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Rise of Turfs: A New Battlefront for Globally Declining Kelp Forests
Kelp forests are structurally complex habitats, which provide valuable services along 25% of the world's coastlines. Globally, many kelp forests have disappeared and been replaced by turf algae over the last decade. Evidence that environmental conditions are becoming less favorable for kelps, combined with a lack of observed recovery, raises concern that these changes represent persistent regime shifts. Here, we show that human activities mediate turf transitions through geographically disparate abiotic (warming and eutrophication) and biotic (herbivory and epiphytism) drivers of kelp loss. Evidence suggests kelp forests are pushed beyond tipping points where new, stabilizing feedback systems (sedimentation, competition, and Allee effects) reinforce turf dominance. Although these new locks on the degraded ecosystems are strong, a mechanistic understanding of feedback systems and interactions between global and local drivers of kelp loss will expose which processes are easier to control. This should provide management solutions to curb the pervasive trend of the flattening of kelp forests globally.
Journal Article
Physiological and turf quality responses of tall fescue to varying irrigation levels and nitrogen doses under Mediterranean climate conditions
Background
Water scarcity and growing environmental concerns have increased the need for effective irrigation and fertilization practices in turf management. This study investigated the effects of different irrigation levels (IL) and nitrogen doses (ND) on turf quality, color, clipping yield, and selected physiological parameters of tall fescue [
Schedonorus arundinaceus
(Schreb.) Dumort] under Mediterranean climate conditions. The experimental design was randomized blocks in a split‒split plot design with three replications. The irrigation levels were set at 25% (IL1), 50% (IL2), 75% (IL3), and 100% (IL4) pan evaporation, while nitrogen doses of 0.00, 1.25, 2.50, and 5.00 g m
−2
were applied.
Results
The irrigation level and nitrogen application significantly affected turf color, quality, clipping yield, leaf relative water content, chlorophyll content, turgor loss, and electrolyte leakage. Increased irrigation and nitrogen levels increased the leaf RWC and chlorophyll content while reducing turgor loss and electrolyte leakage, ultimately improving plant tolerance to environmental stress.
Conclusions
Our findings suggest that acceptable turf color and quality throughout the year can be achieved with a 50% irrigation level and a nitrogen dose of 5.00 g m
−2
. A more economical and environmentally friendly alternative may be the combination of 50% irrigation and 2.50 g m
−2
nitrogen, which is particularly effective in spring and autumn. In contrast, the combination of 25% or 50% irrigation with 1.25 g m
−2
nitrogen did not result in acceptable turf quality in any season. However, acceptable turf color and quality can still be maintained in water-limited regions, especially during spring and autumn, by applying 5 g m
−2
nitrogen under 25% irrigation.
Journal Article
Synthetic turf pitches with rubber granulate infill: are there health risks for people playing sports on such pitches?
The presence of carcinogenic substances in rubber granulate made from old car tyres raised concerns that the use of this granulate as infill on synthetic turf pitches may cause leukaemia and lymphoma in young football players and goalkeepers. Limitations in a number of prior studies on the topic casted doubts on their conclusion that it was safe to play sports on such pitches. Rubber granulate samples from 100 Dutch synthetic turf pitches were analysed for 45 (all samples) or 79 substances (a subset). A subset of samples was additionally analysed for migration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), phthalates and metals into sweat and the gastrointestinal tract, and for evaporation of volatile substances into air. Exposure scenarios were developed to estimate the exposure of amateur football players via the oral, dermal and inhalation route to the most hazardous substances in rubber granulate. Risks to human health were assessed by comparing toxicological reference values for these substances with the exposure estimates. A number of carcinogenic, mutagenic and reprotoxic substances were present in rubber granulate used on Dutch pitches. No concern was, however, identified for phthalates, benzothiazoles, bisphenol A and the metals cadmium, cobalt and lead, as their exposures were below the levels associated with adverse effects on health. PAHs appeared to be the substances of highest concern, but even they present no appreciable health risk with exposures resulting in additional cancer risks at or below the negligible risk level of one in a million. Our findings for a representative number of Dutch pitches are consistent with those of prior and contemporary studies observing no elevated health risk from playing sports on synthetic turf pitches with recycled rubber granulate. Based on current evidence, there is no reason to advise people against playing sports on such pitches.
Journal Article
Algal turf accrues both costs and benefits to growth via association with adjacent stands of Turbinaria ornata, a rapidly expanding macroalga in the South Pacific
Algal turf on coral reefs can transition from short productive forms to longer less productive forms that often form a persistent degraded state. We evaluated whether adjacent communities, such as stands of the macroalga
Turbinaria ornata
, can drive these transitions in Moorea, French Polynesia. We first found that
T. ornata
stands that overhang turf reduced growth as restricting canopy movement increased turf height compared to controls, implying an overhanging
T. ornata
canopy shades or abrades adjacent turf. Second, we manipulated
T. ornata
presence (intact/completely removed) and herbivore access (uncaged/caged) and found that, in the presence of herbivores, removal of stands reduced the height of adjacent turf compared to plots adjacent to intact
Turbinaria
stands. The presence of intact stands also deterred grazing, demonstrating they provide a refuge for adjacent turf. Thus, algal turf derives both benefits and costs of proximity to macroalgal stands. It is imperative to explore the relative strengths of these costs and benefits as these interactions may drive local transitions to degraded algal states.
Journal Article