Abstract: Atmospheric carbon dioxide records indicate that the land surface has acted as a strong global carbon sink over recent decades, with a substantial fraction of this sink probably located in the tropics, particularly in the Amazon. Nevertheless, it is unclear how the terrestrial carbon sink will evolve as climate and atmospheric composition continue to change. Here we analyse the historical evolution of the biomass dynamics of the Amazon rainforest over three decades using a distributed network of 321 plots. While this analysis confirms that Amazon forests have acted as a long-term net biomass sink, we find a long-term decreasing trend of carbon accumulation. Rates of net increase in above-ground biomass declined by one-third during the past decade compared to the 1990s. This is a consequence of growth rate increases levelling off recently, while biomass mortality persistently increased throughout, leading to a shortening of carbon residence times. Potential drivers for the mortality increase include greater climate variability, and feedbacks of faster growth on mortality, resulting in shortened tree longevity. The observed decline of the Amazon sink diverges markedly from the recent increase in terrestrial carbon uptake at the global scale, and is contrary to expectations based on models. © 2015 2015 Macmillan Publishers Limited.

Abstract: Myrmecophytism occurs in plants that offer ants a nesting space and, often, food rewards in exchange for protection from predators and competitors. Such biotic protection by ants can, however, interfere with the activity of pollinators leading to potential negative consequences for the plant’s reproduction. In this study, we focused on the association between the understory myrmecophyte, Hirtella physophora (Chrysobalanaceae), and its obligate ant partner, Allomerus decemarticulatus (Myrmicinae). We investigated the reproductive biology of H. physophora and the putative mechanisms that may limit ant–pollinator conflict. Our results show that H. physophora is an obligate outcrosser, self-incompatible, and potentially insect-pollinated species. The reproduction of H. physophora relies entirely on pollen transfer by pollinators that are likely quite specific. Potential interference between flower-visiting insects during pollination may also be lessened by a spatial and temporal segregation of ant and pollinator activities, thus enabling pollen transfer and fruit production. © 2014, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.

Abstract: Key message: Pterocarpus officinalisis able to (1) improve its acclimation capacity if soil salinity increases slowly and (2) benefit from afreshwater episode.
Abstract: One likely effect of global change is an increase of the amplitude of salt variations in the soil of brackish coastal wetland forests. In the Antilles, such forests are dominated by the species Pterocarpus officinalis. The study aimed to determine the effect of 3 salinity levels (freshwater, moderate, and hypersalinity—i.e., 0, 10, and 30 ‰, respectively) and 3 patterns of salinity variation (fast or slow salinity increase, fluctuating salinity) on the growth and ecophysiology of P. officinalis seedlings. P. officinalis proved tolerant to 10 ‰ salinity, even if at this salt concentration the water constraint altered the plant’s water status and reduced stomatal conductance. No impact of the pattern of salinity variation was observed at 10 ‰. Seedlings were strongly affected by hypersalinity, but were able to acclimatize efficiently and to improve their performances (higher survival, total biomass, and photosynthesis) when salinity increased slowly. Young P. officinalis were also able to take advantage of a freshwater episode on the longer term, certainly through leaf desalination associated with enhanced photosynthesis and water use efficiency. Higher soil salinity and more intense dry seasons in the context of climate change could affect the stand-level regeneration potential of P. officinalis seedlings. © 2014, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Abstract: In French Guiana, the population growth will result in an increase in demand for agricultural products and thus, will lead to an increase in the amount of tropical forests converted into cropland or pasture. Impacts of different agricultural systems on greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes have not been studied in French Guiana. In this context, the fire-free chop-and-mulch method was used to convert a tropical forest site to agriculture. This study focused on soil nitrous oxide (N<inf>2</inf>O) emissions and we compared four land uses: (1) the undisturbed tropical forest, (2) recently converted grassland and recently converted croplands (fertilized soybean/maize rotation) with either (3) disk tillage or (4) no tillage.N<inf>2</inf>O measurements were obtained through the chamber technique and conducted over a 1-year period (measurements began 19 months after the forest was cleared). N<inf>2</inf>O fluxes were related to soil parameters measured at each sampling date: nitrate and ammonium contents, gravimetric water content (GWC) and temperature. Through the entire period, the mean (± standard error) and median N<inf>2</inf>O fluxes were 3.8 ± 0.5 and 2.7 gNha-1day-1, respectively for undisturbed tropical forest and 2.4 ± 0.9 and 0.8gNha-1day-1, respectively for grassland (mowed Brachiaria ruziziensis). For croplands, no significant difference was found for N<inf>2</inf>O emissions between both agricultural practices. The mean (± standard error) and median N<inf>2</inf>O fluxes were 8.5 ± 1.2 and 4.0 gNha-1day-1, respectively for disk tillage plots and 8.5 ± 1.3 and 3.6gNha-1day-1, respectively for no tillage plots. Nitrogen inputs (due to the application of fertilizer or due to the mineralization of crop residues) led to higher N<inf>2</inf>O fluxes, resulting in significantly higher mean N<inf>2</inf>O emissions from croplands compared to the forest, when only considering land use effect on N<inf>2</inf>O fluxes in a statistical model. The soil nitrate content, GWC and temperature had a significant positive effect on N<inf>2</inf>O fluxes. Taking into account these soil parameters in another statistical model, N<inf>2</inf>O emissions from croplands were not higher than the natural N<inf>2</inf>O emissions from tropical forest soils. Our results suggest that, if more forest will have to be converted in the course of the expected population growth in French Guiana, it could have low impact on the soil N<inf>2</inf>O fluxes (similar to natural fluxes from forest) with the improving of farming techniques (for example modification of the splitting of N-fertilizer) in the cropping plots. © 2015 Elsevier B.V.

Abstract: Rationale Compared with other animal venoms, ant venoms remain little explored. Ants have evolved complex venoms to rapidly immobilize arthropod prey and to protect their colonies from predators and pathogens. Many ants have retained peptide-rich venoms that are similar to those of other arthropod groups. Methods With the goal of conducting a broad and comprehensive survey of ant venom peptide diversity, we investigated the peptide composition of venoms from 82 stinging ant species from nine subfamilies using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS). We also conducted an in-depth investigation of eight venoms using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) separation coupled with offline MALDI-TOFMS. Results Our results reveal that the peptide compositions of ant venom peptidomes from both poneroid and formicoid ant clades comprise hundreds of small peptides (<4 kDa), while large peptides (>4 kDa) are also present in the venom of formicoids. Chemical reduction revealed the presence of disulfide-linked peptides in most ant subfamilies, including peptides structured by one, two or three disulfide bonds as well as dimeric peptides reticulated by three disulfide bonds. Conclusions The biochemical complexity of ant venoms, associated with an enormous ecological and taxonomic diversity, suggests that stinging ant venoms constitute a promising source of bioactive molecules that could be exploited in the search for novel drug and biopesticide leads. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.