Valentin Graf, Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre in Frankfurt, discusses his article: Relative importance of range position, seed size, and genetic diversity for tree recruitment at alpine range edges Climate change is rapidly altering ecosystems, pushing many species to adapt or move to cooler environments. In mountains, this often means shifting to higher elevations,…
Alberto Canarini (University of Bologna, Italy), Pierre Mariotte (Agroscope, Switzerland), Yolima Carrillo (Western Sydney University, Australia), Raúl Ochoa-Hueso (University of Cádiz, Spain), and Barbara Drigo (Adelaide University and CRC SAAFE, Australia) discuss their article: Enhanced belowground functioning is associated with higher plant resistance against drought: implications for ecosystem functions A long-standing puzzle in grassland ecology…
Jiarong Yang and Yu Liu, East China Normal University, discuss their article: Rare tree species host a high diversity of rhizosphere fungi Forest ecosystems are intricate webs of life where trees and their root-associated fungi form a delicate balance. One question that remains, is whether and how tree species abundance influences the fungal communities that…
Vincent Buness, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, discusses his article: Distinct diversity trajectories of boreal wood-inhabiting fungi following fire vs. clear-cutting As humans, we tend to trust our senses and assume that we can perceive most of what surrounds us. When we walk through the forest, we see trees with their stems and canopy, and…
Bushra Quyoom and Latif Ahmad Peer, University of Kashmir, discuss their article: The Epigenetic Engine: Transgenerational plasticity as a driver of plant climate resilience and adaptation The traditional story of evolution is a slow one. We are taught that it can take thousands of years for helpful genetic mutations to appear and spread through a…
Kacper Foremnik, Department of Forest Biodiversity of the University of Agriculture in Krakow in Poland, discusses his article: Century-long trends in plant diversity of temperate mountain vegetation are modulated along elevation gradient One hundred years ago, a group of outstanding researchers carried out pioneering phytosociological surveys in the Polish part of the Tatra Mountains. At…
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…
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…
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…
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.…
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