Nitrogen deposition and reduction of terrestrial biodiversity: Evidence from temperate grasslands

Biodiversity is thought to be essential for ecosystem stability, function and long-term sustainability. Since nitrogen is the limiting nutrient for plant growth in many terrestrial ecosystems, reactive nitrogen has the potential to reduce the diversity of terrestrial vegetation and associated biota through favouring species adapted to quickly exploiting available nutrients. Although the potential has long been recognised, only recently has enough evidence come together to show beyond reasonable doubt that these changes are already occurring. Linked together, experimental, regional/e.rnpirical, and time-series research provide a powerful argument that enhanced deposition of reactive nitrogen across Great Britain, and potentially the rest of Europe, has resulted in a significant and ongoing decline in grassland species richness and diversity.     

Nitrogen deposition and reduction of terrestrial biodiversity: Evidence from temperate grasslands

Biodiversity is thought to be essential for ecosystem stability, function and long-term sustainability. Since nitrogen is the limiting nutrient for plant growth in many terrestrial ecosystems, reactive nitrogen has the potential to reduce the diversity of terrestrial vegetation and associated biota through favouring species adapted to quickly exploiting available nutrients. Although the potential has long been recognised, only recently has enough evidence come together to show beyond reasonable doubt that these changes are already occurring. Linked together, experimental, regional/empirical, and time-series research provide a powerful argument that enhanced deposition of reactive nitrogen across Great Britain, and potentially the rest of Europe, has resulted in a significant and ongoing decline in grassland species richness and diversity.     

Intraspecific litter diversity and nitrogen deposition affect nutrient dynamics and soil respiration

Anthropogenic forces are concurrently reducing biodiversity and altering terrestrial nutrient cycles. As natural populations decline, genetic diversity within single species also declines. The consequences of intraspecific genetic loss for ecosystem functions are poorly understood, and interactions among intraspecific diversity, nitrogen deposition, and nutrient cycling are unknown. We present results from an experiment that simulated both a decline in biodiversity and an increase in nitrogen deposition. In soil microcosms, we tested effects of variation in intraspecific litter diversity and nitrogen deposition on soil respiration and nitrogen leaching. Increases in intraspecific litter diversity increased soil respiration overall, with the greatest increases in respiration occurring under high nitrogen deposition. Nitrogen deposition increased the amount of inorganic nitrogen leached, while the amount of dissolved organic nitrogen leached was correlated with initial litter chemistry (lignin concentration) and remained independent of litter diversity and nitrogen deposition treatments. Our results demonstrate the potential for losses in genetic diversity to interact with other global environmental changes to influence terrestrial nutrient cycles.     

The Role of Nitrogen Deposition in Widespread Plant Community Change Across Semi-natural Habitats

Experimental studies have shown that deposition of reactive nitrogen is an important driver of plant community change, however, most of these experiments are of short duration with unrealistic treatments, and conducted in regions with elevated ambient deposition. Studies of spatial gradients of pollution can complement experimental data and indicate whether the potential impacts demonstrated by experiments are actually occurring in the ‘real world’. However, targeted surveys exist for only a very few habitats and are not readily comparable. In a coordinated campaign, we determined the species richness and plant community composition of five widespread, semi-natural habitats across Great Britain in sites stratified along gradients of climate and pollution, and related these ecological parameters to major drivers of biodiversity, including climate, pollution deposition, and local edaphic factors. In every habitat, we found reduced species richness and changed species composition associated with higher nitrogen deposition, with remarkable consistency in relative species loss across ecosystem types. Whereas the diversity of mosses, lichens, forbs, and graminoids declines with N deposition in different habitats, the cover of graminoids generally increases. Considered alongside previous experimental studies and survey work, our results provide a compelling argument that nitrogen deposition is a widespread and pervasive threat to terrestrial ecosystems.     

Environmental DNA metabarcoding of wild flowers reveals diverse communities of terrestrial arthropods

