Neha Mohanbabu: Large herbivore impact on plant biomass

Throughout April, we are featuring the articles shortlisted for the 2022 Harper Prize. The Harper Prize is an annual award for the best early career research paper published in Journal of Ecology. Neha Mohanbabu’s article ‘Large herbivore impact on plant biomass along multiple resource gradients in the Serengeti‘ is one of those shortlisted for the award. 👋 About me My…

Kyle Rodman: Rocky Mountain forests & bark beetle outbreaks

Throughout April, we are featuring the articles shortlisted for the 2022 Harper Prize. The Harper Prize is an annual award for the best early career research paper published in Journal of Ecology. Kyle Rodman’s article ‘Rocky Mountain forests are poised to recover following bark beetle outbreaks but with altered composition‘ is one of those shortlisted for the award. ⭐️ About…

Cover stories (111:04): The shape of autumn

The cover image for our April issue shows dried, freshly senesced leaves and foliated twigs of different gymnosperm and angiosperm species, demonstrating the size and shape of leaf litter particles. This image relates to the article ‘Experimental evidence that leaf litter decomposability and flammability are decoupled across gymnosperm species‘ by Shudong Zhang et al. Here, Shudong tells us…

Vanessa Rubio: Functional groups, determinism & the dynamics of a tropical forest

Throughout April, we are featuring the articles shortlisted for the 2022 Harper Prize. The Harper Prize is an annual award for the best early career research paper published in Journal of Ecology. Vanessa Rubio Ramos’s article ‘Functional groups, determinism and the dynamics of a tropical forest‘ is one of those shortlisted for the award. 👋 About me I grew…

Angela Illuminati: Coordination between water uptake depth & the leaf economic spectrum

Throughout April, we are featuring the articles shortlisted for the 2022 Harper Prize. The Harper Prize is an annual award for the best early career research paper published in Journal of Ecology. Angela Illuminati’s article ‘Coordination between water uptake depth and the leaf economic spectrum in a Mediterranean shrubland‘ is one of those shortlisted for the award. 👋 About me…

Jorge Isla: Drivers of interaction networks during plant range expansion

Throughout April, we are featuring the articles shortlisted for the 2022 Harper Prize. The Harper Prize is an annual award for the best early career research paper published in Journal of Ecology. Jorge Isla’s article ‘Drivers of individual-based, antagonistic interaction networks during plant range expansion‘ is one of those shortlisted for the award. ⭐️About me I grew up in…

Miriam Gerhard: Variable environments in variable continents

Throughout April, we are featuring the articles shortlisted for the 2022 Harper Prize. The Harper Prize is an annual award for the best early career research paper published in Journal of Ecology. Miriam Gerhard’s article ‘Environmental stoichiometry mediates phytoplankton diversity effects on communities’ resource use efficiency and biomass’ is one of those shortlisted for the award. ⭐️About me: between South…

Call for proposals! The influence of beneficial fungi on plant-enemy interactions & plant community structure

Ecologists have mused over the mechanisms that structure plant communities for centuries. One such mechanism is negative density dependence, which has been proposed as a an important promoter of tree species diversity across plant communities. However, most negative density-dependence studies to date have focused on the roles played by insects and fungal pathogens. Less attention…

Cover stories (111:03): The mysterious process of Mistletoe germination

The cover image for our March issue shows twin seedlings of mistletoe (Viscum album) established on a branch of apple (Malus domestica), the parasite’s most frequent British host. This image relates to the Biological Flora of Britain and Ireland: Viscum album, by Peter Thomas et al. Here, co-author Jonathan Briggs tells us the story behind the image: The germination…

2022 Harper Prize Shortlist: Early Career Research Award

The Harper Prize is awarded annually by the British Ecological Society for the best paper in Journal of Ecology by an early career author. We are pleased to present the shortlisted papers for the 2022 award (published in Volume 110): ⭐️Heath Beckett: Pathways of savannization in a mesic African savanna–forest mosaic following an extreme fire⭐️Kerissa Fuccillo Battle: Citizen science across two centuries…