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Fluids in subduction zones can have major effects on subduction dynamics. However, geophysical constraints on the scale and impact of fluid flow during continental subduction are still limited. Here we analyze the VP/VS ratios in the Western Alpine region, hosting one of the best-preserved fossil continental subduction zones worldwide, to investigate the impact of fluid flow during continental subduction. We found a belt of high VP/VS ratios >1.9 on the upper-plate side of the subduction zone, consistent with a partially serpentinized upper-plate mantle, and a belt of unusually low VP/VS ratios <1.7 on the lower-plate side, at depths shallower than 30 km. We propose that these low VP/VS ratios result from a widespread network of silica-rich veins, indicating past fluid flow along the continental subduction interface. Our results suggest that past fluid flow may have reduced the effective stress along the subduction interface thus favoring continental subduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing intrusion of weed species into alpine regions is an alarming threat to native floras because their strong and deep root systems cause a scarcity of nutrients to native alpine plant species. Considering the sensitive nature of alpine ecosystems, integrated weed management may be a means of preventing invasive species from going out of control. The present study investigated the allelopathic effect of Elsholtzia strobilifera on the germination and growth characteristics of Himalayan knotweed (Koenigia polystachya, syn. Polygonum polystachyum) under both field and laboratory conditions. The germination of seeds under laboratory conditions was studied by using different dilutions of hydrosol and aqueous extracts derived from E. strobilifera. In our field study, seedlings of K. polystachya were planted together with E. strobilifera in their natural habitat at a nursery. The study indicates that the seed germination and morphological parameters of seedlings were significantly inhibited by different dilutions of hydrosol and extract (reduction by 83–96% and 62–73%, respectively). In field conditions, significant inhibition in the morphological characteristics of K. polystachya was observed when grown in association with E. strobilifera. The results reveal that E. strobilifera has a significant allelopathic effect on K. polystachya. Based on the results of the present study, it can be concluded that growing plants of E. strobilifera around K. polystachya may be a novel approach to curbing the spread of the latter and suppressing the population of this species in ecologically sensitive alpine or other endangered areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant communities are complex systems shaped by a combination of deterministic and stochastic ecological processes. Bryophytes are an essential component of plant diversity in natural ecosystems, yet our understanding of their community ecology needs to catch up to that of other organisms. The unique geological history, alpine climatic conditions, and high habitat heterogeneity of Tibet provide suitable areas for bryophytes to survive in the alpine regions. Therefore, field surveys were conducted across 184 plots in forest, thicket, and herbaceous vegetation of Tibet to investigate the role of deterministic processes such as biological interactions and abiotic effects, along with stochastic processes, in shaping the distribution of bryophyte assemblages. We employed various analytical methods, including mixed effects models, partial least squares path modeling, null model analysis, and neutral community models. The study showed that bryophyte richness was highest in forests. Bryophyte assemblages showed greater segregation in forest and thicket environments compared to herbaceous vegetation. As the influence of stochastic processes increased, that of deterministic processes decreased from forests through thickets to herbaceous vegetation. Deterministic processes were the main driving forces for the bryophyte assemblage pattern. Soil properties and climatic factors, particularly pH played a key role in determining bryophyte patterns in Tibet. This study has deepened our comprehension of how deterministic and stochastic ecological processes interplay and shape bryophyte distribution patterns in Tibet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new species, Bupleurum milamense (Apiaceae) is described from the alpine forest region of the Milam Valley, Uttarakhand, India. The new species is similar to B. gracillimum Klotzsch in the nature of the plant, leaf shape, number of bracts, shorter umbel rays, number, shape and size of bracteoles, bracteoles shorter than the flowers, and number of flowers per umbellules, However, it significantly differs by having an erect stem position, in the number of umbel rays, fruit shape and size, and number of vallecular and commissural vittae. A detailed description, photographs, distribution map, and a comparison with allied species are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding spatial patterns of biodiversity within the context of long‐term climatic shifts is of high importance, particularly in the face of contemporary climate change. In comparison to aboveground taxa, subterranean organisms respond to changing climates with generally much lower dispersal and recolonization potential, yet possible persistence in refugial groundwater habitats under ice‐shields. However, knowledge on general and geographically large‐scale effects of glaciation on contemporary groundwater biodiversity patterns is still very limited. Here, we tested how Late Pleistocene glaciation influenced the diversity and distribution of 36 groundwater amphipod species in Alpine and peri‐Alpine regions, characterized by extensive glaciation cycles, and how its legacy explains contemporary diversity patterns. We based our analysis on an unprecedented density of ~ 1000 systematic sampling sites across Switzerland. Using presence–absence data, we assessed biodiversity and species' ranges, and calculated for each site within‐catchment distance to the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) glacier extent. We then applied a sliding window approach along the obtained distance gradient from LGM ice‐covered to ice‐free sites to compute biodiversity indices reflecting local richness, regional richness, and differentiation, respectively. We found a strong signal of the LGM ice extent on the present‐day distribution of groundwater amphipods. Our findings revealed pronounced species turnover and spatial envelopes of individual species' occurrences in formerly ice‐covered, ice‐free, or transitional zones, respectively. While local richness remained constant and low along the LGM distance gradient, groundwater communities in LGM ice‐covered areas were more similar to each other and had lower gamma diversities and decreased occurrence probabilities per sliding window compared to communities in Pleistocene ice‐free areas. These results highlight the significant impact of Pleistocene glaciation on shaping biodiversity patterns of subterranean communities and imprinting contemporary distribution of groundwater organisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large carnivores such as wolves (Canis lupus) at times disperse distances of several hundred kilometers, which may enable gene flow over vast distances. Such long‐distance dispersal events, however, often remain undetected, and documenting long‐distance dispersers and their movements typically depend on strong transboundary collaborations. Here, we report the dispersal of a wolf (MSV0FF) from the Alpine region of northern Slovenia to Bavaria in southern Germany, a straight‐line distance of around 300 km. The disperser originated in a pack with a genetically diverse breeding pair, where the father exhibited ancestry from the Dinaric and Italian Alpine populations. Genetic analysis of the mother indicated that she was an immigrant from a divergent population further south in the Dinaric‐Balkan region. Such a varied ancestry augments the probability of immigrants being genetically misclassified as wolf‐dog hybrids in their area of arrival, which increases the risk of unfavorable management decisions toward individuals that would be genetically highly valuable for the recipient population. Wolf MSV0FF therefore demonstrates the benefits of international collaborative monitoring networks and the value of sharing samples and analytical approaches for the monitoring of wide‐ranging species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a biological process that breaks down organic matter in the absence of oxygen, producing biogas and nutrient-rich digestate. Various reactor designs and mixing strategies are well-established in AD processes, each with their own advantages and benefits. The presented study summarizes and investigates the state of the art of AD in domestic wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in an Austrian alpine region, with a primary focus on finding similarities among the most efficient plants regarding digester design, mixing approaches, and biogas production. By combining surveys and detailed field studies in cooperation with 34 WWTPs, the study provides a comprehensive overview of common AD practices, reactor shapes, and inherent mixing methods, highlighting their potential regarding energetic efficiency and biogas production. The results of the survey reveal qualitative trends in efficient AD design alongside detailed quantitative data derived from the supervised in-field optimization studies. Notably, one of the studies demonstrated energetic savings of 52% with no decrease in biogas production, achieved by transitioning from gas injection to mechanical agitation. Redundant impeller-based overmixing was also practically investigated and demonstrated in another field study. After optimization, the adaptations also resulted in energy savings of 30%, still proving sufficient substrate mixing with biomethane potential analysis. In conclusion, this research emphasizes the economic and environmental importance of energy-refined practices and optimized processes while highlighting the sustainability of AD, particularly for large domestic WWTPs but also for different comparable applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Runoff simulation is essential for effective water resource management and plays a pivotal role in hydrological forecasting. Improving the quality of runoff simulation and forecasting continues to be a highly relevant research area. The complexity of the terrain and the scarcity of long-term runoff observation data have significantly limited the application of Physically Based Models (PBMs) in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP). Recently, the Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) network has been found to be effective in learning the dynamic hydrological characteristics of watersheds and outperforming some traditional PBMs in runoff simulation. However, the extent to which the LSTM works in data-scarce alpine regions remains unclear. This