Terrestrial arthropods comprise the most species‐rich communities on Earth, and grassland flowers provide resources for hundreds of thousands of arthropod species. Diverse grassland ecosystems worldwide are threatened by various types of environmental change, which has led to decline in arthropod diversity. At the same time, monitoring grassland arthropod diversity is time‐consuming and strictly dependent on declining taxonomic expertise. Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding of complex samples has demonstrated that information on species compositions can be efficiently and non‐invasively obtained. Here, we test the potential of wild flowers as a novel source of arthropod eDNA. We performed eDNA metabarcoding of flowers from several different plant species using two sets of generic primers, targeting the mitochondrial genes 16S rRNA and COI. Our results show that terrestrial arthropod species leave traces of DNA on the flowers that they interact with. We obtained eDNA from at least 135 arthropod species in 67 families and 14 orders, together representing diverse ecological groups including pollinators, parasitoids, gall inducers, predators, and phytophagous species. Arthropod communities clustered together according to plant species. Our data also indicate that this experiment was not exhaustive, and that an even higher arthropod richness could be obtained using this eDNA approach. Overall, our results demonstrate that it is possible to obtain information on diverse communities of insects and other terrestrial arthropods from eDNA metabarcoding of wild flowers. This novel source of eDNA represents a vast potential for addressing fundamental research questions in ecology, obtaining data on cryptic and unknown species of plant‐associated arthropods, as well as applied research on pest management or conservation of endangered species such as wild pollinators.     

Meta-analysis of diazotrophic signatures across terrestrial ecosystems at the continental scale

Biological nitrogen fixation performed by diazotrophs forms a cornerstone of Earth's terrestrial ecosystem productivity. However, the composition, diversity and distribution of soil diazotrophs are poorly understood across different soil ecosystems. Furthermore, the biological potential of the key diazotroph species in relation to key environmental parameters is unknown. To address this, we used meta-analysis approach to merge together 39 independent diazotroph amplicon sequencing (nifH gene) datasets consisting of 1988 independent soil samples. We then employed multiple statistical analyses and machine-learning approaches to compare diazotroph community differences and indicator species between terrestrial ecosystems on a global scale. The distribution, composition and structure of diazotroph communities varied across seven different terrestrial ecosystems, with community composition exhibiting an especially clear effect. The Cyanobacteria were the most abundant taxa in crust ecosystems (accounting for ~45% of diazotrophs), while other terrestrial ecosystems were dominated by Proteobacteria, including Alpha-, Beta- and Gamma-Proteobacteria (accounting for ~70% of diazotrophs). Farmland ecosystems harboured the highest and crust ecosystems the lowest alpha and phylogenetic diversities. Azospirillum zeae, Skermanella aerolata and four Bradyrhizobium species were identified as key indicator species of potential diazotroph activity. Overall, diazotroph abundances and distribution were affected by multiple environmental parameters, including soil pH, nitrogen, organic carbon, C:N ratio and annual mean precipitation and temperature. Together, our findings suggest that based on the relative abundance and diversity of nifH marker gene, diazotrophs have adapted to a range of environmental niches globally.     

Impacts of nitrogen deposition on terrestrial plant diversity: a meta-analysis in China

Aims With the global atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition increasing, the effect of N deposition on terrestrial plant diversity has been widely studied. Some studies have reviewed the effects of N deposition on plant species diversity; however, all studies addressed the effects of N deposition on plant community focused on species richness in specific ecosystem. There is a need for a systematic meta-analysis covering multiple dimensions of plant diversity in multiple climate zones and ecosystems types. Our goal was to quantify changes in species richness, evenness and uncertainty in plant communities in response to N addition across different environmental and experimental contexts.     

Regional effects as important determinants of local diversity in both marine and terrestrial systems

Community ecologists have struggled to create unified theories across diverse ecosystems, but it has been difficult to acertain whether marine and terrestrial communities differ in the mechanisms responsible for structure and dynamics. One apparent difference between marine and terrestrial ecology is that the influence of regional processes on local populations and communities is better established in the marine literature. We examine three potential explanations: 1) influential early studies emphasized local interactions in terrestrial communities and regional dispersal in marine communities. 2) regional‐scale processes are actually more important in marine than in terrestrial communities. 3) recruitment from a regional species pool is easier to study in marine than terrestrial communities. We conclude that these are interrelated, but that the second and especially the third explanations are more important than the first. We also conclude that in both marine and terrestrial systems, there are ways to improve our understanding of regional influences on local community diversity. In particular, we advocate examining local vs regional diversity relationships at localities within environmentally similar regions that differ in their diversity either because of their sizes or their varying degrees of isolation from a species source.     

