Functional trait trade-offs define plant population stability across different biomes.

Ecological theory posits that temporal stability patterns in plant populations are associated with differences in species' ecological strategies. However, empirical evidence is lacking about which traits, or trade-offs, underlie species stability, especially across different biomes. We compiled a worldwide collection of long-term permanent vegetation records (greater than 7000 plots from 78 datasets) from a large range of habitats which we combined with existing trait databases.

Ranging behaviours across ecological and anthropogenic disturbance gradients: a pan-African perspective of giraffe ( spp) space use.

Animal movement behaviours are shaped by diverse factors, including resource availability and human impacts on the landscape. We generated home range estimates and daily movement rate estimates for 149 giraffe ( spp) from all four species across Africa to evaluate the effects of environmental productivity and anthropogenic disturbance on space use. Using the continuous time movement modelling framework and a novel application of mixed effects meta-regression, we summarized overall giraffe space use and tested for the effects of resource availability and human impact on 95% autocorrelated kernel density estimate (AKDE) size and daily movement.

Soil microbial diversity-biomass relationships are driven by soil carbon content across global biomes.

The relationship between biodiversity and biomass has been a long standing debate in ecology. Soil biodiversity and biomass are essential drivers of ecosystem functions. However, unlike plant communities, little is known about how the diversity and biomass of soil microbial communities are interlinked across globally distributed biomes, and how variations in this relationship influence ecosystem function.

The influence of soil age on ecosystem structure and function across biomes.

The importance of soil age as an ecosystem driver across biomes remains largely unresolved. By combining a cross-biome global field survey, including data for 32 soil, plant, and microbial properties in 16 soil chronosequences, with a global meta-analysis, we show that soil age is a significant ecosystem driver, but only accounts for a relatively small proportion of the cross-biome variation in multiple ecosystem properties. Parent material, climate, vegetation and topography predict, collectively, 24 times more variation in ecosystem properties than soil age alone.

Changes in belowground biodiversity during ecosystem development.

Belowground organisms play critical roles in maintaining multiple ecosystem processes, including plant productivity, decomposition, and nutrient cycling. Despite their importance, however, we have a limited understanding of how and why belowground biodiversity (bacteria, fungi, protists, and invertebrates) may change as soils develop over centuries to millennia (pedogenesis). Moreover, it is unclear whether belowground biodiversity changes during pedogenesis are similar to the patterns observed for aboveground plant diversity.

Ant colonies promote the diversity of soil microbial communities.

Little is known about the role of ant colonies in regulating the distribution and diversity of soil microbial communities across large spatial scales. Here, we conducted a survey across >1000 km in eastern Australia and found that, compared with surrounding bare soils, ant colonies promoted the richness (number of phylotypes) and relative abundance of rare taxa of fungi and bacteria. Ant nests were also an important reservoir for plant pathogens.

Change in dominance determines herbivore effects on plant biodiversity.

Herbivores alter plant biodiversity (species richness) in many of the world's ecosystems, but the magnitude and the direction of herbivore effects on biodiversity vary widely within and among ecosystems. One current theory predicts that herbivores enhance plant biodiversity at high productivity but have the opposite effect at low productivity. Yet, empirical support for the importance of site productivity as a mediator of these herbivore impacts is equivocal.

No evidence that migratory geese disperse avian influenza viruses from breeding to wintering ground.

Low pathogenic avian influenza virus can mutate to a highly pathogenic strain that causes severe clinical signs in birds and humans. Migratory waterfowl, especially ducks, are considered the main hosts of low pathogenic avian influenza virus, but the role of geese in dispersing the virus over long-distances is still unclear. We collected throat and cloaca samples from three goose species, Bean goose (Anser fabalis), Barnacle goose (Branta leucopsis) and Greater white-fronted goose (Anser albifrons), from their breeding grounds, spring stopover sites, and wintering grounds.

Species distribution models predict temporal but not spatial variation in forest growth.

Bioclimate envelope models have been widely used to illustrate the discrepancy between current species distributions and their potential habitat under climate change. However, the realism and correct interpretation of such projections has been the subject of considerable discussion. Here, we investigate whether climate suitability predictions correlate to tree growth, measured in permanent inventory plots and inferred from tree-ring records.

Estimating and Analyzing Savannah Phenology with a Lagged Time Series Model.

Savannah regions are predicted to undergo changes in precipitation patterns according to current climate change projections. This change will affect leaf phenology, which controls net primary productivity. It is of importance to study this since savannahs play an important role in the global carbon cycle due to their areal coverage and can have an effect on the food security in regions that depend on subsistence farming.

Local dominance of exotic plants declines with residence time: a role for plant-soil feedback?

Recent studies have shown that introduced exotic plant species may be released from their native soil-borne pathogens, but that they become exposed to increased soil pathogen activity in the new range when time since introduction increases. Other studies have shown that introduced exotic plant species become less dominant when time since introduction increases, and that plant abundance may be controlled by soil-borne pathogens; however, no study yet has tested whether these soil effects might explain the decline in dominance of exotic plant species following their initial invasiveness. Here we determine plant-soil feedback of 20 plant species that have been introduced into The Netherlands.

Trait-specific responses of Scots pine to irrigation on a short vs long time scale.

In xeric environments, an increase in drought is related to reduced forest productivity and to enhanced mortality. However, predictions of future forest development remain difficult as the mechanisms underlying the responses of mature trees to long-term variations in water availability are not well understood. Here, we aimed to compare the adjustments in radial growth and morphological needle and shoot traits of mature Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.

Foliar trait contrasts between African forest and savanna trees: genetic versus environmental effects.

