Longer growing seasons don’t mean more growth: How seasonal climates shape tree wood growth in the southern Altai Mountains

Wenjin Wang, Zhejiang University in China, discusses their article: Seasonal climate variations drive decoupling between the duration and amount of xylem growth along a hydrothermal gradient in the southern Altai Mountains Climate change is transforming forests across the world. A key question many ecologists and forest managers are asking is: will warmer temperatures lead to…

Editor’s Choice: Volume 109 Issue 3

The Editor’s Choice for our March issue is “Simulated Indigenous fire stewardship increases the population growth rate of an understorey herb” by Hart‐Fredeluces, Ticktin & Lake. This article presents beargrass (Xerophyllum tenax) as a model system to explore the influence of Indigenous stewardship, or its absence, on population dynamics. Here the handling Editor, Crystal McMichael, discusses differing…

Indigenous stewardship and the protection of plant biodiversity under global change

Georgia Hart-Fredeluces discusses her recently published Journal of Ecology article: ‘Simulated Indigenous fire stewardship increases the population growth rate of an understory herb‘. Find out more about about the importance of understanding Indigenous management practices to protecting plant biodiversity. Plant biodiversity is foundational to ecosystem integrity and human well-being, yet it continues to decline with…

Cover stories: Volume 109 Issue 1

The cover image for our new issue shows Pamir Cinquefoil (Potentilla pamirica) in the Himalayan mountains. Lead author and photographer Jiri Dolezal and author Pierre Liancourt share the story behind this stunning image and their related research article “Climate warming drives Himalayan alpine plant growth and recruitment dynamics” by Dolezal, Jandova, Macek, Mudrak, Altman, Schweingruber & Liancourt.…

Editor’s Choice: Volume 108 Issue 6

The Editor’s Choice article for Volume 108, Issue 6 of Journal of Ecology is “Causes and consequences of liana infestation in southern Amazonia” by Reis et al. Here we highlight the key findings of this research, which evaluated the potential for lianas in southern Amazonia to reduce forest growth rates.  Lianas are a key component of…