Role of peroxisomes in ROS/RNS-metabolism: Implications for human disease

Peroxisomes are cell organelles that play a central role in lipid metabolism. At the same time, these organelles generate reactive oxygen and nitrogen species as byproducts. Peroxisomes also possess intricate protective mechanisms to counteract oxidative stress and maintain redox balance. An imbalance between peroxisomal reactive oxygen species/reactive nitrogen species production and removal may possibly damage biomolecules, perturb cellular thiol levels, and deregulate cellular signaling pathways implicated in a variety of human diseases. Somewhat surprisingly, the potential role of peroxisomes in cellular redox metabolism has been underestimated for a long time. However, in recent years, peroxisomal reactive oxygen species/reactive nitrogen species metabolism and signaling have become the focus of a rapidly evolving and multidisciplinary research field with great prospects. This review is mainly devoted to discuss evidence supporting the notion that peroxisomal metabolism and oxidative stress are intimately interconnected and associated with age-related diseases. We focus on several key aspects of how peroxisomes contribute to cellular reactive oxygen species/reactive nitrogen species levels in mammalian cells and how these cells cope with peroxisome-derived oxidative stress. We also provide a brief overview of recent strategies that have been successfully employed to detect and modulate the peroxisomal redox status. Finally, we highlight some gaps in our knowledge and propose potential avenues for further research. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Metabolic Functions and Biogenesis of peroxisomes in Health and Disease.     

陆地生态系统植物多样性对矿质元素输入的响应

人类活动的加剧改变了陆地生态系统矿质元素(如氮、磷、钾等)循环的速度和方向,并且对生态系统的结构和功能也产生重要影响。如今,矿质元素输入量的改变及其产生的后续效应对陆地生态系统生物多样性的影响备受学者们的关注。从4个方面综述了全球氮沉降背景下主要矿质元素输入的改变对陆地植物多样性的影响及其机理:1)矿质营养元素限制的概念、确定方法以及与植物多样性的耦合关系;2)概述了氮、磷、钾等主要矿质元素输入对陆地植物多样性的影响:主要表现为负面效应;3)探讨了矿质元素输入影响植物多样性的可能机制,包括生态系统水平上的机制(如竞争排斥、酸化铝毒、物种入侵、同质性假说,间接诱导机制等)和植物个体水平上的机制(如元素失衡和环境敏感性增加等);4)根据目前研究现状,指出了已有研究的局限性,分析了未来可能的研究方向和重点。     

陆地生态系统氮沉降增加的生态效应

 人类活动在全球范围内极大地改变着氮素从大气向陆地生态系统输入的方式和速率，人为固定的氮素正在不断积累，并对生态系统的结构和功 能产生显著影响。该文从以下几个方面综述了大气氮沉降增加对陆地生态系统的影响：1)氮输入增加可能影响植物生产力和生态系统碳蓄积能 力，生态系统响应的方向和程度取决于系统的初始氮状况(氮限制或氮饱和)以及当地的植被和土壤特征；2)持续氮输入有可能改变土壤氮循环 过程，降低土壤固持氮的能力，甚至导致土壤酸化、盐基离子损耗，进而影响到土壤有机碳的分解；3)高的氮沉降速率和持续氮输入都可能加 速含氮痕量气体的释放，但其影响程度受生态系统初始状态的影响(例如磷限制和氮限制)；4)氮沉降增加会影响生态系统的物种丰富度、植物 群落结构和动态，促进森林扩张，改变菌根真菌的物种多样性；5)持续氮输入带来的植物群落结构和植物生理特征的变化可能影响昆虫取食特 性，进而通过食物链改变生态系统的营养结构；6) 氮沉降增加对生态系统的影响并不是孤立存在的，它与CO₂浓度升高和O₃浓度变化有协同作 用，但难以从其协同效应中区分出各自的影响。最后，该文总结了我国的氮沉降研究现状，并对今后的研究前景提出了展望。     

Cell signaling by reactive nitrogen and oxygen species in atherosclerosis

The production of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species has been implicated in atherosclerosis principally as means of damaging low-density lipoprotein that in turn initiates the accumulation of cholesterol in macrophages. The diversity of novel oxidative modifications to lipids and proteins recently identified in atherosclerotic lesions has revealed surprising complexity in the mechanisms of oxidative damage and their potential role in atherosclerosis. Oxidative or nitrosative stress does not completely consume intracellular antioxidants leading to cell death as previously thought. Rather, oxidative and nitrosative stress have a more subtle impact on the atherogenic process by modulating intracellular signaling pathways in vascular tissues to affect inflammatory cell adhesion, migration, proliferation, and differentiation. Furthermore, cellular responses can affect the production of nitric oxide, which in turn can strongly influence the nature of oxidative modifications occurring in atherosclerosis. The dynamic interactions between endogenous low concentrations of oxidants or reactive nitrogen species with intracellular signaling pathways may have a general role in processes affecting wound healing to apoptosis, which can provide novel insights into the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis.     

