It’s not just about how much rain falls: What 24 years taught us about Mediterranean plant productivity

Marcelo Sternberg, Tel Aviv University, discusses his article: Rainfall memory and spring atmospheric demand predict herbaceous biomass production in Mediterranean ecosystems When the same amount of rain does not produce the same amount of plants In Mediterranean ecosystems, rainfall seems like the obvious place to look when trying to understand plant production. More rain should…

Rainfall variability promotes coexistence mainly through fluctuating competition

Wei Lin and Chengjin Chu, Sun Yat-sen University, discuss their article: Interannual rainfall variability promotes species coexistence primarily through relative nonlinearity in interaction strength Ecologists often study species coexistence as if environmental conditions remain constant over time. But in the real world, rainfall can vary dramatically from one year to the next. Does this variability…

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.…