Por trás do artigo | Lussarina Oliveira Lima

Sobre o artigo O nosso trabalho sobre é mortalidade de plantas durante a seca, focando nos mecanismos fisiológicos subjacentes e nos limiares que levam a mortalidade. Como estes limiares variam consideravelmente de uma espécie para outra, ainda não temos conhecimento sobre esses valores para as árvores das Floresta Tropical Sazonalmente Seca. Para prever a mortalidade da vegetação em grande escala, é necessário compreender como os … Continue reading Por trás do artigo | Lussarina Oliveira Lima

Lussarina Lima | What really saves tropical species from drought?

In this ‘Behind the Paper’ blog post, author Lussarina Lima – a PhD student and lecturer – shares insights into the article “Stem water content predicts drought-induced mortality in tropical semiarid species“, which was published in Functional Ecology in August 2026. Lussarina discusses plant mortality during drought, determining whether plants are dead or alive, and the importance of taking risks when you can. A Portuguese … Continue reading Lussarina Lima | What really saves tropical species from drought?

Sofia Etzold | The slow fade of forest vitality — What decades of monitoring reveal 

In this blog post, author Sofia Etzold – a researcher at the Swiss Federal Research Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape – discusses the research article Decreasing water availability reduces productivity in Swiss forests along an altitudinal gradient, which was recently published in Functional Ecology. Sofia explores whether emerging trends in forest productivity can already be linked to climatic changes, and shares the challenges of … Continue reading Sofia Etzold | The slow fade of forest vitality — What decades of monitoring reveal 

Rutger Wilschut & Hannah Ruppert: Contrasting responses of naturalized alien & native plants to native soil biota & drought 

In this new post Rutger Wilschut and Hanna Ruppert from University of Wageningen present their work ‘Contrasting responses of naturalized alien and native plants to native soil biota and drought’. Here they discuss how origin has important implications for biotic interactions, show the key role of soil biota for plants, and share their experiences which led them to pursue lives as ecologists.  About the paper … Continue reading Rutger Wilschut & Hannah Ruppert: Contrasting responses of naturalized alien & native plants to native soil biota & drought 

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!

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

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

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

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

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?