Author: curtislubbe

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 […]

Adam Weiler, Indiana University, discusses his article: Seeing the forest for all the trees: Mycorrhizal-associated nutrient economies are modulated by stem density and the synchrony between overstorey and understorey tree communities When we think about how forests influence the soil beneath them, it’s easy to picture the towering overstorey trees that define a woodland. These […]

Barbara Meyers, University of Freiburg in Germany, discusses her article: Soil nutrient availability rather than spatial nutrient heterogeneity shapes the intraspecific response of root architectural, morphological and mycorrhizal traits in Vaccinium myrtillus Roots make up for a large proportion of plant biomass and play a central role in several plant functions: accessing water and nutrients […]

Jenna Braun, York University, Toronto, discusses her article: Experimental resource supplementation shifts ant-mediated defense on silver cholla Extra-floral nectaries (EFN) play an important role within mutualisms between plants and ants. In this relationship, ants receive a nutrient-rich food source from plants in exchange for defending the plant from herbivores. Ant species are not equally effective […]

Yong-Deng He and Zhong-Ming Ye, Wuhan Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, discuss their article: Disentangling the mechanisms behind indirect interactions between plants via shared pollinators: Effects of neutral and niche-based processes In biodiversity hotspots like the alpine meadows of north-western Yunnan, more than 100 flowering species can bloom in a single season. […]