Jie Li, Yanan Wei, Ruixue Lv, Weixing Liu, Kechang Niu
Evidence is mounting that plant diversity loss erodes ecosystem function by altering biochemical processes regulated by diverse organisms both above‐ground and below‐ground. However, we know little about how loss of plant diversity influences soil biodiversity, especially whether loss of ecologically rare and/or functionally distinctive plants leads to reduction in rare soil microbes associated with soil multifunctionality.In species‐rich alpine meadow communities on the Tibetan Plateau, we conducted a 12‐year plant species removal experiment to reveal the effects on soil biodiversity of losing many ecologically rare and functionally distinctive forbs versus the loss of the few dominant sedges and several common species.We found that the removal of rare forbs, rather than dominant species and common plants, significantly decreased the richness of soil bacteria and fungi by decreasing rare microbial taxa in later years. This decline in the richness of rare microbial taxa was attributable not only to the decreased plant species richness but also to the increased abundance of fungivorous and omnivorous nematodes.Synthesis. The study revealed that the loss of rare plants induces the loss of rare soil microbes through plant diversity effects amplified by below‐ground multitrophic interactions. Loss of rare soil microbes triggers larger shifts in the microbial community that alter soil biodiversity, food web structure and community functioning.
{"title":"Plant species loss reduces rare soil microbes through diversity effects amplified by multitrophic interactions","authors":"Jie Li, Yanan Wei, Ruixue Lv, Weixing Liu, Kechang Niu","doi":"10.1111/1365-2745.70013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.70013","url":null,"abstract":"<jats:list> <jats:list-item>Evidence is mounting that plant diversity loss erodes ecosystem function by altering biochemical processes regulated by diverse organisms both above‐ground and below‐ground. However, we know little about how loss of plant diversity influences soil biodiversity, especially whether loss of ecologically rare and/or functionally distinctive plants leads to reduction in rare soil microbes associated with soil multifunctionality.</jats:list-item> <jats:list-item>In species‐rich alpine meadow communities on the Tibetan Plateau, we conducted a 12‐year plant species removal experiment to reveal the effects on soil biodiversity of losing many ecologically rare and functionally distinctive forbs versus the loss of the few dominant sedges and several common species.</jats:list-item> <jats:list-item>We found that the removal of rare forbs, rather than dominant species and common plants, significantly decreased the richness of soil bacteria and fungi by decreasing rare microbial taxa in later years. This decline in the richness of rare microbial taxa was attributable not only to the decreased plant species richness but also to the increased abundance of fungivorous and omnivorous nematodes.</jats:list-item> <jats:list-item><jats:italic>Synthesis</jats:italic>. The study revealed that the loss of rare plants induces the loss of rare soil microbes through plant diversity effects amplified by below‐ground multitrophic interactions. Loss of rare soil microbes triggers larger shifts in the microbial community that alter soil biodiversity, food web structure and community functioning.</jats:list-item> </jats:list>","PeriodicalId":191,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Ecology","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2025-02-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143435028","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Global climate changes increased the frequency of snowfall reduction events in the Northern Hemisphere, consequently suppressing plant productivity. Grazing, the most widespread use of grasslands, influences productivity in response to climatic extremes by shaping community structure. Since grazing could disrupt normal plant growth and reproduction, rest from grazing at various stages of the growing season may have different effects on above‐ and below‐ground community properties. However, how grazing or grazing rest at different stages of growing season affects grassland stability when facing extreme snowfall reduction remains unclear.We investigated the multidimensional stability (resistance, resilience, recovery and temporal stability) of above‐ground net primary productivity (ANPP) under a time‐dependent strategic‐rest grazing practice (rest in early, peak and late growing stage) experiment, during which a natural extreme snowfall reduction event occurred. We also assessed plant richness, dominance, asynchrony, key functional group stability and below‐ground bud density to explore the mechanisms underlying multidimensional stability.We found that extreme snowfall reduction significantly decreased grassland ANPP under all grazing practices. However, grazing with short‐term rest during the peak growing stage significantly enhanced ANPP, improved resistance and recovery from extreme snowfall reduction, and consequently greatly improved the temporal stability compared to continuous grazing. In contrast, the grazing rest during the early and late growing stages did not improve temporal stability of ANPP. Meanwhile, resilience was not affected by grazing practices. The benefits of peak rest primarily arise from allowing the formation of sufficient below‐ground buds before and after extreme events. Notably, changes in community properties (such as diversity or asynchrony) resulting from the rest were not correlated with resistance and recovery. Additionally, the increases in grass bud density from the peak rest indirectly contributed to temporal stability by enhancing the stability of perennial rhizome grass and preserving community composition.Synthesis. These findings underscore the essential role of plant below‐ground buds in sustaining stable grassland productivity in response to snowfall reduction and also suggest that grassland management strategies should account for the protection of plant asexual reproductive organs, which contributes to grassland sustainability in the face of future climate change.
