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The landscape of soil carbon data: Emerging questions, synergies and databases The landscape of soil carbon data: Emerging questions, synergies and databases

Soil carbon has been measured for over a century in applications ranging from understanding biogeochemical processes in natural ecosystems to quantifying the productivity and health of managed systems. Consolidating diverse soil carbon datasets is increasingly important to maximize their value, particularly with growing anthropogenic and climate change pressures. In this progress report...
Authors
Avni Malhotra, Katherine Todd-Brown, Luke Nave, Niels Batjes, James Holmquist, Alison Hoyt, Colleen Iversen, Robert B. Jackson, Kate Lathja, Corey R. Lawrence, Olga Vinduśková, William Wieder, Matt Williams, Gustaf Hugelias, Jennifer Harden

PaCTS 1.0: A crowdsourced reporting standard for paleoclimate data PaCTS 1.0: A crowdsourced reporting standard for paleoclimate data

The progress of science is tied to the standardization of measurements, instruments, and data. This is especially true in the Big Data age, where analyzing large data volumes critically hinges on that data being standardized. Accordingly, the lack of community-sanctioned data standards in paleoclimatology has largely precluded the benefits of Big Data advances in the field. Building upon...
Authors
Natalie M. Kehrwald, Deborah Khider, Julien Emile-Geay, Nicholas P. McKay, Yolanda Gili, Daniel Garijo, Varun Ratnakar, Peter Brewer, Adam Csank, Emilie Dassie, Kristine Delong, Thomas Felix, William Gray, Lucas Jonkers, Michael Kahle, Darrell S. Kaufman, Julie N. Richey, Andreas Schmittner, Elaine Kennedy Sutherland, Montserrat Alonso-Garcia, Bertrand Sebastian, Oliver Bothe, Andrew Bunn, Manuel Chevalier, Pierre Francus, Amy Frappier, Simon Goring, Belen Martrat, Helen V. McGregor, Kathryn J. Allen, Fabien Arnaud, Yarrow L. Axford, Timothy T. Barrows, Lucie Bazin, Pilaar Birch, Elizabeth Bradley, Joshua Bregy, Emilie Capron, Olivier Cartapanis, Hong-Wei Chiang, Kim Cobb, Maxime Debret, Rene Dommain, Jianghui Du, Kelsey Dyez, Suellyn Emerick, Michael Erb, Georgina Falster, Walter Finsinger, Daniel Fortier, Nicolas Gauthier, Steven George, Eric Grimm, Jennifer Hertzberg, Fiona Hibbert, Aubrey Hillman, William Hobbs, Matthew Huber, Anna L. C. Hughes, Samuel Jaccard, Ruan Jiaoyang, Markus Kienast, Bronwen Konecky, Gael Le Roux, Vyacheslav Lyubchich, Valdir Novello, Lydia Olaka, Judson W. Partin, Christof Pearce, Steven J. Phipps, Cecile Pignol, Natalia Pietrowska, Maria-Serena Poli, Alexander Prokopenko, Franciele Schwanck, Christian Stepanek, George E. A. Swann, Richard Telford, Elizabeth R. Thomas, Zoe Thomas, Sarah Truebe, Lucien von Gunten, Amanda Waite, Nils Weitzel, Bruno Wilhelm, John B. Williams, Mai Winstrup, Ning Zhao, Yuxin Zhou

Paleo calendar-effect adjustments in time-slice and transient climate-model simulations (PaleoCalAdjust v1.0): Impact and strategies for data analysis Paleo calendar-effect adjustments in time-slice and transient climate-model simulations (PaleoCalAdjust v1.0): Impact and strategies for data analysis

The “paleo calendar effect” is a common expression for the impact that changes in the length of months or seasons over time, related to changes in the eccentricity of Earth's orbit and precession, have on the analysis or summarization of climate-model output. This effect can have significant implications for paleoclimate analyses. In particular, using a “fixed-length” definition of...
Authors
Patrick J. Bartlein, Sarah Shafer

Evaluating k-nearest neighbor (kNN) imputation models for species-level aboveground forest biomass mapping in northeast China Evaluating k-nearest neighbor (kNN) imputation models for species-level aboveground forest biomass mapping in northeast China

Quantifying spatially explicit or pixel-level aboveground forest biomass (AFB) across large regions is critical for measuring forest carbon sequestration capacity, assessing forest carbon balance, and revealing changes in the structure and function of forest ecosystems. When AFB is measured at the species level using widely available remote sensing data, regional changes in forest...
Authors
Yuanyuan Fu, Hong S He, Todd Hawbaker, Paul D. Henne, Zhiliang Zhu, David R. Larsen

Balancing sampling intensity against spatial coverage for a community science monitoring programme Balancing sampling intensity against spatial coverage for a community science monitoring programme

