Succession: a key to understanding biodiversity loss and restoration

Lucy Ridding discusses the background, work and findings on her recent research for Do plant traits influence primary succession patterns for bryophytes and vascular plants? Evidence from a 33-year chronosequence on bare chalk with fellow ecologists Peter Hawes, Robin Walls, Sharon L. Pilkington, Richard F. Pywell and Oliver L. Pescott. Background We’ve been researching succession…

The (malic) acid test in the Biological Flora of Geranium pratense: a cautionary tale

While producing the recent Biological Flora account for Meadow Crane’s-bill, Geranium pratense L., its authors stumbled on an extraordinary error that had been perpetuated and elaborated in the literature for 140 years. It is a cautionary tale that should be of interest to prospective Biological Flora authors, or indeed for anyone engaged in reviewing the…

🏆Eminent Ecologist 2023: Katharine Suding

The Journal of Ecology Editors are delighted to announce that Katharine Suding is our Eminent Ecologist award recipient for 2023! In recognition of her work, we asked Katharine to put together a virtual issue of some of her key contributions to the journal. Katharine was interviewed by Executive Editor Richard Bardgett, about her career to date, her motivation for focusing on ‘usable science’, and…

Editor’s Choice (111:11): Tackling unintended consequences of invasive species removal – timing may be everything

The editor’s choice for our November issue is ‘Timing of invasive species removal influences nonnative biotic resistance and trajectories of community reassembly‘ by Agostina Torres et al. Here, Associate Editor Maud Bernard-Verdier discusses the importance of this research: Invasive species control often targets single species, but as species introductions continue to increase globally (Seebens et al., 2017), multiple…

Virtual Issue: Invasive Biological Flora

September 2023 marked the release of the thematic assessment of invasive alien species by the Intergovernmental Science Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). This landmark assessment, conducted by over 80 experts representing more than 40 countries, comprehensively and critically evaluates evidence for biological invasions and impacts of invasive alien species. Biological invasions refer to species…

The ecology & conservation of meadow crane’s-bill (Geranium pratense)

Richard Jefferson and colleagues highlight some fascinating aspects of the ecology and conservation of meadow crane’s-bill in their recently published Biological Flora of Britain and Ireland: Geranium pratense: Introduction The striking blue-violet flowers of meadow crane’s-bill decorate road verges, hedge borders, woodland rides and riverbanks in Britain & Ireland during June, July and August. As can…

Variability is the name of the game: diverse effects of fire in a N. American subalpine forest over 4000 yrs

In this blog post, Kyra Clark-Wolf discusses the research behind her recent co-authored article: Fire-regime variability and ecosystem resilience over four millennia in a Rocky Mountain subalpine watershed. 🔥 Fire: what does it do? Fire is a longstanding process that has been part of the Earth System for millions of years. Typically, vegetation regrows following…

Black History Month 2023 – Dr Nomthandazo Samantha Manqele 

For Black History Month 2023, the British Ecological Society (BES) journals are celebrating the work of Black ecologists from around the world and sharing their stories. In this blog, Dr Nomthandazo Samantha Manqele shares their story and journey in academia.  Name: Dr Nomthandazo Samantha Manqele  Affiliation: Social Ecologist at Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa …