Thomas W. Crowther
A5071160514- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
- Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics
- Mycorrhizal Fungi and Plant Interactions
- Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics
- Forest Ecology and Biodiversity Studies
- Forest ecology and management
- Species Distribution and Climate Change
- Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology
- Forest Management and Policy
- Plant and animal studies
- Remote Sensing in Agriculture
- Land Use and Ecosystem Services
- Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management
- Peatlands and Wetlands Ecology
- Remote Sensing and LiDAR Applications
- Lichen and fungal ecology
- Soil and Water Nutrient Dynamics
- Plant responses to elevated CO2
- Ecosystem dynamics and resilience
- Climate variability and models
- Forest Insect Ecology and Management
- Fire effects on ecosystems
- Plant Pathogens and Fungal Diseases
- Tree-ring climate responses
- Gut microbiota and health
ETH Zurich
2017-2025
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
2023-2025
Ghent University
2024
Institute for Integrative Systems Biology
2023-2024
Université du Québec à Montréal
2023
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council
2023
Swiss Integrative Center for Human Health
2022-2023
Netherlands Institute of Ecology
2015-2022
University College London
2022
University of Technology Sydney
2022
The restoration of trees remains among the most effective strategies for climate change mitigation. We mapped global potential tree coverage to show that 4.4 billion hectares canopy cover could exist under current climate. Excluding existing and agricultural urban areas, we found there is room an extra 0.9 cover, which store 205 gigatonnes carbon in areas would naturally support woodlands forests. This highlights as our solution date. However, will alter this coverage. estimate if cannot...
The biodiversity-productivity relationship (BPR) is foundational to our understanding of the global extinction crisis and its impacts on ecosystem functioning. Understanding BPR critical for accurate valuation effective conservation biodiversity. Using ground-sourced data from 777,126 permanent plots, spanning 44 countries most terrestrial biomes, we reveal a globally consistent positive concave-down BPR, showing that continued biodiversity loss would result in an accelerating decline forest...
Significance One of the greatest challenges in projecting future shifts global climate is understanding how soil respiration rates will change with warming. Multiple experimental warming studies have explored this response, but no consensus has been reached. Based on a synthesis 27 spanning nine biomes, we find that although increases rates, there limited evidence for shifting response We also note universal decline temperature sensitivity at temperatures >25 °C. Together, our data...
Soil biota play key roles in the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems, however, compared to our knowledge above-ground plant and animal diversity, biodiversity found soils remains largely uncharacterized. Here, we present an assessment soil biogeographic patterns across Central Park New York City that spanned all three domains life, demonstrating even urban, managed system harbours large amounts undescribed biodiversity. Despite high variability Park, below-ground diversity were predictable...
Soil organisms, including earthworms, are a key component of terrestrial ecosystems. However, little is known about their diversity, distribution, and the threats affecting them. We compiled global dataset sampled earthworm communities from 6928 sites in 57 countries as basis for predicting patterns abundance, biomass. found that local species richness abundance typically peaked at higher latitudes, displaying opposite to those observed aboveground organisms. high dissimilarity across...
Limits to the growing season The length of in temperate forests has been increasing under recent climate change because earlier leaf emergence and later senescence. However, Zani et al. show that this trend might be reversed as photosynthetic productivity begins drive autumn senescence (see Perspective by Rollinson). Using a combination experimental, observational, modeling studies based on European forest trees, researchers conclude will advance 3 6 days end 21st century rather than...
A monitoring and indicator system can inform policy
Decomposition of organic material by soil microbes generates an annual global release 50-75 Pg carbon to the atmosphere, ∼7.5-9 times that anthropogenic emissions worldwide. This process is sensitive change factors, which can drive cycle-climate feedbacks with potential enhance atmospheric warming. Although effects interacting factors on microbial activity have been a widespread ecological focus, regulatory interspecific interactions are rarely considered in climate feedback studies. We...
Fungi are prominent components of most terrestrial ecosystems, both in terms biomass and ecosystem functioning, but the hyper-diverse nature communities has obscured search for unifying principles governing community organization. In particular, unlike plants animals, observational studies provide little evidence existence niche processes structuring fungal at broad spatial scales. This limits our capacity to predict how communities, their vary across landscapes. We outline a shift focus,...
Research in global change ecology relies heavily on climatic grids derived from estimates of air temperature open areas at around 2 m above the ground. These do not reflect conditions below vegetation canopies and near ground surface, where critical ecosystem functions occur most terrestrial species reside. Here, we provide maps soil bioclimatic variables a 1-km2 resolution for 0-5 5-15 cm depth. were created by calculating difference (i.e. offset) between situ measurements, based time...
Urban environments, regarded as "harbingers" of future global change, may exert positive or negative impacts on urban vegetation growth. Because limited ground-based experiments, the responses to urbanization and its associated controlling factors at scale remain poorly understood. Here, we use satellite observations from 2001 2018 quantify direct indirect growth in 672 worldwide cities. After for impact growth, find a widespread effect that has been increasing over time. These effects...
Late-spring frosts (LSFs) affect the performance of plants and animals across world’s temperate boreal zones, but despite their ecological economic impact on agriculture forestry, geographic distribution evolutionary these frost events are poorly understood. Here, we analyze LSFs between 1959 2017 resistance strategies Northern Hemisphere woody species to infer trees’ adaptations for minimizing damage leaves forecast forest vulnerability under ongoing changes in frequencies. Trait values...