Plant traits and associated ecological data from global change experiments and climate gradients in Norway.

Plant functional trait-based approaches are powerful tools to assess the consequences of global environmental changes for plant ecophysiology, population and community ecology, ecosystem functioning, and landscape ecology. Here, we present data capturing these ecological dimensions from grazing, nitrogen addition, and warming experiments conducted along a 821 m a.s.

Ecological drivers of fine-scale distribution of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in a semiarid Mediterranean scrubland.

Background And Aims: Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi enhance the uptake of water and minerals by the plant hosts, alleviating plant stress. Therefore, AM fungal-plant interactions are particularly important in drylands and other stressful ecosystems. We aimed to determine the combined and independent effects of above- and below-ground plant community attributes (i.

How to improve scaling from traits to ecosystem processes.

Scaling approaches in ecology assume that traits are the main attributes by which organisms influence ecosystem functioning. However, several recent empirical papers have found only weak links between traits and ecosystem functioning, questioning the usefulness of trait-based ecology (TBE). We argue that these studies often suffer from one or more widespread misconceptions.

Next-generation field courses: Integrating Open Science and online learning.

As Open Science practices become more commonplace, there is a need for the next generation of scientists to be well versed in these aspects of scientific research. Yet, many training opportunities for early career researchers (ECRs) could better emphasize or integrate Open Science elements. Field courses provide opportunities for ECRs to apply theoretical knowledge, practice new methodological approaches, and gain an appreciation for the challenges of real-life research, and could provide an excellent platform for integrating training in Open Science practices.

Estimating belowground plant abundance with DNA metabarcoding.

Most work on plant community ecology has been performed above ground, neglecting the processes that occur in the soil. DNA metabarcoding, in which multiple species are computationally identified in bulk samples, can help to overcome the logistical limitations involved in sampling plant communities belowground. However, a major limitation of this methodology is the quantification of species' abundances based on the percentage of sequences assigned to each taxon.

Phylogenetic patterns and phenotypic profiles of the species of plants and mammals farmed for food.

The origins of agriculture were key events in human history, during which people came to depend for their food on small numbers of animal and plant species. However, the biological traits determining which species were domesticated for food provision, and which were not, are unclear. Here, we investigate the phylogenetic distribution of livestock and crops, and compare their phenotypic traits with those of wild species.

Individual species affect plant traits structure in their surroundings: evidence of functional mechanisms of assembly.

Evaluating community assembly through the use of functional traits is a promising tool for testing predictions arising from Niche and Coexistence theories. Although interactions among neighboring species and their inter-specific differences are known drivers of coexistence with a strong spatial signal, assessing the role of individual species on the functional structure of the community at different spatial scales remains a challenge. Here, we ask whether individual species exert a measurable effect on the spatial organization of different functional traits in local assemblages.

Maintaining distances with the engineer: patterns of coexistence in plant communities beyond the patch-bare dichotomy.

Two-phase plant communities with an engineer conforming conspicuous patches and affecting the performance and patterns of coexisting species are the norm under stressful conditions. To unveil the mechanisms governing coexistence in these communities at multiple spatial scales, we have developed a new point-raster approach of spatial pattern analysis, which was applied to a Mediterranean high mountain grassland to show how Festuca curvifolia patches affect the local distribution of coexisting species. We recorded 22 111 individuals of 17 plant perennial species.