Special Issue "Effects of Global Changes on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services"

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sustainability and Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2021).

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Francesco Boscutti
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental and Animal Sciences, University of Udine, Udine, Italy
Interests: biodiversity conservation; plant ecology; biological invasion; diversity patterns; climate change; functional ecology
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Global changes are massively altering world biodiversity and the provision of its related ecosystem services. Land use change, climate change, overexploitation, and invasive species, are considered as prominent causes of the disruption of functionality of both terrestrial and marine ecosystems. The interplay of these multiple threats often compromise the capacity of natural systems to cope with environmental mutations. A comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms underlying the relationship between global changes, biodiversity and ecosystem services are urgently needed, as the core issues for many aspects of the future of human wellbeing.

It is thus necessary to enhance the knowledge about the effects of global changes on all biota, promoting interdisciplinary studies aimed at unveil the impacts of biodiversity loss, as a key component supporting a sustainable provisioning of ecosystem services in an ecological intensification framework.

In this Special Issue, we will welcome papers addressing all the aspects concerning biodiversity and ecosystem service in relation to global changes from the ecological, societal, and economical perspectives, with particular concern to the biological mechanisms involved. Basic and applied research papers are equally expected.

Dr. Francesco Boscutti
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Global changes
  • climate changes;biological invasion
  • land use changes;ecosystem services
  • biodiversity
  • ecosystem functions

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

Article
Effects of Canada Goldenrod Invasion on Soil Extracellular Enzyme Activities and Ecoenzymatic Stoichiometry
Sustainability 2021, 13(7), 3768; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13073768 - 29 Mar 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 507
Abstract
The rapid expansion of Canada goldenrod (Solidago canadensis L.) in China has drawn considerable attention as it may not only decrease vegetation diversity but also alter soil nutrient cycling in the affected ecosystems. Soil extracellular enzymes mediate nutrient cycling by catalyzing the [...] Read more.
The rapid expansion of Canada goldenrod (Solidago canadensis L.) in China has drawn considerable attention as it may not only decrease vegetation diversity but also alter soil nutrient cycling in the affected ecosystems. Soil extracellular enzymes mediate nutrient cycling by catalyzing the organic matter decomposition; however, the mechanisms by which alien plant invasion may affect soil extracellular enzymes remain unclear. The objective of this study was to investigate the responses of soil extracellular enzyme activities and ecoenzymatic stoichiometry to S. canadensis invasion. Several extracellular enzymatic activities related to carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycling were measured using a fluorometric method. Ecoenzymatic stoichiometry was used as a proxy of soil microbial metabolic limitations. S. canadensis invasion appeared to be associated with decreased activities of enzymes and with substantial conversions of microbial metabolic carbon and nitrogen limitations. The changes in the activities of extracellular enzymes and the limitations of microbial metabolism were correlated with the alterations in the nutrient availability and resource stoichiometry in the soil. These findings reveal that the alterations in soil available nutrients associated with S. canadensis invasion may regulate extracellular enzymatic activities and cause microbial metabolic limitations, suggesting that S. canadensis invasion considerably affects biogeochemical cycling processes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Global Changes on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services)
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