Biogeosciences Discussions

Likelihoods for fitting process-based stochastic models are usually based on general assumptions about variability in the observed data, and not on the stochasticity generated by the model. Only in recent years have new methods become available that allow the generation of likelihoods directly from stochastic simulations. Previous applications of these approximate Bayesian methods have concentrated on relatively simple models. Here, we report on the application of a simulation-based likelihood approximation for FORMIND, a parameter-rich individual-based model of tropical forest dynamics. We show that approximate Bayesian inference, based on a parametric likelihood approximation placed in a conventional Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampler, performs well in retrieving known parameter values from virtual inventory data generated by the forest model. We analyze the results of the parameter estimation, examine its sensitivity to the choice of summary statistics that aggregate the data, and demonstrate the application of this method by fitting the FORMIND model to field data from an Ecuadorian tropical forest. Finally, we discuss how this approach differs from Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC), another method commonly used to generate simulation-based likelihood approximations. Our results demonstrate that simulation-based inference, which offers considerable conceptual advantages over more traditional methods for inverse parameter estimation, can be successfully applied to process-based models of high complexity. The methodology is particularly suitable for heterogeneous and complex data structures and can easily be adjusted to other model types, including most stochastic population and individual-based models. Our study therefore provides a blueprint for a fairly general approach to parameter estimation of stochastic process-based models.

Studies of forest nitrogen (N) budgets generally measure inputs from the atmosphere in wet and dry deposition and outputs via hydrologic export. Although denitrification has been shown to be important in many wetland ecosystems, emission of N oxides from forest soils is an important, and often overlooked, component of an ecosystem N budget. During 1 year (2002–03), emissions of nitric oxide (NO) and nitrous oxide (N2O) were measured from Sessile oak and Norway spruce forest soils in northeast Hungary. Accumulation in small static chambers followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry detection was used for the estimation of N2O emission flux. Because there are rapid chemical reactions of NO and ozone, small dynamic chambers were used for in situ NO flux measurements. Average soil emissions of NO were 1.2 and 2.1 μg N m−2 h−1, and for N2O were 15 and 20 μg N m−2 h−1, for spruce and oak soils, respectively. Due to the relatively high soil water content, and low C/N ratio in soil, denitrification processes dominate, resulting in an order of magnitude greater N2O emission rate compared to NO. The previously determined N balance between the atmosphere and the forest ecosystem was re-calculated using these soil emission figures. The total (dry+wet) atmospheric N-deposition to the soil was 1.42 and 1.59 g N m−2 yr−1 for spruce and oak, respectively, while the soil emissions are 0.14 and 0.20 g N m−2 yr−1. Thus, about 10–13% of N compounds deposited to the soil, mostly as and , were transformed in the soil and emitted back to the atmosphere, mostly as greenhouse gas (N2O).

We investigated the fate of root and litter derived carbon in soil organic matter and dissolved organic matter in soil profiles, in order to explain mechanisms of short-term soil carbon storage. A time series of soil and soil solution samples was investigated at the field site of The Jena Experiment between 2002 and 2004. In addition to the main experiment with C3 plants, a C4 species (Amaranthus retroflexus L.) naturally labeled with 13C was grown on an extra plot. Changes in organic carbon concentration in soil and soil solution were combined with stable isotope measurements to follow the fate of plant carbon into the soil and soil solution. A split plot design with plant litter removal versus double litter input simulated differences in biomass input. After 2 years, the no litter and double litter treatment, respectively, showed an increase of 381 g C m−2 and 263 g C m−2 to 20 cm depth, while 71 g C m−2 and 393 g C m−2 were lost between 20 and 30 cm depth. The isotopic label in the top 5 cm indicated that 115 g C m−2 and 156 g C m−2 of soil organic carbon were derived from C4 plant material on the no litter and the double litter treatment, respectively. Without litter, this equals the total amount of 97 g C m−2 that was newly stored in the same soil depth, whereas with double litter this clearly exceeded the stored amount of 75 g C m−2. Our results indicate that litter input resulted in lower carbon storage and larger carbon losses and consequently accelerated turnover of soil organic carbon. Isotopic evidence showed that inherited soil organic carbon was replaced by fresh plant carbon near the soil surface. Our results suggest that primarily carbon released from soil organic matter, not newly introduced plant organic matter, was transported in the soil solution. However, the total flow of dissolved organic carbon was not sufficient to explain the observed carbon storage in deeper soil layers, and the existence of additional carbon uptake mechanisms is discussed.

