1.        van der Plas, F., Manning, P.,Allan, E., Scherer-Lorenzen, M., Verheyen, K., Wirth, C., ... & Barbaro, L.(2016). Jack-of-all-trades effects drive biodiversity-ecosystemmultifunctionality relationships in European forests. Nature Communications, 7.

There is considerable evidence thatbiodiversity promotes multiple ecosystem functions (multifunctionality), thusensuring the delivery of ecosystem services important for human well-being.However, the mechanisms underlying this relationship are poorly understood,especially in natural ecosystems. We develop a novel approach to partitionbiodiversity effects on multifunctionality into three mechanisms and apply thisto European forest data. We show that throughout Europe, tree diversity ispositively related with multifunctionality when moderate levels of functioningare required, but negatively when very high function levels are desired. Fortwo well-known mechanisms, ‘complementarity’ and ‘selection’, we detect onlyminor effects on multifunctionality. Instead a third, so far overlookedmechanism, the ‘jack-of-all-trades’ effect, caused by the averaging ofindividual species effects on function, drives observed patterns. Simulationsdemonstrate that jack-of-all-trades effects occur whenever species effects ondifferent functions are not perfectly correlated, meaning they may contributeto diversity–multifunctionality relationships in many of the world’secosystems.

http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2016/160324/ncomms11109/full/ncomms11109.html

2.        Opała, M., Niedźwiedźa, T.,Rahmonov, O., Owczarek, P., & Małarzewski, Ł. (2016). Towards improving theCentral Asian dendrochronological network—new data from Tajikistan, Pamir-Alay.Dendrochronologia.

Millennial long tree-ring records arecrucial for better understanding temperature and hydroclimatic variability overthe globe. Juniper is one of particularly long-lived species, which can providemore than a thousand-year record, especially in Central Asia. However, there isa lack of dendrochronological series from the Pamir Mountains. Here we reportthe first 1010-year (AD 1005–2014) juniper tree-ring chronology from themountain ranges of north-western Tajikistan, the western Pamir-Alay. We presentthe potential of Juniperus semiglobosa and Juniperus seravshanica in developingmillennia-long records. We sampled three study sites at the elevations from2200 to 3500 m. In general, the climate–growth analyses show that radial growthof the Himalayan pencil juniper is positively correlated with the winter precipitationand spring temperature. At some sites tree rings were also positivelycorrelated with summer temperature. Our findings demonstrate the importance ofdeveloping the tree-ring data network for the Pamir-Alay and its potential forreconstruction of hydroclimatic variability over the last thousand years inthis region.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1125786516300261

3.        Lavergne, A., Daux, V.,Villalba, R., Pierre, M., Stievenard, M., Vimeux, F., & Srur, A. M. (2016).Are the oxygen isotopic compositions of Fitzroya cupressoides and Nothofaguspumilio cellulose promising proxies for climate reconstructions in northernPatagonia?. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences.

Tree ring δ18O chronologies from two nativespecies (Fitzroya cupressoides and Nothofagus pumilio) in northern Patagoniawere developed to assess their potential for paleoclimate reconstructions. Thefive annually resolved cellulose δ18O chronologies (two for F. cupressoides andthree for N. pumilio) are located on the Andes along the steep west-to-eastprecipitation gradient. Over the common 60 years long interval, the fivesite-δ18Ocell chronologies exhibit a strong common signal as indicated by thesignificant mean intercorrelation (r = 0.61, p < 0.05) and the highpercentage (65%) of total variance explained by the first empirical orthogonalfunction. Although correlation analyses reveal that the two meanspecies-δ18Ocell chronologies are mainly modulated by December–May temperature,the N. pumilio chronology shows a greater sensitivity to record temperaturevariations (r = 0.57, p < 0.05). The δ18Ocell of N. pumilio contains aregional temperature signal representative of a large area in southern SouthAmerica under the influence of the Southern Annular Mode. This study indicatesthat δ18Ocell in N. pumilio is a promising proxy to reconstruct past variationsin temperature in South America south of 38°S.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2015JG003260/abstract

4.        Gradel, A., Hänsch, C.,Ganbaatar, B., Dovdondemberel, B., Nadaldorj, O., & Günther, B. (2016).Response of white birch (Betula platyphylla Sukaczev) to temperature andprecipitation in the mountain forest steppe and taiga of northern Mongolia.Dendrochronologia.

The mountain forest steppe and taiga zonesin northern Mongolia have experienced a significant decline in area and qualitysince the end of the last century. Changes in land use, climate, fire frequencyand pest occurrence are considered to be the main drivers of this vegetationshift and desertification. Because this region is the source for major rivers,is home to a unique flora and fauna and represents an important source oftimber for Mongolia, the ability of different tree species to respond to thesechanges and regenerate is of increasing interest. Our contribution focuses onthe climate-growth relationship of old and young birch trees from two valleysin the Mongolian province of Selenge Aimag.

The research site Bugant, located in theWestern Khentii Mountains, was the most important logging centre in Mongoliaduring socialist times. Today, the vegetation is dominated by successionforests of light taiga. The research site Altansumber, on the border of theSant and Khushat soum, is dominated by light taiga and mountain forest steppe.Traditional nomads who depend on these forests for different reasons inhabitthis area.

Wood cores were sampled and chronologies ofyoung and old birch trees at Bugant and Altansumber were created. Climate datawere obtained from the Eroo station, which is known in the region for its longand reliable climate record. We analysed the climate-growth relationships ofthe chronologies from 1962 to 2009. At both sites and in both age classes,correlations with temperature were predominantly negative, particularly inApril (Bugant, south- and east-facing slopes) and May (Altansumber,north-facing slopes). Precipitation of the late summer of the previous year(August/September) positively correlated with the growth of birch atAltansumber. We assume that the significant negative correlation between winterprecipitation (December/January) and the growth of old birches at both sites isdue to positive effects of snow cover on the survival rate of herbivorousinsect populations. Our results indicate that during the early vegetationperiod, younger birch trees are more dependent on water availability than olderones. Negative pointer years were characterized by below-average precipitationduring the current summer period and above-average spring temperatures. For theold trees, positive pointer years were characterized by above-average summerprecipitation. We conclude that water availability is the most crucial factorfor the growth of white birch in northern Mongolia.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S112578651630025X