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Inland waters are among the most threatened biodiversity hotspots. Ponds located in alpine areas are experiencing more rapid and dramatic water temperature increases than any other biome. Despite their prevalence, alpine ponds and their biodiversity responses to climate change have been poorly explored, reflecting their small size and difficult access. To understand the effects of climate change on alpine pond biodiversity, we performed a comprehensive literature review for papers published since 1955. Through analysis of their geographic distribution, environmental features, and biodiversity values, we identified which environmental factors related to climate change would have direct or indirect effects on alpine pond biodiversity. We then synthesized this information to produce a conceptual model of the effects of climate change on alpine pond biodiversity. Increased water temperature, reduced hydroperiod, and loss of connectivity between alpine ponds were the main drivers of biodiversity geographic distribution, leading to predictable changes in spatial patterns of biodiversity. We identified three major research gaps that, if addressed, can guide conservation and restoration strategies for alpine ponds biodiversity in an uncertain future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The anthropogenic impacts on the environment, including deforestation and the escalating emissions of greenhouse gases, have significantly contributed to global climate change that can lead to alterations in ecosystems. In this context, protected areas (PAs) are pillars for biodiversity conservation by being able, for example, to maintain the viability of populations of endangered species. On the other hand, the species range shifts do not follow the limits of PAs, jeopardizing the conservation of these species. Furthermore, the effectiveness of PAs is consistently undermined by impacts stemming from land use, hunting activities, and illegal exploitation, both within the designated areas and in their adjacent zones. The objectives of this study are to quantify the impacts of climate change on the distribution of threatened and endemic birds of the Amazon biome, evaluate the effectiveness of PAs in protecting the richness of threatened birds, and analyze the representativeness of species within PAs. We found with our results that climate suitability loss is above 80 for 65% of taxa in the optimistic scenario and above 93% in the pessimistic scenario. The results show that PAs are not effective in protecting the richness of Amazonian birds, just as they are ineffective in protecting most of the taxa studied when analyzed individually Although some taxa are presented as "Protected," in future scenarios these taxa may suffer major shrinkages in their distributions and consequently present population unviability. The loss of climatically suitable areas and the effectiveness of PAs can directly influence the loss of ecosystem services, fundamental to maintaining the balance of biodiversity. Therefore, our study paves the way for conservation actions aimed at these taxa so that they can mitigate current and future extinctions due to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Ecosystem stability represents the ability of the ecosystem to maintain and restore its functions. The indicators of ecosystem stability include temporal stability, resistance, and resilience, which are crucial parameters to predict the basic functions of the earth under global change. However, the correlation between the indicators of ecosystem stability and the dimensions of ecosystem stability at global scale remains unclear. Here, we quantified the global dimensions of ecosystem stability using moderate resolution imaging spectrometer (MODIS) enhanced vegetation index (EVI) data from 2001 to 2018 as well as climate variables and land standard species richness data. We revealed a strong positive correlation between temporal stability and resistance and no correlation between resistance and resilience at global scale. The dimension of ecosystem stability changed along the gradients of latitude or altitude. The dimensions of ecosystem stability were different among biomes, showing the lowest in the evergreen broad‐leaved forest (EBF) and the highest in the grassland (GRA). Climate factors were strongly associated with the changes in dimensions of ecosystem stability at global scale. These findings highlight the crucial role of dimensions in exploring ecosystem stability, potentially eliminating contradictions in the ecosystem service mechanism of the earth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dominant species of a biome can be regarded as its genuine indicator. Evergreen broadleaved forests (EBLFs) in subtropical East Asia harbor high levels of species biodiversity and endemism and are vital to regional carbon storage and cycling. However, the historical assembly of this unique biome is still controversial. Fagaceae is the most essential