The air-sea exchanges of CO2 in the world's 165 estuaries and 87 continental shelves are evaluated. Generally and in all seasons, upper estuaries with salinities of less than two are strong sources of CO2 (39 ± 56 mol C m-2 yr-1, negative flux indicates that the water is losing CO2 to the atmosphere); mid-estuaries with salinities of between 2 and 25 are moderate sources (17.5 ± 34 mol C m-2 yr-1) and lower estuaries with salinities of more than 25 are weak sources (8.4 ± 14 mol C m-2 yr-1). With respect to latitude, estuaries between 23.5 and 50° N have the largest flux per unit area (63 ± 101 mmol C m-2 d-1); these are followed by mid-latitude estuaries (23.5-0° S: 44 ± 29 mmol C m-2 d-1; 0-23.5° N: 39 ± 55 mmol C m-2 d-1), and then regions north of 50° N (36 ± 91 mmol C m-2 d-1). Estuaries south of 50° S have the smallest flux per unit area (9.5 ± 12 molC m-2 d-1). Mixing with low-pCO2 shelf waters, water temperature, residence time and the complexity of the biogeochemistry are major factors that govern the pCO2 in estuaries but wind speed, seldom discussed, is critical to controlling the air-water exchanges of CO2. The total annual release of CO2 from the world's estuaries is now estimated to be 0.10 PgC yr-1, which is much lower than published values mainly because of the contribution of a considerable amount of heretofore unpublished or new data from Asia and the Arctic. The Asian data, although indicating high in pCO2, are low in sea-to-air fluxes because the wind speeds are lower than previously determined values, which rely heavily on data from Europe and North America, where pCO2 is lower but wind speeds are much higher, such that the CO2 fluxes are higher than in Asia. Newly emerged CO2 flux data in the Arctic reveal that estuaries there mostly absorb, rather than release CO2. Most continental shelves, and especially those at high latitude, are under-saturated in terms of CO2 and absorb CO2 from the atmosphere in all seasons. Shelves between 0° and 23.5° S are on average a weak source and have a small flux per unit area of CO2 to the atmosphere. Water temperature, the spreading of river plumes, upwelling, and biological production seem to be the main factors in determining pCO2 in the shelves. Wind speed, again, is critical because at high latitudes, the winds tend to be strong. Since the surface water pCO2 values are low, the air-to-sea fluxes are high in regions above 50° N and below 50° S. At low latitudes, the winds tend to be weak, so the sea-to-air CO2 flux is small. Overall, the world's continental shelves absorb 0.4 PgC yr-1 from the atmosphere.

Bacterioplankton plays a central role in energy and matter fluxes in the sea, yet the factors that constrain its variation in marine systems are still poorly understood. Here we use the explanatory power of direct multivariate gradient analysis to evaluate the driving forces exerted by environmental parameters on bacterial community distribution in the water column. We gathered and analysed data from a one month sampling period from the surface to 1000 m depth at the JGOFS-DYFAMED station (NW Mediterranean Sea). This station is characterized by very poor horizontal advection currents which makes it an ideal model to test hypotheses on the causes of vertical stratification of bacterial communities. Capillary electrophoresis single strand conformation polymorphism (CE-SSCP) fingerprinting profiles analyzed using multivariate statistical methods demonstrated a vertical zonation of bacterial assemblages in three layers, above, in or just below the chlorophyll maximum and deeper, that remained stable during the entire sampling period. Through the use of direct gradient multivariate ordination analyses we demonstrate that a complex array of biogeochemical parameters is the driving force behind bacterial community structure shifts in the water column. Physico-chemical parameters such as phosphate, nitrate, salinity and to a lesser extent temperature, oxygen, dissolved organic carbon and photosynthetically active radiation acted in synergy to explain bacterial assemblages changes with depth. Analysis of lipid biomarkers of organic matter sources and fates suggested that bacterial community structure in the surface layers was in part explained by lipids of chloroplast origin. Further detailed analysis of pigment-based phytoplankton diversity gave evidence of a compartmentalized influence of several phytoplankton groups on bacterial community structure in the first 150 m depth.

