Journal Overview

A British Ecological Society journal, the Journal of Ecology publishes original research papers on all aspects of the ecology of plants (including algae), in both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.

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Quantifying nectar production by flowering plants in urban and rural landscapes

Quantifying nectar production by flowering plants in urban and rural landscapes

Flowering plants in towns and cities provide pollinators with a nectar supply that is more diverse in origin and comparably high in magnitude to that in rural landscapes. Residential gardens underpin urban nectar supply and thus members of the public can play an important role in pollinator conservation by planting nectar‐rich ornamental species.

Reciprocal facilitation between annual plants and burrowing crabs: Implications for the restoration of degraded saltmarshes

Reciprocal facilitation between annual plants and burrowing crabs: Implications for the restoration of degraded saltmarshes

Our results suggest a reciprocal facilitation between annual plants and burrowing crabs in a middle‐elevation saltmarsh ecosystem. This knowledge yielded new restoration options for degraded coastal saltmarshes through the one‐time ploughing initiation of microtopographic variation, which could promote the re‐establishment of ecosystem engineers and lead to the efficient recovery of pioneer coastal vegetation and associated fauna.

Local‐scale climatic refugia offer sanctuary for a habitat‐forming species during a marine heatwave

Local‐scale climatic refugia offer sanctuary for a habitat‐forming species during a marine heatwave

We examined the dynamics of canopy‐forming seaweed populations during a regional marine heatwave. Local‐scale variability in the magnitude of extreme climatic events can lead to local extinctions of already fragmented populations, although they can persist in local‐scale climatic refugia.

Root economics spectrum and construction costs in Mediterranean woody plants: The role of symbiotic associations and the environment

Root economics spectrum and construction costs in Mediterranean woody plants: The role of symbiotic associations and the environment

We examined if the covariation among fine root traits along the resource acquisition–conservation trade‐off (root economics spectrum ‐RES‐) is related to the intrinsic cost of producing roots (CC). Our study demonstrates that woody plants display different functional strategies in their root CC, related with their position on the RES and the symbiotic group, being also modulated by soil resource availability (nutrients and water).

Warming effects on wood decomposition depend on fungal assembly history

Warming effects on wood decomposition depend on fungal assembly history

We show that temperature and assembly history jointly influence wood decomposition and fungal community composition under controlled laboratory conditions. Depending on which fungal species colonized first, warming of 5°C increased wood mass loss by 7%–57% after nine months. The large variation in decomposition response to warming resulted from differential responses in the growth of initial fungal colonizers and their competitive ability, resulting in different decomposer communities.

Browse Articles

Disentangling the social complexities of assisted migration through deliberative methods

  •  21 April 2021

Phenotypes of Pinus sylvestris are more coordinated under local harsher conditions across Europe

  •  21 April 2021

High tree diversity enhances light interception in tropical forests

  •  21 April 2021

Competitive drivers of inter‐specific deviations of crown morphology from theoretical predictions measured with Terrestrial Laser Scanning

  •  16 April 2021

Taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional diversity of understorey plants respond differently to environmental conditions in European forest edges

  •  16 April 2021
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Assemblages of anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria in tank bromeliads exhibit a host‐specific signature

  •  21 April 2021

Abstract

Anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria (APB) are a very significant metabolic functional group in the phytotelmata of tank‐forming bromeliads. Determining if a potential interplay exist between these partners is an intriguing aspect of possible mutualistic and coevolving interactions between the two existing forms of chlorophototrophy. We found that bromeliad species identity was the main factor that explained variance in APB community composition suggesting that APB and tank bromeliads may have a close relationship. We hypothesized according to our genomic analyses, that APB may promote the bromeliad growth by provisioning essential nutrients like nitrogen.

A synthesis of local adaptation to climate through reciprocal common gardens

  •  21 April 2021

Abstract

Reciprocal common gardens were a highly effective experimental design to test for ecotypic differentiation and for climate adaptation. Nonetheless, we propose that future studies clearly define whether ecotypes are being explicitly tested in common garden experiments to enable evidence syntheses and discovery, and we highlight the need for reciprocal climatic gardens to clearly test for continued capacity for local adaptation in response to divergent climate selection processes in many plant species.

Population‐specific resilience of Halophila ovalis seagrass habitat to unseasonal rainfall, an extreme climate event in estuaries

  •  19 April 2021

Abstract

Following an extreme rainfall event, we found seagrass populations that are exposed to variable salinities recovered while those from a stable salinity environment were unable to recover within the study time frame. These findings expand upon existing evidence, derived primarily from other ecosystems, that show new sources of resilience may be uncovered by accounting for between‐population variation.

The U‐shaped pattern of size‐dependent mortality and its correlated factors in a subtropical monsoon evergreen forest

  •  17 April 2021

Abstract

Our results reveal four identifiable size‐dependent mortality patterns that differ across diverse species, jointly leading to a U‐shaped size–mortality pattern at the community level. This finding calls for the need to establish the details of every potential size–mortality pattern with consideration of the different effects of biotic and abiotic factors on tree mortality of specific size.
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Rapid thermophilization of understorey plant communities in a 9 year‐long temperate forest experiment

  •  17 April 2021

Abstract

We studied the influence of nearly a decade of experimental warming, light addition and nitrogen input on understorey plant communities. Plant communities shifted towards a higher dominance of warm‐adapted species, a process called thermophilization. We detected a marked community shift in all treatments including the control plots, reflecting ongoing ambient environmental changes (especially warming of air temperature, changing precipitation patterns and increasing droughts) . This reordering over time was greater than the shift induced by the treatments. Thermophilization was, however, greatest when temperature and/or light availability were enhanced. Communities were also taller in response to warming and increased light availability.

