Publications

Microorganisms are vital in mediating the earth's biogeochemical cycles; yet, despite our rapidly increasing ability to explore complex environmental microbial communities, the relationship between microbial community structure and ecosystem processes remains poorly understood. Here, we address a fundamental and unanswered question in microbial ecology: 'When do we need to understand microbial community structure to accurately predict function?' We present a statistical analysis investigating the value of environmental data and microbial community structure independently and in combination for explaining rates of carbon and nitrogen cycling processes within 82 global datasets. Environmental variables were the strongest predictors of process rates but left 44% of variation unexplained on average, suggesting the potential for microbial data to increase model accuracy. Although only 29% of our datasets were significantly improved by adding information on microbial community structure, we observed improvement in models of processes mediated by narrow phylogenetic guilds via functional gene data, and conversely, improvement in models of facultative microbial processes via community diversity metrics. Our results also suggest that microbial diversity can strengthen predictions of respiration rates beyond microbial biomass parameters, as 53% of models were improved by incorporating both sets of predictors compared to 35% by microbial biomass alone. Our analysis represents the first comprehensive analysis of research examining links between microbial community structure and ecosystem function. Taken together, our results indicate that a greater understanding of microbial communities informed by ecological principles may enhance our ability to predict ecosystem process rates relative to assessments based on environmental variables and microbial physiology.

As the UK leaves the European Union, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which for decades has dictated how and when farming support is delivered, will be replaced with a new UK agricultural policy which will see UK farmers, especially upland livestock farmers, facing a more challenging economic environment and a significant change to the way in which farming support is delivered. This study used a series of interviews with UK farmers across differing locations and categories to ascertain how levels of social capital may hinder or enhance a farmer's willingness to embrace future agricultural policy. We found that more conventional farmers who have never participated in agri-environment schemes and those currently in government-run schemes display high levels of bonding capital and low levels of bridging and linking capital which may hinder their ability to adapt to change. In contrast, farmers who embrace a pubic goods approach to land management displayed high bridging and linking capital and are more likely to work with government officials to adapt to policy change. Communities are more likely to become sustainable if they have access to government support and advice, and if relationships with other community members and stakeholders with an interest in rural communities, the natural environment and land management are encouraged and maintained.

Despite plastics providing great benefits to our daily life, plastics accumulating in the environment, especially microplastics (MPs; defined as particles <5 mm), can lead to a range of problems and potential loss of ecosystem services. Current research has demonstrated the significant impact of MPs on aquatic systems, but little is known about their effects on the terrestrial environment, especially within agroecosystems. Hereby, we investigated the effect of MPs type and amount on plant growth, soil microorganisms, and photoassimilate carbon (C) allocation. MPs had a negative, dose-dependent impact on plant growth affecting both above- and below-ground productivity (−22.9% and −8.4%). MPs also influenced assimilated 14C allocation in soil (+70.6%) and CO2 emission (+43.9%). Although the activity of β-glucosidase was suppressed by MPs, other C- and N-cycling related enzyme activities were not affected. The type and amount of MPs in soil greatly altered C flow through the plant-soil system, highlighting that MPs negatively affect a range of C-dependent soil functions. Moreover, MPs increased the soil microbial biomass (+43.6%; indicated by PLFAs), and changed the structure and metabolic status of the microbial community. The evidence presented here suggests that MPs can have a significant impact on key pools and fluxes within the terrestrial C cycle with the response being both dose-dependent and MPs specific. We conclude that MPs in soil are not benign and therefore every step should be made to minimise their entry into the soil ecosystem and potential to transfer into the food chain.

Nitrogen (N) fixation in the feather moss–cyanobacteria association represents a major N source in boreal forests which experience low levels of N de

Rhizodeposits have received considerable attention, as they play an important role in the regulation of soil carbon (C) sequestration and global C cycling

Together our data show that extracellular lignin degrading enzymes increase under long-term plant exclusion. There is now a need for increased focus on the microbial metabolic mechanisms which regulate the processing and persistence of enzymatically released compounds, particularly in energy limited soils.

The environmental cycling of antibiotic-resistant blaCTX-M-15-producing E. coli following release from wastewater treatment plants is a major public health concern. This study aimed to (i) assess the impact of sediment concentrations on the rate of their inactivation following release from human wastewater into freshwater, and (ii) simulate their subsequent dispersal to the nearby coastline during a "worst-case" event where heavy rainfall coincided with high spring tide in the Conwy Estuary, North Wales. Freshwater microcosms of low, medium and high turbidity were inoculated with blaCTX-M-15 -producing E. coli, then exposed to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Typical regional wintertime exposure to UV was found to be insufficient to eradicate E. coli, and in highly turbid water, many bacteria survived simulated typical regional summertime UV exposure. Modelling results revealed that blaCTX-M-15-producing E. coli concentrations reduced downstream from the discharge source, with ~ 30% of the source concentration capable of dispersing through the estuary to the coast, taking ~36 h. Offshore, the concentration simulated at key shellfisheries and bathing water sites ranged from 1.4% to 10% of the upstream input, depending on the distance offshore and tidal regime, persisting in the water column for over a week. Our work indicates that the survival of such organisms post-release into freshwater is extended under typical wintertime conditions, which could ultimately have implications for human health.

