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Dear Colleagues,

Global changes are massively altering world biodiversity and the provision of its related ecosystem services. Land use change, climate change, overexploitation, and invasive species, are considered as prominent causes of the disruption of functionality of both terrestrial and marine ecosystems. The interplay of these multiple threats often compromise the capacity of natural systems to cope with environmental mutations. A comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms underlying the relationship between global changes, biodiversity and ecosystem services are urgently needed, as the core issues for many aspects of the future of human wellbeing.

It is thus necessary to enhance the knowledge about the effects of global changes on all biota, promoting interdisciplinary studies aimed at unveil the impacts of biodiversity loss, as a key component supporting a sustainable provisioning of ecosystem services in an ecological intensification framework.

In this Special Issue, we will welcome papers addressing all the aspects concerning biodiversity and ecosystem service in relation to global changes from the ecological, societal, and economical perspectives, with particular concern to the biological mechanisms involved. Basic and applied research papers are equally expected.

Dr. Francesco Boscutti
Guest Editor

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Keywords

Global changes
climate changes；biological invasion
land use changes；ecosystem services
biodiversity
ecosystem functions

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 3075 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Awareness of Air Pollution and Ecosystem Services Provided by Trees: The Case Study of Warsaw City

by Karolina Kais, Marlena Gołaś and Marzena Suchocka

Sustainability 2021, 13(19), 10611; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su131910611 - 24 Sep 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3562

Abstract

One of the consequences of the constant urban development in numerous countries is a growing concentration of air pollution, which adversely affects both the environment and people’s health. One of the ways of changing this negative trend is to maintain green areas and trees within cities, as they serve many ecosystem functions, including biological absorption of particles and other types of air pollution. This article provides the findings of a study carried out among the residents of Warsaw, the capital of Poland, in order to assess social awareness of air pollution and the importance of trees. The study of the residents’ awareness was supplemented with the assessment of the parameters of the trees’ capacity for pollution absorption in selected locations performed with the help of the i-Tree Eco tool, which allowed the authors to compare the residents’ impressions on the role of trees in the process of absorption of pollution with their actual potential. The analyses showed that the majority of city residents are concerned with the problem of air in the city, but at the same time failing to notice its negative impact on their health. The majority of respondents were not aware of the role the trees play in the process of pollution absorption, suggesting that there is a real need for raising social awareness of functions served by trees and green areas in urban spaces. The comparison of the city residents’ opinions on the importance of trees in the process of pollution absorption with objective data obtained with the help of i-Tree Eco tool shows that the majority of people’s impressions of pollution absorption by trees in urban areas is correct. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Global Changes on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services)

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13 pages, 1690 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Canada Goldenrod Invasion on Soil Extracellular Enzyme Activities and Ecoenzymatic Stoichiometry

by Zhiyuan Hu, Jiating Li, Kangwei Shi, Guangqian Ren, Zhicong Dai, Jianfan Sun, Xiaojun Zheng, Yiwen Zhou, Jiaqi Zhang, Guanlin Li and Daolin Du

Sustainability 2021, 13(7), 3768; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13073768 - 29 Mar 2021

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 2667

Abstract

The rapid expansion of Canada goldenrod (Solidago canadensis L.) in China has drawn considerable attention as it may not only decrease vegetation diversity but also alter soil nutrient cycling in the affected ecosystems. Soil extracellular enzymes mediate nutrient cycling by catalyzing the organic matter decomposition; however, the mechanisms by which alien plant invasion may affect soil extracellular enzymes remain unclear. The objective of this study was to investigate the responses of soil extracellular enzyme activities and ecoenzymatic stoichiometry to S. canadensis invasion. Several extracellular enzymatic activities related to carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycling were measured using a fluorometric method. Ecoenzymatic stoichiometry was used as a proxy of soil microbial metabolic limitations. S. canadensis invasion appeared to be associated with decreased activities of enzymes and with substantial conversions of microbial metabolic carbon and nitrogen limitations. The changes in the activities of extracellular enzymes and the limitations of microbial metabolism were correlated with the alterations in the nutrient availability and resource stoichiometry in the soil. These findings reveal that the alterations in soil available nutrients associated with S. canadensis invasion may regulate extracellular enzymatic activities and cause microbial metabolic limitations, suggesting that S. canadensis invasion considerably affects biogeochemical cycling processes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Global Changes on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services)

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