University of Tyumen

Plant traits-the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants-determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait-based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits-almost complete coverage for 'plant growth form'. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait-environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives.

Permafrost warming has the potential to amplify global climate change, because when frozen sediments thaw it unlocks soil organic carbon. Yet to date, no globally consistent assessment of permafrost temperature change has been compiled. Here we use a global data set of permafrost temperature time series from the Global Terrestrial Network for Permafrost to evaluate temperature change across permafrost regions for the period since the International Polar Year (2007-2009). During the reference decade between 2007 and 2016, ground temperature near the depth of zero annual amplitude in the continuous permafrost zone increased by 0.39 ± 0.15 °C. Over the same period, discontinuous permafrost warmed by 0.20 ± 0.10 °C. Permafrost in mountains warmed by 0.19 ± 0.05 °C and in Antarctica by 0.37 ± 0.10 °C. Globally, permafrost temperature increased by 0.29 ± 0.12 °C. The observed trend follows the Arctic amplification of air temperature increase in the Northern Hemisphere. In the discontinuous zone, however, ground warming occurred due to increased snow thickness while air temperature remained statistically unchanged.

Permafrost is a key element of the cryosphere and an essential climate variable in the Global Climate Observing System. There is no remote-sensing method available to reliably monitor the permafrost thermal state. To estimate permafrost distribution at a hemispheric scale, we employ an equilibrium state model for the temperature at the top of the permafrost (TTOP model) for the 2000–2016 period, driven by remotely-sensed land surface temperatures, down-scaled ERA-Interim climate reanalysis data, tundra wetness classes and landcover map from the ESA Landcover Climate Change Initiative (CCI) project. Subgrid variability of ground temperatures due to snow and landcover variability is represented in the model using subpixel statistics. The results are validated against borehole measurements and reviewed regionally. The accuracy of the modelled mean annual ground temperature (MAGT) at the top of the permafrost is ±2 °C when compared to permafrost borehole data. The modelled permafrost area (MAGT <0 °C) covers 13.9 × 106 km2 (ca. 15% of the exposed land area), which is within the range or slightly below the average of previous estimates. The sum of all pixels having isolated patches, sporadic, discontinuous or continuous permafrost (permafrost probability >0) is around 21 × 106 km2 (22% of exposed land area), which is approximately 2 × 106 km2 less than estimated previously. Detailed comparisons at a regional scale show that the model performs well in sparsely vegetated tundra regions and mountains, but is less accurate in densely vegetated boreal spruce and larch forests.

Abstract Thermokarst is the process whereby the thawing of ice-rich permafrost ground causes land subsidence, resulting in development of distinctive landforms. Accelerated thermokarst due to climate change will damage infrastructure, but also impact hydrology, ecology and biogeochemistry. Here, we present a circumpolar assessment of the distribution of thermokarst landscapes, defined as landscapes comprised of current thermokarst landforms and areas susceptible to future thermokarst development. At 3.6 × 10 6 km 2 , thermokarst landscapes are estimated to cover ∼20% of the northern permafrost region, with approximately equal contributions from three landscape types where characteristic wetland, lake and hillslope thermokarst landforms occur. We estimate that approximately half of the below-ground organic carbon within the study region is stored in thermokarst landscapes. Our results highlight the importance of explicitly considering thermokarst when assessing impacts of climate change, including future landscape greenhouse gas emissions, and provide a means for assessing such impacts at the circumpolar scale.

-g carbon) loss to 70-Pg C gain. For the RCP8.5 projection, losses in soil carbon varied between 74 and 652 Pg C (mean loss, 341 Pg C). For the RCP4.5 projection, gains in vegetation carbon were largely responsible for the overall projected net gains in ecosystem carbon by 2299 (8- to 244-Pg C gains). In contrast, for the RCP8.5 projection, gains in vegetation carbon were not great enough to compensate for the losses of carbon projected by four of the five models; changes in ecosystem carbon ranged from a 641-Pg C loss to a 167-Pg C gain (mean, 208-Pg C loss). The models indicate that substantial net losses of ecosystem carbon would not occur until after 2100. This assessment suggests that effective mitigation efforts during the remainder of this century could attenuate the negative consequences of the permafrost carbon-climate feedback.

The electrical power sector plays an important role in the economic growth and development of every country around the world. Total global demand for electric energy is growing both in developed and developing economies. The commitment to the decarbonization of economies, which would mean replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy sources (RES) as well as the electrification of transport and heating as a means to tackle global warming and dangerous climate change, would lead to a surge in electricity consumption worldwide. Hence, it appears reasonable that the electric power sector should embed the principles of sustainable development into its functioning and operation. In addition, events such as the recent European gas crisis that have emerged as a result of the massive deployment of renewables need to be studied and prevented. This review aims at assessing the role of the renewable energy in the sustainable development of the electrical power sector, focusing on the energy providers and consumers represented both by businesses and households that are gradually becoming prosumers on the market of electric energy. Furthermore, it also focuses on the impact of renewables on the utility side and their benefits for the grid. In addition, it identifies the major factors of the sustainable development of the electrical power sector.

