The editor’s choice for our January issue is “The ecological implications of interplant drought cuing” by Omer Falik et al. Here, Associate Editor Peter Bellingham discusses the importance of this research:  The importance of interplant communication is a rapidly growing area of research and is becoming more widely appreciated.  Interplant communication through networks of hyphae of…

The editor’s choice for our December issue is “Elevated CO2 alleviates adverse effects of drought on plant water relations and photosynthesis: A global meta-analysis” by Zhaoguo Wang, et al. Here, Associate Editor Alessio Collalti and colleague Paulina F. Puchi discuss the importance of this research:  The rapid increase of atmospheric CO2 concentration has caused an increment in…

The editor’s choice for our November issue is “Ecological significance of intraplant variation: Epigenetic mosaicism in Lavandula latifolia plants predicts extant and transgenerational variability of fecundity-related traits” by Carlos M. Herrera et al. Here, Associate Editor Richard Shefferson explains the importance of this research:  Plants do some strange things. We are surrounded by plants in our day-to-day lives,…

The editor’s choice for our October issue is “The evolution, complexity and diversity of models of long-term forest dynamics” by Harald Bugmann and Rupert Seidl. Here, Associate Editor Pieter Zuidema explains the importance of this research:  Forests worldwide are confronted with a multitude of changes: climate change, increasing disturbances such as fires, and shifting societal demands. Forest…

The editor’s choice for our September issue is “Combining biogeographical approaches to advance invasion ecology and methodology” by Dean Pearson et al. Here, Associate Editor Ayub Odour explains the importance of this research:  Invasions by alien plant species reduce native biodiversity, alter ecosystem processes, and subvert essential ecosystem services. Therefore, understanding the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms that…

The editor’s choice for our August issue is “Citizen science across two centuries reveals phenological change among plant species and functional groups in the Northeastern US” by Kerissa Fuccillo Battle et al. Here, Associate Editor Charles Kwit explains the importance of this research:  While often equated with Henry David Thoreau, phenology and its documentation across space (e.g.…

The editor’s choice for our July issue is “Consistency of demographic trade-offs across 13 (sub)tropical forests” by Kambach et al. Here, Associate Editor Pieter Zuidema explains the importance of this research: There is no such thing as ‘the tropical forest’. Tropical forests differ in their structure, diversity and species composition. These differences are caused by variation in…

The editor’s choice for our June issue is “Phylogenetic dependence of plant–soil feedback promotes rare species in a subtropical forest” by Jiang et al. Here, Associate Editor Pierre Mariotte explains the importance of this research.  Plant-soil feedback (PSF) is the process by which plants influence biotic and abiotic soil properties, which in turn, differentially affect the success…

The editor’s choice for our May issue is “CO2-stimulation of savanna tree seedling growth depends on interactions with local drivers” by Raubenheimer & Ripley. Here, Associate Editor Jim Dalling explains the importance of this research.  Encroachment of grass savannas by woody savanna trees has been widespread over the last century across Africa, Australia, and South America. Some…

The editor’s choice for our April issue is “Pre-dispersal seed predation could help explain premature fruit drop in a tropical forest” by Jackson et al. Here, Associate Editor Ayub Oduor explains the importance of this research.  Premature fruit drop is an important phenomenon that determines fitness of individual plants and plant population and community dynamics. Several causes…