Recent research has highlighted that the relationship between species interactions and latitude can differ between native and invasive plant taxa, generating biogeographical heterogeneity in community resistance to plant invasions. In the first study with foliar pathogens, we tested whether co‐occurring native and invasive lineages of common reed (Phragmites australis) exhibit non‐parallel latitudinal

Since its emergence in the mid‐20th century, invasion biology has matured into a productive research field addressing questions of fundamental and applied importance. Not only has the number of empirical studies increased through time, but also has the number of competing, overlapping and, in some cases, contradictory hypotheses about biological invasions. To make these contradictions and redundancies

Previous work demonstrated the global variability of synchrony in tree growth within populations, that is, the covariance of the year‐to‐year variability in growth of individual neighbouring trees. However, there is a lack of knowledge about the causes of this variability and its trajectories through time. Here, we examine whether climate can explain variation in within‐population synchrony (WPS) across

Predictions of plant traits over space and time are increasingly used to improve our understanding of plant community responses to global environmental change. A necessary step forward is to assess the reliability of global trait predictions. In this study, we predict community mean plant traits at the global scale and present a systematic evaluation of their reliability in terms of the accuracy of

The aim was to determine how reptile populations respond to anthropogenic habitat modification and determine whether species traits and environmental factors influence such responses.

Nutrient enrichment is associated with plant invasions and biodiversity loss. Functional trait advantages may predict the ascendancy of invasive plants following nutrient enrichment but this is rarely tested. Here, we investigate (a) whether dominant native and non‐native plants differ in important morphological and physiological leaf traits, (b) how their traits respond to nutrient addition, and (c)

Biodiversity dynamics comprise evolutionary and ecological changes on multiple temporal scales from millions of years to decades, but they are often interpreted within a single time frame. Planktonic foraminifera communities offer a unique opportunity for analysing the dynamics of marine biodiversity over different temporal scales. Our study aims to provide a baseline for assessments of biodiversity

Ecological theory is not often applied to human appropriation of net primary production (HANPP), which estimates reduction of natural net primary production (NPP) due to harvest and land use. Here we use predator–prey theory to evaluate HANPP as “predation”. Macroecology and adaptive life history strategies also help evaluate relationships among global terrestrial HANPP, NPP, and plant biomass (B)

Historically, biomes have been defined based on their structurally and functionally similar vegetation, but there is debate about whether these similarities are superficial, and about how biomes are defined and mapped. We propose that combined assessment of evolutionary convergence of plant functional traits and phylogenetic biome conservatism provides a useful approach for characterizing biomes. We

Intraspecific trait variation (ITV) within natural plant communities can be large, influencing local ecological processes and dynamics. Here, we shed light on how ITV in vegetative and floral traits responds to large‐scale abiotic and biotic gradients (i.e., climate and species richness). Specifically, we tested whether associations of ITV with temperature, precipitation and species richness were consistent

Trees need to avoid frost damage to their young leaves by leafing out after the occurrence of the last frost, yet they also need to start photosynthesis early in the season to achieve sufficient growth. This trade‐off leads to the hypothesis that ‘safety margins’ against spring frost should become shorter, the longer the winter duration, perhaps reaching an asymptotic limit where frost damage would

To study global patterns and temporal changes in the seasonal dynamics (quantity and seasonal distribution) of terrestrial gross carbon uptake in response to global environmental change.

The noise filter hypothesis predicts that species using higher sound frequencies should be more tolerant of noise pollution, because anthropogenic noise is more intense at low frequencies. Klingbeil et al. (Klingbeil, La Sorte, Lepczyk, Fink, & Flather, [2020]. Geographical associations with anthropogenic noise pollution for North American breeding birds. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 29, 148–158)

Temporal patterns of community dynamics are drawing increasing interest due to their potential to shed light on assembly processes and anthropogenic effects. However, interpreting such patterns considerably benefits from comparing observed dynamics to the reference of a null model. For that aim, the cyclic shift permutations algorithm, which generates randomized null communities based on empirically

Functional traits are a crucial link between species distributions and the ecosystem processes that structure those species’ niches. Concurrent increases in the availability of functional trait data and our ability to model species distributions present an opportunity to develop functional trait biogeography (i.e., the mapping of functional traits across space). Functional trait biogeography can improve

Persistent sinks of atmospheric CO2 in undisturbed peatlands are not included in future projections of the global carbon budget. We aimed to explore possible responses of northern peatlands to future climate change and to quantify the role of northern peatlands in the carbon balance of the Northern Hemisphere.

