New paper in The Lancet Planetary Health where we show that Nitrogen enrichment not only substantially increases the pollen production of grasslands, but also the pollen allergenicity 🤧.

The impact of ecosystem nitrogen enrichment on pollen allergy: a cross-sectional paired comparison study

Nitrogen enrichment substantially increased pollen abundance and allergenicity, indicating a heightened allergy burden in nitrogen-rich environments. These findings underscore the need for policies ad...

thelancet.com

Excited to announce our new paper, “Global impoverishment of natural vegetation revealed by dark diversity,” out today in Nature – and it’s open access! Huge global collaboration led by Meelis Pärtel 🌐@macroecologyut.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Global impoverishment of natural vegetation revealed by dark diversity - Nature

A comparison of alpha diversity (number of plant species) and dark diversity (species that are currently absent from a site despite being ecologically suitable) demonstrates the negative effects of re...

nature.com

We are very happy to announce that the next Microclimate Ecology & Biogeography (MEB) conference will happen in Montpellier (FRANCE), 1 - 5 June 2026 ☀️ meb-network.com/meb-2026/ Microclimate scientists: save the date in your agenda!!

📢 New research alert! How does reducing competition affect drought stress & growth in European beech and pedunculate oak? 🌳💦 A study led by Sanne Verdonck at @dfornatlan.bsky.social in @forestecosyst.bsky.social explores this in National Park Brabantse Wouden (Belgium). 🏞️ 🔗 doi.org/10.1016/j.fe...

Ben jij benieuwd naar hoe publiek toegankelijk groen (zoals parken en bossen) jouw sociaal welzijn beïnvloedt? Wij ook! Draag als student in het hoger onderwijs bij aan ons onderzoek door deze enquête (15') in te vullen: survey.kuleuven.cloud/88?lang=nl Deel gerust! @kuleuvenplantinst.bsky.social

Each month, we shine a spotlight on one of our colleagues in our FNL division🌳and share their interesting research! 🔍Today, we present the topic of @saskiadroege.bsky.social: Environmental outcomes of food and forest management certification. 🍫🍃

Today, we launch MicroFracNet, a global network exploring how biodiversity varies across SCALES - big and small. 🌍 If you love vegetation and want to be part of something both larger - and smaller - than yourself, join us! Learn more & sign up: the3dlab.org/2025/02/10/m... 📢 Please share widely!

Are you an expert in deep learning and eager to push the boundaries of species distribution modeling? 🌍🔍 We’re looking for a motivated candidate to apply for a Marie Curie postdoctoral fellowship!

Good to see UK universities beginning an exodus from Twitterx www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-...

UK universities join retreat from Elon Musk's X, citing misinformation on platform

Universities and other higher education establishments have joined a retreat among British institutions from Elon Musk's X social media platform, citing its role in spreading misinformation that fuelled race riots last year.

reuters.com

New paper out! 🌳 🌲 (and this one is very special to me) ➡️ Diversity boosts forest productivity also (and especially?) through its effect on the number of trees within forests besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... @journalofecology.bsky.social @cnrsoccitanieest.bsky.social More ⬇️ 1/7

🚨 Mosses on the spotlight ⬇️ We made the cover of the current issue of Journal of Ecology 😍🤩 for the last paper of Eva's PhD on the affinity of understory #plant species, including mosses, to #forest #microclimate buffering 🌳 Picture from Eva Gril @journalofecology.bsky.social shorturl.at/LVS7F

Interesting story by @dancharles.bsky.social about what happens when farmers abandon land, and what types of ecosystems come back. (Globally agricultural land is still expanding on a net basis, but it is contracting in some places.)

Farmers are abandoning land worldwide. What should happen to it?

Ecologists differ on whether to steer recovery or let nature take its course

science.org

"A study of federally funded research projects in the United States estimated that principal investigators spend on average about 45% of their time on administrative activities related to applying for and managing projects rather than conducting active research" www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

New study alert! Drylands are critical to ~1/3 of the global population, but risk abrupt shifts due to climate change & land degradation. Can we predict these shifts? In a paper led by Paulo Bernardino in @natclimchange.bsky.social, we tackle this challenge: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Predictability of abrupt shifts in dryland ecosystem functioning - Nature Climate Change

The authors develop a machine learning-based approach to derive abrupt shift probability in dryland ecosystem functioning in the Sudano–Sahel. They highlight areas with high probabilities of abrupt sh...

nature.com

📖Published📖 Check out our new Research Article 👉 Measuring overall functional diversity by aggregating its multiple facets: Functional richness, biomass evenness, trait evenness and dispersion 🌎 🧪 https://buff.ly/3ZWJQwr

"Het gaat goed met onze natuur want kijk, er keren soorten terug!" Toch? Voor @inbo.bsky.social mocht ik samen met @wimveraghtert.bsky.social van @natuurpunt.bsky.social een genuanceerd antwoord brengen in dS. Het antwoord? Een paar soorten: ja Veel habitats: bwaaa m.standaard.be/cnt/dmf20241...

