Jie Li, Beijing Forestry University in China, discusses their article: Cross-scale effects of multi-strata plant diversity on ecosystem multifunctionality in temperate forests What makes a forest thrive? While we often admire towering trees in a forest, what happens under their shade—the herbs, ferns, and small plants carpeting the forest floor—can be just as important. In…
Chun-Feng Yang, Wuhan Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, discusses their article: Nectar sugar concentration contributes to structuring bumble bee and plant interactions Why do flowers vary their nectar sugar concentrations? Producing nectar entails significant energetic costs for plants, with investment strongly correlated to sugar concentration. It is therefore believed that interspecific variation…
Anna Derkacheva, Gerald “JJ” Frost, Howie Epstein, and Ksenia Ermokhina, of HSE University in Russia, Alaska Biological Research, Inc., the University of Virginia, and the Russian Academy of Sciences (respectively), discuss their article: Landscape patterns of shrubification in the Siberian low arctic: A machine learning perspective The Arctic tundra is experiencing some of the strongest…
Marc Riera, Center for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (CREAF), discusses his article: Climatic niche conservatism in non-native plants is largely dependent on their climatic niche breadth in the native range Setting the scene: niche conservatism in the context of biological invasions The Biosphere is on the move. Thousands of species are jumping from one…
Bismark Ofosu-Bamfo, University of Energy and Natural Resources in Sunyani, Ghana, discusses his article: Patterns and drivers of liana community structure across five forest ecosystem types in Ghana In recent years, ecologists in the tropics have dedicated a good amount of research to understand the pattern and drivers of community assemblages of woody climbing plants,…
María Natalia Umaña and Inés Ibañez, University of Michigan, discuss their article: How do drought and elevated temperatures influence CO2 fertilization effects on tree seedling performance? A global meta-analysis Climate change is not happening one thing at a time. In forests across the globe, seedlings are already experiencing a mix of higher atmospheric CO₂, rising…
Xiaobo Yuan and Yaodan Zhang, from Lanzhou University in China, discuss their article: Soil microbial networks mediate long-term effects of nitrogen fertilization on ecosystem multiservices Nitrogen (N) fertilization caused by anthropogenic activities such as fertilizer application and fossil fuel combustion have significantly impacted the capacity of ecosystems to support key services such as nutrient cycling…
Damla Cinoğlu and Caroline Farrior, University of Texas at Austin, discuss their article: Small disturbances and subsequent competition for light can maintain a diversity of demographic strategies in a neotropical forest: Results from model-data integration Tropical forests are one of the most diverse ecosystems on Earth. They are fundamental for managing the global carbon budget and…
Mark Vellend, from Université de Sherbrooke, and Hasanki Gamhewa, from the Ministry of Natural Resources of Ontario, Canada, discuss their article: The duration of high spring light for understory plants: Contrasting responses to spatial and temporal temperature variation Early spring is the best time for field work in the deciduous forests of southern Québec. The…
Luiz Rezende and Martín Pareja, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP) in Brazil, discuss their article: Foliar herbivory pushes plant individuals towards the periphery of a plant-floral visitor interaction network Ecological interactions have fascinated naturalists for centuries. Watching bees and butterflies visit flowers continues to mesmerise and nurture a love of nature in children and adults…
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