Climate change and land‐use changes are among the major threats to biodiversity as they alter global and local environmental conditions in unprecedented dimensions. Therefore, the investigation of the ability of species and communities to cope with rapidly changing environments as well as the comprehensive understanding of possible evolutionary adaptation processes is urgently needed for their sustainable

Clark's nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana) functions as a keystone seed disperser and ecological mobile link for many western conifers. The bird is the primary seed disperser for limber pine (Pinus flexilis), which is an important seed resource for the bird. In the Southern Rocky Mountains, annual variation in limber pine cone production and growing threats, such as exotic disease, require that nutcrackers

Biological conservation requires sufficient basic data, like knowledge of the biogeographic characteristics and spatiotemporal dynamics of endangered species. Reconstructing range dynamics through time and detecting their underlying causes can be helpful for present and future conservation actions. Black grouse (Lyrurus tetrix) populations have declined during the late 20th century in Northeast China

Novel combinations of fire regime and forest type are emerging in areas affected by climate change, fire exclusion, and other stressors. Species interactions following wildfire in these areas are not well understood. In Sierra Nevada mixed‐conifer forests, large patches of stand‐replacing fire were once rare but are becoming increasingly prevalent and are quickly revegetated by native shrubs. There

Using the grid‐based sampling method, 2755 soil profiles consisting of 22,057 soil samples were sampled and analyzed to study the spatial distribution and storage of soil organic carbon (SOC) in the Houzhai River Basin in Guizhou Province, a typical karst region in southwestern China. The results suggest that the total levels of SOC stored in the 0–10, 0–20, 0–30, and 0–100 cm soil layers of the Houzhai

Uncovering the predation habits of small arthropods such as mites can be a major challenge, as direct observations are not always feasible in natura. Therefore, PCR‐based analyses of gut content, or body content when gut dissection is not applicable, are being increasingly used to detect remains of prey items. Here, we present an integrative approach to investigate predation of eggs of the viburnum

Most fishing is inherently size‐selective, in that fishers preferentially select a subset of the population for harvest based on economic incentives associated with different‐sized fish. Size‐selective fishing influences the targeted population and fishery performance in multiple ways, including changing the reproductive capacity of the target population and altering fishery yield. Understanding how

Large herbivore communities around the world have declined steeply in recent decades. Although excessive wild game harvesting is thought to be the primary cause of herbivore declines in many ecosystems, the direct effects of anthropogenic pressures on large herbivore populations remain poorly described in most of the systems experiencing decline. To test the extent to which large herbivores are impacted

Weed infestation affects economically relevant orchard properties, including tree performance, yield, and fruit quality negatively, and weeds are therefore often controlled by herbicide application in conventional farming. The addition of organic mulch below tree canopies has been proposed as an alternative reliable practice to suppress weeds and preserve soil moisture in organic farming. Mulching

Improved knowledge of biological diversity patterns associated with elevation and their driving factors is indispensable for developing ecological theories. However, the results for the elevational distribution patterns of soil fauna are not consistent due to differing climates and vegetation. Here, we present a comprehensive analysis of soil macroinvertebrate composition and structure among different

Human activity influences wildlife. However, the ecological and conservation significances of these influences are difficult to predict and depend on their population‐level consequences. This difficulty arises partly because of information gaps, and partly because the data on stressors are usually collected in a count‐based manner (e.g., number of dead animals) that is difficult to translate into rate‐based

Vanilla, an expensive but popular spice used in many industries, faces problems related to its supply. Some of these problems are due to the fact that vanilla cultivation is based on clonal material of a single species (Vanilla planifolia) and is dominated by just a few countries located outside the native growing areas of aromatic vanilla species, which is the neotropics. Despite the economic importance

Geographic range is an important metric used to evaluate species’ environmental relationships. Additionally, a very small or rapidly shrinking range may indicate elevated extinction risk. However, a species does not fully occupy its range in the way a lake fills a basin and is instead best thought of as a cloud of points rather than an area per se. Samples of species presence or abundance are subject

Climate change has been observed to significantly influence forest growth, community composition, and species distribution ranges. These influences in turn will impose continuous impacts on forest production and carbon (C) storage potential. Forests in the subtropical China that are experiencing rapid regeneration and recovery may suffer multiple threats in the face of future climate change. Understanding

Insecticides can cause secondary pest outbreaks that weaken the benefit of chemical pest control. These detrimental nontarget effects motivate the use of alternative pest management strategies such as host plant resistance and intercropping. However, when alternative pest management strategies effectively suppress primary pests, they also have the potential to promote secondary pest populations via

Population structure is an important aspect of patchily distributed organisms. Small local populations, large temporal fluctuations, synchronized dynamics, and low migration rates should all lead to lowered rates of patch occupancy and increased extinction risks. These effects can, however, be counteracted if there is a pool of hidden, dormant individuals bridging unfavorable periods. Prolonged diapause—a

Rice planthoppers and related viral diseases have become one of the most important factors affecting rice production in Asian countries, and the resulting abuse of pesticides is laying a hidden danger for future food security. As the most economically devastating species, the brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens (Stål), moves from the tropical Indochina Peninsula to temperate regions where it cannot

Biotic and abiotic factors at local to landscape scales influence insect pest and disease dynamics in agricultural systems. However, relative to studies focused on the importance of these drivers of crop plant damage in rural agricultural systems, few studies investigate plant damage from herbivore insects and plant diseases in urban agroecosystems, and consequently, most urban farmers lack knowledge