{"title":"Grazing regulates temperate grassland multidimensional stability facing extreme winter snowfall reductions by influencing below‐ground bud density","authors":"Tongtian Guo, Hao Zhang, Meiqi Guo, Gaowen Yang, Hengkang Xu, Xin Jing, Nan Liu, Yingjun Zhang","doi":"10.1111/1365-2745.70007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.70007","url":null,"abstract":"<jats:list> <jats:list-item>Global climate changes increased the frequency of snowfall reduction events in the Northern Hemisphere, consequently suppressing plant productivity. Grazing, the most widespread use of grasslands, influences productivity in response to climatic extremes by shaping community structure. Since grazing could disrupt normal plant growth and reproduction, rest from grazing at various stages of the growing season may have different effects on above‐ and below‐ground community properties. However, how grazing or grazing rest at different stages of growing season affects grassland stability when facing extreme snowfall reduction remains unclear.</jats:list-item> <jats:list-item>We investigated the multidimensional stability (resistance, resilience, recovery and temporal stability) of above‐ground net primary productivity (ANPP) under a time‐dependent strategic‐rest grazing practice (rest in early, peak and late growing stage) experiment, during which a natural extreme snowfall reduction event occurred. We also assessed plant richness, dominance, asynchrony, key functional group stability and below‐ground bud density to explore the mechanisms underlying multidimensional stability.</jats:list-item> <jats:list-item>We found that extreme snowfall reduction significantly decreased grassland ANPP under all grazing practices. However, grazing with short‐term rest during the peak growing stage significantly enhanced ANPP, improved resistance and recovery from extreme snowfall reduction, and consequently greatly improved the temporal stability compared to continuous grazing. In contrast, the grazing rest during the early and late growing stages did not improve temporal stability of ANPP. Meanwhile, resilience was not affected by grazing practices. The benefits of peak rest primarily arise from allowing the formation of sufficient below‐ground buds before and after extreme events. Notably, changes in community properties (such as diversity or asynchrony) resulting from the rest were not correlated with resistance and recovery. Additionally, the increases in grass bud density from the peak rest indirectly contributed to temporal stability by enhancing the stability of perennial rhizome grass and preserving community composition.</jats:list-item> <jats:list-item><jats:italic>Synthesis.</jats:italic> These findings underscore the essential role of plant below‐ground buds in sustaining stable grassland productivity in response to snowfall reduction and also suggest that grassland management strategies should account for the protection of plant asexual reproductive organs, which contributes to grassland sustainability in the face of future climate change.</jats:list-item> </jats:list>","PeriodicalId":191,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Ecology","volume":"68 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2025-02-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143427173","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Guangqi Zhang, Nathalie Bréda, Nicolas Steil, Pierre‐Antoine Gaertner, Joseph Levillain, Julien Ruelle, Catherine Massonnet
Recent extreme drought events in Central Europe have caused widespread forest dieback with detrimental effects on forest functioning and carbon and water balance. This impact has been notable on European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.), particularly at the core of its distribution, causing concern among forest stakeholders and questions about the resilience capacity of beech trees. The objective of this study is to investigate the physiological processes linked to water and carbon constraints involved in the resilience of beech cambial growth to drought.We selected 56 beech trees distributed in four plots in north‐eastern France with different soil water deficits characterized retrospectively by a water balance model. Functional traits including tree ring width, wood anatomical traits and stable isotopes (e.g. δ13C and δ18O) were measured to retrospectively assess the effect of recent recurrent drought in 2015, 2018–2020, and 2022.Decreased tree growth and increased δ18O and intrinsic water use efficiency (iWUE) were observed due to soil water shortage, whereas xylem vessel size and theoretical specific xylem hydraulic conductivity (Kth) did not show obvious changes. Vessel density was negatively correlated