This study focuses on a northwestern European cropland region and shows that the type of crop growing on a soil has notable effects on the emission of nitrous oxide (N₂O – a greenhouse gas) from that soil. It was found that N₂O emissions from soils under oilseed cultivation are significantly higher than soils under cereal cultivation. This variation is mostly explained by the fact that oilseeds require more nitrogen (fertiliser) than cereals, especially at early crop growth stages.

A global boom in dam construction throughout the world’s tropics motivated us to review and synthesize information on the water quality impacts of dams with a focus on low-latitude contexts and scope for mitigation. Sediment trapping and reservoir stratification are key process driving chemical and ecological impacts on tropical rivers. We analyze the 54 most-voluminous low-latitude reservoirs and find that stratification seems to be a ubiquitous phenomenon.

Ice nucleation particles (INPs) help ice form at temperatures as high as −4 °C and contribute to the formation of precipitation. Leaf litter contains a high concentration of INPs, but the organisms that produce them are unknown. Here, we cultured two bacteria and one fungus from leaf litter that produce INPs similar to those found in leaf litter. This suggests that leaf litter may be an important habitat of these organisms and supports a role of these organisms as producers of atmospheric INPs.

We analyzed sediment traps from the Cariaco Basin, the tropical Atlantic and the Mozambique Channel to evaluate seasonal imprints in the concentrations and fluxes of long-chain diols (LDIs), in addition to the long-chain diol index proxy (sea surface temperature proxy) and the diol index (upwelling indicator). Despite significant degradation, LDI-derived temperatures were very similar for the sediment traps and seafloor sediments, and corresponded to annual mean sea surface temperatures.

Dimethylsulfide (DMS) is an essential component of the global sulfur cycle and a major source of climate-influencing aerosols. We examine the drivers of DMS concentration gradients along the British Columbia shelf by comparing DMS measurements to environmental variables and biological rates. We further combine new and existing data sets to provide a new summertime DMS climatology for the northeast subarctic Pacific. Our results highlight the importance of phytoplankton taxonomy to DMS cycling.

The observed decrease of oxygen and warming in the ocean may adversely affect marine ecosystems and their services. We analyse results from an Earth system model for the last millennium and the 21st century. We find changes in temperature and oxygen due to fossil fuel burning and other human activities to exceed natural variations in many ocean regions already today. Natural variability is biased low in earlier studies neglecting forcing from past volcanic eruptions and solar change.

This study presents the first step for a chemical origin certification of pirarucu fishery in the Amazon. A preliminary isotopic tool to improve the actual tracking system integrates ecological, social, and economic aspects of Amazon dynamics. The geographic origin validation of farmed and wild fishes contributes to environmental and social practices, secures food and income to communities, helps manage endangered species, reinforces aquaculture, and combats illegal fisheries.

Wetlands represent the largest natural source of methane (CH₄), so understanding CH₄ drivers is important for management and climate models. We compared several CH₄ pathways of a remediated subtropical Australian wetland. We found permanently inundated sites emitted more CH₄ than seasonally inundated sites and that the soil properties of each site corresponded to CH₄ emissions. This suggests that selective wetland remediation of favourable soil types may help to mitigate unwanted CH₄ emissions.

Among the existing theories of the autotrophic origin of life, CO₂ is usually considered to be the carbon source for nascent autotrophic metabolism. However, ancestral carbon used in metabolism may have been derived from CH₄ if the outflow of magma fluid to the surface of the Earth consisted mainly of methane. The hydrothermal system model is considered in the form of a phase diagram, which demonstrates the area of redox and P and T conditions favorable to development of primary methanotroph.

Measurements of surface fluxes are taken around the world and are extremely valuable for understanding how the land and atmopshere interact, and how the land can amplify temerature extremes. However, do these measurements sample extreme temperatures, or are they biased to the average? We examine this question and highlight data that do measure surface fluxes under extreme conditions. This provides a way forward to help model developers improve their models.

We studied entropy production in longleaf savanna sites with variations in land use legacy, plant diversity, and soil water availability which experienced drought. Sites with greater land use legacy had lower metabolic energy use efficiency, which delayed recovery from drought. Sites with more hardwood captured less solar radiation but more efficiently used absorbed energy. Future management applications could use these methods to quantify energy use efficiency across global ecosystems.