Are complementarity effects of species richness on productivity the strongest in species‐rich communities?

  •  17 April 2021

Abstract

We examined the context‐dependency of complementarity processes underpinning the relationship between diversity and productivity along environmental gradients using the framework of Grime's (1973) humped‐back model and considering several scenarios of variation in competition and facilitation along gradients. The scenarios of unimodal variation in facilitation provided the best prediction of changes in productivity fitting with changes in diversity along natural gradients.

From the leaf to the community: Distinct dimensions of phytochemical diversity shape insect–plant interactions within and among individual plants

  •  17 April 2021

Abstract

Phytochemical diversity (PD) has multiple dimensions. In Piper amalago, greater diversity of chemical structures decreased herbivory, while compound identity affected herbivore biodiversity. Both dimensions affected how individual plants connect the interaction network. We expand the concept of the phytochemical landscape and show that PD may be maintained by how its multiple dimensions have distinct roles across scales of biological organization.
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Experimental evidence of strong relationships between soil microbial communities and plant germination

  •  17 April 2021

Abstract

Intimate relationships exist between plants and microbes during the germination process. Different plant species had their own associated germination microbiome, and most plant–microbe interactions were positive during germination. These microbial interactions illustrate the shared natural history of plants and microbes in terrestrial ecosystems.

Identity of ecological systems and the meaning of resilience

  •  15 April 2021

Abstract

We assert that the various facets of the identity concept shed light on the polysemy of the resilience concept. Drawing on four historical uses of the concept, we propose four definitions of resilience, each one referring to the maintenance of a different type of identity and thus to a different level of persistence of ecological systems.

Higher sample sizes and observer inter‐calibration are needed for reliable scoring of leaf phenology in trees

  •  13 April 2021

Abstract

This paper quantifies for the first time the accuracy and precision of ground phenological observations in forest trees and as such offers tables to estimate the uncertainty of phenological data. We show that reliable estimates of budburst and leaf senescence require three times (n = 30) to two times (n = 20) larger sample sizes as compared to sample sizes usually considered in phenological studies. We further call for an increased effort of observer inter‐calibration, required to increase the accuracy of phenological observations. These recommendations reduce the uncertainty of phenological data, thereby improving the estimation of phenological trends over time, the response of phenology to temperature or the inference of phenological model parameters.
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The world‐wide ‘fast–slow’ plant economics spectrum: a traits manifesto

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Benefits of plant diversity to ecosystems: immediate, filter and founder effects

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Fluctuating resources in plant communities: a general theory of invasibility

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Plant–soil feedbacks: the past, the present and future challenges

Abstract

Gaining a greater understanding of plant–soil feedbacks and underlying mechanisms is improving our ability to predict consequences of these interactions for plant community composition and productivity under a variety of conditions. Future research will enable better prediction and mitigation of the consequences of human‐induced global changes, improve efforts of restoration and conservation, and promote sustainable provision of ecosystem services in a rapidly changing world.
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Identification of 100 fundamental ecological questions

Abstract

Blog Post

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Ecological succession in a changing world

Abstract

The articles in the special issue highlight novel perspectives on succession theory, revealing the importance of historical contingency, disturbance severity, dispersal limitation, functional traits, and belowground community processes in determining patterns of ecosystem development. Together, they reinforce the importance of ecological succession in understanding the response of plant and microbial communities to disturbance in a changing world.
Open access

Direct and indirect effects of invasive species: Biodiversity loss is a major mechanism by which an invasive tree affects ecosystem functioning

Abstract

Our study indicates that successful management of exotic invasions is likely to require not only control of the invader but also restoration of diverse and productive herbaceous communities as they are important for many ecosystem functions. This highlights the importance of biodiversity as a driver of ecosystem functioning also in real‐world systems.
Open access

Ecological effects of artificial light at night on wild plants

Abstract

Understanding the impacts of artificial night‐time light on wild plants and natural vegetation requires linking the knowledge gained from over a century of experimental research on the impacts of light on plants in the laboratory and glasshouse with knowledge of the intensity, spatial distribution, spectral composition and timing of light in the night‐time environment. To understand fully the extent of these impacts requires conceptual models that can (i) characterize the highly heterogeneous nature of the night‐time light environment at a scale relevant to plant physiology; and (ii) scale physiological responses to predict impacts at the level of the whole plant, population, community and ecosystem.
Open access

Fire as a fundamental ecological process: Research advances and frontiers

Abstract

We describe the diversity of ways in which fire operates as a fundamental ecological and evolutionary process on Earth. We explore research priorities in six categories of fire ecology. We identify three needs: to study fire across temporal scales, to assess the mechanisms underlying a variety of ecological feedbacks involving fire and to improve representation of fire in modeling contexts.