila breviligulata

Emery

Rudgers

2014

Ecosphere

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Citation: Emery, S. M., and J. A. Rudgers. 2014. Biotic and abiotic predictors of ecosystem engineering traits of the dune building grass, Ammophila breviligulata. Ecosphere 5(7):87. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/ES13-00331.1Abstract. Ecosystem engineers are species that fundamentally influence their community and ecosystem by creating or altering the physical structure of habitats. However, the function of ecosystem engineers is variable and can depend on abiotic and biotic factors. In this study, we characterized the ecosystem engineering traits of plant size and tiller density for the dune grass, Ammophila breviligulata, in 37 sites across a broad geographic gradient in the western Great Lakes region. We also measured 20 biotic and abiotic factors related to climate, soil chemistry, and fungal symbionts associated with these survey sites and assessed their relationships with A. breviligulata population traits and dune plant species richness. Climate factors, especially temperature and precipitation, were positively associated with A. breviligulata tiller size, while soil organic matter was the only factor associated with tiller density. Several factors, including temperature, soil nitrogen, and mycorrhizal colonization, were associated with plant richness across our sites. Our results suggest that climate can influence at least some ecosystem engineering traits (i.e., plant size) of an important dune building species, although general conclusions from our work indicate that the population trait tied most closely with dune building ability-population density-is not strongly influenced by climate at the regional scale. This offers insight for conservationists interested in preserving intact dune ecosystems in a changing climate, but further work is needed to reconcile conflicting lab and field studies.

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“…This forefield is also representative of a major Polar ecosystem, since most of the non-ice-covered surface land area of Antarctica and the high Arctic have very little plant coverage (Vanderpuye et al, 2002;Okuda et al, 2007Okuda et al, , 2011Birks, 2008). Plant colonization is likely to heavily re-structure the microbial community (Brown and Jumpponen, 2014), and the physical properties of the soil, including water retention, ultraviolet exposure, temperature fluctuations (Ensign et al, 2006;King et al, 2008) and nutrient status (Kastovska et al, 2005;Schutte et al, 2009). For example, Duc et al (2009b) compared rhizosphere and bulk soils in the Damma Glacier, and found substantially higher total organic carbon concentrations in soils sampled in close proximity to plants.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbial and Biogeochemical Dynamics in Glacier Forefields Are Sensitive to Century-Scale Climate and Anthropogenic Change

2017

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The recent retreat of glaciers and ice sheets as a result of global warming exposes forefield soils that are rapidly colonized by microbes. These ecosystems are dominant in high-latitude carbon and nutrient cycles as microbial activity drives biogeochemical transformations within these newly exposed soils. Despite this, little is known about the response of these emerging ecosystems and associated biogeochemical cycles to projected changes in environmental factors due to human impacts. Here, we applied the model SHIMMER to quantitatively explore the sensitivity of biogeochemical dynamics in the forefield of Midtre Lovénbreen, Svalbard, to future changes in climate and anthropogenic forcings including soil temperature, snow cover, and nutrient and organic substrate deposition. Model results indicated that the rapid warming of the Arctic, as well as an increased deposition of organic carbon and nutrients, may impact primary microbial colonizers in Arctic soils. Warming and increased snow-free conditions resulted in enhanced bacterial production and an accumulation of biomass that was sustained throughout 200 years of soil development. Nitrogen deposition stimulated growth during the first 50 years of soil development following exposure. Increased deposition of organic carbon sustained higher rates of bacterial production and heterotrophic respiration leading to decreases in net ecosystem production and thus net CO 2 efflux from soils. Pioneer microbial communities were particularly susceptible to future changes. All future climate simulations encouraged a switch from allochthonously-dominated young soils (<40 years) to microbially-dominated older soils, due to enhanced heterotrophic degradation of organic matter. Critically, this drove remineralisation and increased nutrient availability. Overall, we show that human activity, especially the burning of fossil fuels and the enhanced deposition of nitrogen and organic carbon, has the potential to considerably affect the biogeochemical development of recently exposed Arctic soils in the present day and for centuries into the future. These effects must be acknowledged when attempting to make accurate predictions of the future fate of Arctic soils that are exposed over large expanses of presently ice-covered regions.

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Microenvironmental and seasonal variations in soil water content of the unsaturated zone of a sand dune system at Pinery Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada

Cited by 29 publications

References 54 publications

Relationships between topography and spatial variations in groundwater and soil morphology within the Taoyuan–Hukou Tableland, Northwestern Taiwan

Relationships between topography and spatial variations in groundwater and soil morphology within the Taoyuan–Hukou Tableland, Northwestern Taiwan

Biotic and abiotic predictors of ecosystem engineering traits of the dune building grass, Ammophila breviligulata

Microbial and Biogeochemical Dynamics in Glacier Forefields Are Sensitive to Century-Scale Climate and Anthropogenic Change

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