study aims to evaluate the applicability of LSTM in alpine basins in QTP, as well as the simulation performance of transfer-based LSTM (T-LSTM) in data-scarce alpine regions. The Lhasa River Basin (LRB) and Nyang River Basin (NRB) were the study areas, and the performance of the LSTM model was compared to that of PBMs by relying solely on the meteorological inputs. The results show that the average values of Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE), Kling–Gupta efficiency (KGE), and Relative Bias (RBias) for B-LSTM were 0.80, 0.85, and 4.21%, respectively, while the corresponding values for G-LSTM were 0.81, 0.84, and 3.19%. In comparison to a PBM- the Block-Wise use of TOPMEDEL (BTOP), LSTM has an average enhancement of 0.23, 0.36, and −18.36%, respectively. In both basins, LSTM significantly outperforms the BTOP model. Furthermore, the transfer learning-based LSTM model (T-LSTM) at the multi-watershed scale demonstrates that, when the input data are somewhat representative, even if the amount of data are limited, T-LSTM can obtain more accurate results than hydrological models specifically calibrated for individual watersheds. This result indicates that LSTM can effectively improve the runoff simulation performance in alpine regions and can be applied to runoff simulation in data-scarce regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The accuracy of the simulation of carbon and water processes largely relies on the selection of atmospheric forcing datasets when driving land surface models (LSM). Particularly in high-altitude regions, choosing appropriate atmospheric forcing datasets can effectively reduce uncertainties in the LSM simulations. Therefore, this study conducted four offline LSM simulations over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) using the Community Land Model version 4.5 (CLM4.5) driven by four state-of-the-art atmospheric forcing datasets. The performances of CRUNCEP (CLM4.5 model default) and three other reanalysis-based atmospheric forcing datasets (i.e. ITPCAS, GSWP3 and WFDEI) in simulating the net primary productivity (NPP) and actual evapotranspiration (ET) were evaluated based on in situ and gridded reference datasets. Compared with in situ observations, simulated results exhibited determination coefficients (R 2) ranging from 0.58 to 0.84 and 0.59 to 0.87 for observed NPP and ET, respectively, among which GSWP3 and ITPCAS showed superior performance. At the plateau level, CRUNCEP-based simulations displayed the largest bias compared with the reference NPP and ET. GSWP3-based simulations demonstrated the best performance when comprehensively considering both the magnitudes and change trends of TP-averaged NPP and ET. The simulated ET increase over the TP during 1982–2010 based on ITPCAS was significantly greater than in the other three simulations and reference ET, suggesting that ITPCAS may not be appropriate for studying long-term ET changes over the TP. These results suggest that GSWP3 is recommended for driving CLM4.5 in conducting long-term carbon and water processes simulations over the TP. This study contributes to enhancing the accuracy of LSM in water–carbon simulations over alpine regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lakes on the Tibetan Plateau (TP) serve as both indicators of and safeguards against climate change, playing a crucial role in the aquatic ecosystems of the TP. While considerable attention has been devoted to studying the thermal and dynamic processes of TP lakes, research focusing on their ecological variations has been limited. In this study, we selected Namco, a representative lake on the TP, to investigate its water ecological processes using the AQUATOX lake ecological model. Long-term ecological variations spanning from 1980 to 2020 were analyzed based on lake observations. Our results revealed a consistent increase in water nutrients, particularly total nitrogen (WTN), and total phosphorus (WTP), over the study period. Additionally, the concentrations of chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) and water gross and net primary production (WGPP and WNPP) exhibited a significant upward trend. Despite the persistent state of poor nutrition in the lake, the ecological conditions improved. Multiple linear regression analysis indicated that the concentrations of WGPP, WNPP, and Chl-a were more sensitive to the local climate and hydrology compared to WTN and WTP. A continuously warming climate would heat up the lake water body, further enhancing primary production and improving water quality in the future. This study provides insights for lake limnological and ecological research and can be used to inform water management strategies in high-altitude alpine regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphorous (P) is essential for mediating plant and microbial growth and thus could impact carbon (C) cycle in permafrost ecosystem. However, little is known about soil P availability and its biological acquisition strategies in permafrost environment. Based on a large‐scale survey along a ~1000 km transect, combining with shotgun metagenomics, we provided the first attempt to explore soil microbial P acquisition strategies across the Tibetan alpine permafrost region. Our results showed the widespread existence of microbial functional genes associated with inorganic P solubilization, organic P mineralization and transportation, reflecting divergent microbial P acquisition strategies in permafrost regions. Moreover, the higher gene abundance related to solubilization and mineralization as well as an increased ration of metagenomic assembled genomes (MAGs) carrying these genes were detected in the active layer, while the greater abundance of low‐affinity transporter gene (pit) and proportions of MAGs harbouring pit gene were observed in permafrost deposits, illustrating a stronger potential for P activation in active layer but an enhanced P transportation potential in permafrost deposits. Our results highlight multiple P‐related acquisition strategies and their differences among various soil layers should be considered simultaneously to improve model prediction for the responses of biogeochemical cycles in permafrost ecosystems to climate change. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is leading to advanced snowmelt date in alpine regions. Consequently, alpine plant species and ecosystems experience substantial changes due to prolonged phenological seasons, while the responses, mechanisms and implications remain widely unclear. In this 3‐year study, we investigated the effects of advancing snowmelt on the phenology of alpine snowbed species. We related microclimatic drivers to species and ecosystem phenology using in situ monitoring and phenocams. We further used predictive modelling to determine whether early snowmelt sites could be used as sentinels for future conditions. Temperature during the snow‐free period primarily influenced flowering phenology, followed by snowmelt timing. Salix herbacea and Gnaphalium supinum showed the most opportunistic phenology, while annual Euphrasia minima struggled to complete its phenology in short growing seasons. Phenological responses varied more between years than sites, indicating potential local long‐term adaptations and suggesting these species' potential to track future earlier melting dates. Phenocams captured ecosystem‐level phenology (start, peak and end of phenological season) but failed to explain species‐level variance. Our findings highlight species‐specific responses to advancing snowmelt, with snowbed species responding highly opportunistically to changes in snowmelt timings while following species‐specific developmental programs. While species from surrounding grasslands may benefit from extended growing seasons, snowbed species may become outcompeted due to internal‐clock‐driven, non‐opportunistic senescence, despite displaying a high level of phenological plasticity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In grassland ecosystems, aboveground biomass (AGB) is critical for energy flow, biodiversity maintenance, carbon storage, climate regulation, and livestock husbandry. Particularly on the climate-sensitive Tibetan Plateau, accurate AGB monitoring is crucial for assessing large-scale grassland livestock capacity. Previous studies focused on predicting AGB mainly at the plant community level and from the perspective of dry weight (AGBd). This study aims to predict grassland AGB in Xizang at both the plant taxonomic group (sedge, graminoid, forb) and community levels, from both an AGBd and a fresh weight (AGBf) perspective. Three to four independent variables (growing mean temperature, total precipitation, total radiation and NDVImax, maximum normalized difference vegetation index) were used for AGB prediction using nine models in Xizang grasslands. The random forest model (RFM) showed the greatest potential in simulating AGB (training R2 ≥ 0.62, validation R2 ≥ 0.87). This could be due to the nonlinear relationships between AGB, meteorological factors, and NDVImax. The RFM exhibited robustness against outliers and zero values resulting from taxonomic groups that were absent from the quadrats. The accuracies of the RFM were different between fresh and dry weight, and among the three taxonomic groups. The RFM's use of fewer variables can reduce complexity and costs compared to previous studies. Therefore, the RFM emerged as the optimal model among the nine models, offering potential for large-scale investigations into grassland AGB, especially for analyzing spatiotemporal patterns of plant taxonomic groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nurse effect is a positive interaction in which a nurse plant improves the abiotic environment for another species (beneficiary plant) and facilitates its establishment. The evergreen shrub Vaccinium vitis-idaea (a beneficiary plant) grows mainly under the dwarf shrub Pinus pumila (a nurse plant) in the alpine regions of central Japan. However, whether V. vitis-idaea shrubs under various P. pumila shrubs spread through clonal growth and/or seeds remains unclear. We investigated the clonal structure of V. vitis-idaea under the nurse plant P. pumila in Japanese alpine regions. MIG-seq analysis was conducted to clarify the clonal diversity of V. vitis-idaea in isolated and patchy P. pumila plots on a ridge (PATs), and in a plot covered by dense P. pumila on a slope adjacent to the ridge (MAT) on Mt. Norikura, Japan. We detected 28 multilocus genotypes in 319 ramets of V. vitis-idaea across 11 PATs and MAT. Three genets expanded to more than 10 m in the MAT. Some genets were shared among neighboring PATs or among PATs and MAT. These findings suggest that the clonal growth of V. vitis-idaea plays an important role in the sustainability of populations. The clonal diversity of V. vitis-idaea was positively related with the spatial size of PATs and was higher in MAT than in PATs at a small scale. Therefore, the spatial spread of the nurse plant P. pumila might facilitate the nurse effect on the genetic diversity of beneficiary plants, leading to the sustainability of beneficiary populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The western region of Sichuan Province, located in the Hengduan Mountains, is one of China's most seismically active zones. Due to limited land resources, many villages in western Sichuan Province are situated in mountainous and valley areas, facing harsh climatic conditions, lagging economic development, and insufficient infrastructure. After experiencing seismic disasters, these villages often encounter challenges, such as cut-off mountain roads, difficulties in delivering relief supplies, and sharply a significant drop in nighttime temperatures due to the high-altitude climate. Consequently, in the case of the economic underdevelopment and limited resources, how to repurpose existing buildings for disaster relief has become a crucial issue for disaster prevention and mitigation in these villages. This paper takes Ganbao Tibetan Village, located in the alpine gorge regions of western Sichuan Province, as a case study. It evaluates the interior space utilization status of different types of existing public buildings during disasters, calculates the effective utilization rate of interior space disaster reduction conversion based on the spatial layout model, and extracts the typical interior space dimensions that are conducive to disaster relief and conversion of public buildings based on the interior space utilization characteristics of disaster relief. This study provides a reference for the design of public service buildings considering the requirements of disaster resilience transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the temporal processes of suprapermafrost groundwater (SPG)‐supplied streamflow in alpine permafrost regions, aiming to fill the gap in understanding this process from a water‐age perspective. Precipitation, streamflow, and SPG samples were collected from the Three‐Rivers Headwaters Region (TRHR). We defined the physical meaning of Fyw (the young water fraction) of the SPG and calculated it for the first time. The results showed that in the TRHR, the SPG mean travel time (MTT) was 159 days, and approximately 46.4% of SPG was younger than 77 days, whereas the streamflow MTT was 342 days, and approximately 12.2% of the streamflow was younger than 97 days. The correlation analysis revealed that various climatic factors played dominant roles in the recharge time variations of the SPG‐supplied streamflow within the TRHR. The SPG recharge rate did not significantly affect the streamflow Fyw; however, the thickness of the active layer ultimately controlled the SPG transit time distribution. Regression analysis further demonstrated the nonlinear impact of precipitation, average temperature, and average freezing days on SPG Fyw, which is closely related to seasonal freeze–thaw heat conduction and groundwater heat advection in the active layer. During the initial ablation period, the streamflow was primarily recharged by young SPG, resulting in a short‐tail travel time distribution. Our findings provide valuable insights into runoff generation and concentration processes in permafrost regions and have important implications for water resource management. Plain Language Summary: This article investigates the temporal process of suprapermafrost groundwater (SPG) (groundwater within the active layer above the permafrost) recharging streamflow in alpine permafrost regions, aiming to fill the gap from this perspective. We collected samples of SPG, streamflow, and precipitation from the Three‐Rivers Headwaters Region and calculated the water age of SPG. We found that approximately half of the SPG contributing to streamflow is young water, however, the young water fraction of the streamflow is lower than the global average for rivers. We analyzed the environmental factors controlling water age and identified climatic conditions, active layer thickness, and relief amplitude as the primary influencing factors in permafrost regions. Based on analyses of permafrost thermal and hydrological conditions, we determined that streamflow was primarily recharged by the young SPG during the initial ablation period. Our results provide important insights for studying the runoff generation and concentration processes in permafrost regions and for water resource management strategies. Key Points: The mean travel time of suprapermafrost groundwater (SPG) in study area was 159 days, and ∼46.4% of the water was younger than 77 daysClimate conditions, active layer thickness, and relief amplitude are the primary controlling factors for the SPG ageThe recharge of streamflow by young SPG primarily occurs during the initial ablation period [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior to COVID‐19, migrant journeys through the Mediterranean were often described with reference to the barriers posed within 'fortress Europe' or through registers which centre migrant's adeptness at navigating draconian immigration regimes. Between these two contexts, this paper explores how a public authority lens can assist in understanding the implications of COVID‐19 and associated vaccine bureaucracies. We draw on ethnographic research on the Italian‐French Alpine border and chart how 'vaccine populism'—perpetuated in nationalist political discourse as well as in the counter‐commentaries of resistance offered by solidarity networks—has specific implications for migrants' access to vaccines and health information. We argue that analyses attentive to the subtle nuances of state and local politics provide an important entry point to map multi‐scalar power dynamics which accompany universal health policies. Through considering the complex realities relating to Alpine crossings, we advocate from less categorising approaches to vaccinating migrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Channel migration, furcation, and vegetation succession are characteristic processes of braided gravel rivers in Alpine regions. These are associated with a frequent turnover of large parts of the active floodplain. However, more than one century of river regulation has reduced or destroyed most of these ecosystem dynamics. More recently, there have been attempts to restore at least some sections of degraded rivers, while there is little monitoring of the biogeomorphological dynamics of such rivers. Thus, we did a four‐year analysis of four representative sections of the upper River Isar in Southern Germany differing in their degree of naturalness. Dynamics of channels, gravel bars, and vegetation were recorded by drone images, and braiding and gravel indices were calculated. When comparing the near‐natural, semi‐natural, degraded or restored sections, there was a gradient of decreasing channel migration, gravel bank expansion, and bank erosion due to a reduced turnover frequency. Biogeomorphological variation among years correlated with log peak discharge within the four sections. In addition, the cover and height growth of vegetation increased with river degradation, and channel migration was positively related to the braiding index. The total turnover of the active river corridor and of the vegetation were positively correlated with log peak discharge within the four sections. The floodplain dynamics of the restored section were improved compared to the degraded section but did not reach a near‐natural state. Thus, Alpine river sections with contrasting degrees of naturalness differ in terms of habitat turnover and vegetation succession, and these characteristics can only partially be restored by local measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Continuously monitoring and mapping glacial lake variation is of great importance for determining changes in water resources and potential hazards in alpine cryospheric regions. The semi-automated glacial lake mapping methods used currently are hampered by inherent subjectivity and inefficiency. This study used improved YOLOv5 strategies to extract glacial lake boundaries from Sentinel-2 imagery. These strategies include using the space-to-depth technique to identify small glacial lakes, and adopting the coordinate attention and the convolution block attention modules to improve mapping performance and adaptability. In terms of glacial lake extraction, the improved YOLOv5-seg network achieved values of 0.95, 0.93, 0.96, and 0.94 for precision (P), recall (R), mAP_0.5, and the F1 score, respectively, indicating an overall improvement in performance of 12% compared to that of the newest YOLOv8 networks. In High Mountain Asia (HMA), 23,108 glacial lakes with a total area of 1847.5 km² were identified in imagery from 2022 using the proposed method. Compared with the use of manual interpretation for lake boundary extraction in test sites of HMA, the proposed method achieved values of 0.89, 0.87, and 0.86 for P, R, and the F1 score, respectively. Our proposed deep learning method has improved accuracy in glacial lake extraction because it can address the challenge represented by frozen or high-turbidity glacial lakes in HMA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Objective] The present paper aimed to explore the pathogenicity and dominant physiological groups and physiological races of Magnaporthe oryzae in Guangxi, analyze avirulence genes, find out the composition and distribution of physiological races and avirulence genes, providing reference for resistance breeding and variety promotion. [Method] Pathogenicity of 128 M. oryzae single spore isolates from 4 rice growing regions of southern Guangxi (Guinan), central Guangxi (Guizhong), northern Guangxi (Guibei) and alpine region were deter- mined by artificial spraying inoculation on the 7 unified identification of varieties in China and 26 near-isogenic lines (NILs) that contained only one resistance gene. (Result) Among the 128 rice blast strains, the proportion of strong pathogenic strains was 60.16%. The 128 M. oryzae strains could be divided into 7 groups and 26 physiological races, and the dominant group was ZB with a frequency of 69.53%. Dominant physiological races were ZB13 and ZB,, whose frequencies were 25.00% and 14.84%. Virulence frequency of the tested isolates ranged from 28.12% to 100.00%. Among them, the virulence frequency of the isolates group to resistance genes Pik, Pikm, Pil and Pi9 was lower, with frequencies of 28. 12%, 28.91%, 35.94% and 37.50%, respectively. Avirulence genes corresponding to the tested resistance genes were detected in the collected rice blast fungi, and 15 avirulence genes were detected in the four regions. Avirulence genes Aur-Pia (1), Aur-Pia(2), Aur-Pii, Aur-Pik, Aur-Pib, Aur-Pit, Aur-Pish (2), Aur-Pi3(1), Aur-Pi5 (1), Aur-Pil2(t) and Avr-Pi19(t) occurred at a frequency less than 20.00%. Most of isolates contained 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 avirulence genes with combination frequency of 19.53%, 11.72%, 11.72%, 15.63% and 10. 