Tag: plants

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

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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?

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Behind the paper

Wei Xue: Born with a silver spoon? How light condition experienced by parent plants influences the response of offspring to light

In this new post, Wei Xue from Taizhou University, China, presents his latest work ‘Light condition experienced by parent plants influences the response of offspring to light via both parental effects and soil legacy effects’. He discusses the importance of parental effects, soil legacy effects, and current light availability in driving clonal plant population growth. About the paper It is a common notion in humans, … Continue reading Wei Xue: Born with a silver spoon? How light condition experienced by parent plants influences the response of offspring to light

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Behind the paper

Pieter Arnold: How an alpine plant species responds to temperature stress depends on the type of trait and life stage

In this new post, Pieter Arnold, Research Fellow at The Australian National University (ANU), presents his latest work ‘Patterns of phenotypic plasticity along a thermal gradient differ by trait type in an alpine plant’. Pieter discusses the challenges of his group’s experimental design, highlights the importance of looking at plants along their entire life cycle, and also advises everyone to expand their horizons when looking … Continue reading Pieter Arnold: How an alpine plant species responds to temperature stress depends on the type of trait and life stage

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Behind the paper

Simon Haberstroh: Cork oaks under shrub invasion behave differently 

In this new post, Simon Haberstroh from Freiburg University, Germany, presents his latest work ‘Plant invasion modifies isohydricity in Mediterranean tree species’. He discusses the capacity of plants to regulate their hydraulic strategies and remembers his long survey nights in Portuguese oak forests.  About the paper  Our publication in Functional Ecology deals with plant hydraulic strategies, i.e. how plants regulate their water consumption during different … Continue reading Simon Haberstroh: Cork oaks under shrub invasion behave differently 

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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?

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Rebecca at work in the glasshouse in Western Sydney
Behind the paper

Rebecca Vandegeer: plant silicon defences against herbivores under drought

In this post Rebecca Vandegeer presents her study ‘Leaf silicification provides herbivore defence regardless of the extensive impacts of water stress’, discusses the importance of Silicon for plant growing and the joy of working with plants and insects  My name is Rebecca Vandegeer and I recently completed a postdoctoral research fellowship with the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment at Western Sydney University. There is growing … Continue reading Rebecca Vandegeer: plant silicon defences against herbivores under drought

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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

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