Theory describing biodiversity gradients has focused on species richness with less conceptual synthesis outlining expectations for intraspecific diversity gradients, that is, broad‐scale population richness and genetic diversity. Consequently, there is a need for a diversity–gradient synthesis that complements species richness with population richness and genetic diversity.

We tested whether species–area relationships of small islands differ among plant growth forms and whether this influences the prevalence of the small‐island effect (SIE). The SIE states that species richness on small islands is independent of island area or relates to area in a different way compared with larger islands. We investigated whether island isolation affects the limits of the SIE and which

Biodiversity is currently undergoing rapid restructuring across the globe. However, the nature of biodiversity change is not well understood, as community‐level changes may hide differential responses in individual population trajectories. Here, we quantify spatio‐temporal community and stability dynamics using a long‐term high‐quality moth monitoring dataset.

Biomes worldwide are shifting with global change. Biomes whose extents are limited by temperature or precipitation, such as the tundra and savanna, may be particularly strongly affected by climate change. While woody plant encroachment is prevalent across both biomes, its relationship to temperature and precipitation change remains unknown. Here, we quantify the degree to which woody encroachment is

The ‘rate‐of‐living’ theory predicts that life expectancy is a negative function of the rates at which organisms metabolize. According to this theory, factors that accelerate metabolic rates, such as high body temperature and active foraging, lead to organismic ‘wear‐out’. This process reduces life span through an accumulation of biochemical errors and the build‐up of toxic metabolic by‐products. Although

Human development and agriculture can have transformative and homogenizing effects on natural systems, shifting the composition of ecological communities towards non‐native and native species that tolerate or thrive under human‐dominated conditions. These impacts cannot be fully captured by summarizing species presence, as they include dramatic changes to patterns of species abundance. However, how

Traits affect the survival and reproduction of individuals in different habitat conditions, ultimately altering their distributions. In the oceans, changes in environmental conditions with bathymetry may influence the occurrence of specific traits. Therefore, characterizing trait variation with depth can illuminate drivers related to the distribution of diversity of forms, functions, and life histories

Forest carbon storage is the result of a multitude of interactions among biotic and abiotic factors. Our aim was to use an integrative approach to elucidate mechanistic relationships of carbon storage with biotic and abiotic factors in the natural forests of temperate Australia, a region that has been overlooked in global analyses of carbon‐biodiversity relations.

Predictions from statistical models may be uncalibrated, meaning that the predicted values do not have the nominal coverage probability. This is easiest seen with probability predictions in machine‐learning classification, including the common species occurrence probabilities. Here, a predicted probability of, say, .7 should indicate that out of 100 cases with these environmental conditions, and hence

Biotic homogenization (BH), a reduction in the distinctness of species composition between geographically separated ecological communities in a region, is an important but underappreciated potential consequence of biological invasions. While BH theory has always considered invasions, it has generally been in a relatively narrow context that the cosmopolitan nature of invasive species increases BH because

The principle that a single large habitat patch should hold more species than several small patches totalling the same area (SL > SS) is used by conservation agencies to favour protection of large, contiguous areas. Previous reviews of empirical studies have found the opposite, SS > SL, creating the single large or several small (SLOSS) debate.

Previous analyses of marine fish species richness based on presence‐absence data have shown changes with latitude and average species size, but little is known about the underlying processes. To elucidate these processes we use metabolic, neutral and descriptive statistical models to analyse how richness responds to maximum species length, fish abundance, temperature, primary production, depth, latitude

We examined the relative importance of competitor abundance and environmental variables in determining the species distributions of 175 bird species across North America. Unlike previous studies, which tend to model distributions in terms of presence and absence, we take advantage of a geographically extensive dataset of community time series to model the temporal occupancy of species at sites throughout

We may be able to buffer biodiversity against the effects of ongoing climate change by prioritizing the protection of habitat with diverse physical features (high geodiversity) associated with ecological and evolutionary mechanisms that maintain high biodiversity. Nonetheless, the relationships between biodiversity and habitat vary with spatial and biological context. In this study, we compare how

Large‐scale patterns in flower and fruit traits provide crucial insights into selection processes and the evolutionary history of plant lineages. To isolate and identify the role of selective pressures, including different plant–animal interactions and the factors driving trait evolution, we investigated the convergence and divergence between flower and fruit traits in shared environments.

