Article
Ecology
Liliana Benitez, Amy E. Kendig, Ashish Adhikari, Keith Clay, Philip F. Harmon, Robert D. Holt, Erica M. Goss, S. Luke Flory
Summary: Plant litter and its pathogens negatively impact competition with native plants, favoring invasive species and increasing disease incidence on native species.
Article
Forestry
Catherine L. Pohlman, David Y. P. Tng, Singarayer K. Florentine
Summary: Restoring tropical rainforests is becoming increasingly urgent, but recruitment in many restoration projects remains dominated by low diversity pioneer species. Restoration efforts have had little effect on recruiting primary rainforest species, indicating further intervention will be necessary to restore these species in the region.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Liz Koziol, Thomas P. McKenna, James D. Bever
Summary: This study investigated the effect of microbial communities on seedling biomass and diversity by seeding pots with native prairie seeds and a non-native competitor. The results showed that inoculating soil with prairie arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and ex-arable soil increased abundance and diversity of native and late successional plants, leading to decreased abundance of the non-native grass S. faberi.
Article
Ecology
Chaeho Byun
Summary: Pink muhly grass is an exotic species in South Korea and is popular worldwide for landscaping. It has been categorized as an Ecosystem Hazard Class 2 plant, requiring long-term monitoring to assess its ecological impacts.
Article
Ecology
Bianca Berto, Alison L. Ritchie, Todd E. Erickson
Summary: This study successfully improved germination and handling characteristics of two dominant Australian native grass species through the application of seed enhancement technologies, providing assistance for restoration and commercial success.
RESTORATION ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Akira Terui, Hirokazu Urabe, Masayuki Senzaki, Bungo Nishizawa
Summary: The massive release of captive-bred native species may disrupt species interactions and compromise community stability, with limited demographic benefit to the enhanced species.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Article
Agronomy
Lie Xiao, Yuanyuan Ma, Peiyao Yuwen, Dandan Du, Peng Li, Caili Sun, Sha Xue
Summary: This study investigated the effects of coexistence of different grass species on the structure and function of rhizosphere microbial communities, particularly under drought stress conditions. The results showed that the coexistence of grass species altered the structure and function of the rhizosphere microbial community through changes in rhizosphere pH and water-soluble nutrients.
Article
Forestry
Ebony Potts, David Tng, Deborah Apgaua, Timothy J. Curran, Jayden Engert, Susan G. W. Laurance
Summary: Canopy fires are increasing globally, even in fire-sensitive rainforest ecosystems. The flammability of tree species and growth forms is an important ecological driver of canopy fires. This study quantified the shoot-flammability of 124 rainforest plant species and found that trees were more flammable than shrubs and vines. Certain plant families, such as Sapindaceae and Proteaceae, had particularly high flammability. Leaf dry matter content was consistently associated with species flammability. This study has implications for fire management in rainforests, emphasizing the potential for severe fire conditions to impact tropical rainforest trees and the vulnerability of restoration plantings to fire incidents.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Hannah L. Farrell, Jennifer Funk, Darin Law, Elise S. Gornish
Summary: Invasive buffelgrass, a drought tolerant perennial grass, can exhibit rapid growth when grown with fast-establishing, high-biomass native grasses despite increased drought stress. However, when grown with slow-growing, drought-tolerant neighbors, buffelgrass growth is arrested. Seeding with drought-tolerant native grasses after buffelgrass treatment can significantly reduce buffelgrass shoot biomass in drought conditions, offering a beneficial option for suppressing re-invasion.
BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Manon C. M. Hess, Francois Mesleard, Truman P. Young, Benoit de Freitas, Nathan Haveneers, Elise Buisson
Summary: Understanding the factors that determine early invasion resistance is crucial for designing plant communities that can effectively repel invaders. Recent research has shown that priority effects play a significant role in early community assembly, affecting species composition, structure, and functional properties. However, the influence of native community assembly history on the success of subsequent invasions has not been fully understood yet.
BASIC AND APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Jenna Braun, Jacob E. Lucero, Christopher J. Lortie, Nicholas Fox
Summary: The invasive plant red brome negatively influences the biomass of two out of three native forb species in California drylands. However, its impact on establishment and survival of native species is not significant. The study also reveals that water availability does not affect the competitive effects between red brome and native species in these dryland habitats.
BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Anderson Carvalho Vieira, Icaro Santos Lopes, Paula Luize Camargos Fonseca, Roenick Proveti Olmo, Flora Bittencourt, Leticia Marostica de Vasconcelos, Carlos Priminho Pirovani, Fernanda Amato Gaiotto, Eric Roberto Guimaraes Rocha Aguiar
Summary: The study analyzed the virome of Carpotroche brasiliensis from the Atlantic Forest and cacao-cabruca AFS regions. The results revealed a diverse virome and described the genomes of two tentative novel viruses.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Fabielle M. Bando, Bruno R. S. Figueiredo, Dieison A. Moi, Sidinei M. Thomaz, Thaisa S. Michelan, Jorge Garcia-Giron, Jani Heino, Janne Alahuhta, Gustavo Q. Romero, Roger P. Mormul
Summary: A growing body of evidence indicates that biological invasions are causing changes in the composition of species in communities over space and time. Previous studies conducted at small scales and short durations may have underestimated the impact of exotic species on native communities.
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Forestry
Nino Tavares Amazonas, David I. Forrester, Carina Camargo Silva, Danilo Roberti Alves de Almeida, Rafael Silva Oliveira, Ricardo Ribeiro Rodrigues, Pedro H. S. Brancalion
Summary: Mixed plantations composed of Eucalyptus intercropped with a high diversity of native tree species are a promising option for combining biodiversity recovery with wood production during forest landscape restoration. Research in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil showed that well-managed mixed plantations can effectively utilize light and nutrients, providing a viable silvicultural solution for offsetting the costs of forest landscape restoration in the tropics.
Article
Plant Sciences
Muhammad Usman Ghani, Hang Yuan, Mei Tian, Muhammad Kamran, Fujiang Hou
Summary: This research investigated the allelopathic potential of dominant native grass species on exotic plant species and found that the aqueous extracts of Artemisia capillaris and Stipa bungeana significantly suppressed the seed germination and seedling growth of alfalfa, while Lespedeza davurica had no effect on germination indexes but significantly suppressed the seedling height of alfalfa. However, it improved the seed germination and seedling growth of wheat.
JOURNAL OF PLANT GROWTH REGULATION
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Susana Maza-Villalobos, David D. Ackerly, Ken Oyama, Miguel Martinez-Ramos
PERSPECTIVES IN PLANT ECOLOGY EVOLUTION AND SYSTEMATICS
(2020)
Article
Plant Sciences
Ernesto Vega, Miguel Martinez-Ramos, Felipe Garcia-Oliva, Ken Oyama
Article
Forestry
Miguel Martinez-Ramos, Felipe Barragan, Francisco Mora, Susana Maza-Villalobos, Luis F. Arreola-Villa, Radika Bhaskar, Frans Bongers, Celina Lemus-Herrera, Horacio Paz, Angelina Martinez-Yrizar, Bianca A. Santini, Patricia Balvanera
Summary: The study investigated the changes in community attributes and phylogenetic structure of shrubs and trees at different life stages during the old-field succession of a seasonally tropical dry forest in Western Mexico. Results showed that the assembly of shrub and tree communities along succession resulted from a combination of abiotic filtering processes operating mostly on seedlings and biotic filtering processes operating mostly on resprouts. The implications of these findings for the management of secondary TDF in human-modified landscapes are discussed.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Ricard Arasa-Gisbert, Victor Arroyo-Rodriguez, Carmen Galan-Acedo, Jorge A. Meave, Miguel Martinez-Ramos
Summary: The study reveals that landscape composition has a stronger effect on sapling diversity than landscape configuration. Old-growth forest specialist species tend to decrease in deforested landscapes with open matrices, while forest generalist species show the opposite response, especially in regions with high-to-intermediate disturbance levels. Forest fragmentation has weak or no effects on species diversity, particularly after controlling for forest cover effects.
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Tomonari Matsuo, Miguel Martinez-Ramos, Frans Bongers, Masha T. van der Sande, Lourens Poorter
Summary: This study found that light conditions change linearly during tropical forest succession, leading to continuous replacement of species. Changes in forest structure drive the changes in light conditions, with basal area determining where most light is absorbed and crown area influencing light distribution.
