The seasonal coupling of plant and soil microbial nutrient demands is crucial for efficient ecosystem nutrient cycling and plant production, especially in strongly seasonal alpine ecosystems. Yet, how these seasonal nutrient cycling processes are modified by climate change and what the consequences are for nutrient loss and retention in alpine ecosystems remain unclear. Here, we explored how two pervasive climate change factor...

Nutria ( Myocastor coypus ) were introduced to the eastern shore of Chesapeake Bay, USA in the 1940s. They reached peak densities in the late 1990s, causing massive wetland loss. Beginning in 2002, a systematic plan to eradicate nutria from the 1.7M ha Delmarva Peninsula was implemented. Since that time the nutria population has been effectively reduced, and no nutria have been detected since May 2015. A lack of detection does...

Stable isotope natural abundance measurements integrate across several biogeochemical processes in ecosystem N and C dynamics. Here, we report trends in natural isotope abundance (δ 13 C and δ 15 N in plant and soil) along a climosequence of 33 N othofagus forest stands located within P atagonia, S outhern A rgentina. We measured 28 different abiotic variables (both climatic variables and soil properties) to characterize envir...

An improved understanding of the response of forest ecosystems to elevated levels of CO 2 in the atmosphere is crucial because atmospheric CO 2 concentration continues to increase at an accelerating rate and forests are an important sink in the global carbon cycle. Several CO 2 ‐enrichment experiments have now been running for more than 10 years, with highly variable short‐term results after the first decade. Responses to risi...

In a forest ecosystem at steady state, net carbon (C) assimilation by plants and C loss through soil and litter decomposition by heterotrophic organisms are balanced. However, a perturbation to the system, such as increased mean soil temperature, will lead to faster decay, enhancing CO 2 release from decomposers, and thus upsetting the balance. Recent in situ experiments have indicated that the stimulation of soil respiration...