Knowledge of broad‐scale biogeographical patterns of animal migration is important for understanding ecological drivers of migratory behaviours. Here, we present a flyway‐scale assessment of the spatial structure and seasonal dynamics of the Afro‐Palaearctic bird migration system and explore how phenology of the environment guides long‐distance migration.

Over the past several decades, wildfires have become larger, more frequent, and/or more severe in many areas. Simultaneously, anthropogenic ignitions are steadily growing. We have little understanding of how increasing anthropogenic ignitions are changing modern fire regimes.

Knowledge on the origins of food crops in the wild is abundant but fragmentary and unconsolidated, which hinders macroecological approaches to long‐standing questions on the phylogeography and history of crop origins.

High foliar silicon (henceforth Si) concentration protects plant tissues against herbivory, but protection against several abiotic stressors has also been proposed, although the adaptive significance of these functions is still being debated. We aimed to explore the potential relationships between foliar Si content and chronic wind exposure across a large scale and multiple species and to analyse an

We investigate geographic patterns across taxonomic, ecological and phylogenetic diversity to test for spatial (in)congruency and identify aggregate diversity hotspots in relationship to present land use and future climate. Simulating extinctions of imperilled species, we demonstrate where losses across diversity dimensions and geography are predicted.

Forest net biomass change (ΔAGB; the difference between biomass gain from growth and loss through mortality) determines how forests contribute to the global carbon cycle. Understanding how plant diversity affects ΔAGB in diverse abiotic conditions is crucial in the face of anthropogenic environmental change. Recent studies have advanced our understanding of the effects of plant diversity on growth

Despite longstanding investigation, the gradients of species richness remain unknown for most taxa because of shortfalls in knowledge regarding the quantity and distribution of species. Here, we explore the ability of a geostatistical interpolation model, regression‐kriging, to recover geographical gradients of species richness. We examined the technique with an in silico gradient of species richness

Although biodiversity is in sharp decline around the globe, collectiing precise information on changes in overall species richness remains extremely challenging. Efficient and reliable proxy methods are therefore needed, with the diversity of higher taxa representing one such potential proxy for species‐level diversity. Nonetheless, the stability of using this measure across different regions and animal

The Hutchinsonian niche is a foundational concept in ecology and evolutionary biology that describes fundamental characteristics of any species: the global maximum population growth rate (rmax); the niche optimum (the environment for which rmax is reached); and the niche width (the environmental range for which intrinsic population growth rates are positive). We examine whether these characteristics

Phenological mismatches, when life‐events become mistimed with optimal environmental conditions, have become increasingly common under climate change. Population‐level susceptibility to mismatches depends on how phenology and phenotypic plasticity vary across a species’ distributional range. Here, we quantify the environmental drivers of colour moult phenology, phenotypic plasticity, and the extent

Sexual systems strongly influence angiosperm evolution and play important roles in community assembly and species responses to climate change. However, geographical variation in proportions of different sexual systems (dioecy, monoecy and hermaphroditism) in response to changes in climate, life‐history traits and evolutionary age remains poorly understood. Here, we map the geographical variation in

Hotspots of human activity are focal points for ecosystem disturbance and non‐native introduction, from which invading populations disperse and spread. As such, connectivity to locations used by humans may influence the likelihood of invasion. Moreover, connectivity in freshwater ecosystems may follow the hydrological network. Here we tested whether multiple forms of connectivity to human recreational

Emerging infectious diseases arising from pathogen spillover from mammals to humans constitute a substantial health threat. Tracing virus origin and predicting the most likely host species for future spillover events are major objectives in One Health disciplines.

Plant species continue to be moved outside of their native range by human activities. Here, we aim to determine whether, once introduced, plants assimilate into native communities or whether they aggregate, thus forming mosaics of native‐ and alien‐rich communities. Alien species might aggregate in their non‐native range owing to shared habitat preferences, such as their tendency to establish in high‐biomass

Lizard assemblages vary greatly in taxonomic, ecological and phenotypic diversity, yet the mechanisms that generate and maintain these patterns at a macroecological scale are not well understood. We aimed to characterize the ecological and environmental drivers of species richness patterns in the context of macroecological theory for 10 independent lizard radiations.