Abstract In this concept paper, we propose a new view on soil organic matter (SOM) formation: microorganisms use most of the organics entering the soil as energy rather than as a source of carbon (C), while SOM accumulates as a residual by‐product because the microbial energy investment in its decomposition exceeds the energy gain. During the initial stages of decomposition, the nominal oxidation state of C (NOSC) in remaining litter decreases, and the energy content increases. This reflects the rapid mineralization of available compounds with positive and neutral NOSC (carboxylic acids, sugars, some amino acids). Consequently, the NOSC of the remaining compounds drops to −0.3 units, and the oxidation rate decreases due to the residual relative accumulation of aromatic and aliphatic compounds (which are hydrolized later) and entombment of the necromass. Ultimately, incompletely decomposed plant residues will have 1%–2.5% more energy per C unit than the initial litter. The linear decrease in energy density of a broad range of organic substances by 106 kJ mol −1 C per NOSC unit upon oxidation is supported by experimental data on litter decomposition. Preferential recycling of energy‐rich reduced (lipids, aromatics, certain amino acids, amino sugars) and the microbial degradation of oxidized compounds (carboxylic acids) also energetically enrich SOM. Despite the high energy content, the availability of energy stored in SOM is lower than in litter. This explains why SOM is not fully mineralized (thermodynamically unfavorable), especially in the absence of plant C to provide new energy (e.g., in bare soil). Energy from litter activates decomposers to mine nutrients stored in SOM (the main ecological function of priming effects) because the nutrient content in SOM is 2–5 times higher than that of litter. This results in only 0.4%–5% year −1 of litter‐derived C being sequestered in SOM, whereas SOM stores 1%–10% year −1 of the total litter‐derived energy. Thus, the energy captured by photosynthesis is the main reason why microorganisms utilize organic matter, whereby SOM is merely a residual by‐product of nutrient storage and a mediator of energy fluxes.

Abstract Local observations indicate that climate change and shifting disturbance regimes are causing permafrost degradation. However, the occurrence and distribution of permafrost region disturbances (PRDs) remain poorly resolved across the Arctic and Subarctic. Here we quantify the abundance and distribution of three primary PRDs using time-series analysis of 30-m resolution Landsat imagery from 1999 to 2014. Our dataset spans four continental-scale transects in North America and Eurasia, covering ~10% of the permafrost region. Lake area loss (−1.45%) dominated the study domain with enhanced losses occurring at the boundary between discontinuous and continuous permafrost regions. Fires were the most extensive PRD across boreal regions (6.59%), but in tundra regions (0.63%) limited to Alaska. Retrogressive thaw slumps were abundant but highly localized (&lt;10 −5 %). Our analysis synergizes the global-scale importance of PRDs. The findings highlight the need to include PRDs in next-generation land surface models to project the permafrost carbon feedback.

Effectively reducing climate change requires marked, global behavior change. However, it is unclear which strategies are most likely to motivate people to change their climate beliefs and behaviors. Here, we tested 11 expert-crowdsourced interventions on four climate mitigation outcomes: beliefs, policy support, information sharing intention, and an effortful tree-planting behavioral task. Across 59,440 participants from 63 countries, the interventions' effectiveness was small, largely limited to nonclimate skeptics, and differed across outcomes: Beliefs were strengthened mostly by decreasing psychological distance (by 2.3%), policy support by writing a letter to a future-generation member (2.6%), information sharing by negative emotion induction (12.1%), and no intervention increased the more effortful behavior-several interventions even reduced tree planting. Last, the effects of each intervention differed depending on people's initial climate beliefs. These findings suggest that the impact of behavioral climate interventions varies across audiences and target behaviors.