16% in the tested strains. [Conclusion] Rice blast fungi in Guangxi from 2021 have strong pathogenicity. The dominant physiological group is ZB and dominant physiological races are ZB13 and ZB9. Avirulence genes Aur-Pia (1), Avr-Pia (2), Aur-Pii, Aur-Pik, Aur-Pib, Aur-Pit, Avr-Pish (2), Aur-Pi3 (1), Aur-Pi5(1), Aur-Pil2(t) and Aur-Pil9(t) occurr at low frequency, which suggests that resistance genes corresponding to the avirulence genes should not be suitable for applying rice breeding and variety distribution in Guangxi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polystichum species, native to warm-temperate and montane-tropical environments (including some alpine regions), are terrestrial or rock-dwelling ferns. These plants exhibit dark green, leather-like, and lustrous fronds, which are highly valued in floral arrangements due to their aesthetic elegance and longevity. Polystichum squarrosum is not being cultivated commercially but collected from forests for its use as cut green in the florist industry. Hence the collected material should be handled carefully to utilize every frond. Therefore, the present study aimed to develop suitable post-harvest handling procedures for this valued cut green. A Completely Randomized Design (CRD) Factorial layout with 19 treatment modules (M0 to M18) was employed. Treatment modules included packaging material as poly mesh net bags and packing materials as corrugated fiberboard boxes, two storage durations (3 and 6 days) and chemical treatments [glycerol (4%) and Benzyl adenine (25mg L-1)]. Results revealed that spraying cut fronds with 4% glycerol, wrapping them in cellophane sheets and storing them for three days (M9) resulted in significant improvements in appearance, weight change, vase life and water uptake. Fronds from Season-II (March-April 2020) exhibited excellent performance over Season-I (August-September 2019). The interaction between M9 and Season-II further enhanced the postharvest parameters. The combination of glycerol treatment and cellophane wrapping for three-day storage proved most effective in preserving the quality of cut fronds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Lobaria pulmonaria holobiont comprises algal, fungal, cyanobacterial and bacterial components. We investigated L. pulmonaria's bacterial microbiome in the adaptation of this ecologically sensitive lichen species to diverse climatic conditions. Our central hypothesis posited that microbiome composition and functionality aligns with subcontinental‐scale (a stretch of ~1100 km) climatic parameters related to temperature and precipitation. We also tested the impact of short‐term weather dynamics, sampling season and algal/fungal genotypes on microbiome variation. Metaproteomics provided insights into compositional and functional changes within the microbiome. Climatic variables explained 41.64% of microbiome variation, surpassing the combined influence of local weather and sampling season at 31.63%. Notably, annual mean temperature and temperature seasonality emerged as significant climatic drivers. Microbiome composition correlated with algal, not fungal genotype, suggesting similar environmental recruitment for the algal partner and microbiome. Differential abundance analyses revealed distinct protein compositions in Sub‐Atlantic Lowland and Alpine regions, indicating differential microbiome responses to contrasting environmental/climatic conditions. Proteins involved in oxidative and cellular stress were notably different. Our findings highlight microbiome plasticity in adapting to stable climates, with limited responsiveness to short‐term fluctuations, offering new insights into climate adaptation in lichen symbiosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Tibetan Plateau (TP) is a climate-sensitive and ecologically fragile area. Studying drought and its effects on vegetation over the TP is of great significance for ecological conservation. However, there were large uncertainties in previous studies on the drought characteristics and their impacts on alpine vegetation in this region. This study explored the drought changes and their impacts on alpine vegetation during the growing season over the TP in 1982–2018. The results showed that the TP has experienced a wetting trend in most regions of the TP. Correspondingly, the vegetation has become greener in most areas. The wetting and drying trend in the growing season changed around 1995. Before 1995, the TP experienced an overall drying trend with a spatial pattern of a drying trend in the northern regions and a wetting trend in the southern regions, while it showed an overall wetting trend after 1995, with a reversed spatial pattern to that before 1995. After 1995, wetting and drying trends affected the vegetation in 61% of the TP. However, before 1995, the NDVI presented an increasing trend in most areas of the TP under a drying trend. Therefore, a drying trend was not the primary factor affecting vegetation growth in this period. Instead, changes in the cryosphere induced by warming could be the main factor. In addition, the distribution of vegetation across the TP was primarily influenced by drought intensity, which had the greatest impact on sparse vegetation, followed by meadow and grassland. This study enhances our understanding of the impact of drought changes on alpine vegetation on the TP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water storages for energy production in mountain valleys or snow retention basins on mountain slopes or mountain ridges are common buildings in Alpine regions. When such water reservoirs are situated on or nearby of a large slow‐moving landslide, low factors of safety and ongoing deformation of the reservoir structure – or parts of it – need to be handled in some cases. Questions about the justification but also the reliability of reservoirs influenced by such landslides need to be discussed. Verification procedures which proof a save operation of the reservoir over time but also an estimation of the behaviour of the reservoir influenced by the landslide for exceptional load cases need to be investigated. In this paper main issues and problems related to such questions are discussed for reservoirs in the design as well as in the operation state which are influenced by such slow moving landslides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lakes on the Qinghai Tibet Plateau (QTP) are widely distributed spatially, and they are mostly seasonally frozen. Due to global warming, the thickness and phenology of the lake ice has been changing, which profoundly affects the regional climate evolution. There are a few studies about lake ice in alpine regions, but the understanding of climatological characteristics of lake ice on the QTP is still limited. Based on a field experiment in the winter of 2022, the thermal conductivity of Qinghai Lake ice was determined as 1.64 W·m−1·°C−1. Airborne radar ice thickness data, meteorological observations, and remote sensing images were used to evaluate a quasi-steady ice model (Leppäranta model) performance of the lake. This is an analytic model of lake ice thickness and phenology. The long-term (1979–2017) ice history of the lake was simulated. The results showed that the modeled mean ice thickness was 0.35 m with a trend of −0.002 m·a−1, and the average freeze-up start (FUS) and break-up end (BUE) were 30 December and 5 April, respectively, which are close to the field and satellite observations. The simulated trend of the maximum ice thickness from 1979 to 2017 (0.004 m·a−1) was slightly higher than the observed result (0.003 m·a−1). The simulated trend was 0.20 d·a−1 for the FUS, −0.34 d·a−1 for the BUE, and −0.54 d·a−1 for the ice duration (ID). Correlation and detrending analysis were adopted for the contribution of meteorological factors. In the winters of 1979–2017, downward longwave radiation and air temperature were the two main factors that had the best correlation with lake ice thickness. In a detrending analysis, air temperature, downward longwave radiation, and solar radiation contributed the most to the average thickness variability, with contributions of 42%, 49%, and −48%, respectively, and to the maximum thickness variability, with contributions of 41%, 45%, and −48%, respectively. If the six meteorological factors (air temperature, downward longwave radiation, solar radiation, wind speed, pressure, and specific humidity) are detrending, ice thickness variability will increase 83% on average and 87% at maximum. Specific humidity, wind, and air pressure had a poor correlation with ice thickness. The findings in this study give insights into the long-term evolutionary trajectory of Qinghai Lake ice cover and serve as a point of reference for investigating other lakes in the QTP during cold seasons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extending across seven countries, the Alps represent an important element for climate and atmospheric circulation in Central Europe. Its complex topography affects processes on different scales within the atmospheric system. This is of major relevance for the decadal trends in surface solar radiation (SSR), also known as periods of global dimming and brightening (GDB). In this study we analyzed data from 38 stations in and around the Swiss and Austrian Alps, over a period ranging from the 1980s up to the 2020s, with the aim of characterizing the spatio‐temporal variations of the GDB and understanding the causes for such trends in this region. Our results show a different behavior in the SSR decadal trends in the western part of the Alps in comparison to the eastern part. Our results also suggest a remarkable difference between the causes of such trends at the stations at low altitudes in comparison to the stations at higher altitudes. Significant contributions from changes in cloud optical depth and surface albedo to the SSR decadal trends at high elevation sites were also found, in contrast to a substantial clear‐sky forcing that strongly dominates at low elevations. Results from previous literature and available data suggest that cloud optical depth changes at high altitudes and clear‐sky forcing at low altitudes could be associated with the indirect and direct aerosol effects, respectively, due to differing pollution levels at low and high elevation sites. Plain Language Summary: The incidence of surface solar radiation (SSR) is not constant, nor spatially homogeneous over decades around the globe. It undergoes trends, also known as Global Dimming (negative) or Brightening (positive). Such trends can have different causes, such as changes in cloudiness and aerosol concentrations. In regions with complex topography, like the Alps, understanding the processes leading to such trends might be challenging. In this study we investigated the causes of decadal trends in SSR at 38 stations in the Alpine region. The results show distinctly different decadal trends in SSR between the stations in the western and those in the eastern part of the Alps. We also identified that altitude plays a major role for the causes of the trends. While at low elevations changes in aerosol concentrations seem to largely affect long‐term SSR, at high altitude stations the changes in surface reflectivity and optical properties of clouds seem to also significantly contribute. This latter effect might be, however, also associated with changes in aerosol concentrations, since the amount of aerosols