with annual ring width index and was highly sensitive to drought. δ13C, δ18O and iWUE were not significantly related to tree ring width index. The plot that experienced the most severe drought intensity in 2018–2020 showed a significant decrease in tree growth resistance and resilience compared to its resistance and resilience during the 2015 drought event. Surprisingly, growth resilience was not associated with tree anatomical and isotopic traits.Synthesis. Our results demonstrate that beech xylem structure responds to drought by adjusting the radial growth of tree rings with a relatively stable vessel diameter. Our study also highlights the impact of consecutive or recurrent drought in reducing beech tree resistance and resilience, particularly at sites with higher drought intensity. Tree resilience does not seem to involve changes in traits that would promote the hydraulic functioning to better cope with future soil water shortages.
{"title":"Analysing resilience of European beech tree to recurrent extreme drought events through ring growth, wood anatomy and stable isotopes","authors":"Guangqi Zhang, Nathalie Bréda, Nicolas Steil, Pierre‐Antoine Gaertner, Joseph Levillain, Julien Ruelle, Catherine Massonnet","doi":"10.1111/1365-2745.70014","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.70014","url":null,"abstract":"<jats:list> <jats:list-item>Recent extreme drought events in Central Europe have caused widespread forest dieback with detrimental effects on forest functioning and carbon and water balance. This impact has been notable on European beech (<jats:italic>Fagus sylvatica</jats:italic> L.), particularly at the core of its distribution, causing concern among forest stakeholders and questions about the resilience capacity of beech trees. The objective of this study is to investigate the physiological processes linked to water and carbon constraints involved in the resilience of beech cambial growth to drought.</jats:list-item> <jats:list-item>We selected 56 beech trees distributed in four plots in north‐eastern France with different soil water deficits characterized retrospectively by a water balance model. Functional traits including tree ring width, wood anatomical traits and stable isotopes (e.g. δ<jats:sup>13</jats:sup>C and δ<jats:sup>18</jats:sup>O) were measured to retrospectively assess the effect of recent recurrent drought in 2015, 2018–2020, and 2022.</jats:list-item> <jats:list-item>Decreased tree growth and increased δ<jats:sup>18</jats:sup>O and intrinsic water use efficiency (iWUE) were observed due to soil water shortage, whereas xylem vessel size and theoretical specific xylem hydraulic conductivity (<jats:italic>K</jats:italic><jats:sub>th</jats:sub>) did not show obvious changes. Vessel density was negatively correlated with annual ring width index and was highly sensitive to drought. δ<jats:sup>13</jats:sup>C, δ<jats:sup>18</jats:sup>O and iWUE were not significantly related to tree ring width index. The plot that experienced the most severe drought intensity in 2018–2020 showed a significant decrease in tree growth resistance and resilience compared to its resistance and resilience during the 2015 drought event. Surprisingly, growth resilience was not associated with tree anatomical and isotopic traits.</jats:list-item> <jats:list-item><jats:italic>Synthesis</jats:italic>. Our results demonstrate that beech xylem structure responds to drought by adjusting the radial growth of tree rings with a relatively stable vessel diameter. Our study also highlights the impact of consecutive or recurrent drought in reducing beech tree resistance and resilience, particularly at sites with higher drought intensity. Tree resilience does not seem to involve changes in traits that would promote the hydraulic functioning to better cope with future soil water shortages.</jats:list-item> </jats:list>","PeriodicalId":191,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Ecology","volume":"36 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2025-02-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143435021","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Global nitrogen (N) deposition continues to threaten plant diversity and ecosystem stability despite a recent slowdown in its increasing rates. Labile carbon (C) may help reduce excess N by alleviating microbial C starvations, but their role in mitigating the harmful effects of N enrichment remains unclear.In a meadow steppe in northern China, we conducted a 9‐year (2014–2022) field experiment with six levels of historical N addition (0, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 50 g N m−2 year−1, 2014–2019) and three levels of labile C (0, 200, and 2000 g C m−2 year−1).Three years after