Pamela Medina-van Berkum: Plant geographic distribution influences chemical defences in native and introduced Plantago lanceolata populations

2024 HALDANE PRIZE SHORTLIST: Pamela Medina-van Berkum discusses her paper “Plant geographic distribution influences chemical defences in native and introduced Plantago lanceolata populations“, which has been shortlisted for Functional Ecology’s 2024 Haldane Prize for Early Career Researchers: About the paper Plants face many challenges when they spread to new places. Our research focused on a plant called ribwort plantain (Plantago lanceolata), which is common across … Continue reading Pamela Medina-van Berkum: Plant geographic distribution influences chemical defences in native and introduced Plantago lanceolata populations

Laura Riggi: Strip cropping improves plant defenses against herbivorous insects via the soil  

In this post Laura Riggi from University of Wageningen (Netherlands) presents her work ‘Strip-cropping legacy enhances potato plant defence responses to aphids via soil-mediated mechanisms’. She talks about the importance of diversity for agriculture, discusses the connections between above- and belowground organisms, and shares how her love for arthropods guided her to made agriculture more sustainable.   About the research Intensive agriculture focuses on growing a … Continue reading Laura Riggi: Strip cropping improves plant defenses against herbivorous insects via the soil