Jianguo Ma: Ammonium preference and microbial nitrification inhibition drive the expansion of a poisonous plant in alpine -meadows

2025 HARPER PRIZE SHORTLIST: For the next two weeks, we are featuring the articles shortlisted for the 2025 Harper Prize. The Harper Prize is an annual award for the best early career research paper published in Journal of Ecology. Jianguo Ma’s ‘Ammonium preference and microbial nitrification inhibition drive the expansion of a poisonous plant in alpine -meadows‘ is one of…

Habitat quality sets the limits of neighbourhood effects in epiphyte communities

Theresa Möller, University of Hamburg in Germany, discusses her article: Effects of habitat quality and fine-scale spatial structure on epiphytic lichen and bryophyte communities Epiphytic lichens and bryophytes inhabit one of the most heterogeneous habitats in forest ecosystems: the bark of living trees. Different tree species provide distinct habitat conditions, leading to distinct epiphyte communities…

Linus Söderquist: Population viability of the orchid Gymnadenia conopsea increases with population size but is not related to genetic diversity

2025 HARPER PRIZE SHORTLIST: For the next two weeks, we are featuring the articles shortlisted for the 2025 Harper Prize. The Harper Prize is an annual award for the best early career research paper published in Journal of Ecology. Linus Söderquist’s ‘Population viability of the orchid Gymnadenia conopsea increases with population size but is not related to genetic diversity’ is one of…

Xuening Zhang: Pollinator facilitation between florally contrasting congeners scales up to regional co-occurrence patterns

2025 HARPER PRIZE SHORTLIST: For the next two weeks, we are featuring the articles shortlisted for the 2025 Harper Prize. The Harper Prize is an annual award for the best early career research paper published in Journal of Ecology. Xuening Zhang’s ‘Pollinator facilitation between florally contrasting congeners scales up to regional co-occurrence patterns‘ is one of those shortlisted for the award.…

Jie Li: Plant species loss reduces rare soil microbes through diversity effects amplified by multitrophic interactions

2025 HARPER PRIZE SHORTLIST: For the next two weeks, we are featuring the articles shortlisted for the 2025 Harper Prize. The Harper Prize is an annual award for the best early career research paper published in Journal of Ecology. Jie Li’s ‘Plant species loss reduces rare soil microbes through diversity effects amplified by multitrophic interactions‘ is one of those shortlisted…

Paul Kühn & Raymond Umazekabiri: Nitrogen content of herbarium specimens from arable fields and mesic meadows reflect the intensifying agricultural management during the 20th century

2025 HARPER PRIZE SHORTLIST: For the next two weeks, we are featuring the articles shortlisted for the 2025 Harper Prize. The Harper Prize is an annual award for the best early career research paper published in Journal of Ecology. Paul Kühn & Raymond Umazekabiri’s ‘Nitrogen content of herbarium specimens from arable fields and mesic meadows reflect the intensifying agricultural management during…

Jing Xiao: The proportion of low abundance species is a key predictor of plant β-diversity across the latitudinal gradient

2025 HARPER PRIZE SHORTLIST: For the next two weeks, we are featuring the articles shortlisted for the 2025 Harper Prize. The Harper Prize is an annual award for the best early career research paper published in Journal of Ecology. Jing Xiao’s ‘The proportion of low abundance species is a key predictor of plant β-diversity across the latitudinal gradient‘ is one of…

Amanda Vieria da Silva: Ants on flowers: Protective ants impose a low but variable cost to pollination, moderated by location of extrafloral nectaries and type of flower visitor

2025 HARPER PRIZE SHORTLIST: For the next two weeks, we are featuring the articles shortlisted for the 2025 Harper Prize. The Harper Prize is an annual award for the best early career research paper published in Journal of Ecology. Amanda Vieria da Silva’s ‘Ants on flowers: Protective ants impose a low but variable cost to pollination, moderated by location of extrafloral…

Emily Wedel: Divergent resource-use strategies of encroaching shrubs: Can traits predict encroachment success in tallgrass prairie?

2025 HARPER PRIZE SHORTLIST: For the next two weeks, we are featuring the articles shortlisted for the 2025 Harper Prize. The Harper Prize is an annual award for the best early career research paper published in Journal of Ecology. Emily Wedel’s ‘Divergent resource-use strategies of encroaching shrubs: Can traits predict encroachment success in tallgrass prairie?‘ is one of those shortlisted for the…

Mass outweighs diversity: Dominant species mitigate grassland multifunctionality during drought in Inner Mongolia

Jiaqi Chen and Wentao Luo, Institute of Applied Ecology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, discuss their article: Dominant species determine drought effects on grassland multifunctionality The increasing frequency of extreme drought events poses a severe threat to grassland ecosystem multifunctionality—a metric aggregating multiple ecosystem functions. However, the ecological mechanisms driving these impacts remain contentious.…