ceasing N treatments (2020–2022), above‐ground net primary productivity (ANPP) remained high under N addition. However, species richness and community stability continued to decline with increasing N addition rates. Labile C addition reduced the dominance of certain plant species within the community while it enhanced species asynchrony and below‐ground net primary productivity (BNPP). Boosted regression tree models indicated that the high levels of labile C inputs improved community stability by enhancing BNPP, which increased the relative importance of BNPP to the community stability from 7.5% to 27.4% as labile C input rose.Synthesis. Our results highlight how labile C inputs can counteract the negative impacts of N enrichment on community stability via enhancing plant‐microbe competition and increasing below‐ground biomass allocation.
{"title":"Labile carbon input alleviates nitrogen‐induced community instability in a meadow steppe","authors":"Liangchao Jiang, Jing Wang, Guojiao Yang, Qiushi Ning, Yinliu Wang, Shuo Li, Lingfei Yu, Huajie Liu, Xiaotao Lü, Yong Jiang, Xingguo Han, Cunzheng Wei, Haiyang Zhang","doi":"10.1111/1365-2745.70001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.70001","url":null,"abstract":"<jats:list> <jats:list-item>Global nitrogen (N) deposition continues to threaten plant diversity and ecosystem stability despite a recent slowdown in its increasing rates. Labile carbon (C) may help reduce excess N by alleviating microbial C starvations, but their role in mitigating the harmful effects of N enrichment remains unclear.</jats:list-item> <jats:list-item>In a meadow steppe in northern China, we conducted a 9‐year (2014–2022) field experiment with six levels of historical N addition (0, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 50 g N m<jats:sup>−2</jats:sup> year<jats:sup>−1</jats:sup>, 2014–2019) and three levels of labile C (0, 200, and 2000 g C m<jats:sup>−2</jats:sup> year<jats:sup>−1</jats:sup>).</jats:list-item> <jats:list-item>Three years after ceasing N treatments (2020–2022), above‐ground net primary productivity (ANPP) remained high under N addition. However, species richness and community stability continued to decline with increasing N addition rates. Labile C addition reduced the dominance of certain plant species within the community while it enhanced species asynchrony and below‐ground net primary productivity (BNPP). Boosted regression tree models indicated that the high levels of labile C inputs improved community stability by enhancing BNPP, which increased the relative importance of BNPP to the community stability from 7.5% to 27.4% as labile C input rose.</jats:list-item> <jats:list-item><jats:italic>Synthesis</jats:italic>. Our results highlight how labile C inputs can counteract the negative impacts of N enrichment on community stability via enhancing plant‐microbe competition and increasing below‐ground biomass allocation.</jats:list-item> </jats:list>","PeriodicalId":191,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Ecology","volume":"80 3 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2025-02-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143417643","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Dali Chen, Cunzhi Jia, Xiaohua Zhao, Zhen Yuan, Xinping Luo, Jinglong Bao, Hang Zhang, Zhuo Zhang, Xiaowen Hu
Combining common garden experiments with reciprocal transplant or sowing experiments is widely used to assess local adaptation in plants. This approach effectively minimizes the potential influence of maternal environments derived from seed origin. However, the impact of divergent common garden environments on local adaptation assessment has received limited attention in previous studies.To investigate the effects of diverse common garden conditions on the assessment of local adaptation, we conducted a 2‐year common garden experiment followed by a 5‐year reciprocal sowing experiment, both carried out at two different elevations. Seeds from low‐ and high‐elevation populations of Elymus nutans were directly sown in the common garden experiment to propagate seeds for the subsequent reciprocal sowing experiment. Multiple traits, including seedling emergence, survival, plant height, above‐ground biomass, number of reproductive branches, and the number of seeds per individual, were measured in both experiments. This comprehensive method allowed us to examine variations in local adaptation across different growth age and life cycle stages.The original low‐elevation population consistently outperformed the foreign population at the low‐elevation site, regardless of whether seeds were propagated in low or high‐elevation common gardens, indicating clear local adaptation. In contrast, the original