BACKGROUND: Plant mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) can be structurally complex while their size can vary from ~ 222 Kbp in Brassica napus to 11.3 Mbp in Silene conica. To date, in comparison with the number of plant species, only a few plant mitogenomes have been sequenced and released, particularly for conifers (the Pinaceae family). Conifers cover an ancient group of land plants that includes about 600 species, and which are of great ecological and economical value. Among them, Siberian larch (Larix sibirica Ledeb.) represents one of the keystone species in Siberian boreal forests. Yet, despite its importance for evolutionary and population studies, the mitogenome of Siberian larch has not yet been assembled and studied. RESULTS: Two sources of DNA sequences were used to search for mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences: mtDNA enriched samples and nucleotide reads generated in the de novo whole genome sequencing project, respectively. The assembly of the Siberian larch mitogenome contained nine contigs, with the shortest and the largest contigs being 24,767 bp and 4,008,762 bp, respectively. The total size of the genome was estimated at 11.7 Mbp. In total, 40 protein-coding, 34 tRNA, and 3 rRNA genes and numerous repetitive elements (REs) were annotated in this mitogenome. In total, 864 C-to-U RNA editing sites were found for 38 out of 40 protein-coding genes. The immense size of this genome, currently the largest reported, can be partly explained by variable numbers of mobile genetic elements, and introns, but unlikely by plasmid-related sequences. We found few plasmid-like insertions representing only 0.11% of the entire Siberian larch mitogenome. CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed that the size of the Siberian larch mitogenome is much larger than in other so far studied Gymnosperms, and in the same range as for the annual flowering plant Silene conica (11.3 Mbp). Similar to other species, the Siberian larch mitogenome contains relatively few genes, and despite its huge size, the repeated and low complexity regions cover only 14.46% of the mitogenome sequence.

Abstract The rates of subsea permafrost degradation and occurrence of gas-migration pathways are key factors controlling the East Siberian Arctic Shelf (ESAS) methane (CH 4 ) emissions, yet these factors still require assessment. It is thought that after inundation, permafrost-degradation rates would decrease over time and submerged thaw-lake taliks would freeze; therefore, no CH 4 release would occur for millennia. Here we present results of the first comprehensive scientific re-drilling to show that subsea permafrost in the near-shore zone of the ESAS has a downward movement of the ice-bonded permafrost table of ∼14 cm year −1 over the past 31–32 years. Our data reveal polygonal thermokarst patterns on the seafloor and gas-migration associated with submerged taliks, ice scouring and pockmarks. Knowing the rate and mechanisms of subsea permafrost degradation is a prerequisite to meaningful predictions of near-future CH 4 release in the Arctic.

Annual migratory movements can range from a few tens to thousands of kilometers, creating unique energetic requirements for each specific species and journey. Even within the same species, migration costs can vary largely because of flexible, opportunistic life history strategies. We uncover the large extent of variation in the lifetime migratory decisions of young white storks originating from eight populations. Not only did juvenile storks differ in their geographically distinct wintering locations, their diverse migration patterns also affected the amount of energy individuals invested for locomotion during the first months of their life. Overwintering in areas with higher human population reduced the stork's overall energy expenditure because of shorter daily foraging trips, closer wintering grounds, or a complete suppression of migration. Because migrants can change ecological processes in several distinct communities simultaneously, understanding their life history decisions helps not only to protect migratory species but also to conserve stable ecosystems.

Fluorosurfactants are the most effective compounds to lower the surface tension of aqueous solutions, but their wetting properties as related to low energy hydrocarbon solids are inferior to hydrocarbon trisiloxane surfactants, although the latter demonstrate higher surface tension in aqueous solutions. To explain this inconsistency available data on the adsorption of fluorosurfactants on liquid/vapour, solid/liquid and solid/vapour interfaces are discussed in comparison to those of hydrocarbon surfactants. The low free energy of adsorption of fluorosurfactants on hydrocarbon solid/water interface should be of a substantial importance for their wetting properties.

Selenium (Se) is an essential element in poultry nutrition and its bio-efficacy depends on its chemical form. A growing body of research proves that organic forms of Se, mainly selenomethionine (SeMet), in poultry diets have a range of important advantages over traditional sodium selenite. In fact, the organic Se concept considers SeMet as a storage form of Se in the chicken body. As chickens are not able to synthesize SeMet, its provision through diet is a key strategy to fight commercially relevant stresses. Indeed, in stress conditions, when increased selenoprotein expression requires additional Se, while its provision via feed usually decreases due to a reduction in feed consumption, Se reserves in the body (mainly in the muscles) could help maintain an effective antioxidant defense and prevent detrimental consequences of stresses. The poultry industry is looking for the most effective sources of organic Se for commercial use. In this review, advantages and disadvantages of main organic Se sources for poultry (Se-yeast, SeMet, and OH-SeMet) are analyzed, and future directions for the development of new Se sources are identified.

Abstract We examined the effects of fire disturbance on permafrost degradation and thaw settlement across a series of wildfires (from ~1930 to 2010) in the forested areas of collapse‐scar bog complexes in the Tanana Flats lowland of interior Alaska. Field measurements were combined with numerical modeling of soil thermal dynamics to assess the roles of fire severity and climate history in postfire permafrost dynamics. Field‐based calculations of potential thaw settlement following the loss of remaining ice‐rich permafrost averaged 0.6 m. This subsidence would cause the surface elevations of forests to drop on average 0.1 m below the surface water level of adjacent collapse‐scar features. Up to 0.5 m of thaw settlement was documented after recent fires, causing water impoundment and further thawing along forest margins. Substantial heterogeneity in soil properties (organic layer thickness, texture, moisture, and ice content) was attributed to differing site histories, which resulted in distinct soil thermal regimes by soil type. Model simulations showed increasing vulnerability of permafrost to deep thawing and thaw settlement with increased fire severity (i.e., reduced organic layer thickness). However, the thresholds of fire severity that triggered permafrost destabilization varied temporally in response to climate. Simulated permafrost dynamics underscore the importance of multiyear to multidecadal fluctuations in air temperature and snow depth in mediating the effects of fire on permafrost. Our results suggest that permafrost is becoming increasingly vulnerable to substantial thaw and collapse after moderate to high‐severity fire, and the ability of permafrost to recover is diminishing as the climate continues to warm.

