Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies

The algebra of community temperature indices

The paper introduces an Aitchison-based Community Temperature Index (CTI) that classifies species as warm- or cold-affinity without relying on relative abundances, and shows its relationship to existing CTIs.

Species richness and trait diversity show parallel island-biogeographic patterns across Australian islands

The paper examines how species richness and trait diversity correlate with island size and isolation in Australian islands, finding that trait diversity is primarily influenced by species accumulation rather than direct geographic factors.

Two centuries of change in the traits and origins of non-native vertebrates

This study shows that non-native vertebrates have changed in traits and origins over two centuries, with recent species coming from warmer, lower-latitude regions and having smaller ranges.

A global database of insect traits and anthropogenic associations.

The paper introduces AnthropInsect, a database of insect traits and human associations, containing 5867 species across six orders, to support ecological and conservation research.

Floristic Variation Along Landscape Transformation Gradients in Successional Dry Forests of Colombia's Inter-Andean Valleys

This study examines floristic variation in tropical dry forests along landscape transformation gradients, finding environmental factors more influential than succession in shaping plant communities.

Trickle-down ecology: Vertical stratification of temperate forests drives asymmetric cross-layer effects on consumer communities

This study shows vertical forest structure shapes consumer communities through asymmetric top-down effects and stratified trophic interactions in temperate forests.

Contrasting climate signals between native and introduced annual and perennial floras

The paper compares climate influences on native and introduced plant species in Australia, finding native annuals are more climate-dependent than introduced ones.

Disturbance and landscape characteristics interactively drive dispersal strategies in continuous and fragmented metacommunities

This study uses an individual-based simulation model to show how landscape fragmentation and disturbance levels influence community-level dispersal strategies in modified ecosystems.

Trade-offs between averages and intra-individual variation within vegetative, phenological, and floral traits

The paper examines intra-individual variation in plant traits and trade-offs between variation and average trait expression under drought and shading treatments.

Clonal expansion accounts for most post-disturbance proliferation of a dominant temperate liana, Wisteria floribunda, across a fragmented forest landscape

The paper quantifies clonal expansion as the primary mechanism for post-disturbance proliferation of Wisteria floribunda in a fragmented forest landscape.

Beyond community-weighted means: quantifying trait distributions for detecting community assembly patterns

The paper analyzes trait distributions in butterfly communities to detect assembly patterns, finding non-gaussian distributions and deterministic filtering processes in urban areas.

Emerging invasion risks of non-native urban trees in continental Europe under a changing climate

The paper assesses the invasion risk of 34 non-native urban tree species in continental Europe under current and future climate scenarios, identifying high and very high risk species.

Patterns and correlates of invasive alien plant richness in China's abandoned croplands

The paper analyzes patterns of invasive alien plant richness in China's abandoned croplands using literature-derived data and identifies socio-economic and environmental correlates.

What drives variation in conspecific negative density-dependence? A demographic perspective

The paper shows that baseline mortality and growth rates, not just sensitivity to crowding, drive variation in conspecific negative density dependence across species and environments.

Long-term vegetation change in protected calcareous fens is driven by land-use change and management abandonment

This study examines how land-use changes and management abandonment over the past century have affected plant community composition and ecological indicators in calcareous fens.

Clonal reproduction as a double-edged sword: antagonistic and synergistic effects on the warmed population maintenance of alpine species across successional stages of plateau zokor disturbance

The paper uses demographic models to show clonal reproduction affects population growth of Thermopsis lanceolata differently across mound stages under disturbance and warming.

Climate warming undermines the benefits of grazing removal for alpine plant population maintenance on the Tibetan Plateau

The paper finds that grazing removal benefits alpine plant populations under current conditions but these benefits are negated by climate warming.

Divergent demographic strategies drive population dynamics of temperate plants across varying deposition

The paper uses demographic models to show how two similar plant species respond differently to nitrogen deposition, with one compensating for reduced survival and the other tracking nitrogen levels.

Demographic compensation buffers population decline under variable grazing intensities in alpine grasslands

The paper shows that demographic compensation in alpine grassland species buffers population decline under heavy grazing, supporting the Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis at the population level.

Regional trait-threat interactions determine extinction risk in plants.

The paper assesses how plant functional traits interact with regional threats to predict extinction risk, finding smaller herbaceous species are more vulnerable and some threats reduce extinction risk.

Forest degradation reshapes trophic functioning in vertebrate food webs across Amazonian forests

The paper quantifies how forest degradation affects trophic functioning in Amazonian vertebrate food webs, showing shifts in carnivory and herbivory despite stable biodiversity metrics.

Temporal variability and its effects on diversity maintenance in an agroecological matrix

This study uses a metacommunity model to assess how temporal variability affects biodiversity maintenance in rainfed agroecosystems, finding that its effects depend on multiple factors.

Small representative samples can capture global vascular plant diversity patterns

The paper shows that small representative samples of plant species can accurately capture global vascular plant diversity patterns at the country scale.

Climate isolation and percolation as drivers of terrestrial vertebrate richness

This study introduces climate percolation as a new metric to analyze climate geography's impact on vertebrate richness, showing it outperforms climate isolation in predicting species diversity.

Spatial turnover amplifies with trophic level in hyperdiverse food webs

The paper examines spatial turnover in a hyperdiverse food web, finding that turnover increases with trophic level, particularly affecting parasitoids.

Data-driven forecasts of regional arrivals of non-native vertebrates worldwide

The paper forecasts regional arrivals of non-native vertebrates using species traits and spread history, finding high accuracy and identifying high-risk species.

Herbivores and pathogens can modulate plant population responses to future climate conditions

The paper examines how climate change and biotic interactions affect plant population dynamics through a field experiment and modeling, finding species-specific responses and amplification of climate effects by antagonists.

Fundamental-realized niche contrasts shape multi-scale species coexistence

This study quantifies fundamental and realized niches across 29 shrub species to reveal multi-scale mechanisms of coexistence and climate change impacts.

Large parks and city-wide tree cover boost butterfly diversity across 22 major U.S. cities

The paper uses community science data to show that larger parks and greater city-wide tree cover increase butterfly diversity across U.S. cities.

Multitrophic interaction networks mediate biodiversity effects on ecosystem multifunctionality

The paper examines how multitrophic species interaction networks influence ecosystem multifunctionality and finds that network structure, including niche overlap and linkage density, significantly affects ecosystem function.