Variations in leaf mass per unit area (Ma) and foliar concentrations of N, P, C, K, Mg and Ca were determined for 365 trees growing in 23 plots along a West African precipitation gradient ranging from 0.29 to 1.62m a-1.

More cells, bigger cells or simply reorganization? Alternative mechanisms leading to changed internode architecture under contrasting stress regimes.

Shading and mechanical stress (MS) modulate plant architecture by inducing different developmental pathways. Shading results in increased stem elongation, often reducing whole-plant mechanical stability, while MS inhibits elongation, with a concomitant increase in stability. Here, we examined how these organ-level responses are related to patterns and processes at the cellular level by exposing Impatiens capensis to shading and MS.

Frankincense tapping reduces the carbohydrate storage of Boswellia trees.

Carbohydrates fixed by photosynthesis are stored in plant organs in the form of starch or sugars. Starch and sugars sum to the total non-structural carbohydrate pool (TNC) and may serve as intermediate pools between assimilation and utilization. We examined the impact of tapping on TNC concentrations in stem-wood, bark and root tissues of the frankincense tree (Boswellia papyrifera (Del.

Leaf gas exchange in the frankincense tree (Boswellia papyrifera) of African dry woodlands.

A conceptual model was tested for explaining environmental and physiological effects on leaf gas exchange in the deciduous dry tropical woodland tree Boswellia papyrifera (Del.) Hochst. For this species we aimed at (i) understanding diurnal patterns in leaf gas exchange, (ii) exploring cause-effect relationships among external environment, internal physiology and leaf gas exchange, and (iii) exploring site differences in leaf gas exchange in response to environmental variables.

Does conservation on farmland contribute to halting the biodiversity decline?

Biodiversity continues to decline, despite the implementation of international conservation conventions and measures. To counteract biodiversity loss, it is pivotal to know how conservation actions affect biodiversity trends. Focussing on European farmland species, we review what is known about the impact of conservation initiatives on biodiversity.

Hydraulics and life history of tropical dry forest tree species: coordination of species' drought and shade tolerance.

Plant hydraulic architecture has been studied extensively, yet we know little about how hydraulic properties relate to species' life history strategies, such as drought and shade tolerance. The prevailing theories seem contradictory. We measured the sapwood (K(s) ) and leaf (K(l) ) hydraulic conductivities of 40 coexisting tree species in a Bolivian dry forest, and examined associations with functional stem and leaf traits and indices of species' drought (dry-season leaf water potential) and shade (juvenile crown exposure) tolerance.

Water-use strategies of six co-existing Mediterranean woody species during a summer drought.

Drought stress is known to limit plant performance in Mediterranean-type ecosystems. We have investigated the dynamics of the hydraulics, gas exchange and morphology of six co-existing Mediterranean woody species growing under natural field conditions during a drought that continued during the entire summer. Based on the observed minimum leaf water potentials, our results suggest that the six co-existing species cover a range of plant hydraulic strategies, from isohydric to anisohydric.

Ecological vulnerability in wildlife: application of a species-ranking method to food chains and habitats.

Nature development in The Netherlands is often planned on contaminated soils or sediments. This contamination may present a risk for wildlife species desired at those nature development sites and must be assessed by specific risk assessment methods. In a previous study, we developed a method to predict ecological vulnerability in wildlife species by using autecological data and expert judgment; in the current study, this method is further extended to assess ecological vulnerability of food chains and terrestrial and aquatic habitats typical for The Netherlands.

Resprouting as a persistence strategy of tropical forest trees: relations with carbohydrate storage and shade tolerance.

Resprouting is an important persistence strategy for woody species and represents a dominant pathway of regeneration in many plant communities, with potentially large consequences for vegetation dynamics, community composition, and species coexistence. Most of our knowledge of resprouting strategies comes from fire-prone systems, but this cannot be readily applied to other systems where disturbances are less intense. In this study we evaluated sapling responses to stem snapping for 49 moist-forest species and 36 dry-forest species from two Bolivian tropical forests.

Ecological differentiation in xylem cavitation resistance is associated with stem and leaf structural traits.

Cavitation resistance is a critical determinant of drought tolerance in tropical tree species, but little is known of its association with life history strategies, particularly for seasonal dry forests, a system critically driven by variation in water availability. We analysed vulnerability curves for saplings of 13 tropical dry forest tree species differing in life history and leaf phenology. We examined how vulnerability to cavitation (P₅₀) related to dry season leaf water potentials and stem and leaf traits.

Comparison of bioassessment results and costs between preserved and unpreserved macroinvertebrate samples from streams.

The choice to use or not use a preservative before sorting macroinvertebrate samples (i.e., dead specimens vs.

Functional traits and environmental filtering drive community assembly in a species-rich tropical system.

Mechanistic models of community assembly state that biotic and abiotic filters constrain species establishment through selection on their functional traits. Predicting this assembly process is hampered because few studies directly incorporate environmental measurements and scale up from species to community level and because the functional traits' significance is environment dependent. We analyzed community assembly by measuring structure, environmental conditions, and species traits of secondary forests in a species-rich tropical system.

Dynamics and ecological consequences of avian influenza virus infection in greater white-fronted geese in their winter staging areas.

Recent outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in poultry have raised interest in the interplay between avian influenza (AI) viruses and their wild hosts. Studies linking virus ecology to host ecology are still scarce, particularly for non-duck species. Here, we link capture-resighting data of greater white-fronted geese Anser albifrons albifrons with the AI virus infection data collected during capture in The Netherlands in four consecutive winters.