Theories of plant invasions predict that plant communities should be more easily invaded when resources increase and/or competition decreases. We tested this with an experimentally introduced plant population by manipulating precipitation and resident community biomass. We used a spatially‐explicit demographic approach to develop a new population‐level metric of invasibility that quantifies the invasible

Recent research shows that earthworms can alter defense traits of plants against herbivores and pathogens by affecting soil biochemistry. Yet, the effects of invasive earthworms on defense traits of native plants from previously earthworm‐free ecosystems as well as the consequences for multitrophic interactions are virtually unknown. Here we use a combination of an observational study and a complementary

Fluctuations in population abundances are often correlated through time across multiple locations, a phenomenon known as spatial synchrony. Spatial synchrony can exhibit complex spatial structures, termed ‘geographies of synchrony’, that can reveal mechanisms underlying population fluctuations. However, most studies have focused on spatial extents of tens to hundreds of kilometers, making it unclear

1. Bark beetle outbreaks have intensified in many forests around the globe in recent years. Yet, the legacy of these disturbances for future forest development remains unclear. Bark beetle disturbances are expected to increase further because of climate change. Consequently, feedbacks within the disturbance regime are of growing interest, e.g. whether bark beetle outbreaks are amplifying future bark

Modifications of Amazonian forests by pre‐Columbian peoples are thought to have left ecological legacies that have persisted to the modern day. Most Amazonian palaeoecological records do not, however, provide the required temporal resolution to document the nuanced changes of pre‐Columbian disturbance or post‐disturbance succession and recovery, making it difficult to detect any direct, or indirect

1. Understanding tree species responses to biotic and abiotic factors is fundamental for stronger predictions of community assembly and dynamics. However, several challenges remain. These include a failure to investigate whether there is evidence for key hypothesized life‐history tradeoffs and to link these tradeoffs to functional traits.

1) The relative importance of global versus local environmental factors for growth and thus carbon uptake of the bryophyte genus Sphagnum – the main peat‐former and ecosystem engineer in northern peatlands – remains unclear.

Anthropogenic activities have altered historical disturbance regimes, and understanding the mechanisms by which these shifting perturbations interact is essential to predicting where they may erode ecosystem resilience. Emerging infectious plant diseases, caused by human translocation of nonnative pathogens, can generate ecologically‐damaging forms of novel biotic disturbance. Further, abiotic disturbances

1. Atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition has substantial effects on forest ecosystems. The effects of N deposition on understory plants have been simulated by spraying N on the forest floor. Such understory addition of N (UAN) might simulate atmospheric N deposition in a biased manner, because it bypasses the canopy.

Predicting species’ range shifts under future climate is a central goal of conservation ecology. Studying populations within and beyond multiple species’ current ranges can help identify whether demographic responses to climate change exhibit directionality, indicative of range shifts, and whether responses are uniform across a suite of species.

1. Understanding the patterns of competitive and facilitative interactions within and among species in plant communities is a central goal of plant ecology, because these patterns determine species coexistence and community dynamics. Network theory provides tools that allow these patterns to be quantified, and can provide greater understanding of important community properties, including community

1. In a Europe shaped by centuries of forest management, the task of today’s scientists in characterising, understanding and modelling natural forests is highly challenging. Although numerous forest reserves exist, most remain hardly comparable case studies. Contrarily, National Forest Inventories (NFIs) consist of systematically distributed sample plots with varying time since last intervention and