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 Ecology17 May 202211 May 2022Leave a comment

Behind the paper

Randall W. Long: Spenders and savers—Intraspecific support for plant economic theory

In this new post, Randall Long, a new ecological researcher working at the University of California-Santa Barbara, USA, shares his paper: Spenders versus savers: Climate-induced carbon allocation trade-offs in a recently introduced woody plant—recently shortlisted for the Haldane Prize for Early Career Researchers. About the paper As ecologists we assume that trade-offs exist in organisms when limited resources are allocated to multiple competing demands. In … Continue reading Randall W. Long: Spenders and savers—Intraspecific support for plant economic theory

Functional Ecology21 Apr 202221 Apr 2022Leave a comment

Behind the paper

Jian-Yong Wang: What role do clonal plants play in our ecosystems?

In this new post, Jian-Yong Wang, a new ecological researcher working at Northeast Normal University, China, shares his paper: A meta-analysis of effects of physiological integration in clonal plants under homogeneous vs. heterogeneous environments—recently shortlisted for the Haldane Prize for Early Career Researchers. About the paper Clonal plants, i.e. those able to reproduce vegetatively, play important roles in many ecosystems. Connected individuals (ramets) can translocate … Continue reading Jian-Yong Wang: What role do clonal plants play in our ecosystems?

Functional Ecology13 Apr 202213 Apr 2022Leave a comment

Margaux Didion-Gency at the Lago di Nambino, Italy.

Behind the paper

Margaux Didion-Gency: Interactive effects of tree species mixture and climate on foliar and woody trait variation in a widely distributed deciduous tree.

Margaux Didion-Gency, Ph.D. at the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) of Birmensdorf (Switzerland), presents her first published paper and discusses the importance of tree species interactions in the context of climate change. About the paper This study was motivated by previous research that reported the positive effect of species richness on grassland resistance to extreme events. However, we noticed that … Continue reading Margaux Didion-Gency: Interactive effects of tree species mixture and climate on foliar and woody trait variation in a widely distributed deciduous tree.

Functional Ecology2 Sep 202123 Aug 2021Leave a comment

Behind the paper

Curtis Lubbe: Right place, wrong time? Hide in the soil – avoidant strategies in plants

In this new post, Curtis Lubbe from the Institute of Botany (Czech Academy of Sciences) presents his latest work ‘Winter belowground: changing winters and the perennating organs of herbaceous plants’, discuss the importance of plant storage organs in perennial plants and surprise us with his drawing talent. About the paper This paper is a review of our current understanding of how the belowground storage organs … Continue reading Curtis Lubbe: Right place, wrong time? Hide in the soil – avoidant strategies in plants

Functional Ecology24 Aug 202123 Aug 2021Leave a comment

Author Hao Chen, School of Ecology, Sun Yat-sen University, China

Behind the paper

Hao Chen: plants don’t store all trace elements equally

In his latest work, ‘Global resorption efficiencies of trace elements in leaves of terrestrial plants’, professor Hao Chen presents his findings on micronutrient resorption by plants, introduces his future plants in research and calls for collaborators in studying the role of plants in nutrient cycling. What’s your paper about? This paper reports the global pattern of leaf resorption of trace elements. Specifically, we extracted data … Continue reading Hao Chen: plants don’t store all trace elements equally

Functional Ecology8 Jul 20217 Jul 2021Leave a comment

Ellen setting up a transect for the plots

Behind the paper

Ellen Welti: Better with a grain of salt. Sodium addition increases leaf herbivory and fungal damage in grasslands

Ellen Welti shares her experience doing her latest research ‘Sodium addition increases leaf herbivory and fungal damage across four grasslands’, the implications of Sodium fertilization for agriculture and her secret cat taming skills. About the paper In this paper, we test how elevated sodium in plants would affect how much herbivorous insects and leaf fungal pathogens consume. This study followed previous research from our group … Continue reading Ellen Welti: Better with a grain of salt. Sodium addition increases leaf herbivory and fungal damage in grasslands

Functional Ecology24 Jun 202110 Jun 20212 Comments

Jitka Klimesova sorting biomass in field

Behind the paper

Jitka Klimesova: why we should all care more about belowground plant organs

Jitka Klimesova serves as Senior Scientist at the Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Třeboň and as Professor at Charles University in Prague. Her main interest is in functional morphology of clonal and regenerative organs of herbs. She is the main author of the only existing database of clonal and bud bank traits for an entire flora (CLO-PLA; Czech Republic), organizes … Continue reading Jitka Klimesova: why we should all care more about belowground plant organs

Functional Ecology23 Feb 202124 Feb 2021Leave a comment

Behind the paper

Monique Weemstra: how do trees modify their roots to adapt to their location?

We welcome 2021 with a new post by Monique Weemstra, a postdoc at the University of Michigan. Here she talks about her latest research looking at how trees can modulate their root traits to account for environmental gradients and the importance of working with people enjoying ecology as much as you do. About the paper This study is a part of the ECOPICS project: a … Continue reading Monique Weemstra: how do trees modify their roots to adapt to their location?

Functional Ecology2 Feb 20212 Feb 20212 Comments