Declining insect abundance and diversity in Germany 2008-2017

Insect abundance and diversity Germany 2008-2017 Nature — (a) Insect diversity (total number of species across all grassland or forest sites) (b), biomass, (c) abundance and (d) number of species (d) in 30 forest and 150 grassland sites across Germany

In this article insect abundance data collected from 150 grassland and 140 forest sites in 3 regions of Germany from 2008 to 2017 was analyzed. A total of about 2,700 species were identified. ), from standardized inventories taken between 2008 and 2017 at 150 grassland and 140 forest sites in 3 regions of Germany. Insect abundance, total biomass of insects, number of species and diversity were calculated for wach year. It was found that diversity in grasslands and forests decreased over time, indicating loss of species across sites and regions. In annually sampled grasslands, biomass, abundance and number of species declined by 67%, 78% and 34%, respectively. In 30 forest sites with annual inventories, biomass and number of species, but not abundance, decreased by 41% and 36%, respectively.

Seibold, S., Gossner, M.M., Simons, N.K. et al. Arthropod decline in grasslands and forests is associated with landscape-level drivers. Nature 574, 671–674 (2019) doi:10.1038/s41586-019-1684-3

From Our Files

Correlation of temperature and CO2 for last 420,000 years from Vostok

EC Perspective: Accounting for 800,000 years of climate change

Approximately 800,000 years ago something changed in the Earth’s climate system that led to the climate then following a series of approximately 100,000 year cycles. Small, predictable changes in the Earth’s orbit about the Sun act as triggers for the glacial and interglacial periods, but other factors such as ice sheet volume, CO2 concentration, and biological feedback mechanisms are also involved.

Evidence of CO2 outgassing from the Southern Ocean early in the last deglaciation

During the last deglaciation atmosphere CO2 concentration rose by about 80 ppm amplifying climate warming. This study of radiocarbon in deep sea corals found that Southern ocean deep water was radiocarbon-depleted throughout the last ice age, but this depletion disappeared between 16,600 and 14,600 years ago consistent with Southern Ocean CO2 outgassing that corresponded to the first pulse of increased atmospheric CO2 early in the deglaciation.

Southern Ocean outgassing initial source of rising CO2 during the last deglaciation

During the first pulse of increasing atmospheric CO2 at the beginning of the last deglaciation the carbon-13 ratio dropped precipitously indicating that a source of the CO2 was a large pool of carbon of organic origin. Comparison with other data including the atmospheric carbon-14 record point at outgassing from Southern Ocean deep water as the source of the CO2 increase in this early period of the deglaciation.

Latest NASA research reveals several East Antarctica glaciers losing ice

In contrast to West Antarctica where several large glaciers have been losing ice for decades, East Antarctica glaciers have exhibited little evidence of ice loss but NASA’s latest detailed maps of East Antarctica ice velocity and elevation show that a number of glaciers have begun to lose ice over the past decade.