The final version of the manuscript has been published in Deep Sea Research Part I: Vertical export flux of metals in the Mediterranean Sea Lars-Eric Heimbürger, Christophe Migon, Rémi Losno, Juan-Carlos Miquel, Benoît Thibodeau, Marion Stabholz, Aurélie Dufour, Nathalie Leblond Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers 01/2014; DOI:doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr.2014.02.001 Abstract: Mass fluxes and trace metal (TM) fluxes were measured from samples collected in 2003 to 2005 from sediment traps deployed at 1000 m depth at the DYFAMED (DYnamique des Flux Atmosphériques en MEDiterranée) time-series station (central Ligurian Sea, 2350 m depth). A highly significant correlation is observed between all TM fluxes, whatever the nature and emission source of the TM (e.g., crustal such as Al, Fe, Co, or anthropogenic such as Zn, Cd, Pb) and the mass flux. Because these TMs originate from different emission sources, and, therefore, their atmospheric deposition to the sea surface varies with different seasonal patterns, it is suggested that fluxes of particulate organic carbon determine fluxes of TMs, and not the contrary. The seasonal sequence of the transfer of TMs to sea floor (winter convection, spring bloom and nutrient depletion of surface waters in summer and autumn) is briefly examined to highlight the concomitant temporal variability of mass and TM fluxes. This suggests that the TM downward transfer is totally controlled by the seasonal variability of biogenic carbon production, itself depending upon the intensity of winter convection. This may be a peculiarity of marine regions such as the Ligurian Sea, where hydrodynamical features (and, therefore, spring blooms) are strongly constrained by climatic and meteorological conditions (winter temperature, wind events, rain events).

Anthropogenic radionuclides were released into the environment in large quantities by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (1FNPP) accident. To evaluate accident-derived ¹²⁹I, the ¹²⁹I concentrations in seawater before and after the accident were compared. Before the accident (2009–2010), the ¹²⁹I concentrations in the western margin of the North Pacific between 36° N and 44° N showed a atitudinal gradient that was expressed as a linear function of latitude. The highest and average ¹²⁹I concentrations after the accident were 73 times and approximately 8 times, respectively, higher than those before the accident in this study area. Considering the distribution of ¹²⁹I in surface seawater, the accident-derived ¹²⁹I in the southern and northern stations of the 1FNPP was predominantly supplied by seawater advection and atmospheric deposition, respectively. As of October 2011, depth profiles of ¹²⁹I revealed that ¹²⁹I originating from the 1FNPP existed mainly in the upper 100 m depth. From the depth profiles, the cumulative inventories of accident-derived ¹²⁹I were estimated to be (1.8–9.9) × 10¹² atoms m⁻² in this study area. On the basis of the ¹²⁹I data in the seawater near Fukushima, the effective dose of ¹²⁹I from seafood ingestion was much smaller than the annual dose limit.

Soil CO2 efflux is the main source of CO2 from forest ecosystems and it is tightly coupled to the transfer of recent photosynthetic assimilates belowground and their metabolism in roots, mycorrhiza and rhizosphere microorganisms feeding on root-derived exudates. The objectives of our study were to assess patterns of belowground carbon allocation among tree species and along seasons. Pure 13CO2 pulse labelling of the entire crown of three different tree species (beech, oak and pine) was carried out at distinct phenological stages. Excess 13C in soil CO2 efflux was tracked using tunable diode laser absorption spectrometry to determine time lags between the start of the labelling and the appearance of 13C in soil CO2 efflux and the amount of 13C allocated to soil CO2 efflux. Isotope composition (δ13C) of CO2 respired by fine roots and soil microbes was measured at several occasions after labelling, together with δ13C of bulk root tissue and microbial carbon. Time lags ranged from 0.5 to 1.3 days in beech and oak and were longer in pine (1.6–2.7 days during the active growing season, more than 4 days during the resting season), and the transfer of C to the microbial biomass was as fast as to the fine roots. The amount of 13C allocated to soil CO2 efflux was estimated from a compartment model. Seasonal patterns of carbon allocation to soil CO2 efflux differed markedly between species, with pronounced seasonal variations in pine and beech. In beech, it may reflect competition with other sinks (aboveground growth in late spring and storage in late summer) that were not observed in oak.

