The mechanisms driving the timing and duration of alpine meadow plant leaf senescence under climate warming and precipitation changes |

Miaojun Ma. Lanzhou University, discusses his article: Warming advanced leaf senescence in alpine plants through advancing leaf emergence and increasing soil drought Background Plant autumn leaf senescence, which marks the end of photosynthesis and the growing season, as well as the onset of dormancy, is particularly critical in the plant annual cycle. Early or late […]

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The EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change publishes its 2025/26 Activity Report

The EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change has published its 2025/26 Activity Report, highlighting continued progress in turning climate adaptation ambitions into concrete action across Europe. The report demonstrates strong and growing engagement throughout the Mission ecosystem, with more than 400 regional and local authorities now participating in Mission activities and initiatives. This momentum […]

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Commission holds a high-level stakeholder roundtable on the EU ETS review

On 12 May 2026, the European Commission’s hosted a high-level stakeholder roundtable on the review of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), bringing together close to 60 representatives from a wide range of industry, aviation and maritime sectors covered by the EU ETS, as well as civil society organisations and  other relevant stakeholders such […]

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Europe’s youth engage with Commissioners Hoekstra and Micallef on climate resilience

Climate change is no longer a distant threat for Europe’s youth. It is reshaping their coastlines, their farms, their cities, and their futures. That’s why, on 7 May 2026, 17 young people from across Europe gathered in Brussels for a Youth Policy Dialogue on climate resilience and preparedness, joining Wopke Hoekstra, Commissioner for Climate, Net […]

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Grazing intensity, duration, and regime and livestock type modulate soil microbiota responses – The Applied Ecologist

Grasslands account for approximately 40% of the Earth’s land area and are the largest natural ecosystem apart from forests. Livestock grazing is currently the most important human activity in grasslands, with a persistent and strong impact on both the aboveground plant community and underground organisms. Soil microbiota are the most numerous, most diverse, and functionally […]

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Island management should map species interactions – The Applied Ecologist

Seed dispersal is essential for plant regeneration, especially on islands where many plants rely on animals to move seeds to safe places to survive. But because this process is hard to observe directly, conservation decisions often fall back on easier measures such as species counts. This can be misleading, because ecosystems are not only defined […]

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Biodiversity in soil seedbanks remains high after low-intensity fire – The Applied Ecologist

Prescribed burning is the act of intentionally burning an ecosystem and is used in fire-prone regions around the world to manage fuel loads or conserve biodiversity. Some ecosystems experience fires that are too hot or occur too frequently, while other areas suffer from a lack of fire. Prescribed burning at the right intensity and frequency […]

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Prawns and crayfish as biocontrol agents against disease-transmitting freshwater snails – The Applied Ecologist

Moscovitz et al. share their experience comparing between predation preferences of a prawn and a crayfish over four species of snails which are aquacultural pests, explaining the observed preferences – or lack thereof – by quantifying snail traits. Freshwater snails are tiny – but in aquaculture systems, they loom large. In fishponds around the world, […]

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Insects and non-woody plants slow down tropical forest succession |

Kari Sogera Iamba, University of South Bohemia and the Institute of Entomology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, discusses his article: Insects and non-woody plants slow down tropical forest succession: A community-wide experiment in Papua New Guinea We investigated the factors driving rainforest regeneration in canopy gaps created by tree falls or selective logging. Ecological […]

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