Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies

High-intensity sheep grazing impoverishes soil seed banks in sand grasslands

This study finds that high-intensity sheep grazing reduces soil seed bank density and diversity more than cattle grazing in sand grasslands, highlighting the need to avoid high-intensity sheep grazing in conservation management.

Phenotypic plasticity of invasive knotweed across Europe: a distributed common garden experiment

This study examines phenotypic plasticity and population differentiation in Japanese knotweed across Europe using a common garden experiment, finding high plasticity but little local adaptation.

Small scale habitat components as key drivers of biodiversity in urban park design

This study shows that fine-scale habitat features in urban parks, not just green cover, are critical for supporting ant biodiversity and highlights design strategies to enhance urban biodiversity.

Harmonising distributed tree inventory datasets across India can fill critical gaps in tropical ecology

The paper compiles and analyzes Indian tree inventory data to highlight sampling gaps and promote data standardization for tropical ecology studies.

Consequences of phenological shifts are determined by the number of generations per season

This study shows that phenological shifts affect species coexistence based on the number of generations per season, with more generations reducing priority effect impacts.

Enhancing structural heterogeneity in managed forest landscapes promotes gamma but not beta diversity in understorey plant communities

This study shows that increasing structural heterogeneity in managed forests boosts gamma diversity in understorey plants but not beta diversity, with light niche variation playing a key role.

Seasonal drought timing shapes flowering phenology directly and through biotic interactions

The paper shows that drought timing affects flowering phenology directly and through competition in plant communities.

SSARP: An R Package for Easily Creating Species- and Speciation- Area Relationships Using Web Databases

SSARP is an R package that simplifies creating species-area and speciation-area relationships by integrating data from web databases and providing regression tools.

From field naturalism to Bayesian models: fog-frost interaction shapes growth form partitioning along Himalayan gradient

The paper develops a Bayesian model to analyze growth form partitioning along a Himalayan gradient, finding that fog-frost interactions are more influential than altitude in shaping vegetation patterns.

Earlier flowering explains only a small part of experimental drought's effects on a wildflower's population growth

This study examines how experimental drought affects a wildflower's population growth by analyzing flowering phenology and demographic data over multiple years.

Climate-driven in-situ trait variation in an annual ruderal grass across Europe

This study examines climate-driven trait variation in Hordeum murinum across Europe, finding that colder and wetter areas support larger plants with heavier seeds, while local vegetation density influences growth and reproductive traits.

Trait-dependent species responses weaken the effects of response diversity on community stability

This study shows that species traits, not response diversity, consistently predict community stability under temperature disturbances in marine phytoplankton.

Which, when and where traits matter: functional trait-mediated species associations shift with microenvironmental and climatic variation

The paper shows that functional trait-mediated species associations change with environmental variation, affecting coexistence in plant communities.

Unintentional seed dispersal via container-grown garden plants: Seed density and composition vary among exporter countries

The paper examines seed dispersal via container-grown garden plants, finding varying seed density and composition among exporting countries and plant types.

Testing the waters of macrophyte biodiversity with multiscale spatial analysis of public lake monitoring data

The paper analyzes multiscale spatial patterns of macrophyte richness and water quality in Swedish lakes using WFD data, showing scale-specific relationships and the importance of accounting for spatial confounding.

A maximum entropy perspective reveals deviations from steady state during active diversification

The paper uses METE to analyze Hawaiian arthropod communities and finds deviations from steady state during active diversification, linked to beta-diversity peaks and invasion dynamics.

Drivers of individual plant species contributions to β-diversity are scale-dependent

The paper examines how species traits, phylogeny, and introduction status affect β-diversity contributions across different spatial scales using plant community data.

Both density- and frequency-dependent effects determine plant growth in a dune heath ecosystem

The study examines how density- and frequency-dependent interactions influence plant growth in a dune heath ecosystem under varying nitrogen levels.

Response diversity inconsistently predicts functional robustness to simulated zooplankton extinctions

The paper shows response diversity inconsistently predicts functional robustness to simulated zooplankton extinctions, depending on environmental variables and metrics used.

Nutrient fluctuation alters effects of litter diversity of invasive species on native communities

The paper examines how nutrient fluctuations affect the impact of invasive species litter diversity on native plant communities, finding reduced biomass under pulsed nutrients with higher litter diversity.

Habitat restoration promotes recolonisation by extirpated species in model meta food webs

This study uses model food webs to show that habitat restoration affects species recolonization based on dispersal ability, proximity to source patches, and landscape connectivity.

Experimental landscape connectivity decreases temporal variability in communities over 24 years of assembly

This study shows that landscape connectivity reduces temporal variability in plant communities over 24 years, with edge effects and dispersal mode influencing community composition.

Species responses to nutrient loading promote resistance but not temporal stability in floating macrophyte communities

The paper tests how response diversity affects ecological stability in macrophyte communities, finding that response imbalance predicts resistance to disturbance, but not temporal stability.

Disturbance regime changes leave long-lasting legacies on a microbial community's composition and function

The paper shows that historical disturbance regimes leave lasting effects on microbial community composition and function, influencing responses to new disturbances and invasions.

Predictive metabolomics to decipher plant eco-evolutive tendencies and physiological traits

This study uses predictive metabolomics to link plant biochemical diversity with ecological strategies and physiological traits across 74 species.

Plant growth forms shaping biodiversity patterns can guide conservation planning on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

The paper shows that plant growth forms influence biodiversity patterns on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and prioritizing trees and climbers can effectively capture most diversity with minimal area.

Convergent post-drought recovery of biomass and functional traits under constant and periodic warming in slow- and fast-growing plants

This study examines how grassland plants recover from drought under different warming conditions, finding that biomass recovers quickly but leaf traits show delayed recovery, with invasive species showing greater resilience.

General predictions for the effects of warming on competition

The paper integrates two ecological theories to predict how warming affects competition by reducing niche and fitness differences among species.

Using spatial prioritization to navigate current and future tradeoffs when controlling invaders

This study uses spatial prioritization to compare current and future threats of invasive barred owls on native species, finding that prioritizing future threats can better protect at-risk communities but may face implementation challenges.

A general framework explaining variation in plant economics traits with environment and through ontogeny

This paper presents a general framework explaining variation in plant economics traits across environments and ontogeny through three core assumptions about growth optimization and tradeoffs.