The global ocean is losing oxygen due to warming. The Indian Ocean, however, is gaining oxygen in large parts of the basin, and its naturally occurring oxygen minimum zone is not expanding. This rather unexpected response is explained by the unique ocean circulation of the Indian Ocean, which is bounded by a continent to the north but connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Indonesian Throughflow.

In this research, we assessed the diversity and function of the dark septate endophytic (DSE) fungi community associated with Miscanthus condensatus root in volcanic ecosystems. Both metabarcoding and isolation were adopted in this study. We further validated effects on plant growth by inoculation of some core DSE isolates. This study helps improve our understanding of the role of Miscanthus condensatus-associated DSE fungi during the restoration of post-volcanic ecosystems.

We found a 3-to-5-fold decline in boron in Baltic cod otoliths between the late 1990s and 2021. The trend correlates with declines in oxygen and pH but not with increased salinity. Otolith B : Ca correlated with phosphorus in a healthy out-group (Icelandic cod) but not in Baltic cod. The otolith biomarkers Mn : Mg (hypoxia proxy) and B : Ca in cod otoliths suggest a general increase in both hypoxia and acidification within Baltic intermediate and deep waters in the last decade.

This study provided a comprehensive analysis of the spatial variability and determinants of Fe-bound organic carbon (Fe-OC) among terrestrial, wetland, and marine ecosystems and its governing factors globally. We illustrated that reactive Fe was not only an important sequestration mechanism for OC in terrestrial ecosystems but also an effective “rusty sink” of OC preservation in wetland and marine ecosystems, i.e., a key factor for long-term OC storage in global ecosystems.

Bowl-shaped spirorbid microbialite bioherms formed during the late Middle Miocene (Sarmatian) in the central Paratethys Sea under a warm, arid climate. The microbialites and the surrounding sediment document a predominance of microbial activity in the shallow marine environments of the sea at that time. Modern microbialites are not analogues for these unique structures, which reflect a series of growth stages with an initial “start-up stage”, massive “keep-up stage” and termination of growth.

The gross primary production (GPP) of the terrestrial biosphere is a key source of variability in the global carbon cycle. To estimate this flux, models can rely on remote sensing data (RS-driven), meteorological data (meteo-driven) or a combination of both (hybrid). An intercomparison of 11 models demonstrated that RS-driven models lack the sensitivity to short-term anomalies. Conversely, the simulation of soil moisture dynamics and stress response remains a challenge in meteo-driven models.

The study looked at published data on drained organic forest soils in boreal and temperate zones to revisit current Tier 1 default emission factors (EFs) provided by the IPCC Wetlands Supplement. We examined the possibilities of forming more site-type specific EFs and inspected the potential relevance of environmental variables for predicting annual soil greenhouse gas balances by statistical models. The results have important implications for EF revisions and national emission reporting.

A dune restoration project on the northern Adriatic coast (Ravenna, Italy) was assessed using UAV monitoring. Structure-from-motion photogrammetry, elevation differencing, and statistical analysis were used to quantify dune development in terms of sand volume and vegetation cover change. Results show that the installed fence has been effective as there was significant sand accumulation, embryo dune development, and a decrease in blowout features due to increased vegetation colonization.

In the Southern Ocean, abundant eddies behave opposite to our expectations. That is, anticyclonic (cyclonic) eddies are cold (warm). By investigating the variations of physical and biochemical parameters in eddies, we find that abnormal eddies have unique and significant effects on modulating the parameters. This study fills a gap in understanding the effects of abnormal eddies on physical and biochemical parameters in the Southern Ocean.

Benthic foraminifera are single-cell marine organisms which can move in the sediment column. They were previously reported to horizontally and vertically transport sediment particles, yet the impact of their motion on the dissolved fluxes remains unknown. Using microprofiling, we show here that foraminiferal burrow formation increases the oxygen penetration depth in the sediment, leading to a change in the structure of the prokaryotic community.

Peatlands are vital terrestrial ecosystems that can serve as archives, preserving records of past vegetation and climate. We reconstructed the vegetation history over the last 2600 years of the Beerberg peatland and surrounding area in the Thuringian Forest in Germany using multiple analyses. We found that, although the forest composition transitioned and human influence increased, the peatland remained relatively stable until more recent times, when drainage and dust deposition had an impact.