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The movement of plants, animals, and microorganisms by humans, consciously or unconsciously, has changed both ecosystems and societies throughout history. This article focuses on one such transformative species, lodgepole pine, and its relocation from northwestern America to northern Sweden in the mid-twentieth century. A cultural biography of the lodgepole pine’s existence in Sweden examines how
Exposure to extreme temperatures can negatively affect animal reproduction, by disrupting the ability of individuals to produce any offspring (fertility), or the number of offspring produced by fertile individuals (fecundity). This has important ecological consequences, because reproduction is the ultimate measure of population fitness: a reduction in reproductive output lowers the population grow
Recent discoveries of several Mesolithic sites within the Dagsmosse Basin, south-central Sweden, offer an opportunity to study the lifestyle and skillsets of Mesolithic hunter-gatherer-fishers operating in wetland environments. In this paper, we present a combined archaeological and palaeoecological analysis of a Mesolithic fenland environment using Repetitive-Proxy Pollen Analysis (RPPA) of early
The annual 14C data in tree rings is an outstanding proxy for uncovering extreme solar energetic particle (SEP) events in the past. Signatures of extreme SEP events have been reported in 774/775 CE, 992/993 CE, and ∼660 BCE. Here, we report another rapid increase of 14C concentration in tree rings from California, Switzerland, and Finland around 5410 BCE. These 14C data series show a significant i
Through in situ experiments, this study investigated the erosion resistance of a prototype dike with different vegetation and soil sections built on the Falsterbo peninsula, Sweden. A gravity-driven wave impact simulator was used to simulate waves breaking on the dike. Two sandy soils and three vegetation types (standard grass, biodiverse seed mixture, and hay) were tested for this study. In gener
It is often said that we need more 'radical imagination' to challenge the status quo and envision societies otherwise. But what does that really mean? How might it be nurtured? And what role can approaches at the intersection of art and science play? The What If Garden (TWIG) invites you on a journey into radical imagination. Take a walk. Be inspired. Wander, and let your imagination unfold in mov
The evolution of reproductive isolation is a key evolutionary process, but the factors that shape its development in the early stages of speciation require clarification. Here, using a meta-analysis of 34 experimental speciation studies on arthropods, yeast and vertebrates, we show that populations subject to divergent selection evolved stronger reproductive isolation compared with populations tha
Against the backdrop of the ecological crisis, food production systems will need to transform to ensure future food security. There are contrasting visions of what this transformation should look like. This paper scrutinizes these competing imaginaries of future agriculture and associated styles of anticipation in Tanzania. We find that both government visions and global crop models anticipate fut
Human-mediated changes in island vegetation are, among others, largely caused by the introduction and establishment of non-native species. However, data on past changes in non-native plant species abundance that predate historical documentation and censuses are scarce. Islands are among the few places where we can track human arrival in natural systems allowing us to reveal changes in vegetation d
A sediment record from a small lake in the north-eastern part of the Kamchatka Peninsula has been investigated in a multi-proxy study to gain knowledge of Holocene climatic and environmental change. Pollen, diatoms, chironomids and selected geochemical parameters were analysed and the sediment record was dated with radiocarbon. The study shows Holocene changes in the terrestrial vegetation as well
Question Can we reliably estimate grazing intensity, indicators of grazing intensity (i.e. field-layer height and shrub-cover), and vascular plant species richness in semi-natural grasslands from high spatial resolution satellite data? Location The Baltic Island of Oland (Sweden). Methods Fieldwork included the on-site description of grazed and ungrazed areas and shrub-cover within 107 semi-natura
A sediment sequence was taken from a closed, high altitude lake (informal name Olive-backed Lake) in the central mountain range of Kamchatka, in the Russian Far East. The sequence was dated by radiocarbon and tephrochronology and used for multi-proxy analyses (chironomids, pollen, diatoms). Although the evolution of Beringian climate through the Holocene is primarily driven by global forcing mecha
Holocene records of cellulose-inferred lake-water delta O-8 were produced from two lake-sediment sequences obtained in central and northern Kamchatka, Russian Far East. The sediment records share similar fluctuations in delta O-8 during the interval of ca. 5000-800 cal yr BP that correspond (inversely) with changes in K+ content of the GISP2 ice-core record from Greenland, a proxy for the relative
A radiocarbon and tephra-dated sediment core from Lifebuoy Lake, located on the north-east coast of Kamchatka Peninsula, was analysed for pollen, spores, diatoms, chironomids and tephra in order to uncover regional environmental history. The 6500-year environmental history of Lifebuoy Lake correlates with the broad regional patterns of vegetation development and climate dynamics with both diatoms
Pollen and sediment stratigraphic analyses of a transect of core sequences are used to reconstruct Holocene lake-level changes in Lake Igelsjon, southern Sweden. The pattern of changes seen in the records is related to climatic/hydrological changes and agrees principally with the pattern characteristically found in lakes in southern Sweden. However, compared with an earlier study based on isotopic
The C-14 dating method is the cornerstone for inferring age estimates for natural archives covering the last 50 000 yrs. However, C-14 age calibration for the last ice age relies mostly on records that only indirectly reflect the atmospheric C-14 concentrations. In consequence, calendar age estimates are significantly more uncertain for the period of the last ice age compared to the past 14000 yrs
Changes in the tropical hydrological cycle have been recorded world wide in speleothem records dating back more than 200,000 years for some areas. Numerous empirical and modelling studies have demonstrated a strong link between the intensity of the northern hemisphere monsoon and the precessional insolation cycle (similar to 23 ka (thousand years)). Here we present simulations of the climate condi