Seasonal changes in nitrogen (N) pools, carbon (C) content and natural abundance of 13C and 15N in different tissues of ryegrass plants were investigated in two intensively managed grassland fields in order to address their ammonia (NH3) exchange potential. Green leaves generally had the largest total N concentration followed by stems and inflorescences. Senescent leaves had the lowest N concentration, indicating N re-allocation. The seasonal pattern of the Γ value, i.e. the ratio between NH4+ and H+ concentrations, was similar for the various tissues of the ryegrass plants but the magnitude of Γ differed considerably among the different tissues. Green leaves and stems generally had substantially lower Γ values than senescent leaves and litter. Substantial peaks in Γ were observed during spring and summer in response to fertilization and grazing. These peaks were associated with high NH4+ rather than with low H+ concentrations. Peaks in Γ also appeared during the winter, coinciding with increasing δ15N values, indicating absorption of N derived from mineralization of soil organic matter. At the same time, δ13C values were declining, suggesting reduced photosynthesis and capacity for N assimilation. δ15N and δ13C values were more influenced by mean monthly temperature than by the accumulated monthly precipitation. In conclusion, ryegrass plants showed a clear seasonal pattern in N pools. Green leaves and stems of ryegrass plants generally seem to constitute a sink for NH3, while senescent leaves have a large potential for NH3 emission. However, management events such as fertilisation and grazing may create a high NH3 emission potential even in green plant parts. The obtained results provide input for future modelling of plant-atmosphere NH3 exchange.

Effects of a heavy rain event on radiocesium export were studied at stations on the Natsui River and the Same River in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan after Typhoon Roke during 21-22 September 2011, six months after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident. Radioactivity of 134Cs and 137Cs in river waters was 0.011-0.098 Bq L-1 at normal flow conditions during July-September in 2011, but it increased to 0.85 Bq L-1 in high flow conditions by heavy rains occurring with the typhoon. The particulate fractions of 134Cs and 137Cs were 21-56% in the normal flow condition, but were close to 100% after the typhoon. These results indicate that the pulse input of radiocesium associated with suspended particles from land to coastal ocean occurred by the heavy rain event. Export flux of 134Cs and 137Cs by the heavy rain accounts for 30-50% of annual radiocesium flux in 2011. Results show that rain events are one factor controlling the transport and dispersion of radiocesium in river watersheds and coastal marine environments.

134Cs and 137Cs were released to the North Pacific Ocean by two major likely pathways, direct discharge from the Fukushima NPP1 accident site and atmospheric deposition off Honshu Islands of Japan, east and northeast of the site. High density observations of 134Cs and 137Cs in the surface water were carried out by 17 cruises of cargo ships and several research vessel cruises since March 2011 till March 2012. Main body of radioactive surface plume of which activity was exceed 10 Bq m-3 had been travelling along 40° N, and reached International Date Line on March 2012 one year after the accident. A feature was that the radioactive plume was confined along 40° N when the plume reached International Date Line. A zonal speed of the radioactive plume was estimated to be about 8 cm s-1 which was consistent with zonal speeds derived by Argo floats and satellite observations at the region.

The horizontal distribution of radioactive cesium (Cs) derived from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (FNPP) in the North Pacific is still unclear due to the limitation of direct measurement of the seawater in the open ocean. We present the result of direct observation of radioactive Cs in surface seawater collected from broad area in the western and central North Pacific in July, October 2011 and July 2012. We also conducted a simple particle tracking experiment to estimate the qualitative spatial distribution of radioactive Cs in the North Pacific. 134Cs were detected at 94 stations out of 123 stations and 137Cs was detected at all stations. The high 134Cs and 137Cs concentrations more than 10 mBq kg-1 were observed in the area where the northern part of Kuroshio extension at 144° E and 155° E in July 2011, in the area 147° E-175° E around 40° N in October 2011, and the northern part of Kuroshio extension at 155° E and 175° 30´ E in July 2012. Combining the result of direct observations and particle tracking experiment, the radioactive Cs derived from FNPP had been dispersed eastward to the central North Pacific during 2011. It was considered from the horizontal distribution that radioactive Cs was dispersed not only eastward but also north- and southward in the central North Pacific. Pronounced dilution process of radioactive Cs from FNPP during study period is suggested from temporal change in the activity ratio of 134Cs/137Cs which was decay corrected at 6 April 2011, and relationships between radioactive Cs and temperature.

The 2011 Tohoku earthquake caused radionuclide 137Cs be directly released into the ocean from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plants. A high-resolution global-coastal nesting ocean model was established to simulate the initial spread of 137Cs as conservative tracer over the shelf of Japan after the accident. The major advantage in the current model system is to use unstructured grids to resolve the power plant and the coastal geometry with a grid resolution much higher than that used in previous modeling experiments. Therefore, it gives us an opportunity to examine the necessity whether the detailed structure of the Power plant should be considered for numerical experiment of 137Cs dispersion or not. This could provide us an alternative insight into the physical processes that lead to its spread of 137Cs over the shelf of Japan. Our results suggested that to resolve the dispersion process from the source point to the south and north discharging canal is critical for an accurate prediction of the spread of 137Cs to the 30 km sites off the coast. Moreover, a 2 km grid resolution along Japan coast is probably not high enough to resolve the plume correctly. Finally, the model-data comparison suggested that the physical process associated with the transfer of dissolved 137Cs into the sediment phase could potentially be important and should be considered in the future tracer modeling.