De boomkikker kwaakt weer, de zwammen schieten weelderig op, maar toch was 2024 geen hoerajaar voor de Vlaamse natuur

Tienduizenden boomkikkers lieten dit jaar van zich horen in Vlaanderen. Niet slecht voor een dier dat hier ooit bijna uitgestorven was. Ook andere soorten boden goed natuurnieuws. Toch was 2024 geen hoerajaar voor de natuur.

m.standaard.be

Interesting read: 💰The high costs of peer review & grant writing 📊Bibliometrics as a partial alternative to peer review 🚀Exploring better ways to evaluate impact & fairness www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... #grantwriting #funding #science #peerreview #bibliometrics

The costs of competition in distributing scarce research funds | PNAS

Research funding systems fundamentally influence how science operates. This paper aims to analyze the allocation of competitive research funding fr...

pnas.org

Interested in more of this type of work? Follow the microclimate ecology starter park with all these great people inside! go.bsky.app/7at8uFX

New Paper Alert! 🚨 📄 "Ten practical guidelines for microclimate research in terrestrial ecosystems" is out now in @methodsinecoevol.bsky.social @mebnetwork.bsky.social 🔗 Read it here: doi.org/10.1111/2041... A 🧵 with key takeaways (1/5)

Ten practical guidelines for microclimate research in terrestrial ecosystems

Most biodiversity dynamics and ecosystem processes on land take place in microclimates that are decoupled from the climate as measured by standardised weather stations in open, unshaded locations....

doi.org

*Ten practical guidelines for microclimate research in terrestrial ecosystems* I am so glad to share our latest paper in @methodsinecoevol.bsky.social led by @pieterdefrenne.bsky.social and the @mebnetwork.bsky.social. besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Ten practical guidelines for microclimate research in terrestrial ecosystems

Most biodiversity dynamics and ecosystem processes on land take place in microclimates that are decoupled from the climate as measured by standardised weather stations in open, unshaded locations....

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

🌍 How do climatic extremes impact species distributions? Our new paper in Journal of Biogeography led by Ward Fonteyn introduces a method to better capture the effects of extremee climatic events in species distribution models (SDMs). 🌳 🔗 doi.org/10.1111/jbi.... A 🧵 (1/6)

Incorporating Climatic Extremes Using the GEV Distribution Improves SDM Range Edge Performance

Aim The changing frequency and intensity of climatic extremes due to climate change can have sudden and adverse impacts on the distribution of species. While species distribution modelling is a vita...

doi.org

Great worflow and R package for any one working of ecological trait database !! by Elizabeth Wenk et al. in Ecological Informatics Nov. 2024 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... 🧪🌐🌍

#trait databases 🧮➕📏

Global Ecology 🌐@global-ecology.bsky.social · 2y ago

Great worflow and R package for any one working of ecological trait database !! by Elizabeth Wenk et al. in Ecological Informatics Nov. 2024 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... 🧪🌐🌍

Trait variability can buffer populations against stress, but harnessing this for restoration is proving tricky. Lab alum Ella Samuel finds that diversity in seed source plant populations is not predictive of variability or performance in a common garden. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Intraspecific trait variability in wild plant populations predicts neither variability nor performance in a common garden

Dryland restoration requires plant materials capable of performing well despite difficult growing conditions. Selecting plant materials with higher intraspecific trait variability (ITV) may support s...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

The 10 top stories of 2024 on The 3D Lab #1 - Introducing MIREN Rocks - the global rock face survey and perhaps our most breath-taking global monitoring project so far! Still welcoming rock climbing ecologists to join us next summer! @kvanmeerbeek.bsky.social the3dlab.org/2024/01/23/f...

Following plants in the crags: MIREN rock face survey

Join the new MIREN rock face survey With long-term monitoring campaigns focussing on mountain roads and trails, and divergences to railroads and rivers, we are happy to announce that MIREN wants to…

the3dlab.org

Looking for students with a proposal for a "INBO-FWO"-#PhD. Topics are "Exploring human dimensions of co-existence with large mammals in Flanders" & "Assisted migration of tree species to sustain functional forests in the future: www.vlaanderen.be/inbo/vacatur...

38% of terrestrial land is exposed to biological invasions, yet sensitivity hotspots extend far beyond ! Check out the last publication of @claramarino.bsky.social & @celinebellard.bsky.social from the #CESAB RIVAGE group : 👉 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... 🧪🌐🌍🦤

Exposure and Sensitivity of Terrestrial Vertebrates to Biological Invasions Worldwide

To reach the COP 15 objective of diminishing the impacts of biological invasions on native biota, one needs to identify the most vulnerable areas to this threat for prioritizing conservation actions.....

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

#Citizenscience is a powerful tool for early detection of invasive species. Specifically, records submitted to platforms like @inaturalist.bsky.social should form part of surveillance by regulatory authorities. www.ceh.ac.uk/news-and-med...

Citizen science is a powerful tool in fight against invasive non-native species

A Europe-wide study, involving the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, has found citizen science plays a vital role in early detection of invasive non-native (alien) species, which is essential to info...

ceh.ac.uk

🌍 Crowd-sourced trait data can be used to delimit global #biomes 🌳🌲🌱🌿🍃 Scheiter et al. 👉 bg.copernicus.org/articles/21/... #Biogeography #vegetation #FunctionalTraits #ecology 🌐

NEW RESEARCH Near-Term Forecasting of Terrestrial Mobile Species Distributions for Adaptive Management Under Extreme Weather Events 📄 https://buff.ly/3BhXyR5 #climatechange #extremeweather