present in the cloud formation process significantly affects the cloud optical properties. Key Points: Stations from the western and eastern Alps show different signs and transition periods in decadal trends of surface solar radiation (SSR)Low elevation stations in the Alpine region show strong clear‐sky trends, likely associated with changes in aerosol emissions in EuropeEvidence suggests that changes in cloud optical depth and surface albedo can also contribute to the SSR decadal trends at high elevations [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radionuclide contamination is a serious health issue caused by nuclear experiments and plant accidents, as seen for the Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear plants. Italy has been especially interested in northwestern alpine regions, as have several other nations. The aim of this work was to indagate 134Cs and 137Cs contamination in wild boars, which were considered bioindicators sampled in the Chisone/Germanasca Valley and the Pellice Valley districts (Piedmont, Italy) in two hunting seasons (2014 and 2016). In the 2014 season, only the livers of the animals (n = 48) were sampled, whereas in 2016, five different anatomical sampling sites were sampled for each animal (n = 16). The analyses were conducted in an accredited laboratory (Agenzia Regionale per la Protezione dell'Ambiente–ARPA) by the aid of an HPGe detector (Ortec) with a relative efficiency of 50%. In general, the contamination levels registered in 2014 were under the detection limit for 134Cs and low for 137Cs (Chisone/Germanasca valley: min: 0.0, max: 23.9 median 11.0 Bq/kg vs Pellice valley: min 0, max: 31.7, median: 9.6 Bq/kg) and no health concern can be supposed. In the first-year samples, the liver showed a negative correlation between age and contamination level. In the second year of sampling, low levels were confirmed (min: 3.1 Bq/kg, max: 113.3; median 17.7 Bq/kg). Multiple sampling from the same animal showed that the diaphragm (median = 27.7 Bq/kg) kidney (27.4) and tongue (27.6) were more contaminated than the liver (17.7) and spleen (15.3). Moreover, a linear mixed model revealed a negative organ-by-age interaction, meaning that interorgan differences in contamination level were greater in younger (5–11 months) than in older (18–36 months) animals. Different feeding habits can be the explanation. Our paper shows that muscle sites (diaphragm and tongue) can be useful for radionuclide pollution surveillance in wild boar populations and that younger animals show more interorgan variability in contamination levels than older animals. More investigations are needed to confirm this correlation and to fulfill the request for more data to achieve better risk assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Questions: In the alpine region of the Himalaya, shrubs play a vital role in maintaining the diversity and functional composition of associated herbaceous communities through competition–facilitation interactions under varying environmental stress conditions. In this study, we specified the following questions: (1) what is the mode of interaction between dominant shrubs and the associated herbaceous communities; (2) how do differences in resource availability between contrasting microhabitats mediate interactions between shrub and herbaceous communities; and (3) how do dominant shrubs influence the functional composition of herbaceous communities under the canopy as compared to ones in the open? Study area: An alpine region of the western Himalaya, in India (32.24–33.15° N, 76.51–78.13° E). Methods: Field studies were conducted to evaluate the canopy effects of alpine shrubs such as Caragana versicolor, Juniperus polycarpos and Rhododendron anthopogon on species richness, abundance and functional composition of coexisting herbaceous communities. Results: The dominant alpine shrubs of the western Himalaya exert competitive interactions with associated herbaceous communities and have low species richness and abundance under their canopies compared to open habitats. Further, contrary to expectations, competitive interactions were more prominent at higher elevations than at lower ones, especially for J. polycarpos and C. versicolor. Although the shrub undercanopies possessed richer soil nutrient pools, this did not contribute toward the facilitation of herbaceous species under the canopies. Moreover, herbaceous species under the canopies were found to exhibit resource‐acquisitive functional strategies, whereas those in the open were resource‐conservative. Conclusions: The interaction between dominant alpine shrubs and the herbaceous community of the western Himalaya is competitive in nature, which influences species and functional composition and reorganizes herbaceous community assembly. Moreover, under future climate change scenarios the dominance of these shrubs will favour those herbaceous species that possess more competitive and resource‐acquisitive functional strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dispersal influences many key aspects of plant ecology at both fine- and broad scales. However, dispersal events are challenging to quantify as they are difficult to observe and measure accurately, despite the importance of understanding species' dispersal capacity. In this study, we quantified dispersal estimates for the dominant vascular flora of sub-Antarctic Marion Island, using a mechanistic model to estimate dispersal potential via anemochory and standardized experiments that simulate dispersal events via zoochory, human activity, and thalassochory, to test if dispersal capacity correlates to contemporary range expansion of the island's native and alien species. Our results demonstrate the broad range of dispersal potential in the island's flora and represent the first quantification of the dispersal potential (via multiple vectors) of the dominant vascular flora in the sub-Antarctic. Dispersal potential was not related to range expansion rates of native or alien species, suggesting that other mechanisms are responsible for the variation observed in species range expansion rates. Although this finding contradicts expectations and evidence from some other studies, it is consistent with research conducted in alpine regions (which may be climatically and physiognomically similar to this sub-Antarctic study site) where factors such as demography and competition are more important predictors of species range expansion than their dispersal ability, dispersal syndromes, or dispersal-related traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Orinus, a genus distributed in alpine regions of the Qinghai-Xizang (Tibet) Plateau (QTP), includes the following two species: O. thoroldii, predominantly in the western QTP at elevations between 3300 and 4700 m, and O. kokonoricus, in the eastern QTP at relatively low altitude between 2500 and 3400 m. However, the mechanism of long noncoding RNA (lncRNA)-regulated speciation adaptation to high altitudes and cold arid environments in Orinus remains unclear. In this study, we first identified the transcriptome-wide features of lncRNAs in O. thoroldii and O. kokonoricus, including five main types of lncRNAs that class_code with "i, o, u, x, j". Then, an evolutionary tree was conducted to implicate the relationships among 39 species with the count of conserved lncRNAs. Moreover, we sought to reveal the mechanism of cis-regulation from differentially expressed lncRNAs (DElncRNAs) and their nearby protein-coding genes (PCGs) between O. thoroldii and O. kokonoricus. GO analysis showed that DElncRNAs and their potential target PCGs participate in different biological processes between O. thoroldii and O. kokonoricus, indicating their speciation adaptation on the QTP. In addition, the specifically expressed transcription factors (TFs) in O. thoroldii suggested that DElncRNAs play a vital role in adapting to the environment through the expressed regulation of TFs. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are RNA molecules longer than 200 nt, which lack the ability to encode proteins and are involved in multifarious growth, development, and regulatory processes in plants and mammals. However, the environmental-regulated expression profiles of lncRNAs in Orinus that may associated with their adaptation on the Qinghai-Xizang (Tibet) Plateau (QTP) have never been characterized. Here, we utilized transcriptomic sequencing data of two Orinus species (O. thoroldii and O. kokonoricus) to identify 1624 lncRNAs, including 1119 intergenic lncRNAs, 200 antisense lncRNAs, five intronic lncRNAs, and 300 sense lncRNAs. In addition, the evolutionary relationships of Orinus lncRNAs showed limited sequence conservation among 39 species, which implied that Orinus-specific lncRNAs contribute to speciation adaptation evolution. Furthermore, considering the cis-regulation mechanism, from 286 differentially expressed lncRNAs (DElncRNAs) and their nearby protein coding genes (PCGs) between O. thoroldii and O. kokonoricus, 128 lncRNA-PCG pairs were obtained in O. thoroldii, whereas 92 lncRNA-PCG pairs were obtained in O. kokonoricus. In addition, a total of 19 lncRNA-PCG pairs in O. thoroldii and 14 lncRNA-PCG pairs in O. kokonoricus were found to participate in different biological processes, indicating that the different expression profiles of DElncRNAs between O. thoroldii and O. kokonoricus were associated with their adaptation at different elevations on the QTP. We also found several pairs of DElncRNA nearby transcription factors (TFs), indicating that these DElncRNAs regulate the expression of TFs to aid O. thoroldii in adapting to the environment. Therefore, this work systematically identified a series of lncRNAs in Orinus, laying the groundwork for further exploration into the biological function of Orinus in environmental adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally occurring changes in environmental conditions necessitate extending our knowledge of the system‐level mechanisms underlying plant adaptation to multifactorial stress conditions or stress combinations. This is crucial for designing new strategies to maintain plant performance under simultaneous abiotic pressure. Here, we conducted our study at Rohtang Pass and sampled Picrorhiza kurroa leaves along high‐altitude gradient (3400, 3800 and 4100 meters above sea level) in the western Himalayas. The results showed the functional traits associated with morpho‐anatomical structures and eco‐physiological performances are highly variable. The air temperature and relative humidity represent dominant environmental factors among others that significantly regulate plant's physiological performance by adjusting the functional traits in altitude‐specific manner. A trait coordination network is developed among significantly altered plant functional traits, which reveals high‐altitude associated trait‐based adaptation. Moreover, it reveals leaf area shows the highest degree, while photochemical quenching reflects the weighted degree of centrality in the network. Proteomic analysis reveals various stress‐responsive proteins, including antioxidants were accumulated to deal with combined stress factors. Furthermore, a high‐altitudinal protein interaction network unravels key players of alpine plant adaptation processes. Altogether, these systems demonstrate a complex molecular interaction web extending the current knowledge of high‐altitudinal alpine plant adaptation, particularly in an endangered medicinal herb, P. kurroa. Summary statement: The high‐altitude alpine regions are characterised by 'harsh' and 'variable' environmental conditions like sharp temperature shifts, high levels of ultraviolet radiation and low gases availability. In this study, we investigated the mechanisms by which Picrorhiza kurroa withstand the multifactorial alpine environment at morpho‐anatomical, eco‐physiological and molecular levels by examining the plants colonised at three different high altitudes. We observed plant functional traits were stratified by environmental conditions, particularly air temperature and relative humidity, which were underlined by the unique proteome response of P. kurroa at each high‐altitude. