Author: David Zeleny

Enjoying tranquility – Development of ground vegetation after cessation of management in forests on loamy soils in Flanders (Belgium)

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Prepared by Kris Vandekerkhove, Arno Thomaes, Luc De Keersmaeker, Peter Van de Kerckhove, Thierry Onkelinx, Hans Van Calster & Kris Verheyen

A view on one of the investigated set-asides: an old mixed oak forest in Meerdaalwoud (close to Leuven, Belgium). Notice the dense layer of spring flowers.
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New insights into small-scale species-area relationships and beta diversity due to the GrassPlot database

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The post provided by Jürgen Dengler, Iwona Dembicz, Jinghui Zhang & Idoia Biurrun

Sampling of a nested plot in a meso-xeric grassland in Northern Spain (Photo credit: Juan Antonio Campos).

This post refers to the articles “Fine-grain beta diversity of Palaearctic grassland vegetation” by Dembicz et al.…

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Plant quality and primary productivity modulate plant biomass responses to the joint effects of grazing and fertilization in a mesic grassland

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Prepared by Sofía Campana & Laura Yahdjian

(a) Experimental exclosures used in the study site (Flooding Pampa, Argentina) to evaluate the effect of domestic grazing. Plant biomass accumulates inside the exclosure (left) in comparison with the grazed grassland (right). (b) Mobile cage used to estimate cattle consumption and aboveground net primary productivity in the grazed grassland.
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Scale-dependent patterns and drivers of plant diversity in steppe grasslands of the Central Alborz Mts., Iran

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Prepared by Amir Talebi, Farideh Attar, Alireza Naqinezhad, Iwona Dembicz & Jürgen Dengler

A thorn-cushion community in the alpine zone of Mt. Damavand at 3400 m a.s.l., dominated by Onobrychis cornuta. Photo credit by Amir Talebi.

More than half of the Iranian plateau is covered by mountains, of which the highest point reaches more than 5000 m a.s.l.…

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ausplotsR: A new R package to download and analyse vegetation and soil data collected by Australia’s most comprehensive ecosystem monitoring program

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This post was provided by Samantha Munroe

TERN monitoring plot locations as generated within the ausplotsR package coded by percent fractional green cover. Image credit: Munroe et al. (2021).

This Behind the paper post refers to the article “ausplotsR: An R package for rapid extraction and analysis of vegetation and soil data collected by Australia’s Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network” by Samantha Munroe et al.…

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Predictive mapping of plant diversity in an arid mountain environment (Gebel Elba, Egypt)

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Prepared by Maged M. Abutaha, Ahmed A. El-Khouly, Norbert Jürgens & Jens Oldeland

Evergreen vegetation (Olea woodland) at higher elevations of Gebel Elba, south-eastern Egypt. Left: Mahmoud Ali, right: Maged Abutaha. Photo credit: Maged Abutaha.

Gebel Elba, the core of the largest national park in Egypt (Gebel Elba National Park), is situated in the southeast corner of Egypt, nearly 15 km west of the Red Sea coast.…

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Together we stand, divided we fall: Effects of livestock grazing on vegetation patches in a desert community

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Prepared by Yamila Ivón Pelliza, Anahi Rocío Fernandez, Hugo Saiz & Mariana Tadey

Grazed area under study in Patagonian Monte Desert, Neuquén province, Patagonia, Argentina. Photo credit: Ivón Pelliza.

Dryland vegetation structure and ecosystem functioning are mainly driven by the interactions among plant species.…

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