high‐elevation population showed local adaptation only when seeds were propagated in the low‐elevation common garden. Long‐term experiments revealed a gradual decline in the strength of local adaptation in E. nutans over the years. Local adaptation was most evident in the number of seeds, with smaller advantages observed in seedling survival and a number of reproductive branches. No evidence of local adaptation was detected in other traits.Synthesis. The local adaptation of Elymus nutans was primarily observed during early growth age since seeding and was highly dependent on the common garden conditions in which the seeds were propagated. Therefore, it is crucial to carefully consider common garden conditions when evaluating plant local adaptation through common garden and reciprocal transplant experiments.
{"title":"Local adaptation is highly dependent on common garden conditions where seeds were propagated: Evidence from a 7‐year study on a dominant alpine meadow species","authors":"Dali Chen, Cunzhi Jia, Xiaohua Zhao, Zhen Yuan, Xinping Luo, Jinglong Bao, Hang Zhang, Zhuo Zhang, Xiaowen Hu","doi":"10.1111/1365-2745.14491","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.14491","url":null,"abstract":"<jats:list> <jats:list-item>Combining common garden experiments with reciprocal transplant or sowing experiments is widely used to assess local adaptation in plants. This approach effectively minimizes the potential influence of maternal environments derived from seed origin. However, the impact of divergent common garden environments on local adaptation assessment has received limited attention in previous studies.</jats:list-item> <jats:list-item>To investigate the effects of diverse common garden conditions on the assessment of local adaptation, we conducted a 2‐year common garden experiment followed by a 5‐year reciprocal sowing experiment, both carried out at two different elevations. Seeds from low‐ and high‐elevation populations of <jats:italic>Elymus nutans</jats:italic> were directly sown in the common garden experiment to propagate seeds for the subsequent reciprocal sowing experiment. Multiple traits, including seedling emergence, survival, plant height, above‐ground biomass, number of reproductive branches, and the number of seeds per individual, were measured in both experiments. This comprehensive method allowed us to examine variations in local adaptation across different growth age and life cycle stages.</jats:list-item> <jats:list-item>The original low‐elevation population consistently outperformed the foreign population at the low‐elevation site, regardless of whether seeds were propagated in low or high‐elevation common gardens, indicating clear local adaptation. In contrast, the original high‐elevation population showed local adaptation only when seeds were propagated in the low‐elevation common garden. Long‐term experiments revealed a gradual decline in the strength of local adaptation in <jats:italic>E. nutans</jats:italic> over the years. Local adaptation was most evident in the number of seeds, with smaller advantages observed in seedling survival and a number of reproductive branches. No evidence of local adaptation was detected in other traits.</jats:list-item> <jats:list-item><jats:italic>Synthesis.</jats:italic> The local adaptation of <jats:italic>Elymus nutans</jats:italic> was primarily observed during early growth age since seeding and was highly dependent on the common garden conditions in which the seeds were propagated. Therefore, it is crucial to carefully consider common garden conditions when evaluating plant local adaptation through common garden and reciprocal transplant experiments.</jats:list-item> </jats:list>","PeriodicalId":191,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Ecology","volume":"51 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2025-02-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143417660","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Brody Sandel, Cory Merow, Pep Serra-Diaz, Jens-Christian Svenning
CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
{"title":"Disequilibrium in plant distributions: Challenges and approaches for species distribution models","authors":"Brody Sandel, Cory Merow, Pep Serra-Diaz, Jens-Christian Svenning","doi":"10.1111/1365-2745.70009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.70009","url":null,"abstract":"<h2> CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT</h2>\u0000<p>The authors declare no conflicts of interest.</p>","PeriodicalId":191,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Ecology","volume":"8 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2025-02-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143401497","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