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant diversity can significantly affect the grassland productivity and its stability. However, it remains unclear how plant diversity affects the spatial stability of natural grassland productivity, especially in alpine regions that are sensitive to climate change. We analyzed the interaction between plant (species richness and productivity, etc.) and climatic factors (precipitation, temperature, and moisture index, etc.) of alpine natural grassland on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. In addition, we tested the relationship between plant diversity and spatial stability of grassland productivity. Results showed that an increase in plant diversity significantly enhanced community productivity and its standard deviation, while reducing the coefficient of variation in productivity. The influence of plant diversity on productivity and the reciprocal of productivity variability coefficient was not affected by vegetation types. The absolute values of the regression slopes between climate factors and productivity in alpine meadow communities with higher plant diversity were smaller than those in alpine meadow communities with lower plant diversity. In other words, alpine meadow communities with higher plant diversity exhibited a weaker response to climatic factors in terms of productivity, whereas those with lower plant diversity showed a stronger response. Our results indicate that high plant diversity buffers the impact of ambient pressure (e.g., precipitation, temperature) on alpine meadow productivity, and significantly enhanced the spatial stability of grassland productivity. This finding provides a theoretical basis for maintaining the stability of grassland ecosystems and scientifically managing alpine grasslands under the continuous climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Jiangcang Basin is an important mining area of the former Qilian Mountain large coal base in Qinghai Province, and understanding the groundwater circulation mechanism is the basis for studying the hydrological effects of permafrost degradation in alpine regions. In this study, hydrogeochemical and multiple isotope tracer analysis methods are used to understand the chemical evolution and circulation mechanisms of the groundwater in the typical alpine region of the Jiangcang Basin. The diversity of the groundwater hydrochemistry in the study area reflects the complexity of the hydrogeochemical environment in which it is located. The suprapermafrost water and intrapermafrost water are recharged by modern meteoric water. The groundwater is closely hydraulically connected to the surface water with weak evaporation overall. The high δ34S value of deep groundwater is due to SO4 reduction, and SO42−‐rich snow recharge with lixiviated sulfate minerals are the main controlling factor for the high SO42− concentration in groundwater. According to the multivariate water conversion relationships, it reveals that the river receives more groundwater recharge, suprapermafrost water is recharged by the proportion of meteoric water, which is closely related to the mountainous area at the edge of the basin, while intrapermafrost water is mainly recharged by the shallow groundwater. This study provides a data‐driven approach to understanding groundwater recharge and evolution in alpine regions, in addition to having significant implications for water resource management and ecological environmental protection in coal bases of the Tibetan Plateau. Article impact statement: Groundwater flow systems in permafrost in alpine regions are characterized by unique circulation. This study provides a data‐driven approach for groundwater recharge and evolution in alpine regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Temperature is one of the main drivers shaping species diversity and assembly processes. Yet, site‐specific effects of the local microclimate on species and trait compositions of insect communities have rarely been assessed along macroclimatic temperature clines. Location: Bavarian Alps, Germany. Methods: Bayesian joint species distribution models were applied to investigate how ecological and morphological traits drive variation in the climatic niches of 32 Orthoptera species on 93 grassland sites with contrasting microclimatic conditions along a steep elevational macroclimatic gradient in an Alpine region in Central Europe. Results: Species richness and abundance decreased along the elevational macroclimatic gradient, and both benefitted from warm microclimate. Interactive effects of elevation and microclimate on the abundance were, however, species‐specific, and partly mediated by traits: Warm microclimatic conditions facilitated the occurrence of demanding xerophilic and late‐hatching species, resulting in marked community dissimilarities at mid‐elevations where colder sites harboured only a subset of the species. The latter mainly occurred at low elevations together with long‐winged species. Abundance peaks of non‐xerophilic species were further upslope when microclimate was warm. Intraspecifically, the body sizes and wing lengths of the larger females, but not the males, decreased with elevation akin the community mean, and brown colour morphs were more frequent at sites with warm microclimate. Main Conclusions: Our nuanced results reveal that trait‐dependent responses of species to microclimate play a key role in the assembly and structuring of insect communities along macroclimatic gradients. Since microclimate preferences changed with elevation, we conclude that species temperature niches are narrower than the elevational range suggests and both macro‐ and microclimatic conditions must be considered when predicting species responses to climate change. Microclimatic contrasts among sites at similar elevations enhanced species turnover mediated by moisture preferences and phenology, highlighting the importance of mountains for conservation as climatic refugia where species with diverging niches can persist in proximity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent rapid improvement of machine learning techniques had a large impact on the way seismological data can be processed. During the last years several machine learning algorithms determining seismic onset times have been published facilitating the automatic picking of large data sets. Here we apply the deep neural network PhaseNet to a network of over 900 permanent and temporal broad-band stations that were deployed as part of the AlpArray research initiative in the Greater Alpine Region (GAR) during 2016–2020. We selected 384 well distributed earthquakes with M L ≥ 2.5 for our study and developed a purely data-driven pre-inversion pick selection method to consistently remove outliers from the automatic pick catalogue. This allows us to include observations throughout the crustal triplication zone resulting in 39 599 P and 13 188 S observations. Using the established VELEST and the recently developed McMC codes we invert for the 1-D P - and S -wave velocity structure including station correction terms while simultaneously relocating the events. As a result we present two separate models differing in the maximum included observation distance and therefore their suggested usage. The model AlpsLocPS is based on arrivals from ≤130 km and therefore should be used to consistently (re)locate seismicity based on P and S observations. The model GAR1D_PS includes the entire observable distance range of up to 1000 km and for the first time provides consistent P - and S -phase synthetic traveltimes for the entire Alpine orogen. Comparing our relocated seismicity with hypocentral parameters from other studies in the area we quantify the absolute horizontal and vertical accuracy of event locations as ≈2.0 and ≈6.0 km, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dactylorhiza hatagirea (D. Don) Soo, also known as Himalayan Marsh Orchid or Salam Panja, belongs to the Orchidaceae family. It is found in sub-alpine to alpine regions at 2500–5000 m above sea level. The present review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the botany, phytochemistry, medicinal uses, toxicity, and conservation status of D. hatagirea and to find the research gaps to promote progress in studies of this orchid. Secondary metabolites, including alkaloids, terpenoids, flavonoids, phenolics, and saponins, were reported from the aerial and underground parts of this medicinal orchid. Several phytocompounds, such as dactylorhins A, B, C, D, and E and dactylose A and B, were isolated from the dried roots of D. hatagirea. A wide range of in vitro and in vivo assays was used to assess the biological properties of D. hatagirea, such as antirheumatic, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, diuretic, neuroprotective, antioxidant, wound healing, hypoglycemic, antitumor, antimicrobial, antiviral, and anticancer activities. It was also reported to boost testosterone levels, improving sexual desire and arousal. Due to overexploitation and a restricted habitat range, this essential medicinal plant has reached the extinction stage; therefore, a conservation-friendly harvesting approach is needed for this medicinal herb. In vitro techniques such as micropropagation, synthetic seed generation, and hairy root technology can contribute to its conservation. This review provides comprehensive insights into the botanical features, traditional uses, phytochemicals, pharmacological importance, and toxicity evaluation of this medicinal orchid. This review also provides detailed information on the conservation status of D. hatagirea and strategies to overcome the exploitation of this orchid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lakes in the Alpine region are recognized as critical methane (CH4) emitters, but a robust characterization of the magnitude and variability of CH4 fluxes is missing. We developed a mobile platform for CH4 eddy covariance (EC) flux measurements to tackle this gap. The mobile system was deployed at nine lakes across a latitudinal transect in the Alps and validated by comparing