Author: Journal of Applied Ecology

Wildfires are becoming larger, more frequent and more severe in many parts of the world. In Mediterranean-type regions, extreme wildfires that once seemed exceptional now return every year. According to Copernicus data, over 670,000 hectares burned Spain and Portugal in 2025, mostly during August. Nearly 400,000 hectares burned in Spain alone, the largest area since […]

This blog post is also available in Spanish here. Invasive species are one of the greatest threats to biodiversity, food security, and ecosystem health. When non-native plants spread into new environments, they can outcompete native species, disrupt habitats, and cause long-lasting damage to the natural habitats and the services that ecosystems provide to humans. Most […]

Afforestation is widely used to restore degraded land and improve soil health, but not all planting approaches deliver the same ecological benefits. Soils perform many important functions, including supplying nutrients to plants, supporting microbial activity, decomposing organic matter and maintaining nutrient cycling. However, how different afforestation strategies influence these functions together remains poorly understood. In […]

We sought to understand whether adding many nest boxes for barn owls, a common way to help control rodents on farms, might have hidden drawbacks. While more nest boxes can boost owl numbers, it is not always clear if this improves the survival of young birds. We studied barn owls in northern Israel using small […]

植樹造林常被視為恢復退化土地和改善土壤健康的策略，但並非所有造林模式都能產生相同的生態效益。土壤不僅為植物提供必需養分，還支持微生物活動、促進有機質分層並維持養分循環。 為了探討不同造林模式如何共同影響這些土壤功能，本研究比較了中國熱帶地區的裸地、純桉樹林、混合林和老齡天然林，評估了造林活動對土壤功能的影響。研究發現，造林顯著增強了土壤功能，且混合林的表現優於純林。進一步分析表明，土壤有機分子的多樣性是連接微生物碳特徵與土壤多功能的關鍵紐帶。 植樹造林——尤其是混合造林——增加了土壤有機碳分子的種類，從而促進了有機質分解、養分釋放及微生物功能的發揮。這些結果表明，熱帶地區的生態修復不應只關注植樹數量，更應重視樹種的選擇與群落組成。 在造林實踐中優先採用混合模式並專注於恢復土壤有機碳分子的多樣性，將有助於更有效地提升森林土壤健康與生態系統功能。 Summary of study © Liu et al. 2026 This is a Plain Language Summary discussing a recently published article in Journal of Applied Ecology. Find the full article here. Source link

Blog post written by Alejandro Pérez Matus to discuss their latest study which aimed to help us understand kelp recovery after harvesting. This blog post is also available in Spanish here. Humans have been connected to kelp forests for more than 16,000 years. It is hypothesized that these underwater forests helped early coastal communities migrate […]

Entrada de blog escrita por Alejandro Pérez Matus para discutir su último estudio, que tenía como objetivo ayudarnos a entender la recuperación del alga después de la cosecha. Esta publicación del blog también está disponible en inglés aquí. Los humanos hemos estado conectados con los bosques de algas pardas por más de 16.000 años. Se […]

Long-term monitoring shows that Amazonian floodplain forests (várzea) can support high jaguar densities, but apparent stability may mask underlying population decline, highlighting the need for sustained conservation efforts under increasing climate extremes. Jaguars are the largest felid in the Americas and play a key role in maintaining ecosystem function. Across much of their range, populations […]

O monitoramento de longo prazo mostra que as florestas alagáveis amazônicas (várzea) podem sustentar altas densidades de onças-pintadas, mas a aparente estabilidade pode mascarar um declínio populacional subjacente, destacando a necessidade de esforços contínuos de conservação diante do aumento de eventos climáticos extremos. As onças-pintadas são o maior felino das Américas e desempenham um papel […]

Biodiversity is declining fast, and with limited funding and resources in conservation, it matters that these resources go towards actions that genuinely make a difference. So how do we know which actions deliver results, and which don’t? The answer depends on the quality of evidence behind them – which is largely contingent on the study […]