Category: Plain language summary

Controlling the abundance of a native invasive plant does not affect species richness or functional diversity of wet grasslands

Posted on by

By Marie-Therese Krieger, Julia Ditton, Harald Albrecht, Barteline Martina Baaij, Johannes Kollmann & Leonardo Henrique Teixeira

The yellow flowering marsh ragwort (Jacobaea aquatica) contains toxic components making it a problematic plant in grasslands. Photo credit: Marie-Therese Krieger

Marsh ragwort (Jacobaea aquatica) is a poisonous plant naturally occurring in pre-alpine wet grasslands in Central Europe.…

Continue reading

Observer-driven pseudoturnover in vegetation monitoring is context-dependent but does not affect ecological inference

Posted on by

Prepared by Steffen Boch, Helen Küchler, Meinrad Küchler, Angéline Bedolla, Klaus T. Ecker, Ulrich H. Graf, Tobias Moser, Rolf Holderegger & Ariel Bergamini

Photo of a permanent 10 m2 vegetation plot marked with Swiss flags located in the Canton of Valais (Photo credit: S.
… Continue reading

Increasing abundance of an invasive C4 grass is associated with larger community changes away than at home

Posted on by

Prepared by Alida A. Hábenczyus, Csaba Tölgyesi, Róbert Pál, András Kelemen, Eszter Aradi, Zoltán Bátori, Judit Sonkoly, Edina Tóth, Nóra Balogh & Péter Török

Maps and photographs of the localities of the surveyed sites in the native (North American) and the non-native (Hungarian) ranges of Sand Dropseed.
… Continue reading

Are historical land use patterns and chemical soil characteristics complementary for assessing the restoration potential of Nardus grassland?

Posted on by

By Frederik Van Daele, Thierry Onkelinx, Kris Verheyen, Hans Van Calster, Maud Raman, Jasper Van Ruijven & Luc De Keersmaeker

The presence of a species-rich Nardus grassland adjacent to the ancient forest of Halle in Flanders (northern Belgium) is explained by the land-use and management history of the site.
… Continue reading

Degradation influences equilibrium and non-equilibrium dynamics in rangelands: implications in resilience and stability

Posted on by

By Dardo R. López, Laura Cavallero, Priscila Willems, Brandon T. Bestelmeyer & Miguel A. Brizuela

Photo of the Patagonian steppes where the study was carried out located in Pilcaniyeu (Rio negro province, Argentina). Photo credit: Dardo López.

Our work focused on the study of the ecological resilience of alternative states in steppes of Patagonia (Argentina).…

Continue reading

Short-term effects of experimental goose grazing and warming differ in three low-Arctic coastal wetland plant communities

Posted on by

Prepared by Ryan T. Choi, Matteo Petit Bon, A. Joshua Leffler, Katharine C. Kelsey, Jeffrey M. Welker & Karen H. Beard

Experimental goose grazing and summer warming elicit compositional changes in three distinct low-Arctic coastal wetland plant communities of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska.
… Continue reading

Functional traits and propagule pressure explain changes in the distribution and demography of non-native trees in Spain

Posted on by

By Carlos Lara-Romero, Paloma Ruiz-Benito & Pilar Castro-Díez

Old plantation of Australian blue gum (Eucalyptus globulus) in Cíes Island (National Park of the Atlantic Islands, Galicia, Spain). Photo credit: Pilar Castro-Díez.

Non-native tree species (NNT) have been planted worldwide to provide different types of benefits, from resources, such as wood, tannins, or fiber, to ornamental assets.…

Continue reading

Coping with changing plant-plant interactions in restoration ecology: Effect of species, site, and individual variation

Posted on by

Prepared by Pedro J. Garrote, Antonio R. Castilla & Jose M. Fedriani

The Mediterranean dwarf palm (Chamaerops humilis) spreads along the typical landscape of study sites in Doñana National Park (south-western Spain). (Photo credit: Pedro J. Garrote)

Most ecological interactions can usually be positive, negative, or neutral, depending on the balance between benefits and costs for their participants.…

Continue reading

Secondary succession on landslides in submontane forests of central Taiwan: Environmental drivers and restoration strategies

Posted on by

By Chien-Fan Chen, Ching-Feng Li, Chu-Mei Huang, Huan-Yu Lin & David Zelený

Sampling of spontaneously recovered vegetation after landslide disturbance in Central Taiwan, East Asia. A 20 m × 20 m plot was set up within the landslide area to investigate the species composition and environmental variables.
… Continue reading

Spatial patterns in neighbourhood effects on woody plant selection and bark stripping by deer in a lowland alluvial forest

Posted on by

Prepared by Jan Holík & David Janík

A pond inside the Ranšpurk forest reserve, Czech Republic. The reserve is a unique remnant of old-growth forests in this region with management practices excluded in 1949. Because of the site location within a deer enclosure, a fence was erected in 1992 to protect it against deer herbivory.
… Continue reading