the measured fluxes with fixed on‐shore EC station and to chamber and boundary layer flux estimates. Our approach was shown to be well suited to capture different CH4 emission pathways and to integrate the within lake variability, therefore, overcoming the limitations of other methods (e.g., boundary layer method). Additionally, this mobile system offers a tool to characterize inter‐lake variability of fluxes with consistent measurements. Methane fluxes were explained by dissolved nitrogen, total phosphorus, dissolved oxygen, seston and lake size. The highest fluxes and most substantial seasonal variability were found in a shallow low‐altitude lake in the Southern Alps. We suggest that characterizing the intra‐lake emission heterogeneity and consistent measurements for a better understanding of inter‐lake emission differences is fundamental for a solid estimate of freshwater CH4 budgets. Plain Language Summary: Our paper focuses on lakes in the Alpine region that release a greenhouse gas called methane (CH4) which is relevant for global warming. Even though we know these lakes emit methane, there is still the need to understand how much is released and how it changes over time. To address this, we built a special mobile tool to measure methane emissions using a method called eddy covariance. Eddy covariance is used to measure the exchange of gases, like methane, between the Earth's surface and the atmosphere by tracking the local changes in wind speed and gas concentration. We tested our mobile tool at nine different lakes across the eastern Alps and compared our measurements with data from common methods like estimating methane from the water close to the lake's surface. We found that the presence of nutrients, the lake's size, and the organic material in the water were associated with how much methane is released. Our mobile tool also helped us describe the variability of methane emissions among different parts of the same lake. This information is crucial because it helps us figure out how much methane these lakes are releasing and better understand the differences between lakes. Key Points: We developed and validated a mobile eddy covariance platform for capturing CH4 fluxes across lakes in the Alpine region for 2 yearsCH4 emissions varied substantially within and among the studied lakes which need consideration for accurate emission assessmentsStatistical models with a few in situ physicochemical and biological variables could describe the observed CH4 fluxes [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hydraulic concrete in the alpine region is subjected to alternating actions of freeze–thaw (F) and abrasion (W) during operation, resulting in significant deterioration of concrete durability. In this paper, the water/binder ratio (W/B) was employed as the test variable, the working condition F group and W group were set as the control group, and the working condition F-W group was used as the test group. Fast-freezing and underwater methods are used for the alternating test. By measuring the mass loss, relative dynamic elastic modulus (RDEM), surface morphological characteristics, fractal dimension of concrete in each alternating cycle, and the evolution law of concrete performance under the alternating action of F and W was explored. The results show that compared with the control group, the alternating action will accelerate the mass loss of concrete, reduce the RDEM, and cause the deterioration of surface wear. The maximum increase in mass loss and RDEM of concrete is 1.92% and 20.11%, respectively. During this process, the fractal dimension of the concrete increases as the number of alternating cycles increases, but it still does not exceed the limit of 2.4. In addition, a relationship function between the fractal dimension and the mass loss rate, volume loss, was established. It was found that the experimental group had a good linear correlation, and the correlation was close to 95%, which was about 20% higher than that of the control group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding mechanisms allowing plants to thrive in challenging conditions is critical for predicting their responses to global environmental change. An often overlooked ecological adaptation is marcescence, where leaves and stems are retained beyond their typical shedding time, with implications for nutrient recycling and carbon sequestration. Marcescence can be expected in plants with conservative resource‐use strategies, especially in environments with limited resources and marked seasonality, such as deserts and alpine regions. However, the extent to which marcescence occurs in different taxa across different habitats and its relationship to seasonality and plant functioning as reflected in ecophysiological traits remains understudied.We studied 600 individuals across 40 Himalayan herb species found in desert, steppe, alpine and subnival habitats, spanning 3000–5400 m elevation. Marcescence was observed in 37 of the 40 species evaluated, with 57% of the sampled individuals displaying dead phytomass, indicating the widespread nature of this phenomenon in Himalayan ecosystems.Environment and plant traits emerged as significant factors influencing the amount of dead‐standing biomass. These findings remained robust after accounting for intraspecific variation and phylogenetic inertia. Desert and steppe species exhibited greater marcescent biomass, characterized by 10‐fold more dead stem biomass than alpine and subnival plants. In contrast, the proportion of dead phytomass increased with elevation due to increased dead leaf fraction.Taller desert species with heavily lignified stems and limited nitrogen and phosphorus content had high levels of stem marcescence, which not only may aid litter photodegradation and nutrient recycling but also deter herbivory and promote seed dispersal (tumbleweed). Conversely, slow‐growing alpine and subnival plants with higher water‐use efficiency, foliar C:N ratios and parenchymatic storage tissue rich in mobile carbohydrates had a high proportion of marcescent leaves, which may aid survival in these resource‐limited environments by providing delayed nutrients through moisture‐conserving mulch that also provides insulation and protection from frost.This study provides new insights into the complex interplay of habitat, seasonality and plant traits in dead phytomass retention in Himalayan plants. Marcescence is prevalent in resource‐conservative species in highly seasonal, resource‐limited habitats and may significantly shape the functioning and biodiversity of Himalayan ecosystems. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, virological surveillance focused on coronaviruses in marmots in the Alpine region in 2022, captured as part of a population control reduction program in the Livigno area. Seventy-six faecal samples were randomly collected from marmots at the time of capture and release and tested for genome detection of pan-coronavirus, pan-pestivirus, canine distemper virus, and influenza A and D virus. Nine faecal samples were positive in the Pan-CoV RT-PCR, while all were negative for the other viruses. Pan-coronavirus positives were further identified using Illumina's complete genome sequencing, which showed the highest homology with Bovine Coronavirus previously detected in roe deer in the Alps. Blood samples (n.35) were collected randomly from animals at release and tested for bovine coronavirus (BCoV) antibodies using competitive ELISA and VNT. Serological analyses revealed that 8/35 sera were positive for BCoV antibodies in both serological tests. This study provides molecular and serological evidence of the presence of BCoV in an alpine marmot population due to a likely spillover event. Marmots share areas and pastures with roe deer and other wild ruminants, and environmental transmission is a concrete possibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microorganisms known as psychrophiles/psychrotrophs, which survive in cold climates, constitute majority of the biosphere on Earth. Their capability to produce cold‐active enzymes along with other distinguishing characteristics allows them to survive in the cold environments. Due to the relative ease of large‐scale production compared to enzymes from plants and animals, commercial uses of microbial enzyme are alluring. The ocean depths, polar, and alpine regions, which make up over 85% of the planet, are inhabited to cold ecosystems. Microbes living in these regions are important for their metabolic contribution to the ecosphere as well as for their enzymes, which may have potential industrial applications. Cold‐adapted microorganisms are a possible source of cold‐active enzymes that have high catalytic efficacy at low and moderate temperatures at which homologous mesophilic enzymes are not active. Cold‐active enzymes can be used in a variety of biotechnological processes, including food processing, additives in the detergent and food industries, textile industry, waste‐water treatment, biopulping, environmental bioremediation in cold climates, biotransformation, and molecular biology applications with great potential for energy savings. Genetically manipulated strains that are suitable for producing a particular cold‐active enzyme would be crucial in a variety of industrial and biotechnological applications. The potential advantage of cold‐adapted enzymes will probably lead to a greater annual market than for thermo‐stable enzymes in the near future. This review includes latest updates on various microbial source of cold‐active enzymes and their biotechnological applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beauveria brongniartii is a fungal pathogen that infects the beetle Melolontha melolontha, a significant agricultural pest in Europe. While research has primarily focused on the use of B. brongniartii for controlling M. melolontha, the genomic structure of the B. brongniartii population remains unknown. This includes whether its structure is influenced by its interaction with M. melolontha, the timing of beetle‐swarming flights, geographical factors, or reproductive mode. To address this, we analysed genome‐wide SNPs to infer the population genomics of Beauveria spp., which were isolated from infected M. melolontha adults in an Alpine region. Surprisingly, only one‐third of the isolates were identified as B. brongniartii, while two‐thirds were distributed among cryptic taxa within B. pseudobassiana, a fungal species not previously recognized as a pathogen of M. melolontha. Given the prevalence of B. pseudobassiana, we conducted analyses on both species. We found no spatial or temporal genomic patterns within either species and no correlation with the population structure of M. melolontha, suggesting that the dispersal of the fungi is independent of the beetle. Both species exhibited clonal population structures, with B. brongniartii fixed for one mating type and B. pseudobassiana displaying both mating types. This implies that factors other than mating compatibility limit sexual reproduction. We conclude that the population genomic structure of Beauveria spp. is primarily influenced by predominant