The role of lichens and mosses in climate change

lichens and mosses
Axel Kleidon, MPI Biogeochemie, Jena

An international research team led by the Department of Biology at the Universität Hamburg has investigated the potential impacts of climate change on non-vascular vegetation (mosses, lichens) and their functions in ecosystems worldwide. Based on this, the researchers have developed a concept paper proposing the next important steps for the research field. The results were published in the journal “New Phytologist”.

The so-called non-vascular photoautotrophs (NVP), including mosses, lichens, terrestrial algae and cyanobacteria, are organisms that receive their energy from light but lack the vascular tissue that transports water and nutrients in vascular plants. Lacking roots, they rely on direct uptake of water from the atmosphere or from the near-surface layer of the soil. Because water loss cannot be actively controlled, the organisms often become dehydrated. However, unlike most vascular plants, NVPs are able to largely adapt their metabolism to these large fluctuations in water content, making them a common form of vegetation in many arid ecosystems, such as deserts, tundras, and high elevations.

NVP are considered essential for the functioning of ecosystems in many regions of the world since they are, for instance, responsible for about 50% of nitrogen input to natural ecosystems through their association with nitrogen-fixing bacteria, control the partitioning as well as evapotranspiration of precipitation in forests, have an impact on near-ground air temperature, contribute to peatland ecosystems that store an estimated 30% of global soil carbon, or form biocrusts that protect soil surfaces from erosion by water and wind.

Current research suggests that climate change may pose a significant threat to NVP, with major impacts on many regions of the world. But the extent to which this will affect associated ecosystems is highly uncertain.

“We found that ecosystem functions of NVP are likely to be significantly affected by climate change and that a better quantitative understanding of some key processes is needed, for example, the potential for acclimation, the response to elevated carbon dioxide, the role of the microbiome, and the feedback from ecosystem changes to climate. We propose an integrative approach with innovative, cross-method laboratory and field experiments and ecophysiological modelling, for which sustained scientific collaboration in NVP research is essential,” reports the study’s first author, Jun.-Prof. Dr. Philipp Porada of the Department of Biology at the Universität Hamburg.

Wissenschaftliche Ansprechpartner:

Jun.-Prof. Dr. Philipp Porada
Universität Hamburg
Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Natural Sciences
Department of Biology
Phone: +49 40 42816-577
E-mail: philipp.porada@uni-hamburg.de

Originalpublikation:

A research agenda for nonvascular photoautotrophs under climate change,
P. Porada, M. Y. Bader, M. B. Berdugo, C. Colesie, C. J. Ellis, P Giordani, U. Herzschuh, Y. Ma, S. Launiainen, J. Nascimbene, I. Petersen, J. R. Quílez, E. Rodríguez-Caballero, K. Rousk, L. G. Sancho, C. Scheidegger, S. Seitz, J. T. Van Stan, M. Veste, B. Weber, D. J. Weston
New Phytologist (2022).
https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.18631

Weitere Informationen:

https://www.min.uni-hamburg.de/en/ueber-die-fakultaet/aktuelles/2022/1213-rolle-…

Media Contact

Abteilung 2, Referat Medien- und Öffentlichkeitsarbeit

All latest news from the category: Life Sciences and Chemistry

Articles and reports from the Life Sciences and chemistry area deal with applied and basic research into modern biology, chemistry and human medicine.

Valuable information can be found on a range of life sciences fields including bacteriology, biochemistry, bionics, bioinformatics, biophysics, biotechnology, genetics, geobotany, human biology, marine biology, microbiology, molecular biology, cellular biology, zoology, bioinorganic chemistry, microchemistry and environmental chemistry.

Back to home

Comments (0)

Write a comment

Newest articles

EEG ad tDCS chould serve as the basis of therapeutic strategies to combat newrological disorders. Image Credit: Institute of Science Tokyo

Using Electroencephalography to Improve Language Disorder Treatments

Researchers work towards an inexpensive and portable solution for treating aphasia  Electroencephalography (EEG) may offer a more accessible alternative to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) for guiding transcranial direct current…

The BioSCape team is poctured with NASA and South African aircraft. Image Credit: Jeremey Shelton/Fishwater Films

Measuring Life on Earth from Space: A Global Research Project

Measurements and data collected from space can be used to better understand life on Earth. An ambitious, multinational research project funded by NASA and co-led by UC Merced civil and…

NEJM study finds patients with blockages in medium-sized vessels in the brain who had endovascular treatment did not do any better and did not see any improvement compared to patients who had the standard of care. Dr. Michael Hill, MD, Dr. Mayank Goyal, MD, PhD (right). Image Credit: Riley Brandt, University of Calgary

Best Approach for Stroke in Medium-Sized Blood Vessels Identified

Calgary’s Stroke Program advancing science to improve care, treatment and outcomes for patients  University of Calgary’s Hotchkiss Brain Institute researchers with the Calgary Stroke Program at Foothills Medical Centre revolutionized…