Rate of cesium-137 (137Cs) release to the sea from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant was estimated until September 2012. Based on publicly released data of 137Cs in seawater near the power plant by Tokyo Electric Power Company, a continuing release of radionuclides to the sea is strongly suggested. The plant has an artificial harbour facility, and the exchange rate of harbour water with surrounding seawater was estimated by decrease of radioactivity immediately after an intense event of radioactive water release. The estimated exchange rate of water in the harbour is 0.44 day-1 during the period from 6 to 19 April 2011. 137Cs radioactivity of the harbour water is substantially higher than seawater outside and remained relatively stable after June 2011. A quasi-steady state was assumed with continuous water exchange, and an average release rate of 137Cs was estimated to be 93 GBq day-1 in summer 2011 and 8.1 GBq day-1 in summer 2012.

A series of accidents at the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant following the earthquake and tsunami of 11 March 2011 resulted in the release of radioactive materials to the ocean by two major pathways, direct release from the accident site and atmospheric deposition. A 1 yr, regional-scale simulation of 137Cs activity in the ocean offshore of Fukushima was carried out, the sources of radioactivity being direct release, atmospheric deposition, and the inflow of 137Cs deposited on the ocean by atmospheric deposition outside the domain of the model. Direct releases of 131I, 134Cs, and 137Cs were estimated for 1 yr after the accident by comparing simulated results and measured activities. The estimated total amounts of directly released 131I, 134Cs, and 137Cs were 11.1 ± 2.2 PBq, 3.5 ± 0.7 PBq, and 3.6 ± 0.7 PBq, respectively. The contributions of each source were estimated by analysis of 131I/137Cs and 134Cs/137Cs activity ratios and comparisons between simulated results and measured activities of 137Cs. Simulated 137Cs activities attributable to direct release were in good agreement with measured activities close to the accident site, a result that implies that the estimated direct release rate was reasonable, while simulated 137Cs activities attributable to atmospheric deposition were low compared to measured activities. The rate of atmospheric deposition onto the ocean was underestimated because of a~lack of measurements of deposition onto the ocean when atmospheric deposition rates were being estimated. Measured 137Cs activities attributable to atmospheric deposition helped to improve the accuracy of simulated atmospheric deposition rates. Simulated 137Cs activities attributable to the inflow of 137Cs deposited onto the ocean outside the domain of the model were in good agreement with measured activities in the open ocean within the model domain after June 2012. The contribution of inflow increased with time and was dominant (more than 99%) by the end of February 2012. The activity of directly released 137Cs, however, decreased exponentially with time and was detectable only in the coastal zone by the end of February 2012.

Straw incorporation generally increases CH4 emission from rice fields, but its effects on the mechanism of CH4 emission, especially on the pathway of CH4 production and the fraction of CH4 oxidized are not well known. To investigate the methanogenic pathway, the fraction of CH4 oxidized as well as the stable carbon isotope fractionation during the oxidation and transport of CH4 as affected by straw incorporation, production and oxidation of CH4 in paddy soil and rice roots and δ13C-values of produced CH4 and CO2, and emitted CH4 were observed in incubation and field experiments. Straw incorporation significantly enhanced CH4 production potentials of the paddy soil and rice roots. However, it increased the relative contribution of acetate to total CH4 production (Fac) in the paddy soil by ~ 10-30%, but decreased Fac-value of the rice roots by ~ 5-20%. Compared with rice roots, paddy soil was more important in acetoclastic methanogenesis, with Fac-value being 6-30% higher. Straw incorporation highly decreased the fraction of CH4 oxidized (Fox) by 41-71%, probably attributed to the fact that it increased CH4 oxidation potential whereas CH4 production potential was increased to a larger extent. There was little CH4 formed during aerobic incubation, and the produced CH4 was more 13C-enriched relative to that of anaerobic incubation. Assuming δ13C-values of CH4 aerobically produced in paddy soil to be the δ13C-values of residual CH4 after being oxidized, Fox-value still appeared to be 45-68% lower when straw was incorporated. Oxidation fractionation factor (αox) was higher with straw incorporation (1.033) than without straw incorporation (1.025). The δ13C-values of CH4 emitted after cutting of the plants (-50--43‰) were more positive than those of before (-58--55‰), suggesting a transport fractionation factor (ϵtransport) was -8.0‰ with straw incorporation and -12.0‰ without straw incorporation. Reasons for this difference may be related to the decrease in growth of the rice crop as a result of straw incorporation. The experiment shows that straw incorporation increases the contribution of acetate to total methanogenesis in paddy soil but decreases it on rice roots, and it significantly decreases the fraction of CH4 oxidized in the field, and expands oxidation fractionation while reducing transport fractionation.