asexual reproduction and dispersal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate warming has been linked to shrub expansion in alpine regions and the decomposition of shrub leaf litter and subsequent release of nutrients has been proposed as a mechanism to facilitate shrub growth. We quantified the rate of alpine shrub leaf litter decomposition (measured as mass loss) over the course of a year in four locally occurring alpine shrub species that grow across four alpine summits. We measured a range of environmental attributes at the study sites, and via a standard litter bag approach, we evaluated the effects of site elevation, the depth of litter bag deployment, the removal time, the species‐specific leaf area (SLA) and the accumulated growing degree days at each site on the total per cent and rate of litter decomposition (as mass loss). The higher elevation sites were cooler with more snow days than the lower sites. Soil moisture was higher early in the snow‐free season at the higher elevation sites. Linear mixed effect models indicated no significant effects of elevation on total and rate of litter decomposition, but there were significant positive effects of deployment depth and removal time and a significant negative effect of species SLA. There were significant negative relationships between the rate of decomposition and growing degree days, as decomposition slows through time. The modelled mean rates of shrub litter decomposition for each species indicated that there would be more and faster decomposition if winter and early spring conditions were to persist for a whole year, compared with the modelled rates of average annual conditions persisting for a whole year. Our results indicate that Australian alpine shrub litter decomposes readily, with the highest rates of decomposition occurring soon after deployment, which in this study was after a snowy winter at the start of the growing season in spring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Archives of composite weather radar images represent an invaluable resource to study the predictability of precipitation. In this paper, we compare two distinct approaches to construct empirical low-dimensional attractors from radar precipitation fields. In the first approach, the phase space variables of the attractor are defined using the domain-scale statistics of precipitation fields, such as the mean precipitation, fraction of rain, and spatial and temporal correlations. The second type of attractor considers the spatial distribution of precipitation and is built by principal component analysis (PCA). For both attractors, we investigate the density of trajectories in phase space, growth of errors from analogue states, and fractal properties. To represent different scales and climatic and orographic conditions, the analyses are done using multi-year radar archives over the continental United States (≈4000×4000 km 2 , 21 years) and the Swiss Alpine region (≈500×500 km 2 , 6 years). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some recent land surface models can explicitly represent land surface process and focus more on sub‐grid terrestrial features. Many studies have involved the analysis of how hillslope water dynamics determine vegetation patterns and shape ecologically and hydrologically important landscapes, such as desert riparian and waterlogged areas. However, the global locations and abundance of hillslope‐dominated landscapes remain unclear. To address this knowledge gap, we propose a globally applicable method that employs high‐resolution elevation, hydrography, and land cover data to concisely resolve explicit land cover heterogeneity for the mapping of hillslope‐dominated landscapes. First, we aggregate pixels into unit catchments to represent topography‐based hydrological units, and then vertically discretize them into height bands to approximate the hillslope profile. The dominant land cover type in each height band is determined, and the uphill land cover transition is analyzed to identify hillslope‐dominated landscapes. The results indicate that hillslope‐dominated landscapes are distributed extensively worldwide in diverse climate zones. Notably, some landscapes, including gallery forests in northeastern Russia and desert riparian in the Horn of Africa, are newly revealed. Furthermore, the proposed strategy enables more accurate representation of explicit land cover heterogeneity than does the simple downscaling of a rectangular grid from larger to smaller units, revealing its capability to concisely resolve land cover heterogeneity in land surface modeling with relatively high accuracy. Overall, we present the extensive global distribution of landscapes shaped by hillslope water dynamics, underscoring the importance of the explicit resolution of heterogeneity in land surface modeling. Plain Language Summary: Local land cover distributions are influenced profoundly by various factors that are not represented fully in current land surface models. In alpine regions, changes in vegetation layers from mountain bases to tops are apparent; this phenomenon is driven largely by climatic factors, such as temperature. Interestingly, similar vegetation changes occur in relatively flat regions due to uneven water distribution on hillslopes. Hillslope water dynamics contribute to the development of unique landscapes, such as gallery forests, and substantially influence local ecological and hydrological conditions. Despite this importance, the global locations and abundance of such landscapes remain mysterious. In this study, we propose a method for the mapping of the global distribution of hillslope‐dominated landscapes using high‐resolution land‐cover, terrain, and climate data. The results reveal that the global distribution of these landscapes, including some newly revealed landscapes such as gallery forests in northeastern Russia, is extensive. In conclusion, our study sheds light on the significant role of hillslope water dynamics in determining vegetation patterns in many parts of the world, highlighting the importance of resolving local features in land surface modeling. Key Points: A catchment‐based strategy is proposed to represent explicit land cover heterogeneity using discretized height bands along a hillslopeLandscapes shaped by hillslope water dynamics are detected in many regions of the world in diverse climate zonesThe proposed strategy can concisely resolve land cover heterogeneity in land surface modeling with relatively high accuracy [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The temperature field beneath a roadbed is asymmetrically distributed, which causes uneven settlement, longitudinal cracking, and even sliding and collapse, as well as other diseases of frozen soil roadbeds. Most roads in alpine mountain regions are half-filled and half-excavated. The degree and direction of the temperature gradient are utilized as variables in a numerical simulation to examine the deformation properties of coarse-grained frozen soil. The findings demonstrate that (1) coarse-grained frozen soil has a nonlinear connection between strength and the lowest temperature, with strength increasing with decreasing temperature and decreasing under the influence of the temperature gradient. (2) When an arbitrary temperature field acts on frozen soil, its monolithic character diminishes, its shear strength and maximum strength decrease as the angle θ increases, and the distribution of the shear zone takes the form of an X. (3) An asymmetrical shear zone forms when the direction of the temperature gradient θ deviates from 0°. The degree of asymmetry in the ground deformation and the angle of inclination of the shear zone are positively related to θ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rock glaciers – periglacial landforms commonly found in high mountain systems – are of significant scientific value for inferring the presence of permafrost, understanding mountain hydrology, and assessing climate impacts on high mountain environments. However, inventories remain patchy in many alpine regions, and as a result they are poorly understood for some areas of High Mountain Asia such as the Tibetan Plateau. To address this gap, we propose an innovative deep learning-based mapping method that utilizes a powerful neural network, DeepLabv3+, to develop a full inventory of rock glaciers across the entire Tibetan plateau, i.e., TPRoGI [v1.0]. We use visually consistent image mosaics sourced from Planet Basemaps and existing local inventories from diverse regions as input training data to develop the deep learning model. This approach generated tens of thousands of candidate rock glaciers on the plateau which were then validated and screened by several analysts. The final inventory consists of a total of 44,273 rock glaciers, covering approximately 6,000 km2, with a mean area of 0.14 km2. They are predominantly situated at elevations ranging from 4,000 to 5,500 m.a.s.l., with a mean of 4,729 m.a.s.l.. They tend to occur on slopes with gradients between 10° and 25°, with a mean of 17.7°. Across the plateau, rock glaciers are widespread in the northwestern and southeastern areas, with dense concentrations in the Western Pamir and Nyainqêntanglha, while they are sparsely distributed in the inner part. Our inventory serves as a benchmark dataset, which will be further maintained and updated in the future. This dataset constitutes a significant contribution towards understanding, future monitoring and assessment of permafrost on the Tibetan Plateau in the context of climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diversification and demographic responses are key processes shaping species evolutionary history. Yet we still lack a full understanding of ecological mechanisms that shape genetic diversity at different spatial scales upon rapid environmental changes. In this study, we examined genetic differentiation in an extremophilic grass Puccinellia pamirica and factors affecting its population dynamics among the occupied hypersaline alpine wetlands on the arid Pamir Plateau in Central Asia. Using genomic data, we found evidence of fine-scale population structure and gene flow among the localities established across the high-elevation plateau as well as fingerprints of historical demographic expansion. We showed that an increase in the effective population size could coincide with the Last Glacial Period, which was followed by the species demographic decline during the Holocene. Geographic distance plays a vital role in shaping the spatial genetic structure of P. pamirica alongside with isolation-by-environment and habitat fragmentation. Our results highlight a complex history of divergence and gene flow in this species-poor alpine region during the Late Quaternary. We demonstrate that regional climate specificity and a shortage of nonclimate data largely impede predictions of future range changes of the alpine extremophile using ecological niche modeling. This study emphasizes the importance of fine-scale environmental heterogeneity for population dynamics and species distribution shifts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]