Intensifying land use and accelerated erosion has resulted in increased delivery deposition of fine terrestrially derived sediment to coastal ecosystems, increasing mud content estuarine ecosystems. This change the sedimentary environment is known have negative consequences for ecosystem functioning. Yet indirect cyclical relationships between species are rarely investigated, despite being cruc...

Current models and observations indicate that bacterial respiration should increase and growth efficiency (BGE) should decrease with increasing temperatures. However, these models and observations are mostly derived from data collected in temperate regions, and the tropics are under-represented. The aim of this work was to compare bacterial metabolism, namely bacterial production (BP) and respi...

There is significant interest in silvicultural systems such as variable retention harvesting (VRH) that emulate natural disturbance and increase structural complexity, spatial heterogeneity, and biological diversity in managed forests. However, the consequences of variable retention harvesting for new cohort growth and survival are not well characterized in many forest ecosystems. Moreover, the...

Unexpected sudden catastrophic shifts may occur in ecosystems, with concomitant losses or gains of ecological and economic resources. Such shifts have been theoretically attributed to positive feedback and bistability of ecosystem states. However, verifications and predictive power with respect to catastrophic responses to a changing environment are lacking for spatially extensive ecosystems. T...

1. Biological invasions are numerous in fresh waters around the world. At least hundreds of freshwater species have been moved outside of their native ranges by vectors such as ballast water, canals, deliberate introductions, and releases from aquaria, gardens, and bait buckets. As a result, many bodies of fresh water now contain dozens of alien species. 2. Invasions are highly nonrandom with r...

The Murray-Darling Basin is characterised by low but highly variable rainfall and surface runoff and a high level of surface water use. Regulation has altered the stream flow pattern dramatically, affecting river dependent ecosystems. Responsibility for land and water management is fragmented, producing varying (and sometimes disparate) policies, management, and modelling approaches. The Murray...

769 Humans have long been fascinated by the dynamism of free-flowing waters. Yet we have expended great effort to tame rivers for transportation, water supply, flood control, agriculture, and power generation. It is now recognized that harnessing of streams and rivers comes at great cost: Many rivers no longer support socially valued native species or sustain healthy ecosystems that provide imp...

Boreal fires have immediate effects on regional carbon budgets by emitting CO2 into the atmosphere at the time of burning, but they also have legacy effects by initiating a long-term carbon sink during post-fire vegetation recovery. Quantifying these different effects on the current-day pan-boreal (44–84 N) carbon balance and quantifying relative contributions of legacy sinks by past fires is i...