Fire and Flora: Community-Level Adaptations in Mediterranean Landscapes

Bérangère Leys, UMR AMAP (Montpellier, France), discusses her article: Functional responses of Mediterranean flora to fire: A community-scale perspective As climate change increases the frequency and intensity of fires, especially in Mediterranean regions, understanding plant adaptations to fire has become crucial. Fires are a natural component of Mediterranean ecosystems; however, hotter, drier conditions and human activities are making fires more intense, underscoring the…

Cover stories: Volume 109 Issue 8

The cover image for our August issue shows a female sharp-collared furrow bee visiting the flowers of a Mediterranean shrub. This image relates to the research article: Individual-based plant–pollinator networks are structured by phenotypic and microsite plant traits by Arroyo-Correa, Bartomeus, & Jordano. Lead author, Blanca Arroyo-Correa, and photographer, Curro Molina, discuss the biodiversity of Doñana National Park and…

Succession revealed: a saga of environmental stress, facilitation and competition

In this new author post Anthony Davy provides an insight into a 35-year longitudinal study of salt marsh development from intertidal flat to a mid-marsh platform at Odiel Marshes in south-western Iberia. The unexpected rapidity of this primary succession highlights the central role of facilitation. Salt marsh is celebrated as a classic example of primary…

How inter-individual variation in plant traits drives the context-dependency of plant-pollinator interactions

Blanca Arroyo-Correa discusses her recent article: Individual-based plant–pollinator networks are structured by phenotypic and microsite plant traits. Find out more about what this research reveals about the drivers underlying the context dependency of plant–pollinator interactions. The establishment of mutualistic interactions is influenced by the abiotic and biotic context in which they take place and therefore…

How is litter decomposition affected by climate change in Mediterranean forests? Soil fauna has the key

Lead author Pablo Homet discusses recently published article: Soil fauna modulates the effect of experimental drought on litter decomposition in forests invaded by an exotic pathogen. Find out more about how litter mesofauna plays an important role in litter decomposition in a Mediterranean forest. Decomposition processes of dead organic matter are fundamental for life cycling.…

Dramatic biodiversity changes threaten Mediterranean coastal dune habitats

Marta Gaia Sperandii discusses her recently published Journal of Ecology article: Getting the measure of the biodiversity crisis in Mediterranean coastal habitats Find out more about taxonomic and functional trends they observed in coastal dune systems in Central Italy and the importance of their findings for conserving dune ecosystems. Coastal dunes are certainly considered among…