title: Bryophyte-cyanobacteria associations as regulators of the northern latitude carbon balance in response to global change.
abstract: Ecosystems in the far north, including arctic and boreal biomes, are a globally significant pool of carbon (C). Global change is proposed to influence both C uptake and release in these ecosystems, thereby potentially affecting whether they act as C sources or sinks. Bryophytes (i.e., mosses) serve a variety of key functions in these systems, including their association with nitrogen (N2 )-fixing cyanobacteria, as thermal insulators of the soil, and producers of recalcitrant litter, which have implications for both net primary productivity (NPP) and heterotrophic respiration. While ground-cover bryophytes typically make up a small proportion of the total biomass in northern systems, their combined physical structure and N2 -fixing capabilities facilitate a disproportionally large impact on key processes that control ecosystem C and N cycles. As such, the response of bryophyte-cyanobacteria associations to global change may influence whether and how ecosystem C balances are influenced by global change. Here, we review what is known about their occurrence and N2 -fixing activity, and how bryophyte systems will respond to several key global change factors. We explore the implications these responses may have in determining how global change influences C balances in high northern latitudes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Western University, London, ON, Canada. zlindo@uwo.ca
authors.forename: Zoë
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Lindo
authors.forename: Marie-Charlotte
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Nilsson
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Gundale
mesh_terms: D001110:Arctic Regions; D044002:Bryophyta / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D002244:Carbon; D057231:Climate Change; D003081:Cold Climate; D000458:Cyanobacteria / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D017753:Ecosystem; D009586:Nitrogen Fixation; D014197:Trees / Q000254:growth & development*
chemical_list: D002244:Carbon