Author: curtislubbe

Taichi Nakata, Kyushu University in Japan, discusses their article: Adaptive trait divergence of annual plants in response to urban habitat diversity in a megacity As we walk through cities, we often notice flowers blooming in the gaps in pavement, along roadsides, or in parks. Despite the drastic alterations of their natural habitats by human activity, […]

Victoria Giachetti and Martín Aguiar, University of Buenos Aires in Argentina, discuss their article: Stronger fertile island patterns enhance plant facilitation in drylands, regardless of overall ecosystem fertility Facilitation and fertile island formation: Two key structuring processes in dryland ecosystems At the core of dryland ecosystem functioning, there are two tightly linked processes: fertile island […]

Annie Schiffer, Utah State University, discusses her article: The importance of accounting for spatial heterogeneity in studies of plant competition and coexistence Our paper explores how ignoring spatial environmental heterogeneity produces biases in competition and coexistence models. The original motivation for this study was to explain why interspecific competition was underestimated in observational studies of […]

Baoshuang Hu and Wei Sun, Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology of the Ministry of Education, Jilin Songnen Grassland Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, Northeast Normal University, discuss their article: Beyond species richness: grazing and fertilization shape temperate grassland stability through distinct stabilizing effects Imagine a vast, windswept grassland. To the casual observer, it might […]

Xingli Xia and Jianyang Xia, East China Normal University, discuss their article: Flower-leaf sequence shapes plant phenological sensitivity to warming Every spring, we witness nature’s awakening as flowers bloom and leaves unfold. But have you ever noticed that some plants burst into bloom before their leaves appear, while others do the opposite? This seemingly simple […]

Ramalka H. Kasige, Ximena Cibils-Stewart, Adam Frew, and Scott N. Johnson from Western Sydney University in Australia, discuss their article: Interactions between beneficial fungi and plant silicon: A review Plants are continually exposed to stresses — from drought, salinity, and metal toxicity to herbivores and pathogens. To withstand these challenges, they employ multiple strategies, including […]

Lukas Meysick, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, discusses his article: Facilitation and constraint: Wave exposure and intraspecific interactions influence mangrove seedling morphology and resistance to dislodgement When mangrove forests come to mind, many people picture tropical coasts lined with diverse tree communities, sometimes consisting of more than 20 species in a single region. With this […]

Laura Matas-Granados, Autonomous University of Madrid, discusses her article: Species functional traits affect regional and local dominance across western Amazonian forests Lowland forests in western Amazonia are among the most diverse ecosystems on Earth, harbouring hundreds of tree species living side by side. Despite this exceptional diversity, only a few tree species dominate these forests, […]

Juntao Zhu, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, discusses his article: Loss of resource-conservative species affects plant phylogenetic and functional structure under long-term snow addition The alpine meadows on the Tibetan Plateau are unique ecosystems shaped by a harsh climate and traditional yak grazing. But as the […]

Olivia Vought, University of Michigan, discusses her article: Earlier snowmelt increases the strength of the carbon sink in montane meadows unequally across the growing season In cold, mountain regions, the climate is warming, causing snow to melt earlier. In fact, winters are changing faster than the warmer seasons in many seasonally cold places. However, how […]