Archives
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New publication from Wildermuth et al. in Nature Ecology and Evolution: Arthropod species loss underpins biomass declines
A new study shows that over 90% of insect biomass declines are driven by shrinking species numbers, posing a risk to ecosystem function. Recent declines in arthropod diversity, abundance and…
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New publication from Roscher et al. in Journal of Ecology: Plant species with ‘fast’ traits are winners in young and high-diversity plant communities
Long-term biodiversity experiments have shown increasing strengths of positive biodiversity–productivity relationships over time, while the species-level responses to increased plant diversity are highly variable. Plant–soil interactions and resource-use complementarity offer…
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New publication from Solbach et al. in New Phytologist: Legacies of consecutive summer droughts on soil-borne plant parasitic protists (Oomycota: Stramenopila and Phytomyxea: Rhizaria) and protistan consumers (Cercozoa: Rhizaria) along an experimental plant diversity gradient
Increasing frequencies of severe summer droughts and plant diversity loss disrupt ecosystem functioning and stability of European grasslands. Understanding how these factors interact with pathogens is crucial. We investigated the…
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New publication from Bröcher in Functional Ecology: Plant–herbivore interactions depend on plant richness, plant and soil history
Insect herbivores play a central role in grassland ecosystems. They depend on plants for their nutrition and exert feedback effects on plant communities. Although such reciprocal relationships are well recognized,…
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New publication from Roscher in NeoBiota: Competitive superiority of non-native invaders becomes weaker when plant diversity increases – a case study with Solidago species
Two popular hypotheses in invasion biology are the “inherent superiority hypothesis”, stating that non-native species generally perform better than native species, and the “biotic resistance hypothesis”, stating that at local…
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New publication from Bachmann et al. in Ecology and Evolution: Traits of the leaf economics spectrum do not always relate to species biomass proportions in grassland communities of varying diversity
Traits of the “leaf economics spectrum” (LES) relate to a functional trade-off between slow and fast return on carbon investment, but it is not clear whether the globally observed trait-relationships…
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Jäthelfer (w/m/d) gesucht vom 06.10. – 19.10.2025
#English version below# Ihr interessiert euch für Pflanzen und arbeitet gerne draußen? Wir brauchen Hilfe bei der Instandhaltung der Versuchsflächen des Jena Experiments! Hintergrund: Das Jena-Experiment befasst sich mit der…
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New publication from Angst et al. in Nature Communications: Un(der)explored links between plant diversity and particulate and mineralassociated organic matter in soil
Plant diversity can alter soil carbon stocks, but the effects are difficult to predict due to the multitude of mechanisms involved. We propose that these mechanisms and their outcomes can…
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Jäthelfer (w/m/d) gesucht vom 07.07. – 27.07.2025
#English version below# Ihr interessiert euch für Pflanzen und arbeitet gerne draußen? Wir brauchen Hilfe bei der Instandhaltung der Versuchsflächen des Jena Experiments! Hintergrund: Das Jena-Experiment befasst sich mit der…
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New publication from Amyntas et al. in Journal of Animal Ecology: Shared community history strengthens plant diversity effects on below-ground multitrophic functioning
The relationship of plant diversity and several ecosystem functions strengthens over time. This suggests that the restructuring of biotic interactions in the process of a community’s assembly and the associated…