Bathymodiolus azoricus mussels thrive at Mid-Atlantic Ridge hydrothermal vents, where part of their energy requirements are met via an endosymbiotic association with chemolithotrophic and methanotrophic bacteria. In an effort to describe phenotypic characteristics of the two bacterial endosymbionts and to assess their ability to assimilate CO2, CH4 and multi-carbon compounds, we performed experiments in aquaria using 13C-labeled NaHCO3 (in the presence of H2S), CH4 or amino-acids and traced the incorporation of 13C into total and phospholipid fatty acids (tFA and PLFA, respectively). 14:0; 15:0; 16:0; 16:1(n − 7)c+t; 18:1(n − 13)c+t and (n − 7)c+t; 20:1(n − 7); 20:2(n − 9,15); 18:3(n − 7) and (n − 5,10,13) PLFA were labeled in the presence of H13CO3− (+H2S) and 13CH4, while the 12:0 compound became labeled only in the presence of H13CO3− (+H2S). In contrast, the 17:0; 18:0; 16:1(n − 9); 16:1(n − 8) and (n − 6); 18:1(n − 8); and 18:2(n − 7) PLFA were only labeled in the presence of 13CH4. Some of these symbiont-specific fatty acids also appeared to be labeled in mussel gill tFA when incubated with 13C-enriched amino acids, and so were mussel-specific fatty acids such as 22:2(n − 7,15). Our results provide experimental evidence for the potential of specific fatty acid markers to distinguish between the two endosymbiotic bacteria, shedding new light on C1 and multi-carbon compound metabolic pathways in B. azoricus and its symbionts.

Current climate change models predict significant changes in rainfall patterns across Europe. To explore the effect of drought on soil CO₂ efflux ( F _Soil) and on the contribution of litter to F _Soil we used rain shelters to simulate a summer drought (May to July 2007) in an intensively managed grassland in Switzerland by reducing annual precipitation by around 30% similar to the hot and dry year 2003 in Central Europe. We added ¹³C-depleted as well as unlabelled grass/clover litter to quantify the litter-derived CO₂ efflux ( F _Litter). Soil CO₂ efflux and the ¹³C/¹²C isotope ratio (δ¹³C) of the respired CO₂ after litter addition were measured during the growing season 2007. Drought significantly decreased F _Soil in our litter addition experiment by 59% and F _Litter by 81% during the drought period itself (May to July), indicating that drought had a stronger effect on the CO₂ release from litter than on the belowground-derived CO₂ efflux ( F _BG, i.e. soil organic matter (SOM) and root respiration). Despite large bursts in respired CO₂ induced by the rewetting after prolonged drought, drought also reduced F _Soil and F _Litter during the entire ¹³C measurement period (April to October) by 26% and 37%, respectively. Overall, our findings show that drought decreased F _Soil and altered its seasonality and its sources. Thus, the C balance of temperate grassland soils respond sensitively to changes in precipitation, a factor that needs to be considered in regional models predicting the impact of climate change on ecosystems C balance.

The eastern China seas are one of the largest marginal seas in the world, where high primary productivity and phytoplankton blooms are often observed. However, to date, little is known about the spatial and temporal variability of phytoplankton blooms in these areas due to the difficulty of the monitoring of bloom events by field measurement. In this study, 14-yr time series of satellite ocean color data from the Sea-Viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) onboard the Aqua satellite have been used to investigate the seasonal and inter-annual variability and long-term changes of phytoplankton blooms in the eastern China seas. We validated and calibrated the satellite-derive chlorophyll concentration in the eastern China seas based on extensive data sets from two large cruises. Overestimation of satellite-derive chlorophyll concentration caused by high water turbidity was found to be less than 10 μg L-1. This level can be used as a safe threshold for the identification of a phytoplankton bloom in a marginal sea with turbid waters. Annually, blooms mostly occur in the Changjiang Estuary and along the coasts of Zhejiang. The coasts of the northern Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea also have high-frequency blooms. The blooms have significant seasonal variation, with most of the blooms occurring in the spring (April-June) and summer (July-September). This study revealed a doubling in bloom intensity in the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea during the past 14 yr (1998-2011), yet surprisingly, there has been no decadal increase or decrease of bloom intensity in despite of significant inter-annual variation in the Changjiang Estuary. The time series in situ datasets show that both the nitrate and phosphate concentrations increase more than twofold from 1998 to 2005. This might be the reason for the doubling of bloom intensity in the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea. In addition, the ENSO and PDO can affect the inter-annual variation of bloom intensity in the eastern China seas.

