Publications by authors named "A Rigling"
Europe's semi-natural grasslands support notably high levels of temperate biodiversity across multiple taxonomic groups. However, these ecosystems face unique conservation challenges. Contemporary agricultural practices have replaced historical traditional low-intensity agriculture in many regions, resulting in a spectrum of management intensities within these ecosystems, ranging from highly intensive methods to complete abandonment.
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- Forests are facing higher risks of tree death due to drought, which can alter species composition and impact the global carbon cycle, particularly with deciduous oaks replacing conifers in the Northern Hemisphere.
- This study aimed to assess the legacy effects of extreme drought on oak growth from 1940 to 2016, examining variations across 21 species and multiple regions, revealing that negative effects can last from 1 to 5 years after drought, especially in dry areas.
- Results showed that repeated droughts significantly influenced oak growth, with species like Q. faginea exhibiting strong negative responses, while some oaks in wetter regions experienced growth increases post-drought, suggesting diverse resilience based on climate factors.
The loss of leaves and needles in tree crowns and tree mortality are increasing worldwide, mostly as a result of more frequent and severe drought stress. Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) is a tree species that is strongly affected by these developments in many regions of Europe and Asia.
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- Forest disturbances due to climate change and management practices are impacting the carbon sink capacity of forests; this study focuses on quantifying soil organic carbon (SOC) losses globally due to these disturbances from 1983 to 2022.
- A comprehensive analysis of 927 field observations found that disturbances like wildfires, windstorms, harvesting, and insect infestations can lead to significant SOC losses, especially in cold-climate forests with high organic matter.
- The study concludes that greater initial SOC storage correlates with larger SOC losses post-disturbance, emphasizing the need to include disturbance impacts in accurate forest carbon budget assessments.
The link between above- and belowground communities is a key uncertainty in drought and rewetting effects on forest carbon (C) cycle. In young beech model ecosystems and mature naturally dry pine forest exposed to 15-yr-long irrigation, we performed C pulse labeling experiments, one during drought and one 2 wk after rewetting, tracing tree assimilates into rhizosphere communities. The C pulses applied in tree crowns reached soil microbial communities of the young and mature forests one and 4 d later, respectively.
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