Ecological risks in anthropogenic disturbance of nitrogen cycles in natural terrestrial ecosystems

Anthropogenic addition of reactive nitrogen (Nr) to the biosphere is increasing globally and some terrestrial ecosystems are suffering from a state of excess Nr for biological nitrogen (N) demand, termed N saturation. Here, we review the ecological risks in relation to N saturation and prospective responses to N saturation. Excess Nr increases the risks of local extinction of rare plant species, encouragement of exotic plant species, disturbance of nutrient balance in plant organs, and increase of herbivory in plant communities. On the ecosystem scale, excess bioavailable N induces forest decline, disturbance of nutrient cycling within ecosystems, depending on vegetation, soil, land-use, and N-loading history. These Nr risks will increase in the Asian region, where impacts of Nr in natural terrestrial ecosystems have been scarcely studied. Whether much of the terrestrial ecosystems on a global level are in the sate of N saturation or not is still controversial, but the potential risks of excess Nr seem to be increasing. The fundamental ways to mitigate Nr risks are to reduce Nr production, prevent Nr translocation, and promote conversion of Nr to N₂. Temporal, but promising actions against ecological N risks may include management of forests and riparian zones, and carbon addition in grassland.     

Why is there discordant diversity in sengi (Mammalia: Afrotheria: Macroscelidea) taxonomy and ecology?

The seventeen species of sengis or elephant-shrews form a well-defined clade of mammals endemic to Africa that occupy the extremes of terrestrial habitats, from coastal deserts to montane forests. Because of their isolation on Africa soon after the break-up of Gondwanaland, theoretically sengis initially evolved with little competition from other placental radiations. Their life history features include myrmecophagy, saltatorial gaits, no or limited use of nests, social monogamy, small litters of precocial young and absentee maternal care of neonates. These traits together are unique to the Macroscelidea and represent a wedding of features usually associated with either small antelopes or anteaters. Combined, these features define an adaptive syndrome that presumably has been relatively immune to competition from contemporary mammals, partially due to phylogenetic inertia. Yet paradoxically, the syndrome is well suited to a wide range of terrestrial habitats, resulting in low taxonomic diversity. Because of their unusual phylogeny and low species diversity, conservation interest is high for those sengis with relatively low densities in fragmented forests.     

DNA damage and reactive nitrogen species are barriers to Vibrio cholerae colonization of the infant mouse intestine

Ingested Vibrio cholerae pass through the stomach and colonize the small intestines of its host. Here, we show that V. cholerae requires at least two types of DNA repair systems to efficiently compete for colonization of the infant mouse intestine. These results show that V. cholerae experiences increased DNA damage in the murine gastrointestinal tract. Agreeing with this, we show that passage through the murine gut increases the mutation frequency of V. cholerae compared to liquid culture passage. Our genetic analysis identifies known and novel defense enzymes required for detoxifying reactive nitrogen species (but not reactive oxygen species) that are also required for V. cholerae to efficiently colonize the infant mouse intestine, pointing to reactive nitrogen species as the potential cause of DNA damage. We demonstrate that potential reactive nitrogen species deleterious for V. cholerae are not generated by host inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) activity and instead may be derived from acidified nitrite in the stomach. Agreeing with this hypothesis, we show that strains deficient in DNA repair or reactive nitrogen species defense that are defective in intestinal colonization have decreased growth or increased mutation frequency in acidified nitrite containing media. Moreover, we demonstrate that neutralizing stomach acid rescues the colonization defect of the DNA repair and reactive nitrogen species defense defective mutants suggesting a common defense pathway for these mutants.     

江西井冈山自然保护区陆生贝类多样性

2011年4～8月调查了江西井冈山自然保护区陆生贝类资源,共采得陆生贝类67种和亚种(含9个未定种),隶属4目19科31属,其中有1新种,即龙潭弯螺(Sinoennea sp.nov.)(另文报道);14种为江西省陆生贝类新纪录种;优势种为长柱倍唇螺(Diplommatina paxillus longipalatalis)、细锥倍唇螺(D.apicina)、灰尖巴蜗牛(Bradybaena ravida ravida)、双线巨蓬蛞蝓(Meghimatium bilineatum)。区系组成以东洋界成分为主,占种类总数的74.14%。阔叶林、灌木丛和农田生境陆生贝类种类较丰富,竹林和苔藓生境种类较少。根据调查数据,分别计算井冈山自然保护区5种不同生境类型中陆生贝类群落的多样性、丰富度和均匀度,结果表明,灌木丛生境陆生贝类的丰富度指数和多样性指数均最高,苔藓生境的均匀度指数最高。与邻近自然保护区比较,井冈山自然保护区陆生贝类物种较丰富,且与江西齐云山陆生贝类物种相似系数较高,与广东南岭物种相似系数较低。     

Assessment of phenotypic and genetic diversity in the yeast genusMetschnikowia

The taxonomy of the yeast genusMetschnikowia has undergone profound changes over the past century. Major developments, from the capacity to obtain pure cultures of parasitic species to progress associated with the extensive use of molecular biology tools in yeast systematics, are briefly reviewed. Results from past work and new data are combined to evaluate evolutionary relationships and clarify the classification of both terrestrial and aquatic species. Recent physiological studies, including the utilization of non-conventional carbon and nitrogen sources, and characteristics like lipolytic activity and maximum temperatures for growth, are presented. The assessment of the genetic diversity within the genus by restriction analysis of the mitochondrial DNA and by the production of specific DNA probes has been explored. The results indicate the potential application of the latter in rapid identification procedures.     

