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Main Authors: Oester, Rebecca, Keck, François, Moretti, Marcelo S, Altermatt, Florian, Bruder, Andreas, Ferreira, Verónica
Format: Artículo científico
Language:en
Published: Global change biology 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40755351/
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author Oester, Rebecca
Keck, François
Moretti, Marcelo S
Altermatt, Florian
Bruder, Andreas
Ferreira, Verónica
author_facet Oester, Rebecca
Keck, François
Moretti, Marcelo S
Altermatt, Florian
Bruder, Andreas
Ferreira, Verónica
Oester, Rebecca
Keck, François
Moretti, Marcelo S
Altermatt, Florian
Bruder, Andreas
Ferreira, Verónica
collection PubMed - marine biology
contents A Global Synthesis on Land-Cover Changes in Watersheds Shaping Freshwater Detrital Food Webs. Oester, Rebecca Keck, François Moretti, Marcelo S Altermatt, Florian Bruder, Andreas Ferreira, Verónica Food Chain Fresh Water Biodiversity Conservation of Natural Resources Ecosystem Animals Anthropogenic land-cover changes are among the most pressing global threats to both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, jeopardizing biodiversity and the critical connections between these systems. Resource flows and trophic interactions intricately link aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, with terrestrial-derived detritus playing a fundamental role in supporting aquatic food webs. These detrital inputs form essential cross-ecosystem linkages, underpinning key ecological processes and providing vital resources for aquatic communities. Yet, little research has focused on how land-cover changes cascade across this linkage. To better understand how land-cover changes in the watershed influence freshwater detrital food webs, we conducted a meta-analysis of field studies reporting the effects of vegetation changes on freshwater detrital consumers and organic matter decomposition. The results from 144 studies, reporting 1235 comparisons, showed that, overall, land-cover changes in the watershed vegetation, especially through harvest and land-use conversion, have negative effects on aquatic biodiversity and ecosystem processes. These vegetation changes reduced diversity, abundance, and biomass across multiple trophic levels in freshwater detrital food webs. Studies examining multiple organism groups most often observed negative responses across multiple trophic levels, suggesting that these land-cover changes negatively affected multiple detrital food-web components simultaneously. Our results also show that outcomes of restoration of watershed vegetation were context-dependent, and no clear trend of improvement was visible. Therefore, conservation of natural riparian and catchment vegetation is key to maintaining freshwater ecosystem processes and aquatic biodiversity worldwide, and more efficient and evidence-based restoration measures are urgently needed. As our global synthesis shows that direct human-induced alterations of vegetation in watersheds have significant negative effects on freshwater detrital food webs, there is a pressing need to consider cross-ecosystem consequences of land-cover changes in conservation and ecosystem management.
format Artículo científico
id pubmed_40755351
institution PubMed
language en
publishDate 2025
publisher Global change biology
record_format pubmed
spellingShingle A Global Synthesis on Land-Cover Changes in Watersheds Shaping Freshwater Detrital Food Webs.
Oester, Rebecca
Keck, François
Moretti, Marcelo S
Altermatt, Florian
Bruder, Andreas
Ferreira, Verónica
Food Chain
Fresh Water
Biodiversity
Conservation of Natural Resources
Ecosystem
Animals
A Global Synthesis on Land-Cover Changes in Watersheds Shaping Freshwater Detrital Food Webs. Oester, Rebecca Keck, François Moretti, Marcelo S Altermatt, Florian Bruder, Andreas Ferreira, Verónica Food Chain Fresh Water Biodiversity Conservation of Natural Resources Ecosystem Animals Anthropogenic land-cover changes are among the most pressing global threats to both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, jeopardizing biodiversity and the critical connections between these systems. Resource flows and trophic interactions intricately link aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, with terrestrial-derived detritus playing a fundamental role in supporting aquatic food webs. These detrital inputs form essential cross-ecosystem linkages, underpinning key ecological processes and providing vital resources for aquatic communities. Yet, little research has focused on how land-cover changes cascade across this linkage. To better understand how land-cover changes in the watershed influence freshwater detrital food webs, we conducted a meta-analysis of field studies reporting the effects of vegetation changes on freshwater detrital consumers and organic matter decomposition. The results from 144 studies, reporting 1235 comparisons, showed that, overall, land-cover changes in the watershed vegetation, especially through harvest and land-use conversion, have negative effects on aquatic biodiversity and ecosystem processes. These vegetation changes reduced diversity, abundance, and biomass across multiple trophic levels in freshwater detrital food webs. Studies examining multiple organism groups most often observed negative responses across multiple trophic levels, suggesting that these land-cover changes negatively affected multiple detrital food-web components simultaneously. Our results also show that outcomes of restoration of watershed vegetation were context-dependent, and no clear trend of improvement was visible. Therefore, conservation of natural riparian and catchment vegetation is key to maintaining freshwater ecosystem processes and aquatic biodiversity worldwide, and more efficient and evidence-based restoration measures are urgently needed. As our global synthesis shows that direct human-induced alterations of vegetation in watersheds have significant negative effects on freshwater detrital food webs, there is a pressing need to consider cross-ecosystem consequences of land-cover changes in conservation and ecosystem management.
title A Global Synthesis on Land-Cover Changes in Watersheds Shaping Freshwater Detrital Food Webs.
topic Food Chain
Fresh Water
Biodiversity
Conservation of Natural Resources
Ecosystem
Animals
url https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40755351/