family in East Asian subtropical EBLFs and its dominant species are vital for the existence of this biome. Here, we used the dominant Fagaceae species to shed light on the dynamic process of East Asian subtropical EBLFs over time. Our results indicate high precipitation in summer and low temperature in winter are the most influential climatic factors for the distribution of East Asian subtropical EBLFs. Modern East Asian subtropical EBLFs did not begin to appear until 23 Ma, subsequently experienced a long‐lasting development in the Miocene and markedly deteriorated at about 4 Ma, driven jointly by orogenesis and paleoclimate. We also document that there is a lag time between when one clade invaded the region and when its members become dominant species within the region. This study may improve our ability to predict and mitigate the threats to biodiversity of East Asian subtropical EBLFs and points to a new path for future studies involving multidisciplinary methods to explore the assembly of regional biomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Climate change is expected to impact mountain biodiversity by shifting species ranges and the biomes they shape. The extent and regional variation in these impacts are still poorly understood, particularly in the highly biodiverse Andes. Regional syntheses of climate change impacts on vegetation are pivotal to identify and guide research priorities. Here we review current data, knowledge and uncertainties in past, present and future climate change impacts on vegetation in the Andes. Location: Andes. Taxon: Plants. Methods: We (i) conducted a literature review on Andean vegetation responses to past and contemporary climatic change, (ii) analysed future climate projections for different elevations and slope orientations at 19 Andean locations using an ensemble of model outputs from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 5, and (iii) calculated changes in the suitable climate envelope area of Andean biomes and compared these results to studies that used species distribution models. Results: Future climatic changes (2040–2070) are projected to be stronger at high‐elevation areas in the tropical Andes (up to 4°C under RCP 8.5), while in the temperate Andes temperature increases are projected to be up to 2°C. Under this worst‐case scenario, temperate deciduous forests and the grasslands/steppes from the Central and Southern Andes are predicted to show the greatest losses of suitable climatic space (30% and 17%–23%, respectively). The high vulnerability of these biomes contrasts with the low attention from researchers modelling Andean species distributions. Critical knowledge gaps include a lack of an Andean wide plant checklist, insufficient density of weather stations at high‐elevation areas, a lack of high‐resolution climatologies that accommodates the Andes' complex topography and climatic processes, insufficient data to model demographic and ecological processes, and low use of palaeo data for distribution modelling. Main conclusions: Climate change is likely to profoundly affect the extent and composition of Andean biomes. Temperate Andean biomes in particular are susceptible to substantial area contractions. There are, however, considerable challenges and uncertainties in modelling species and biome responses and a pressing need for a region‐wide approach to address knowledge gaps and improve understanding and monitoring of climate change impacts in these globally important biomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The boreal forest biome is a major component of Earth's biosphere and climate system that is projected to shift northward due to continued climate change over the coming century. Indicators of a biome shift will likely first be evident along the climatic margins of the boreal forest and include changes in vegetation productivity, mortality, and recruitment, as well as overall vegetation greenness. However, the extent to which a biome shift is already underway remains unclear because of the local nature of most field studies, sparsity of systematic ground‐based ecological monitoring, and reliance on coarse resolution satellite observations. Here, we evaluated early indicators of a boreal forest biome shift using four decades of moderate resolution (30 m) satellite observations and biogeoclimatic spatial datasets. Specifically, we quantified interannual trends in annual maximum vegetation greenness using an ensemble of vegetation indices derived from Landsat observations at 100,000 sample sites in areas without signs of recent disturbance. We found vegetation greenness increased (greened) at 38 [29, 42] % and 22 [15, 26] % of sample sites from 1985 to 2019 and 2000 to 2019, whereas vegetation greenness decreased (browned) at 13 [9, 15] % and 15 [13, 19] % of sample sites during these respective periods [95% Monte Carlo confidence intervals]. Greening was thus 3.0 [2.6, 3.5] and 1.5 [0.8, 2.0] times more common than browning and primarily occurred in cold sparsely treed areas with high soil nitrogen and moderate summer warming. Conversely, browning primarily occurred in the climatically warmest margins of both the boreal forest biome and major forest types (e.g., evergreen conifer forests), especially in densely treed areas where summers became warmer and drier. These macroecological trends reflect underlying shifts in vegetation productivity, mortality, and recruitment that are consistent with early stages of a boreal biome shift. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The boreal biome plays an important role in the global carbon cycle. However, current estimates of its sink‐source strength and responses to changes in climate are primarily derived from models and thus remain uncertain. A major challenge is the validation of these models at a regional scale since empirical flux estimates are typically confined to ecosystem or continental scales. The Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS)‐Svartberget atmospheric station (SVB) provides observations including tall tower eddy covariance (EC) and atmospheric concentration measurements that can contribute to such validation in Northern Sweden. Thus, the overall aim of this study was to quantify the carbon balance in Northern Sweden region by integrating land‐atmosphere fluxes and atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations. There were three specific objectives. First, to compare flux estimates from four models (VPRM, LPJ‐GUESS, ORCHIDEE, and SiBCASA) to tall tower EC measurements at SVB during the years 2016–2018. Second to assess the fluxes' impact on atmospheric CO2 concentrations using a regional transport model. Third, to assess the impact of the drought in 2018. The comparison of estimated concentrations with ICOS observations helped the evaluation of the models' regional scale performance. Both the simulations and observations indicate there were similar reductions in the net CO2 uptake during drought. All the models (except for SiBCASA) and observations indicated the region was a net carbon sink during the 3‐year study period. Our study highlights a need to improve vegetation models through comparisons with empirical data and demonstrate the ICOS network's potential utility for constraining CO2 fluxes in the region. Plain Language Summary: As the largest global carbon sink, the boreal region can play an important role in climate mitigation strategies. Thus, it is important to estimate the region's sink strength properly. However, due to limitations in measurement techniques at the regional scale, the sink strength estimates are often obtained from models, which require robust validation. Therefore, we combined flux and atmospheric concentration data from one of the stations in Northern Europe to validate estimates generated using four vegetation models. We also used a transport model to connect the fluxes to atmospheric concentration dynamics, then compared the modeled CO2 concentration patterns with observations to provide a regional scale validation of the vegetation models. These observed and modeled fluxes and concentrations are also used to investigate the impact of the 2018 drought over Nordic vegetation. We find that the 2018 European drought had only limited impact on the carbon fluxes over Northern Sweden. Both the modeling and measurements show that the study region was a carbon sink during the study period (2016–2018), with some variation in estimates from the four models. Key Points: Northern Sweden region was a carbon sink in the years 2016–2018 according to vegetation model estimates and observationsBoth concentration and flux measurements suggest 2018 drought had limited impact on the Nordic carbon balanceEmpirical measurements can improve vegetation models by integrating them into model simulations at site and regional scaleHowever, annual net ecosystem exchange values generated by the models varied between −275 and −25 gC m−2 year−1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Protected areas (PAs) play an important role in biodiversity conservation, but remain increasingly threatened by invasive alien plant species (IAPS) in conjunction with global climate change. The latter is modifying the distribution of the former, and the magnitude and direction of distributional changes are predicted to vary depending on species dispersal mode. Here, we address the question of whether clonality is expected to affect the future invasion pattern in PAs. Location: Worldwide. Time period: 1950–2100. Major taxa studied: 36 invasive alien plant species. Methods: We used ensembles of three species distribution models (GLM, GAM and Maxent) based on >70,000 occurrence records to project the distribution of 36 of the world's most invasive clonal and non‐clonal plants in >20,000 PAs. Projections were based on three greenhouse gas concentration scenarios (low, medium and high) for 2080. Results: Climate change showed little impact on the global invasion pattern in PAs, and clonality showed little effect when all biomes were processed in concert. However, we discerned that the future invasion risk of clonal IAPS markedly increased in biomes located at high elevation and high latitude compared with non‐clonal IAPS, while the risk decreased in lower‐elevation tropical and subtropical biomes where asexual reproduction may be a less successful trait. We also showed that invasion hot spots overlapped with biodiversity hot spots and two realms (i.e. Nearctic and Palearctic), which calls for bridging the gap between invasion and conservation sciences and for more concerted management strategies. Main conclusions: We suggest that effective management of IAPS in PAs should consider in which biomes PAs are located as well as the reproductive traits of IAPS that are present or may become so. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The interconnectedness and biotic interchange among Neotropical biomes are thought to play an important role in driving adaptation and diversification. However, how these processes are in synteny to trait evolution in species of open and xeric areas is poorly studied. Here, we investigate the spatial and temporal dimensions of evolution and candidate traits associated with biome shifts in xeric vegetation, focusing on the family Cactaceae. Location: Xeric and open areas of South America. Taxon: Genus Cereus Mill. (Cactaceae, Cereeae). Methods: We applied biogeographical reconstructions on a time-calibrated phylog- eny inferred from multilocus data (ddRAD-Seq) using Bayesian analyses on BEAST2, species distribution modelling in Maxent, the reconstruction of biome affinities and niche shift analyses based on abiotic traits (climate and soil) using Mk-model in BioGeoBEARS, and phenotypic trait-based analysis in Mesquite. Results: The Cerrado domain is the ancestral area of Cereus, with most diversification events occurring in a time of intense orogenesis, climatic changes, and marine regressions within the last 5 Mya. Events of biome transition from the seasonally dry tropical forest (SDTF) were also associated with trait and niche shifts. Main conclusions: The diversification of the xerophyte genus Cereus is associated with the climatic and geomorphological instabilities of the Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs. The Cerrado domain states an important region of dispersal for the genus. Some geographical range movements involved biome shifts associated with niche evolution while others were restricted to a simple biogeographical transition without niche change. Particular clades that experienced biome shifts displayed some phenotypic state changes, suggesting a role of biotic traits for environment transition. The results observed in Cereus may be a biogeographical pattern that should be tested with other cactus species, such as Pilosocereus spp., or species of xeric habitats, such as Annonaceae and Vochysiaceae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation: Leaf traits represent an important component of plant functional strategies, and those related to carbon fixation and nutrient acquisition form the leaf economics spectrum. However, observations of functional leaf traits are underrepresented in tropical regions in comparison with those in temperate areas. Brazil, a country with continental scale and vast biodiversity is a timely example, where many biomes are impacted by human activities and climate change. However, leaf traits relevant to understand vegetation responses to these impacts remain poorly quantified for many species found in the country. We compiled an extensive data set of four functional leaf traits for native woody species occurring in the Brazilian territory. In addition to trait observations, sampling dates and geo‐references were compiled and climatic parameters and soil properties of each sampling site were extracted from several databases. Main types of variables contained: The LT‐Brazil data set contains 3,479, 1,216, 775 and 775 clean observations of leaf mass per area, leaf nitrogen (N) concentration per unit mass, leaf phosphorus (P) concentration per unit mass, and leaf N : P ratio, respectively, from native woody species, encompassing information of biome, vegetation, taxonomic data, geographical coordinates, climatic parameters, as well as soil properties. Spatial location and grain: We compiled trait observations from 223 sites under native vegetation distributed in all main biomes (i.e., Amazônia, Caatinga, Cerrado, Mata Atlântica, Pampa and Pantanal) across the Brazilian territory. Time period and grain: The data represent information published and/or sampled during the last 25 years. Major taxa and level of measurement: Our compilation was focused on trait data observed for native woody species, excluding monocots, palm trees, herbs, and hemiparasitic plants. Thus, 108, 478 and 1,321 botanical families, genera and species were included, covering c. 9% of the woody angiosperm flora of Brazil. Software format: Data are provided as comma‐separated value (.csv) files. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]