<h2>1 INTRODUCTION</h2> <p>A key challenge in ecology is to understand how the complexities of a biological system could stabilize the system's performance, such as the annual productivity of grasslands or forest communities (Jucker et al., <span>2014</span>; Schindler et al., <span>2010</span>; Yachi & Loreau, <span>1999</span>). Although many studies have investigated this topic over the past decades, much of the research has been focused on the effect of biodiversity on community stability (Hector et al., <span>2010</span>; Tilman, <span>1996</span>; Walter et al., <span>2021</span>), with little attention paid to the mechanisms of how individual-level differences affect population-level stability (Waddle et al., <span>2019</span>). Filling this gap is important because it is the variation at the individual level that defines the variation at the population level, and subsequently, the higher ecological levels.</p> <p>The stability of ecological communities is considered primarily determined by two major mechanisms: the portfolio effect (i.e. statistical averaging) (Doak et al., <span>1998</span>; Tilman, <span>1996</span>), where stability increases with the number of species; and the insurance effect, where stability increases with the temporal asynchrony among species (species asynchrony) (Blüthgen et al., <span>2016</span>; Yachi & Loreau, <span>1999</span>). One may draw a parallel between community stability and population stability, by which population size is analogous to species richness, and within-population asynchrony among individuals is analogous to species asynchrony. Take tree growth for example, as widely understood, it is strongly regulated by climatic conditions, especially the water–energy balance (Peltier & Ogle, <span>2020</span>). The fluctuation in climate would thus inevitably cause variation in growth rate. In addition to climate, many other factors such as tree age, genetic and trait variations, and microhabitat conditions could all cause differences in growth rate within a population, thus leading to growth asynchrony of conspecifics (Cater & Chapin III, <span>2000</span>; Peltier & Ogle, <span>2020</span>; Takenaka, <span>2000</span>; Tejedor et al., <span>2020</span>). Such individual differences allow the growth rates of the faster-growing individuals to compensate those of the slower-growing individuals when averaged across the population, thereby promoting the stability in the population-level mean tree growth rate. This stabilization process has potential ecological significance in mitigating the negative impacts of global change on forest ecosystem. However, little is understood about the extent to which population size and within-population asynchrony can regulate the stability of population-level tree growth rate.</p> <p>A subtle but important distinction between stabilizing processes at population and community levels lies in the different magnitudes of population size and species richn
{"title":"Individual asynchrony promotes population-level tree growth stability","authors":"Jingye Li, Fangliang He","doi":"10.1111/1365-2745.70004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.70004","url":null,"abstract":"<h2>1 INTRODUCTION</h2>\u0000<p>A key challenge in ecology is to understand how the complexities of a biological system could stabilize the system's performance, such as the annual productivity of grasslands or forest communities (Jucker et al., <span>2014</span>; Schindler et al., <span>2010</span>; Yachi & Loreau, <span>1999</span>). Although many studies have investigated this topic over the past decades, much of the research has been focused on the effect of biodiversity on community stability (Hector et al., <span>2010</span>; Tilman, <span>1996</span>; Walter et al., <span>2021</span>), with little attention paid to the mechanisms of how individual-level differences affect population-level stability (Waddle et al., <span>2019</span>). Filling this gap is important because it is the variation at the individual level that defines the variation at the population level, and subsequently, the higher ecological levels.