Temporal drying of upper soil layers of acidic methanogenic peatlands might divert the flow of reductants from CH₄ formation to other electron-accepting processes due to a renewal of alternative electron acceptors. In this study, we evaluated the in situ relevance of Fe(III)-reducing microbial activities in peatlands of a forested catchment that differed in their hydrology. Intermittent seeps reduced sequentially nitrate, Fe(III), and sulfate during periods of water saturation. Due to the acidic soil conditions, released Fe(II) was transported with the groundwater flow and accumulated as Fe(III) in upper soil layers of a lowland fen apparently due to oxidation. Microbial Fe(III) reduction in the upper soil layer accounted for 26.7 and 71.6% of the anaerobic organic carbon mineralization in the intermittent seep and the lowland fen, respectively. In an upland fen not receiving exogenous Fe, Fe(III) reduction contributed only to 6.7%. Fe(II) and acetate accumulated in deeper porewater of the lowland fen with maximum concentrations of 7 and 3 mM, respectively. Both supplemental glucose and acetate stimulated the reduction of Fe(III) indicating that fermentative, incomplete, and complete oxidizers were involved in Fe(II) formation in the acidic fen. Amplification of DNA yielded PCR products specific for Acidiphilium- , Geobacter- , and Geothrix- , but not for Shewanella- or Anaeroromyxobacter -related sequences. Porewater biogeochemistry observed during a 3-year-period suggests that increased drought periods and subsequent intensive rainfalls due to global climate change will further favor Fe(III) and sulfate as alternative electron acceptors due to the storage of their reduced compounds in the soil.

Dinitrogen (N2) and/or nitrous oxide (N2O) are produced through denitrification, anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) or nitrification in sediments, of which entangled processes obfuscate the absolute rate estimation of gaseous nitrogen production from individual pathway. Recently, the classical isotope pairing technique (IPT), the most common 15N-nitrate enrichment method to quantify denitrification, has been modified by different researchers to (1) discriminate relative contribution of N2 production by denitrification from anammox or to (2) provide more accurate denitrification rate by considering both N2O and N2 productions. Both modified methods, however, have deficiencies such as overlooking N2O production in case 1 and neglecting anammox in case 2. In this paper, a new method was developed to refine previous methods. We installed cryogenic traps to pre-concentrate N2 and N2O separately, thus, allowing simultaneous measurement for two gases generated by one sample. The precision is better than 2% for N2 (m/z 28, m/z 29 and m/z 30), and 1.5% for N2O (m/z 44, m/z 45 and m/z 46). Based on the six m/z peaks of the two gases, we further revised IPT formulae to truthfully resolve the production rates of N2 and N2O contributed from 3 specific nitrogen removal processes, i.e. N2 and N2O from denitrification, N2 from anammox and N2O from nitrification. To validate the applicability of our new method, incubation experiments were conducted using sediment cores taken from the Danshuei estuary in Taiwan. We successfully determined the rates of aforementioned nitrogen removal processes. Moreover, N2O yield was as high as 66%, which no doubt would significantly bias previous IPT approaches when N2O was not considered. Our new method not only complements the previous IPT but also provides more comprehensive information to advance our understanding of nitrogen dynamics through the water-sediment interface.

The impact of chronic exposure to CO2-acidified seawater on survival, growth and development was investigated in the North Atlantic copepod Calanus finmarchicus. Using a custom developed microcosm system fertilized eggs and subsequent development stages were exposed to normal seawater (390 ppm CO2) or one of three different levels of CO2-induced acidification (3300, 7300, 9700 ppm CO2). Following the 28 day exposure period survival was found to be unaffected by exposure to 3300 ppm CO2, but significantly reduced at 7300 and 9700 ppm CO2. Also, the proportion of copepodite stages IV to VI observed in the different treatments was significantly affected in a manner that may indicate a CO2-induced retardation of the rate of ontogenetic development. Morphometric analysis revealed a significant increase in size (prosome length) and lipid storage volume in stage IV copepodites exposed to 3300 ppm CO2 and reduced size in stage III copepodites exposed to 7300 ppm CO2. Together, the findings indicate that a pCO2 level ≤2000 ppm (the highest CO2 level expected within year 2300) will probably not directly affect survival in C. finmarchicus. Long-term experiments at more moderate CO2 levels are however necessary before the possibility that growth and development may be affected below ≤2000 ppm CO2 can be ruled out.

