Mixed‐species forests often enhance the provision of ecosystem functions, both above and below‐ground. Several of these effects are mediated by the amount and spatial distribution of tree tissues. However, previous studies on tree diversity effects on fine‐root biomass (FRB) have returned inconsistent results and did not distinguish between absorptive and transport fine roots. Furthermore, owing to

This account presents information on all aspects of the biology of Nervilia nipponica Makino (mukago‐saishin) that are relevant to understanding its ecological characteristics and behaviour. The main topics are presented within the standard framework of the International Biological Flora: distribution, habitat, communities, responses to biotic factors, responses to the environment, structure and physiology

1. Earlier leaf‐out and later autumn leaf senescence under climate warming have been linked to increases in plant productivity and ecosystem carbon uptake. Yet, despite the potential implications of shifting phenology for plant carbon uptake, the degree to which phenological changes affect overall plant growth and the partitioning between above‐ and belowground biomass remains unclear.

1. In many regions of the world, climate change is projected to reduce water availability through changes in the hydrological cycle, including more frequent and intense droughts, as well as seasonal shifts in precipitation. In water‐limited ecosystems, such as drylands, lower soil water availability may exceed the adaptive capacity of many organisms, leading to cascading ecological effects during (concurrent

Carmona and colleagues (Carmona, de Bello, Azcárate, Mason, & Peco, 2019) have recently published the results of a well‐designed experiment examining the effect of functional traits on the outcome of competition. Their main conclusions were that (1) trait hierarchies better predict the strength of competition than trait differences, and (2) the consideration of intraspecific trait variation improves

Light is a key resource for tree performance and hence, tree species partition spatial and temporal gradients in light availability. Although light distribution drives tree performance and species replacement during secondary forest succession, we yet lack understanding how light distribution changes with tropical forest development. This study aims to evaluate how changes in forest structure lead

Fungal endophytes (FE) are an important component of leaf microbial communities. They usually live asymptomatically within leaf tissues; however, FE can provide additional defensive features against microbial pathogens to the host. Leaf functional traits (LFTs) regulate FE entry, colonization and community composition in plants. There is evidence that thin leaves with less structural and chemical traits

Experimental and observational studies on seedling dynamics posit mechanisms that can influence forest diversity, structure, and function. However, high mortality and slow growth of seedlings make it difficult to evaluate the importance of this life‐history filter to total tree life history. Quantifying the duration and transition of the seedling phase would help us understand this ‘black box’ in tree

1.Feedback between plants and their associated soil biota is an important driver of plant distribution, abundance, and community composition with consequences for ecosystem functioning. The field of plant‐soil feedback research has become an integral sub‐discipline of terrestrial ecosystem ecology, and in recent decades has rapidly evolved by deepening and broadening its scope.

Identifying food web linkages between biocontrol agents of invasive plants and native species is crucial for predicting indirect non‐target effects. Biocontrol insects can integrate into food webs within recipient habitats and influence native insects through apparent competition (altering shared natural enemies) or density‐mediated exploitation competition (changing density of native plants). However

Forests have expanded across Europe over the last centuries as a consequence of farmland (agricultural and pasture) abandonment. Agricultural practices usually increase soil fertility and reduce the diversity and abundance of ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi, essential mutualists of many woody species in temperate and Mediterranean forests. The recovery of this biotic interaction after the cessation of

Plant species can show considerable morphological and functional variation along environmental gradients. This intraspecific trait variation (ITV) can have important consequences for community assembly, biotic interactions, ecosystem functions and responses to global change. However, directly measuring ITV across many species and wide geographic areas is often infeasible. Thus, a method to predict

The impacts of climate change have prompted forest practitioners and decision makers to consider assisted migration (a form of plant translocation) as a management strategy. Historically, decisions around forest management, including the application of novel approaches, have been driven by the interests of particular groups and informed by a narrow range of knowledge inputs. Drawing on our program

Plant species that grow across environmental gradients show a range of trait expression, but traits do not vary independently. In fact, phenotypes are integrated expressions of multiple traits that covary due to trade‐offs among functions and processes. Understanding trait covariation structures will ultimately help with predicting species’ responses to change and developing management actions. We

Understanding the processes that underlie the effects of tree diversity on primary production is of foremost importance to enhance climate change mitigation by tropical forests. Here, we investigated the effects of tree diversity on light interception over space and time in two tropical tree experiments, located in Panama – Sardinilla site (monocultures to 18‐species mixtures), and in Brazil – Anhembi

1. Tree crown morphology is a key driver of forest dynamics, determining not only the competitiveness of an individual but also the competitive effect exerted on neighbouring trees. Multiple ecological theories, including Metabolic Scaling Theory (MST), predict crown morphology from first principles, but typically lack consideration of competition. The accurate quantification of crown morphology to

1. Forest biodiversity worldwide is affected by climate change, habitat loss and fragmentation, and today 20 % of the forest area is located within 100 m of a forest edge. Still, forest edges harbour a substantial amount of terrestrial biodiversity, especially in the understorey. The functional and phylogenetic diversity of forest edges have never been studied simultaneously at a continental scale

Microbial communities drive plant litter breakdown. Litters originating from different plant species are often associated with specialized microbiomes that accelerate the breakdown of that litter, known as home‐field advantage. Yet, how and how fast microbial communities specialize towards litter inputs is not known. Here we study effects of repeated litter additions on soil microbial community structure

1. Identifying to what degree inherent characteristics of plant species and their variation in response to their environment regulate the temporal stability of plant populations is important to understand patterns of species coexistence and the stability of ecosystems. Longevity is a key characteristic of plant‐life history and an important component of demographic storage, but age is usually unknown