Groundwater is a hidden global keystone ecosystem
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Groundwater is a hidden global keystone ecosystem. / Saccò, Mattia; Mammola, Stefano; Altermatt, Florian; Alther, Roman; Bolpagni, Rossano; Brancelj, Anton; Brankovits, David; Fišer, Cene; Gerovasileiou, Vasilis; Griebler, Christian; Guareschi, Simone; Hose, Grant C.; Korbel, Kathryn; Lictevout, Elisabeth; Malard, Florian; Martínez, Alejandro; Niemiller, Matthew L.; Robertson, Anne; Tanalgo, Krizler C.; Bichuette, Maria Elina; Borko, Špela; Brad, Traian; Campbell, Matthew A.; Cardoso, Pedro; Celico, Fulvio; Cooper, Steven J. B.; Culver, David; Di Lorenzo, Tiziana; Galassi, Diana M. P.; Guzik, Michelle T.; Hartland, Adam; Humphreys, William F.; Ferreira, Rodrigo Lopes; Lunghi, Enrico; Nizzoli, Daniele; Perina, Giulia; Raghavan, Rajeev; Richards, Zoe; Reboleira, Ana Sofia P. S.; Rohde, Melissa M.; Fernández, David Sánchez; Schmidt, Susanne I.; van der Heyde, Mieke; Weaver, Louise; White, Nicole E.; Zagmajster, Maja; Hogg, Ian; Ruhi, Albert; Gagnon, Marthe M.; Allentoft, Morten E.; Reinecke, Robert.
In: Global Change Biology, Vol. 30, No. 1, e17066, 2024.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Groundwater is a hidden global keystone ecosystem
AU - Saccò, Mattia
AU - Mammola, Stefano
AU - Altermatt, Florian
AU - Alther, Roman
AU - Bolpagni, Rossano
AU - Brancelj, Anton
AU - Brankovits, David
AU - Fišer, Cene
AU - Gerovasileiou, Vasilis
AU - Griebler, Christian
AU - Guareschi, Simone
AU - Hose, Grant C.
AU - Korbel, Kathryn
AU - Lictevout, Elisabeth
AU - Malard, Florian
AU - Martínez, Alejandro
AU - Niemiller, Matthew L.
AU - Robertson, Anne
AU - Tanalgo, Krizler C.
AU - Bichuette, Maria Elina
AU - Borko, Špela
AU - Brad, Traian
AU - Campbell, Matthew A.
AU - Cardoso, Pedro
AU - Celico, Fulvio
AU - Cooper, Steven J. B.
AU - Culver, David
AU - Di Lorenzo, Tiziana
AU - Galassi, Diana M. P.
AU - Guzik, Michelle T.
AU - Hartland, Adam
AU - Humphreys, William F.
AU - Ferreira, Rodrigo Lopes
AU - Lunghi, Enrico
AU - Nizzoli, Daniele
AU - Perina, Giulia
AU - Raghavan, Rajeev
AU - Richards, Zoe
AU - Reboleira, Ana Sofia P. S.
AU - Rohde, Melissa M.
AU - Fernández, David Sánchez
AU - Schmidt, Susanne I.
AU - van der Heyde, Mieke
AU - Weaver, Louise
AU - White, Nicole E.
AU - Zagmajster, Maja
AU - Hogg, Ian
AU - Ruhi, Albert
AU - Gagnon, Marthe M.
AU - Allentoft, Morten E.
AU - Reinecke, Robert
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Authors. Global Change Biology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - Groundwater is a vital ecosystem of the global water cycle, hosting unique biodiversity and providing essential services to societies. Despite being the largest unfrozen freshwater resource, in a period of depletion by extraction and pollution, groundwater environments have been repeatedly overlooked in global biodiversity conservation agendas. Disregarding the importance of groundwater as an ecosystem ignores its critical role in preserving surface biomes. To foster timely global conservation of groundwater, we propose elevating the concept of keystone species into the realm of ecosystems, claiming groundwater as a keystone ecosystem that influences the integrity of many dependent ecosystems. Our global analysis shows that over half of land surface areas (52.6%) has a medium-to-high interaction with groundwater, reaching up to 74.9% when deserts and high mountains are excluded. We postulate that the intrinsic transboundary features of groundwater are critical for shifting perspectives towards more holistic approaches in aquatic ecology and beyond. Furthermore, we propose eight key themes to develop a science-policy integrated groundwater conservation agenda. Given ecosystems above and below the ground intersect at many levels, considering groundwater as an essential component of planetary health is pivotal to reduce biodiversity loss and buffer against climate change.
AB - Groundwater is a vital ecosystem of the global water cycle, hosting unique biodiversity and providing essential services to societies. Despite being the largest unfrozen freshwater resource, in a period of depletion by extraction and pollution, groundwater environments have been repeatedly overlooked in global biodiversity conservation agendas. Disregarding the importance of groundwater as an ecosystem ignores its critical role in preserving surface biomes. To foster timely global conservation of groundwater, we propose elevating the concept of keystone species into the realm of ecosystems, claiming groundwater as a keystone ecosystem that influences the integrity of many dependent ecosystems. Our global analysis shows that over half of land surface areas (52.6%) has a medium-to-high interaction with groundwater, reaching up to 74.9% when deserts and high mountains are excluded. We postulate that the intrinsic transboundary features of groundwater are critical for shifting perspectives towards more holistic approaches in aquatic ecology and beyond. Furthermore, we propose eight key themes to develop a science-policy integrated groundwater conservation agenda. Given ecosystems above and below the ground intersect at many levels, considering groundwater as an essential component of planetary health is pivotal to reduce biodiversity loss and buffer against climate change.
KW - biodiversity
KW - biomes
KW - climate change
KW - conservation
KW - ecology
KW - ecosystems
KW - groundwater-dependent ecosystem
KW - subterranean
KW - water cycle
U2 - 10.1111/gcb.17066
DO - 10.1111/gcb.17066
M3 - Review
C2 - 38273563
AN - SCOPUS:85179317094
VL - 30
JO - Global Change Biology
JF - Global Change Biology
SN - 1354-1013
IS - 1
M1 - e17066
ER -
ID: 389596800