Tag: plant communities

Journal news, Plant and soil ecology, Themed collections

Call for proposals! The influence of beneficial fungi on plant-enemy interactions & plant community structure

Originally posted on Journal of Ecology Blog:
Ecologists have mused over the mechanisms that structure plant communities for centuries. One such mechanism is negative density dependence, which has been proposed as a an important promoter of tree species diversity across plant communities. However, most negative density-dependence studies to date have focused on the roles played by insects and fungal pathogens. Less attention has been put… Continue reading Call for proposals! The influence of beneficial fungi on plant-enemy interactions & plant community structure

Journal of Applied Ecology1 Comment
Grasslands, Monitoring and methods, Practitioners, Research summaries, Restoration, Themed collections, Video

Twenty years of tallgrass prairie restoration in northern Illinois, USA

Elizabeth Bach and Bill Kleiman share their latest findings from monitoring long-term ecosystem restoration on The Nature Conservancy’s Nachusa Grassland preserve. The challenges facing our planet can feel overwhelming and paralyzing. Climate is changing, biodiversity is declining, people are struggling to be in community with one another. However, there are signs of hope. The United Nations declared 2021-2030 as the Decade on Restoration, upholding ecosystem … Continue reading Twenty years of tallgrass prairie restoration in northern Illinois, USA

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Grasslands, Research summaries

Weathering the storm: plant community flood resilience in intensively managed grasslands and the role of the plant economic spectrum

As flooding events increase in frequency and severity, how will managed grasslands weather the storm? Can we use the traits or ‘strategies’ of the plants that make up these grasslands to predict their resilience? Natalie Oram and colleagues address this issue in their new Journal of Applied Ecology article. Here they discuss their work further. Long story short: in flooded conditions, resource-conservative plant communities are … Continue reading Weathering the storm: plant community flood resilience in intensively managed grasslands and the role of the plant economic spectrum

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Research summaries

Hedging against biodiversity loss

Research recently published in Journal of Applied Ecology shows how hedgerows and road verges can host more plant species than corresponding woodland and grassland. Lead author, Thomas Vanneste and Associate Editor, Pieter De Frenne highlight what this means for managers and policymakers. Hedgerows and road verges are important habitats across the globe. Road verges cover an estimated 270,000 km² (0.2 %) of the earth’s land … Continue reading Hedging against biodiversity loss

Journal of Applied Ecology5 Comments
Research summaries, Restoration, Themed collections

Variation in soil microbial communities leads to variation in plant communities

In the latest in our series of blogs for the Toward prediction in the restoration of biodiveristy Special Feature, Jonathan Bauer discusses his article, Effects of between-site variation in soil microbial communities and plant-soil feedbacks on the productivity and composition of plant communities. All articles from the Special Feature are available in issue 54.4 of Journal of Applied Ecology. Microorganisms in the soil have strong effects on plant … Continue reading Variation in soil microbial communities leads to variation in plant communities

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Practitioners, Research summaries, Restoration, Themed collections

Every restoration is unique

In the second of our series of blogs to accompany the recently-published Special Feature, Toward prediction in the restoration of biodiversity, Katharine Stuble describes her work in Every restoration is unique: testing year effects and site effects as drivers of initial restoration trajectories. Restoration practitioners are acutely aware that the outcomes of their efforts are strongly contingent on a slew of factors.  Some are well … Continue reading Every restoration is unique

Journal of Applied Ecology6 Comments