Das Thema des Literaturhistorikers und Kritikers Rutherford ist das Heldentum und seine Wiedergabe und Interpretation bei den Autoren Kipling, T. E. Lawrence (of Arabia), Waugh und Le Carre.In einem weiteren Kapitel befaßt er sich mit Werken, die den Krieg in Frankreich 1914-1918 behandeln (»The Common Man as Hero«).Aldous Huxley hatte bereits in »Brave New World« seinen Mustapha Mond erklären lassen, daß die neuzeitliche Zivilisation weder Adel noch Helden benötige, denn beides bringe nur Instabilität mit sich.Diese -den dreißiger Jahren entstammende Erkenntnisist in jüngster Zeit wieder zunehmend in Frage gestellt worden, obwohl die moderne Literatur die Problematik bzw.die dahintersteckende (Sehn-)Sucht zu negieren scheint.Allerdings befindet sie sich in offensichtlichem Einklang mit der Teilnahmslosigkeit der westlichen, zumal der bundesrepublikanischen Wohlstandsgesellschaft, auf die John Baynes' Verdikt -von Rutherford eingangs zitiert -zutrifft: »A society that loses courage can only fade and crumble away.«Im Mittelpunkt des Essays über Kipling und den »Frontier War« steht der einzelne, einfache Mann, der Subalterne, dessen Situation »in the quarrels of civilised nations« Winston Churchill einmal folgendermaßen umrissen hat: »In all this tumult, this wholesale slaughter, the individual and his feelings are utterly lost, only the army has a tale to tell'.«(S. 11) Smollet und Dibdin haben einer lesenden Öffentlichkeit das Leben in der englischen Marine nahegebracht.Der Alltag des gemeinen Mannes in der Army dagegen blieb lange unbekannt, zumal sie im 18. und 19.Jahrhundert sozusagen neben dem »normalen« nationalen Leben existierte.Kipling mit seinen Geschichten und Gedichten von der Grenze, der Front, der Offiziersmesse und den Kasernen füllte diese Lücke.Dabei hatte er das literarisch-methodische Dilemma zu bewältigen, seinen Stoff angemessen darzustellen.Zwischen heroisierender Romantik und nacktem Realismus steuerte er einen Mittelweg und schuf die »Realitätsromanze« (S. 16).Der Burenkrieg erhöhte die Bedeutung des Militärs im Denken Kiplings und vieler Zeitgenossen; Verteidigungsprobleme beschäftigten ihn nun verstärkt.In bitteren Versen (etwa: The Islanders; The Dykes; The Army of a Dream) warnte er davor, unvorbereitet in das Armageddon einzutreten.Der Kampf zwischen Zivilisation und Anarchie beherrschte sein Denken; law and order waren für ihn unantastbare Werte (der Zivilisation).Kiplings Sohn, ein kaum achtzehnjähriger Leutnant, fiel im Ersten Weltkrieg.Ihm und der Vorkriegswelt des britischen Empire widmete er »The Irish Guards in the Great War«, das er als Denkmal des Mutes verstand und in dem er sich lediglich eine Anspielung erlaubte auf die »many, almost children, of whom no record remains« (S. 37).Während Kipling infolge einer dauernden Augenschwäche nie Soldat sein konnte und daher nur ein intellektueller Typ

Microplastics threaten soil ecosystems, strongly influencing carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) contents. Interactions between microplastic properties and climatic and edaphic factors are poorly understood. We conducted a meta-analysis to assess the interactive effects of microplastic properties (type, shape, size, and content), native soil properties (texture, pH, and dissolved organic carbon (DOC)) and climatic factors (precipitation and temperature) on C and N contents in soil. We found that low-density polyethylene reduced total nitrogen (TN) content, whereas biodegradable polylactic acid led to a decrease in soil organic carbon (SOC). Microplastic fragments especially depleted TN, reducing aggregate stability, increasing N-mineralization and leaching, and consequently increasing the soil C/N ratio. Microplastic size affected outcomes; those <200 μm reduced both TN and SOC contents. Mineralization-induced nutrient losses were greatest at microplastic contents between 1 and 2.5% of soil weight. Sandy soils suffered the highest microplastic contamination-induced nutrient depletion. Alkaline soils showed the greatest SOC depletion, suggesting high SOC degradability. In low-DOC soils, microplastic contamination caused 2-fold greater TN depletion than in soils with high DOC. Sites with high precipitation and temperature had greatest decrease in TN and SOC contents. In conclusion, there are complex interactions determining microplastic impacts on soil health. Microplastic contamination always risks soil C and N depletion, but the severity depends on microplastic characteristics, native soil properties, and climatic conditions, with potential exacerbation by greenhouse emission-induced climate change.

Extreme weather events have become a dominant feature of the narrative surrounding changes in global climate with large impacts on ecosystem stability, functioning and resilience; however, understanding of their risk of co‐occurrence at the regional scale is lacking. Based on the UK Met Office’s long‐term temperature and rainfall records, we present the first evidence demonstrating significant increases in the magnitude, direction of change and spatial co‐localisation of extreme weather events since 1961. Combining this new understanding with land‐use data sets allowed us to assess the likely consequences on future agricultural production and conservation priority areas. All land‐uses are impacted by the increasing risk of at least one extreme event and conservation areas were identified as the hotspots of risk for the co‐occurrence of multiple event types. Our findings provide a basis to regionally guide land‐use optimisation, land management practices and regulatory actions preserving ecosystem services against multiple climate threats.

No abstract is provided for this article.