This work was supported by the Ministry of Science and Tech- nology of Taiwan (Contract Nos. MOST 104-2113-M-002-012- MY3, MOST 104-2119-M-002-027-MY3, MOST 104-2923-M- 002-007-MY3); the National Center for Research and Development Poland Grant (No. SL-TW2/8/2015). The contribution of S. M. was supported by the grant "Iuventus Plus" 0271/IP3/2015/73 from Ministry of Science and Higher Education, Poland, and the Russian Foundation for Basic Re- search (15-52-53080). The authors would also like to acknowledge the financial support from the Epistar Company.

The increasing trend of large carnivore attacks on humans not only raises human safety concerns but may also undermine large carnivore conservation efforts. Although rare, attacks by brown bears Ursus arctos are also on the rise and, although several studies have addressed this issue at local scales, information is lacking on a worldwide scale. Here, we investigated brown bear attacks (n = 664) on humans between 2000 and 2015 across most of the range inhabited by the species: North America (n = 183), Europe (n = 291), and East (n = 190). When the attacks occurred, half of the people were engaged in leisure activities and the main scenario was an encounter with a female with cubs. Attacks have increased significantly over time and were more frequent at high bear and low human population densities. There was no significant difference in the number of attacks between continents or between countries with different hunting practices. Understanding global patterns of bear attacks can help reduce dangerous encounters and, consequently, is crucial for informing wildlife managers and the public about appropriate measures to reduce this kind of conflicts in bear country.

Persecution and overexploitation by humans are major causes of species extinctions. Rare species, often confined to small geographic ranges, are usually at highest risk, whereas extinctions of superabundant species with very large ranges are rare. The Yellow-breasted Bunting (Emberiza aureola) used to be one of the most abundant songbirds of the Palearctic, with a very large breeding range stretching from Scandinavia to the Russian Far East. Anecdotal information about rapid population declines across the range caused concern about unsustainable trapping along the species' migration routes. We conducted a literature review and used long-term monitoring data from across the species' range to model population trend and geographical patterns of extinction. The population declined by 84.3-94.7% between 1980 and 2013, and the species' range contracted by 5000 km. Quantitative evidence from police raids suggested rampant illegal trapping of the species along its East Asian flyway in China. A population model simulating an initial harvest level of 2% of the population, and an annual increase of 0.2% during the monitoring period produced a population trajectory that matched the observed decline. We suggest that trapping strongly contributed to the decline because the consumption of Yellow-breasted Bunting and other songbirds has increased as a result of economic growth and prosperity in East Asia. The magnitude and speed of the decline is unprecedented among birds with a comparable range size, with the exception of the Passenger Pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius), which went extinct in 1914 due to industrial-scale hunting. Our results demonstrate the urgent need for an improved monitoring of common and widespread species' populations, and consumption levels throughout East Asia.

The paper presents a discussion of the use of both transport approximation for scattering phase function and diffusion-based models for radiative transfer in absorbing and anisotropically scattering media like many disperse systems in nature and engineering. The main attention is paid to heat transfer problems and traditional methods of identification of spectral radiative properties of dispersed materials when the details of angular distribution of the radiation intensity are not so important. The latter makes reasonable use of the above-mentioned approximations. In more complex applied problems, the diffusion approximation appears to be a good approach as the first step of a combined two-step solution. Some example problems solved recently by the author and his colleagues are used to illustrate the approach considered in the paper.

A substantial fraction of aerosols, which affect air quality and climate, is formed from gaseous precursors. Highly oxygenated organic molecules (HOMs) are essential to grow the newly formed particles and have been evidenced to initiate ion-induced nucleation in chamber experiments in the absence of sulfuric acid. We investigate this phenomenon in the real atmosphere using an extensive set of state-of-the-art ion and mass spectrometers deployed in a boreal forest environment. We show that within a few hours around sunset, HOMs resulting from the oxidation of monoterpenes are capable of forming and growing ion clusters even under low sulfuric acid levels. In these conditions, we hypothesize that the lack of photochemistry and essential vapors prevents the organic clusters from growing past 6 nm. However, this phenomenon might have been a major source of particles in the preindustrial atmosphere and might also contribute to particle formation in the future and consequently affect the climate.