</p>\u0000<p>The stability of ecological communities is considered primarily determined by two major mechanisms: the portfolio effect (i.e. statistical averaging) (Doak et al., <span>1998</span>; Tilman, <span>1996</span>), where stability increases with the number of species; and the insurance effect, where stability increases with the temporal asynchrony among species (species asynchrony) (Blüthgen et al., <span>2016</span>; Yachi & Loreau, <span>1999</span>). One may draw a parallel between community stability and population stability, by which population size is analogous to species richness, and within-population asynchrony among individuals is analogous to species asynchrony. Take tree growth for example, as widely understood, it is strongly regulated by climatic conditions, especially the water–energy balance (Peltier & Ogle, <span>2020</span>). The fluctuation in climate would thus inevitably cause variation in growth rate. In addition to climate, many other factors such as tree age, genetic and trait variations, and microhabitat conditions could all cause differences in growth rate within a population, thus leading to growth asynchrony of conspecifics (Cater & Chapin III, <span>2000</span>; Peltier & Ogle, <span>2020</span>; Takenaka, <span>2000</span>; Tejedor et al., <span>2020</span>). Such individual differences allow the growth rates of the faster-growing individuals to compensate those of the slower-growing individuals when averaged across the population, thereby promoting the stability in the population-level mean tree growth rate. This stabilization process has potential ecological significance in mitigating the negative impacts of global change on forest ecosystem. However, little is understood about the extent to which population size and within-population asynchrony can regulate the stability of population-level tree growth rate.</p>\u0000<p>A subtle but important distinction between stabilizing processes at population and community levels lies in the different magnitudes of population size and species richn","PeriodicalId":191,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Ecology","volume":"129 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2025-02-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143393361","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Donghao Wu, Yong Chen, M. D. Farnon Ellwood, Zhenzhen Shao, Yongjia Wang, Johannes H. C. Cornelissen, Chengjin Chu
CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT
The authors declare no conflicts of interest. Chengjin Chu and Johannes H. C. Cornelissen are the Associate Editors of Journal of Ecology, but took no part in the peer review and decision-making processes for this paper.
{"title":"Wood trait–decay relationships vary with topography and rainfall seasonality in a subtropical forest in China","authors":"Donghao Wu, Yong Chen, M. D. Farnon Ellwood, Zhenzhen Shao, Yongjia Wang, Johannes H. C. Cornelissen, Chengjin Chu","doi":"10.1111/1365-2745.70006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.70006","url":null,"abstract":"<h2> CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT</h2>\u0000<p>The authors declare no conflicts of interest. Chengjin Chu and Johannes H. C. Cornelissen are the Associate Editors of Journal of Ecology, but took no part in the peer review and decision-making processes for this paper.</p>","PeriodicalId":191,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Ecology","volume":"63 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2025-02-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143385886","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Xiaoming Mou, Yuqiang Li, Xuyang Wang, Yun Chen, Bin Jia, Han Mao, Fencan Li, Xiao Gang Li
CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
{"title":"Plant species richness mediates the responses of microbial necromass carbon accumulation to climate aridity in alpine meadows","authors":"Xiaoming Mou, Yuqiang Li, Xuyang Wang, Yun Chen, Bin Jia, Han Mao, Fencan Li, Xiao Gang Li","doi":"10.1111/1365-2745.70008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.70008","url":null,"abstract":"<h2> CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT</h2>\u0000<p>The authors declare no conflicts of interest.</p>","PeriodicalId":191,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Ecology","volume":"22 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2025-02-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143385825","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Direct and indirect fitness effects of plant metabolites, and genetic constraints, limit evolution of allelopathy in an invading plant","authors":"Richard Honor, Mia Marcellus, Robert I. Colautti","doi":"10.1111/1365-2745.14490","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.14490","url":null,"abstract":"<h2> CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT</h2>\u0000<p>The authors declare no conflicts of interest.</p>","PeriodicalId":191,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Ecology","volume":"48 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2025-02-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143385826","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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