Category: Plain language summary

Fine-grain beta diversity in Palaearctic open vegetation: variability within and between biomes and vegetation types

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By Iwona Dembicz, Jürgen Dengler, François Gillet, Thomas J. Matthews, Manuel J. Steinbauer, Sándor Bartha, Juan Antonio Campos, Pieter De Frenne, Jiri Dolezal, Itziar Garcia-Mijangos, Riccardo Guarino, Behlül Güler, Anna Kuzemko, Alireza Naqinezhad, Jalil Noroozi, Robert K. Peet, Massimo Terzi & Idoia Biurrun

Sampling of a standard “EDGG Biodiversity Plots” in a meso-xeric pasture in Armenia, which was used in this study to derive fine-grain beta-diversity data.
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Testing collection-time reduction in fine-root biomass estimation in Atlantic Forests

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Prepared by Cinthia Silva, Vinícius Londe, André D’Angioli, Bruno Bordron, Carlos Joly & Simone Vieira

Example of fieldwork using the temporal prediction method in the montane Atlantic Forest. Photo credit: Cinthia Silva.

Studying the ecosystem’s functioning below the ground surface is not an easy task.…

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Occurrence of Australian woody species is driven by soil moisture and available phosphorus across a climatic gradient

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Prepared by Jingyi Ding, Samantha K. Travers & David J. Eldridge

Recording woody species at a site along a 100m transect in a Callitris spp. open woodland in eastern Australia. Photo credit: Jingyi Ding

When you are walking in the bush or hiking in a forest in Australia, you can find a diverse range of woody plants, with some species more often growing in dense forests but other species only occurring on open woodlands.…

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Extreme drought has limited effects on soil seed bank composition in desert grasslands

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Prepared by Alejandro Loydi & Scott Collins

General view of the (a) Chihuahuan Desert grassland and (b) Great Plains grassland experimental sites. Photo credit: Alejandro Loydi.

Climate change will impact all ecosystems across the globe, with particularly strong effects on mean annual temperature and rainfall.…

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Multiple soil factors explain eutrophication signals in the understory vegetation of temperate forests

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Prepared by Marina Roth, Hans-Gerhard Michiels, Heike Puhlmann, Carina Sucker & Markus Hauck

Vegetation field survey in a typical low-productive oak forest on acidic soil without signs of eutrophication. The photograph shows one of the study sites located in the Black Forest, southwest Germany.
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Tree invasion in secondary grasslands diminishes herbaceous biomass and diversity: A study of mechanisms behind the process

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By Antonella Ferraina, Cecilia D. Molina, Noemí Mazía, Gervasio Piñeiro, Isabel Miranda & Enrique José Chaneton

Experimental design used to evaluate the effect of tree invasion and shading on grasslands. Photo credit: Antonella Ferraina

Woody-plant invasion in grasslands is a global problem widely reported during the last decade.…

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Fire-triggered flowering is the dominant post-fire strategy in a tropical savanna

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Heloiza L. Zirondi, Mark K. J. Ooi & Alessandra Fidelis

Lippia horridula, a forb species flowering within two weeks after the fire at the study site in Central Brazil. Photo credit: Heloiza L. Zirondi.

In many vegetation types across the globe where fire is present, plants have adaptations to the fire regime to survive and reproduce.…

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Frost-driven lower treelines in Angola and their implications for tropical forest–grassland mosaics

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Prepared by Manfred Finckh, Janika Wendefeuer & Paulina Meller

The transition of ecotone grasslands to grasslands at the confluence of the Río Cusseque and its western tributary, Río Sovi. Our network of temperature data loggers yielded the lowest temperatures in this area, where the nocturnal flows of cold air from both valley systems converged.
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A rapid method to quantify small-scale vegetation patch structure to complement conventional quadrat surveys

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Prepared by Liam Butler & Roy Sanderson

View across Redesdale in North East England, UK. Photo credit: Liam Butler.

The standard vegetation quadrat is probably the most common method to survey plant communities, and thousands of scientific papers have been published in which some field data was collected via quadrats.…

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