Integrating conspecifics negative density dependence, successional and evolutionary dynamics: Towards a theory of forest diversity.

Tree successional diversity is evident even to casual observers and has a well-understood physiological basis. Various life history trade-offs, driven by interspecific variation in a single trait, help maintain this diversity. Conspecific negative density dependence (CNDD) is also well-documented and reduces tree vital rates independently of succession strategies.

Why ecologists struggle to predict coexistence from functional traits.

The rationale behind trait-based ecology is that shifting focus from species' taxonomic names to their measurable characteristics ('functional traits') leads to greater generality and predictive power. This idea has been applied to one of ecology's most intractable problems: the coexistence of competing species. But after 20 years, we lack clear evidence that functional traits effectively predict coexistence.

Linking physiology, epidemiology, and demography: Understanding how lianas outcompete trees in a changing world.

Extending and safeguarding tropical forest ecosystems is critical for combating climate change and biodiversity loss. One of its constituents, lianas, is spreading and increasing in abundance on a global scale. This is particularly concerning as lianas negatively impact forests' carbon fluxes, dynamics, and overall resilience, potentially exacerbating both crises.

Competition for time: Evidence for an overlooked, diversity-maintaining competitive mechanism.

Understanding how diversity is maintained in plant communities requires that we first understand the mechanisms of competition for limiting resources. In ecology, there is an underappreciated but fundamental distinction between systems in which the depletion of limiting resources reduces the growth rates of competitors and systems in which resource depletion reduces the time available for competitors to grow, a mechanism we call 'competition for time'. Importantly, modern community ecology and our framing of the coexistence problem are built on the implicit assumption that competition reduces the growth rate.

Abrupt loss and uncertain recovery from fires of Amazon forests under low climate mitigation scenarios.

Tropical forests contribute a major sink for anthropogenic carbon emissions essential to slowing down the buildup of atmospheric CO and buffering climate change impacts. However, the response of tropical forests to more frequent weather extremes and long-recovery disturbances like fires remains uncertain. Analyses of field data and ecological theory raise concerns about the possibility of the Amazon crossing a tipping point leading to catastrophic tropical forest loss.