Tag: JVS

Rapid Change and Thermophilization of Summit Plant Communities in the Central Eastern Alps (Italy)

Posted on July 18, 2026July 21, 2026 by David Zeleny

Prepared by Friederike Westrich

Schema of vegetation change across the summits FAG (Faglmugl), SBG (Schafberg), DWO (Da Wöllane), and KAS (Kasererwartl) in the Texel Group, Italy, from 2003 to 2024, showing changes in total species richness on each summit and the relationship between species increase on the highest summit and mean growing-season soil temperature across aspects (Fieldwork scheme modified after Pauli et al.

[Update] Invitation to contribute to a Special Feature on “Scaling laws in (vegetation) ecology” in the Journal of Vegetation Science

Posted on July 18, 2026July 18, 2026 by David Zeleny

Posted by Jürgen Dengler (Chair of the Guest Editors)

Visualisation of different aspects of ecological scaling, based on three OA articles by the Guest Editors (https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.13697; https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.13050; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ppees.2025.125870) and a photo of nested-plot sampling by J. Dengler.

Local context matters: site-dependent functional and ecological responses to woody encroachment

Posted on June 8, 2026June 8, 2026 by David Zeleny

Prepared by Sara Sánchez-Carmona, Juan Antonio Campos, Itziar García-Mijangos & Asun Berastegi

Grassland–shrubland mosaic at one of the sampling sites, Valderejo Natural Park, in the northern Iberian Peninsula. Grassland coexists with shrub species such as *Juniperus communis* subsp. *nana*, which forms rounded and flattened patches.

Climatically Driven Stability in the Alpine/Moorland Boundary on Three Mountains in Southwest Lutruwita/Tasmania 1986–2020

Posted on April 15, 2026April 15, 2026 by David Zeleny

Prepared by Jamie Kirpatrick, Jayne Balmer, Mick Brown, Jenny Styger, and Jennie Whinam

View of the Tasmanian south coast from the field site on Mount Counsel. Photo credit: Jenny Styger

Climate warming is often expected to push alpine vegetation uphill as lowland species move higher and cold‑adapted plants lose ground.…

The Hidden Regulators of the Forest: How Soil Fungi Shape Tree Life and Death

Posted on March 31, 2026March 31, 2026 by David Zeleny

The post provided by Wanwan Yu and Yu Liu

The Tiantong 20-ha Forest Dynamics Plot, located in eastern China. Credit by Hengyi Zhu

This post refers to the article Tree Demography Exhibits a Strong Association with Soil Fungal Pathogens and Stability of Soil Fungal Community in a Subtropical Forest by Rouf et al, published in the Journal of Vegetation Science (https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.70131…

Neighbourly Dispute at the Edge of Life: Species Interactions Among Antarctic Mosses

Posted on March 6, 2026March 6, 2026 by David Zeleny

Prepared by Seringe N. Huisman, Rong Liu, J. Hans C. Cornelissen, Peter Convey, and Stef Bokhorst

Two moss species seemingly compete for space between rocks on an island off the Antarctic Peninsula, with a clear boundary of contact between them. Photo credit: Seringe Huisman.

Beyond the paper: lessons learned from managing invasions in extreme ecosystems

Posted on January 28, 2026January 30, 2026 by David Zeleny

The post provided by Eduardo Fuentes-Lillo, Rafael Garcia, Jonas Lembrechts, and Anibal Pauchard

Invasion of *Pinus contorta* across the Patagonian steppe, southern Chile, showing a clear invasion gradient radiating from a propagule source. Dense pine stands in the background progressively transition into scattered individuals and isolated recruits within the native treeless steppe vegetation.

Why study succession? It is permanently challenging, especially now under global change

Posted on January 15, 2026January 15, 2026 by David Zeleny

The post provided by Karel Prach, with a contribution by Tomáš Herben

Two-year-old abandoned field with dominant *Papaver rhoeas*, and other weedy archeophytes. Photo credit: K. Prach

This post refers to the article Species occurrence in successional series as field-based indicators of their disturbance niche by Tomáš Herben and Karel Prach, published in the Journal of Vegetation Science (https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.70104…