Volume 109 Issue 2 of Journal of Ecology is now available online!

Our February issue contains a fascinating range of articles, including research studying bark beetle outbreaks, an essay review exploring the functions behind ecosystem multifunctionality and an article investigating the role of browsers in maintaining the openness of African savannas.

The Editor’s Choice paper for this issue is “Spatial mapping of root systems reveals diverse strategies of soil exploration and resource contest in grassland plants” by Lepik et al.

This article combines fine‐scale measurement of plant root distributions with spatial statistics to yield new insights into plant behavioural strategies, with significant potential to impact resource foraging efficiency and productivity.

You can find out more about this research in our Editor’s Choice blog post, written by JC Cahill.

The cover image for this issue relates to “Climate seasonality drives ant–plant–herbivore interactions via plant phenology in an extrafloral nectary‐bearing plant community” by Calixto et al. The photograph shows an Ectatomma tuberculatum (Ectatomminae) ant standing on Lafoensia pacari (Lythraceae), a tree with extrafloral nectaries at the tip of each leaf. This image was captured on a very hot, sunny morning in the tropical savanna of central Brazil. Photograph taken by author Denise Lange. 

The authors have already published a blog on their research: “Climate driven seasonal patterns in an ant–plant–herbivore interaction.” You can also discover more about the image itself in our new Cover Story post.

A fantastic selection of images were submitted to Journal of Ecology for this issue. We hope you enjoy this gallery of potential cover photographs!