羊草基因型数目与氮添加对土壤微生物群落的交互影响

物种多样性(或同一物种遗传多样性)减少和氮富集都是影响陆地生态系统进程的主要因素,它们之间的交互作用是否对土壤微生物群落产生显著影响已成为研究者关心的主要科学问题。研究羊草基因型数目(1、2、4三种基因型数目组合)和氮添加(无氮添加、低氮添加和高氮添加3种水平)对土壤微生物群落的总磷脂脂肪酸(PLFA,Phospholipid Fatty Acid)含量、细菌PLFA生物标记含量、真菌PLFA生物标记含量、真菌/细菌比、以及基于每个PLFA生物标记相对含量百分比所得微生物群落的Shannon-Wiener多样性指数和Simpson优势度指数的影响。结果表明:氮添加对细菌PLFA生物标记含量,以及土壤微生物PLFA生物标记的Shannon-Wiener多样性指数和Simpson优势度指数具有显著影响(P0.05);基因型数目对所测变量无显著影响(P0.05),但基因型数目和氮添加的交互作用对细菌PLFA生物标记含量和真菌/细菌比具有显著影响(P0.05)。研究结果为全球变化背景下氮沉降及重要物种种群数量减少对土壤微生物群落的影响提供了科学数据,为合理解释群落动态变化提供了数据支持。     

Mutualistic rhizobia reduce plant diversity and alter community composition

Mutualistic interactions can be just as important to community dynamics as antagonistic species interactions like competition and predation. Because of their large effects on both abiotic and biotic environmental variables, resource mutualisms, in particular, have the potential to influence plant communities. Moreover, the effects of resource mutualists such as nitrogen-fixing rhizobia on diversity and community composition may be more pronounced in nutrient-limited environments. I experimentally manipulated the presence of rhizobia across a nitrogen gradient in early assembling mesocosm communities with identical starting species composition to test how the classic mutualism between nitrogen-fixing rhizobia and their legume host influence diversity and community composition. After harvest, I assessed changes in α-diversity, community composition, β-diversity, and ecosystem properties such as inorganic nitrogen availability and productivity as a result of rhizobia and nitrogen availability. The presence of rhizobia decreased plant community diversity, increased community convergence (reduced β-diversity), altered plant community composition, and increased total community productivity. These community-level effects resulted from rhizobia increasing the competitive dominance of their legume host Chamaecrista fasciculata. Moreover, different non-leguminous species responded both negatively and positively to the presence of rhizobia, indicating that rhizobia are driving both inhibitory and potentially facilitative effects in communities. These findings expand our understanding of plant communities by incorporating the effects of positive symbiotic interactions on plant diversity and composition. In particular, rhizobia that specialize on dominant plants may serve as keystone mutualists in terrestrial plant communities, reducing diversity by more than 40 %.     

Microsporidian intrasporal sugars and their role in germination

The hypothesis that spores of terrestrial and aquatic microsporidia differ in their utilization of sugars was tested by evaluating the sugars in germinated and ungerminated spores of several species in each category. The aquatic species tested were Vavraia culicis, Edhazardia aedis, and Nosema algerae and the terrestrial species were Vairimorpha necatrix, Nosema disstriae, Nosema apis, Vairimorpha lymantriae, and Nosema spp. from Spodoptera exigua and Plutella xylostella. The percentage germination varied between species, ranging between 40 and 92%. Total sugars (anthrone reactive) and reducing sugars (Nelson's test) remained unchanged through germination in the three terrestrial species tested; however, reducing sugars increased significantly in the aquatic species. High-performance liquid chromatography and gas chromatography revealed a preponderance of trehalose in all species and large quantities of sorbitol in all species except N. algerae and E. aedis. Other sugars were present in some species in much lower concentrations. After germination no changes in sugar content were observed in terrestrial species; however, all aquatic species lost trehalose with a concomitant increase in fructose and/or glucose concentrations. Increased osmotic potential from breakdown of trehalose has been postulated to induce germination of the aquatic species, but another explanation must be found for the terrestrial species.