Community science is an increasingly integral part of biodiversity research and monitoring, often achieving broad spatial and temporal coverage but lower sampling intensity than studies conducted by professional scientists. When designing a community‐science monitoring programme, careful assessment of sampling designs that could be both feasible and successful at meeting programme goals...
Authors
Emily L. Weiser, Jay E. Diffendorfer, Ralph Grundel, Laura Lopez Hoffman, Samuel Pecoraro, Darius J. Semmens, Wayne E. Thogmartin

Luminescence as a sediment tracer and provenance tool Luminescence as a sediment tracer and provenance tool

Luminescence holds unique potential as a sediment tracer and provenance method. The tracer application of luminescence has key advantages including ease of measurement, relatively low cost, and applicability to geologically ubiquitous quartz and feldspar sand and silt. These advantages can help answer fundamental questions about geomorphology, sediment transport, sediment production, and...
Authors
Harrison J. Gray, Mayank Jain, Andre Sawakuchi, Shannon A. Mahan, Gregory E. Tucker

Fluvial sedimentary history of Arlington Canyon, Channel Islands National Park, California Fluvial sedimentary history of Arlington Canyon, Channel Islands National Park, California

Arlington Canyon, in the northwest part of Santa Rosa Island, Channel Islands National Park, California, has been the setting for important scientific discoveries over the past half century, including the oldest human remains in North America, several vertebrate fossil sites, and purported evidence of a catastrophic extinction event at the end of the Pleistocene. The canyon is filled...
Authors
R. Randall Schumann, Jeffrey S. Pigati

Root-driven weathering impacts on mineral-organic associations in deep soils over pedogenic time scales Root-driven weathering impacts on mineral-organic associations in deep soils over pedogenic time scales

Plant roots are critical weathering agents in deep soils, yet the impact of resulting mineral transformations on the vast deep soil carbon (C) reservoir are largely unknown. Root-driven weathering of primary minerals may cause the formation of reactive secondary minerals, which protect mineral-organic associations (MOAs) for centuries or millennia. Conversely, root-driven weathering may...
Authors
Mariela Garcia Arredondo, Corey Lawrence, Marjorie S. Schulz, Malak M. Tfaily, Ravi K. Kukkadapu, Morris E. Jones, Kristin Boye, Marco Keiluweit

Geographic context affects the landscape change and fragmentation caused by wind energy facilities Geographic context affects the landscape change and fragmentation caused by wind energy facilities

Wind energy generation causes transformation of landscapes as new roads, pads, and transmission lines are constructed. Limiting the landscape change and fragmentation caused by these facilities likely minimizes impacts to biodiversity and sensitive wildlife species. We examined the effects of wind energy facilities’ geographic context on changes in landscape patterns. We digitized the...
Authors
James E. Diffendorfer, Monica Dorning, Jolene Keen, Louisa Kramer, Robert Taylor

Influences of potential oil and gas development and future climate on Sage-grouse declines and redistribution Influences of potential oil and gas development and future climate on Sage-grouse declines and redistribution

Multiple environmental stressors impact wildlife populations, but we often know little about their cumulative and combined influences on population outcomes. We generally know more about past effects than potential future impacts, and direct influences such as changes of habitat footprints than indirect, long-term responses in behavior, distribution, or abundance. Yet, an understanding...
Authors
Julie A. Heinrichs, Michael S. O’Donnell, Cameron L. Aldridge, Steven L. Garman, Collin G. Homer

Modeling transient soil moisture limitations on microbial carbon respiration: A cost-performance comparison Modeling transient soil moisture limitations on microbial carbon respiration: A cost-performance comparison

Soil microorganisms are known to survive periods of aridity and to recover rapidly after wetting events, with the ability to transition between a dormant state in dry conditions and an active state in wet conditions. Though this dynamic behavior has been previously incorporated into soil carbon respiration modeling frameworks, a direct comparison between this active-dormant transition...
Authors
Yuchen Liu, Corey R. Lawrence, Mathew Winnick, Hsiao-Tieh Hsu, Katherine Maher, Jennifer Druhan

The antiquity of the Sahara Desert: New evidence from the mineralogy and geochemistry of Pliocene paleosols on the Canary Islands, Spain The antiquity of the Sahara Desert: New evidence from the mineralogy and geochemistry of Pliocene paleosols on the Canary Islands, Spain

The Sahara is the largest warm desert in the world, but its age has been controversial, with estimates ranging from Miocene to Holocene. Mineralogical and geochemical data show that paleosols of Pliocene to mid-Pleistocene age on Fuerteventura and Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands have developed in part from inputs of dust from Africa. These paleosols contain quartz and mica, minerals...
Authors
Daniel R. Muhs, Joaquin Meco, James R. Budahn, Gary L. Skipp, Juan F. Betancort, Alejandro Lomoschitz
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