Volume 109 Issue 7 of Journal of Ecology is now available online!
Our July issue contains the first ever International Biological Flora account! Journal of Ecology has been publishing in-depth plant accounts since 1941 – but these have all previously described species native to the British Isles. The first international species to be featured is Nervilia nipponica, a rare orchid native to Japan and South Korea. Discover more about this historic account in recent blog post by our Biological Flora Editor, Anthony Davy.
This issue also contains a paper that explores how tree diversity affects the risk of bark beetle infestation, an article reporting direct and insect-mediated effects of pathogens on plant growth and fitness, and research that considers how the taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional diversity of understorey plants respond differently to environmental conditions.
The Editor’s Choice article for this issue is “Plant diversity effects on plant longevity and their relationships to population stability in experimental grasslands” by Roeder et al.
This study shows, for the first time across multiple species, that the longevity of forbs is affected by the diversity of the surrounding plant community, and that plant longevity as an important component of demographic storage increases the temporal stability of populations of grassland forb species.
You can find out more about this research in our Editor’s Choice blog post by David Gibson.
The cover image for this issue relates to “Assemblages of anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria in tank bromeliads exhibit a host-specific signature” by Vergne et al.
The cover photograph, captured by Jean-François Carrias, shows tank bromeliad Aechmea mertensii, rooted on a nest of Camponotus femoratus. Water-holding bromeliads are a suitable habitat for Anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria. This photo was taken on the edge of the road to the Petit-Saut Dam, French Guiana.
A fantastic selection of photographs were submitted by our authors this issue! Here you can see a gallery of images that were considered for the cover.
Journal of Ecology Blog 