We evaluated the influence of climate on the structure of bird communities along precipitation gradients. We hypothesize that mechanisms responsible for community turnover along precipitation gradients are similar to mechanisms operating along temperature and latitudinal gradients. We tested the hypothesis that environmental conditions affect community composition in dry forests, whereas biotic interactions

As a response of pastoralists to climate change, nomadic migration deeply shaped Chinese history during the imperial era. Existing research on climate‐driven nomadic migration is conducted mainly on a national–continental scale. To advance the current work, we aim to resolve migratory movements at a provincial–regional scale using a large and long‐term historical dataset as a first attempt. The spatio‐temporal

The boundaries of species distributions are often shaped by natural barriers, such as mountains and rivers, but species distribution models usually fail to include these constraints. We tested several approaches that include barriers as explanatory variables in species distribution models.

Increased atmospheric nitrogen deposition may have profound effects on tree carbon allocation dynamics. However, a comprehensive understanding of how nitrogen (N) enrichment influences carbon (C) allocation across plant functional processes and tree organs in individual trees remains elusive.

Aim Alien plant species can cause severe ecological and economic problems, and therefore attract a lot of research interest in biogeography and related fields. To identify potential future invasive species, we need to better understand the mechanisms underlying the abundances of invasive tree species in their new ranges, and whether these mechanisms differ between their native and alien ranges. Here

Rainfall manipulation experiments are essential tools for deciphering the mechanisms leading to variation in ecosystem stability across sites. Here, we gathered articles reporting results of experimental droughts on the above‐ground biomass of grasslands to identify which indices have been used to assess stability, to evaluate the overall grassland responses to drought and to quantify the relative

Exposure to artificial light at night (ALAN) is a risk factor for organisms. Considering the spread and increasing intensity of night brightness across the globe, and the key role of light at all biological levels, alterations of ecosystems are expected. Yet, we cannot predict the severity of the effects of ALAN in several biomes because little information is available outside the temperate zone. We

Niche‐based models often ignore spatial variation in the climatic niche of a species across its occupied range and the related variation in the response to changing climate conditions. This assumption may lead to inaccurate predictions of species distribution shifts under climate change. Models have been developed to address this issue, but most of them depend upon prior knowledge on evolutionary lineages

Livestock grazing can alter carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) cycles, thereby affecting the C : N : P stoichiometry in grasslands. In this study, we aimed to examine mechanisms underlying the impacts of grazing on grassland C : N : P stoichiometry, focusing on belowground processes and their linkages with aboveground vegetation properties.

Community variation (i.e. beta diversity) along geographical gradients is of substantial interest in ecology and biodiversity reserves in the face of global changes. However, the generality in beta diversity patterns and underlying processes remains less studied across trophic levels and geographical regions. We documented beta diversity patterns and underlying ecological processes of stream bacteria

An emerging framework for tropical ecosystems states that fire activity is either “fuel build‐up limited” or “fuel moisture limited”, that is, as you move up along rainfall gradients, the major control on fire occurrence switches from being the amount of fuel, to the moisture content of the fuel. Here we used remotely sensed datasets to assess whether interannual variability of burned area is better

Biogeographical processes and past environmental conditions are known to constrain current patterns of species, functional and phylogenetic diversity. An unanswered question is whether such constraints to biodiversity also affect ecosystem processes.

Ammonia‐oxidizing archaea (AOA) and bacteria (AOB) are the primary agents for nitrification, converting ammonia (NH4+) into nitrate (NO3−) and modulating plant nitrogen (N) utilization and terrestrial N retention. However, there is still lack of a unifying framework describing the patterns of global AOA and AOB distribution. In particular, biotic interactions are rarely integrated into any of the conceptual

It has been argued that the loss of phylogenetic diversity (PD) from species extinctions will result in concomitant loss of functional diversity (FD). As a result, species extinction undermines not only unique evolutionary history, but also ecosystem function and stability. Using data from > 6,000 amphibian species globally, we assess the potential erosion of PD and FD as a result of extinction.