A vegetation model was used to reconstruct fire activity from 1901 to 2012 in relation to changes in lightning ignition, climate, and vegetation in eastern Canada's boreal forest. The model correctly simulated the history of fire activity. The results showed that fire activity is ignition limited but is also greatly affected by both climate and vegetation. This research aims to develop a vegetation model that could be used to predict the future impacts of climate changes on fire activity.

Our work systematically quantifies extreme heat and drought event impacts on gross primary productivity (GPP) and ecosystem respiration globally across a wide range of ecosystems. We show that heat extremes typically increased mainly respiration whereas drought decreased both fluxes. Combined heat and drought extremes had opposing effects offsetting each other for respiration, but there were also strong reductions in GPP and hence the strongest reductions in the ecosystems carbon sink capacity.

Treelines are one of the most obvious borders between vegetation units and can easily be detected by remote sensing. They provide information on climate conditions and human impact on forest distribution. Performing a GIS analysis by combining different datasets leads to detection of the major determining factors for current forest distribution and helps to evaluate past and future conditions for tree growth. This is especially feasible for regions without extensive forest management.

Climate warming could enhance the load of terrigenous dissolved organic carbon (tDOC) of Arctic rivers. We show that tDOC concentrations simulated by an ocean–biogeochemical model in the Canadian Beaufort Sea compare favorably with their satellite counterparts. Over spring–summer, riverine tDOC contributes to 35 % of primary production and an equivalent of ~ 10 % of tDOC is exported westwards with the potential for fueling the biological production of the eastern Alaskan nearshore waters.

We present the result of a study carried out in the north-western Adriatic Sea by combining two different types of models with field sampling. A mussel farm was taken as a local source of perturbation to the natural flux of particulate organic carbon to the sediment. Differences in fluxes were primarily associated with mussel physiological conditions. Although restricted, these changes in particulate organic carbon fluxes induced visible effects on sediment biogeochemistry.

We conclude that different initial states for an ocean model result in different capacities for ocean carbon storage due to differences in the ocean circulation state and the origin of the carbon in the initial ocean carbon reservoir. This could explain why it is difficult to achieve comparable responses of the ocean carbon system in model inter-comparison studies in which the initial states vary between models. We show that this effect of the initial state is quantifiable.

This work objectively classified the northern Arabian Sea into six ecological zones based on surface Chl a distribution patterns during winter. Distinct Chl a characteristics within each delineated zone show that this classification method is a good way of separating regions with different phytoplankton dynamics during winter. The study provides improved understanding of how environmental factors control the spatio-temporal variability of the marine Chl a concentration in the area during winter.

In our study we analyzed the efficiency of different chlorophyll extraction solvents and investigated the effect of different preparatory steps to determine the optimal extraction method for biological soil crusts. Based on our results we confirm a DMSO-based chlorophyll extraction method without grinding pretreatment and suggest to insert an intermediate shaking step for complete chlorophyll extraction.

Spirorbis tube worms are common epibionts on brown algae in the Baltic Sea. We made experiments with Spirorbis in the Kiel Outdoor Benthocosms at CO₂ and temperature conditions predicted for the year 2100. The worms were able to grow tubes even at CO₂ levels favouring shell dissolution but did not survive at mean temperatures over 24° C. This indicates that Spirorbis worms will suffer from future excessive ocean warming and from ocean acidification fostering corrosion of their protective tubes.

The boron isotope composition of marine biogenic carbonates has been studied as a proxy for monitoring past changes in seawater pH and carbonate chemistry. We highlight the potential utility of the boron isotope composition of marine biogenic carbonates as a proxy of calcifying site pH for a wide range of calcifying taxa and the importance of using species-specific seawater-pH–boron isotope calibrations when reconstructing seawater pH from the boron isotope composition of biogenic carbonates.

The distribution of mussel in estuaries is limited but the mechanisms are not well understood. We document for the first time that reduced Ca²⁺ concentration in the low saline, brackish Baltic Sea affects the ability of mussel larvae to calcify the first larval shell. As complete formation of the shell is a prerequisite for successful development, impaired calcification during this sensitive life stage can have detrimental effects on the species' ability to colonize habitats.

We describe the evolution of thaw slumps between 1952 and 2011 along the Yukon Coast, Canada, and calculate the contribution of the slumps to the carbon budget in this area. The number of slumps has increased by 73 % over the period. These slumps displaced more than 16 billion m³ of material and mobilized 146 t of carbon. This represents 0.6 % of the annual carbon flux released from shoreline retreat, which shows that the contribution of slumps to the nearshore carbon budget is non-negligible.

We present a new method for estimating land-use change using a Bayesian data assimilation approach. This allows us to constrain estimates of gross land-use change with reliable national-scale census data whilst retaining the information available from several other sources. This includes detailed spatial data; further data sources, such as new satellites, could easily be added in future. Uncertainty is propagated appropriately into the output.

Coccolithophores are microalgae which produce much of the calcium carbonate in the ocean, important to making organic carbon sink to great depths, and they may be negatively affected by the decline in ocean pH as CO₂ rises. Can these important microbes adapt? This study found that coccolithophores inhabiting waters naturally low in pH may have already reached the limit of their ability to adapt. This suggests that how the ocean's biota sequester carbon will be strongly affected in the future.

The origin of organic matter in the oldest rocks on Earth is commonly ambiguous (biotic vs. abiotic). This problem culminates in the case of hydrothermal chert veins that contain abundant organic matter. Here we demonstrate a microbial origin of kerogen embedded in a 3.5 Gyr old hydrothermal chert vein. We explain this finding with the large-scale redistribution of biomass by hydrothermal fluids, emphasizing the interplay between biological and abiological processes on the early Earth.

We describe a quick in situ method for mapping ground surface cover, calculating areas of each surface type in a 10 x 10 m plot for each measurement. The method is robust, weather-independent, easily carried out, and uses wide-field imaging with a standard remote-controlled camera mounted on a very long extendible monopod from a height of 3–4.5 m. The method enables collection of detailed field reference data, critical in many remote sensing applications, such as wetland mapping.

We successfully performed quantitative PCR at sea. The qPCR data were procured within 3 h and used in decisions on further sampling on site. We designed and applied a new primer and probe set for quantifying the UCYN-A1 host and observed discrepancies between host and symbiont, which contradict previous studies. Lastly, we observed a clear vertical separation between a subsurface group (UCYN-A with hosts) and a surface group (remaining diazotrophs), mainly separated by temperature.

The objective of this study was to better understand the variability of the phytoplankton community structure in small physical structures at the surface of the ocean. After identifying such a structure in the Mediterranean Sea, we deployed cutting-edge physical and biological sensors in order to observe at a high frequency the dynamics of this structure. From these observations we described the variations of the phytoplankton community structure and how the physics controls this variability.

Will the terrestrial biosphere be a carbon source or sink in the future? Different model simulations cannot reach a consensus, so we need to diagnose the performance of these models. We implemented three models differing in their carbon allocation strategies and assessed their performance using three metrics. The most sensible metric was the distribution of carbon age and transit times. Thus, empirical measurements of these distributions could be key to reduce the model uncertainty.

Compared to the respiration process, few studies have examined soil carbon leaching possibly enhanced by extreme precipitation events (EPEs). We show that soil carbon leaching was much higher than CO₂ loss through respiration under EPEs in grassland soils through incubation experiments. The soil carbon leaching process should be incorporated into soil carbon models when estimating carbon balance in grassland ecosystems, especially considering the projected increase in EPEs with climate change.