JVS Editors’ Choice: Beyns et al. 2021

The Journal of Vegetation Science introduces Editors’ Choice to emphasize papers of outstanding quality or novelty, containing innovative approaches or significant conclusions. The papers selected by the Chief Editors of the journal will be listed here.

The first Editors’ Choice is the paper Beyns et al. (2021). Two main processes can govern the spatial distribution of tree species and forest dynamics: fine-scale habitat filtering and dispersal limitation. However, current knowledge of these processes is mainly based on studies of tropical forests. Beyns and colleagues performed a detailed analysis of a temperate forest in Belgium. They found that dispersal limitation is the primary process responsible for intraspecific aggregation, either alone or in combination with habitat filtering. In addition, they showed that spatial distributions of adult trees are more affected by habitat filtering than distributions of juveniles. This study highlights the importance of dispersal limitation in the dynamics of temperate forests.