Sea urchins as broadcasting spawners, release their gametes into open water for fertilization, thus being particularly vulnerable to ocean acidification. In this study, we assessed the effects of different pH scenarios on fertilization success of Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis, collected at Spitsbergen, Arctic. We achieved acidification by bubbling CO2 into filtered seawater using partial pressures (pCO2) of 180, 380, 980, 1400 and 3000 μatm}. Untreated filtered seawater was used as control. We recorded fertilization rates and diagnosed morphological aberrations after post-fertilization periods of 1 h and 3 h under different exposure conditions in experiments with and without pre-incubation of the eggs prior to fertilization. In parallel, we conducted measurements of intracellular pH changes using BCECF/AM in unfertilized eggs exposed to a range of acidified seawater. We observed increasing rates of polyspermy in relation to higher seawater pCO2, which might be due to failures in the formation of the fertilization envelope. In addition, our experiments showed anomalies in fertilized eggs: incomplete lifting-off of the fertilization envelope and blebs of the hyaline layer. Other drastic malformations consisted of constriction, extrusion, vacuolization or degeneration (observed as a gradient from the cortex to the central region of the cell) of the egg cytoplasm, and irregular cell divisions until 2- to 4-cell stages. The intracellular pH (pHi) decreased significantly from 1400 μatm on. All results indicate a decreasing fertilization success at CO2 concentrations from 1400 μatm upwards. Exposure time to low pH might be a threatening factor for the cellular buffer capacity, viability, and development after fertilization.

The varved sedimentary AD 1917–2004 record from the depositional center of the Santa Barbara Basin (SBB, California) was analyzed with monthly to annual resolution to yield relative abundances of six coccolithophore species representing at least 96% of the coccolithophore assemblage. Seasonal/annual relative abundances respond to climatic and surface hydrographic conditions in the SBB, whereby (i) the three species G. oceanica, H. carteri and F. profunda are characteristic of the strength of the northward flowing warm California Counter Current, (ii) the two species G. ericsonii and G. muellerae are associated with the cold equatorward flowing California Current, (iii) and E. huxleyi appears to be endemic to the SBB. Spectral analyses on relative abundances of these species show that all are influenced by the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and/or by the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). Increased relative abundances of G. oceanica and H. carteri are associated with warm ENSO events, G. muellerae responds to warm PDO events, and the abundance of G. ericsonii increases during cold PDO events. Morphometric parameters measured on E. huxleyi, G. muellerae and G. oceanica indicate increasing coccolithophore calcification from ~1917 until 2004 concomitant with rising pCO2 and sea surface temperature in the region of the SBB.

Wetland loss and climate change are known to alter regional and global methane (CH4) budgets. Over the last six decades, an extensive area of marshland has been converted to cropland on the Sanjiang Plain in Northeast China, and a significant increase in air temperature has also been observed there, while the impacts on regional CH4 budgets remain uncertain. Through model simulation, we estimated the changes in CH4 emissions associated with the conversion of marshland to cropland and climate change in this area. Model simulations indicated a significant reduction of 1.1 Tg yr-1 from the 1950s to the 2000s in regional CH4 emissions. The cumulative reduction of CH4 from 1960 to 2009 was estimated to be ~36 Tg relative to the 1950s, and marshland conversion and the climate contributed 86 % and 14 % of this change, respectively. Interannual variation in precipitation (linear trend with P > 0.2) contributed to yearly fluctuations in CH4 emissions, but the relatively lower amount of precipitation over the period 1960-2009 (47 mm yr-1 lower on average than in the 1950s) contributed ~91 % of the reduction in the area-weighted CH4 flux. Global warming at a rate of 0.3 °C per decade (P < 0.001) has increased CH4 emissions significantly since the 1990s. Relative to the mean of the 1950s, the warming-induced increase in the CH4 flux has averaged 19 kg ha-1 yr-1 over the last two decades. For the RCP 2.6, RCP 4.5, RCP 6.0 and RCP 8.5 scenarios of the fifth IPCC assessment report (AR5), the CH4 flux is predicted to increase by 36 %, 52 %, 78 % and 95 %, respectively, by the 2080s compared to 1961-1990 in response to climate warming and wetting.