Sentences with phrase «ecosystem functions»
"Ecosystem functions" refers to the natural processes and services that occur within an ecosystem, such as the food chain, water purification, climate regulation, and habitat creation. These functions help to maintain the overall balance and health of the ecosystem, benefiting all living organisms within it. Full definition
These factors had often demonstrated a strong impact on ecosystem functioning in previous experiments.
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The direct economic value of ecosystem functions for organic farmers is an excellent example of «benefit - sharing».
However, our study also shows that the effect of soil biodiversity on ecosystem functions may be greater in areas with higher precipitation.
Animal movement is fundamental for ecosystem functioning and species survival, yet the effects of the anthropogenic footprint on animal movements have not been estimated across species.
In addition to the long - term studies, detailed investigations on the way ecosystems function and how species interact are essential.
They say the ability of biodiversity in these areas to support key ecosystem functions such as growth of living organisms and nutrient cycling has become increasingly uncertain.
So our information about ecosystem function — it really gives them a guideline of creating future standards of carbon dioxide emissions.
The results also reveal mitigation options that can reduce damage and benefit multiple ecosystem functions simultaneously.
The trees also have other ecosystem functions, in the form of carbon sequestration and effects on nutrient cycling and retention.
To master ecosystem functions in order to produce decent high - quality yields, adaptive management practices are crucial: growing conditions in organic agriculture are neither optimal, static nor predictable.
We need to recognize the importance of this rainforest pattern in which our entire global ecosystem functions.
The study is unique in relating soil biodiversity to a whole suite of ecosystem functions rather than focusing on a few.
We hope that the data produced inspires and enables natural resource professionals and other decision makers to take action to conserve coastal ecosystems, and their diverse ecosystem functions.
What kind of biodiversity should be protected in order to ensure the stability of ecosystem functioning?
All of these examples highlight not only the importance of mammals for ecosystem functioning, but for ecosystem services to humans.
It probably can work, but only if we are wise enough to do it by restoring ecosystem function to the biosphere.
Breeding bald eagles provided important ecosystem functions in the northern Channel Islands.
Restoring the natural hydrology to improve ecosystem function is one focus of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan.
Bonal concludes: «It might be of great importance to consider species identities and local climatic conditions, and not solely the degree of diversity in the mixtures, to obtain complementary use of resources and thus maintain ecosystem functions under drought stress.»
The group also analyzed data from national forest inventories across Europe, making the study one of the most comprehensive analyses of forest ecosystem functioning at this scale to date.
Though it's not yet clear whether these trends hold for all plant eaters, that they exist at all means that ecologists need to keep them in mind as they figure out the dynamics of how ecosystems function.
Some activities cause biodiversity loss due to ecosystem changes (e.g., reduced coral reef health commonly is associated with reduced populations or even extirpation of some organisms), whereas others may change ecosystem function because of alterations in diversity - either up or down (e.g., due to invasive species).
Glacier - melt also supports ecosystem functions by maintaining cooler water temperatures.
«This vulnerability concept requires the determination of the major threats to local and regional water, food, energy, human health, and ecosystem function resources from extreme events including climate, but also from other social and environmental issues,» he said in a book chapter he co-authored in «Extreme Events and Natural Hazards: The Complexity Perspective» earlier this year.
The loss of species from ecosystems undermines ecosystem function, diminishing the life - supporting benefits people derive from nature; for example, where food production relies on a diversity of pollinator species.
Floral diversity has been shown to contribute to ecosystem stability, while the invertebrate community associated with field boundaries performs many ecosystem functions including biological control of pests and diseases, pollination and food resource for higher trophic levels.
To date, no ecological farming scheme other than the organic one has succeeded in providing ecosystem functions and socio - economic goods in a comparably equitable way.
As organic farmers can not use synthetic substances (e.g. fertilizers, pesticides, pharmaceuticals) they need to restore the natural ecological balance because ecosystem functions are their main productive «input».
Like many large vertebrates, orangutans play a particularly critical role in maintaining healthy ecosystem function.
In modelling ecosystem function and plant functional type response, understanding has deepened since the TAR, though consequential uncertainties remain.
«We tend to think about extinction as loss of a species from the face of Earth, and that's very important, but there's a loss of critical ecosystem functioning in which animals play a central role that we need to pay attention to as well,» Dirzo said.
«This research shows that macro-scale observations, such as plant trait expression, and ecosystem functions like nutrient cycling, are more intimately connected to micro-scale influences than we might expect,» summarizes Rout.
The need to find how tropical ecosystems function under a dual threat from El Niño and habitat loss is urgent.
In order to better harness the benefits of biodiversity for sustained ecosystem function, the authors suggest that future research should focus on understanding the underlying mechanisms of diversity - stability relationships in the face of extreme events.
Without these tools, scientists are less able to link specific genes to cell behavior or determine how microbes interact within their environment and with one another — critical information for understanding how ocean ecosystems function.
Others may induce ecosystem functions such as nitrogen fixation.
Tom Oliver and colleagues analyse trends in the abundance of more than 4,400 species of birds, mammals, invertebrates and plants in Great Britain over the past 40 years, and identify which ecosystem functions are being performed by each species.
Any group with a hash share of 51 per cent could potentially manipulate the way the entire Bitcoin ecosystem functions.
«Reduced ecosystem functions in oil palm plantations: Scientists assess environmental effects of forest conversion.»
They found that in oil palm plantations, eleven out of 14 ecosystem functions showed a net decrease, some with an irreversible global impact.
Mnemiopsis is a voracious predator, it cuts the food supply for other predators, triggering changes in abundance, species diversity and ecosystem functioning all the way down to bacteria and viruses.
We've moved into ecosystem functions, carbon fluxes and nutrient fluxes,» says Greg Henry, an ecologist at the University of British Columbia.
The research concluded that permafrost degradation is already fundamentally transforming the way that high - latitude Northern Hemisphere ecosystems function.
The key lies in organic materials found in fossil bones, which contain evidence for how ancient ecosystems functioned, according to a new study available online and in the September issue of the Journal of Herpetology.
Honey bees carry out fundamentally vital roles in nature by providing essential ecosystem functions, including global pollination of crops and native plants.