Tag: drought

haldane prize, Haldane Prize Winner

Congratulations to Indra Boving, winner of the 2023 Haldane Prize!

Functional Ecology is delighted to announce that the winner of the 2023 Haldane Prize is Indra Boving! The Haldane Prize is awarded annually for the best paper published in the journal by an early career researcher. Winner: Indra Boving Research: Live fuel moisture and water potential exhibit differing relationships with leaf-level flammability thresholds In this blog post, we ask Indra some questions about her research … Continue reading Congratulations to Indra Boving, winner of the 2023 Haldane Prize!

Functional EcologyLeave a comment
haldane prize

Indra Boving: Plants and flammability—Deep inside the mechanisms of wild fires

In this revisited blog post, Indra Boving, a PhD candidate at University of California-Santa Barbara, USA, shares her work ‘Live fuel moisture and water potential exhibit differing relationships with leaf-level flammability thresholds’, which has been shortlisted for Functional Ecology’s 2023 Haldane Prize for early career researchers. About the paper Our paper was inspired by patterns observed across the landscape in Southern California chapparal: wildfires typically … Continue reading Indra Boving: Plants and flammability—Deep inside the mechanisms of wild fires

Functional EcologyLeave a comment
Behind the paper

Indra Boving: Plants and flammability—Deep inside the mechanisms of wild fires

In our newest post, Indra Boving—a PhD candidate at University of California-Santa Barbara, USA—shares her latest work ‘Live fuel moisture and water potential exhibit differing relationships with leaf-level flammability thresholds’. She explains when plants become most flammable, the challenges of making fires in a lab, and shares her journey in ecology. About the paper Our paper was inspired by patterns observed across the landscape in … Continue reading Indra Boving: Plants and flammability—Deep inside the mechanisms of wild fires

Functional EcologyLeave a comment
Behind the paper

Curtis Lubbe: Trash or treasure—rhizomes as a vital plant organ

In our new post, Curtis Lubbe from the Institute of Botany, Czech Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic, presents his latest work ‘Trash or Treasure: Rhizome conservation during drought’. Curtis discusses the wonders of the rhizome, elucidates his research on senescence, and shares some lovely whimsical drawings of plants. About the paper Many herbaceous perennial plants use rhizomes (stem-derived belowground storage organs) to store resources, grow, … Continue reading Curtis Lubbe: Trash or treasure—rhizomes as a vital plant organ

Functional EcologyLeave a comment
Behind the paper, haldane prize

Manjunatha H. Chandregowda: Grasses adjust their root traits during drought to reduce the negative impacts on aboveground productivity

In this new post, Manjunatha H. Chandregowda—a new ecological researcher working at the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Australia—discusses his paper: Root trait shifts towards an avoidance strategy promote productivity and recovery in C3 and C4 pasture grasses under drought—recently shortlisted for the 2022 Haldane Prize for Early Career Researchers. About the research Human disruption of global carbon and nitrogen cycles has … Continue reading Manjunatha H. Chandregowda: Grasses adjust their root traits during drought to reduce the negative impacts on aboveground productivity

Functional EcologyLeave a comment
Behind the paper

Kristiina Visakorpi: The future of Alpine meadows: Can we predict winners and losers in a warmer climate?

In this new post Kristiina Visakorpi—a postdoc at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology—discusses her last research ‘Eco-physiological and morphological traits explain alpine plant species’ response to warming’. She considers the connections between functional traits and climate change, highlights the importance of eco-physiological traits, and provides some thoughts to fight apathy towards our current environmental crises. About the paper In our paper we investigated … Continue reading Kristiina Visakorpi: The future of Alpine meadows: Can we predict winners and losers in a warmer climate?

Functional EcologyLeave a comment
Behind the paper

Carla Vázquez González: Deciphering the context-dependency of plant communication: How does drought stress affect plant-plant signalling by volatile organic compounds?

In our latest post, Carla Vázquez González—a postdoctoral researcher from the University of California-Irvine—presents her last work ‘Effect of water availability on volatile-mediated communication between potato plants in response to insect herbivory’. In this post, she sheds new light on how plants communicate to overcome adversity, discusses the striking results in her paper, and shares her thought about the rough path early-career ecologists currently face. … Continue reading Carla Vázquez González: Deciphering the context-dependency of plant communication: How does drought stress affect plant-plant signalling by volatile organic compounds?

Functional EcologyLeave a comment
Behind the paper

Mario Blanco-Sánchez: Natural selection consistently favours an acquisitive resource-use strategy in Mediterranean semiarid plants

In this new post, Mario Blanco-Sánchez, Ph.D student at University Rey Juan Carlos, Spain, presents his latest publication ‘Natural selection favours drought escape and an acquisitive resource-use strategy in semiarid Mediterranean shrubs’. He discusses how he dealt with a striking result and encourages young ecologists to pursue their own interests in the field! A Spanish translation of this blogpost is available to read here! About … Continue reading Mario Blanco-Sánchez: Natural selection consistently favours an acquisitive resource-use strategy in Mediterranean semiarid plants

Functional Ecology1 Comment
Behind the paper, Translation

Mario Blanco-Sánchez: La selección natural favorece de manera consistente a las plantas con una estrategia adquisitiva de recursos en el semiárido mediterráneo

En esta nueva publicación, Mario Blanco-Sánchez, estudiante de doctorado en la Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, España, presenta su última publicación ‘La selección natural favorece el escape de la sequía y una estrategia adquisitiva de uso de recursos en arbustos mediterráneos semiáridos‘. Habla de cómo lidió con un resultado sorprendente y alienta a los jóvenes ecologistas a perseguir sus propios intereses en el campo. Una traducción … Continue reading Mario Blanco-Sánchez: La selección natural favorece de manera consistente a las plantas con una estrategia adquisitiva de recursos en el semiárido mediterráneo

Functional Ecology1 Comment
Behind the paper

Eli Bendall: Not so tall (tree) tales from the glasshouse

In this new post, Eli Bendall from Western Sydney University presents his last paper ‘Growth enhancements of elevated atmospheric [CO2] are reduced under drought-like conditions in temperate eucalypts’. He discusses the interacting impact of CO2 rise and drought for woody plants, highlights why sunny days can be problematic for ecologists, and shares his unconditional love for eucalyptus. About the paper Our work investigated the interacting … Continue reading Eli Bendall: Not so tall (tree) tales from the glasshouse

Functional EcologyLeave a comment