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Karen Noriega-Pina, Daniel Pinero, Teresa Valverde, Miguel Martinez-Ramos
Summary: Eradication of herbivores by human disturbances results in a demographic outburst of highly competitive prey species, leading to reduced plant species diversity. In the Los Tuxtlas tropical rainforest of Mexico, an understory palm species is reportedly excluding other tree species, potentially impacting forest structure and composition in the long term.
Review
Forestry
Patricia Balvanera, Horacio Paz, Felipe Arreola-Villa, Radika Bhaskar, Frans Bongers, Sofia Cortes, Ek del Val, Eduardo Garcia-Frapolli, Mayra Elena Gavito, Carlos E. Gonzalez-Esquivel, Miguel Martinez-Ramos, Angelina Martinez-Yrizar, Francisco Mora, Julia Naime, Fermin Pascual-Ramirez, Nathalia Perez-Cardenas, Oscar A. Ugartechea-Salmeron, Ilyes Siddique, Ireri Suazo-Ortuno, Scott M. Swinton
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Miguel Martinez-Ramos, Maria del Mar Gallego-Mahecha, Teresa Valverde, Ernesto Vega, Frans Bongers
Summary: Early pioneer species show differences in demographic attributes during succession, with population density, structure, and growth rates varying among Trema micrantha, Cecropia peltata, and Trichospermum mexicanum in tropical rainforest in Southeast Mexico. Demographic patterns indicated the moment each species reached peak density and the sequence of species replacement during succession. Inter-specific priority inhibitory effects may also play a role in colonization and replacement between species with similar regeneration strategies.
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
German Wies, Armando Navarrete-Segueda, Eliane Ceccon, John Larsen, Miguel Martinez-Ramos
Summary: This study investigated various factors influencing maize cropping systems and grain yield, including the differences between traditional and conventional systems, soil characteristics, agronomic factors, and socioeconomic drivers. The findings reveal the inconsistent effectiveness of modern agronomic management and highlight the need for new theoretical models incorporating socioeconomic and cultural drivers to better predict maize grain yield.
AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Ricard Arasa-Gisbert, Victor Arroyo-Rodriguez, Jorge A. Meave, Miguel Martinez-Ramos, Madelon Lohbeck
Summary: This study examines the effects of forest cover, matrix openness, and forest patch density on the functional composition and diversity of tropical regenerating trees. The results show that forest loss and matrix openness reduce functional richness and evenness, while fragmentation has contrasting effects on functional diversity and composition.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Daniel Martin Auliz-Ortiz, Victor Arroyo-Rodriguez, Eduardo Mendoza, Miguel Martinez-Ramos
Summary: This study assessed the impact of biosphere reserves on forest loss and fragmentation in the Mesoamerican biodiversity hotspot and found that reserves can reduce forest loss and preserve less-fragmented configurations. However, they do not decrease the fragmentation rate or promote forest regrowth. Increasing non-farm occupation and planning rural settlements around reserves can improve their effectiveness for forest conservation.
PERSPECTIVES IN ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Madelon Lohbeck, Ben DeVries, Frans Bongers, Miguel Martinez-Ramos, Armando Navarrete-Segueda, Sergio Nicasio-Arzeta, Christina Siebe, Aline Pingarroni, German Wies, Mathieu Decuyper
Summary: Forest regrowth is crucial for achieving restoration commitments, but a lack of understanding about its occurrence and persistence hampers effective upscaling. This study in southern Mexico examined the spatiotemporal dynamics of forest in a recently colonized agricultural frontier, and investigated the factors influencing forest disturbance, regrowth, and secondary forest persistence. The results showed widespread forest loss and relatively constant secondary forest cover, indicating a shift away from shifting cultivation. Climate variation and land ownership were found to be important drivers of disturbance, while soil quality influenced forest characteristics. The findings highlight the importance of considering community-specific dynamics and promoting equitable conservation initiatives to ensure successful forest restoration.
REMOTE SENSING IN ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2022)
Article
Forestry
Jesus Eduardo Saenz-Ceja, Miguel Martinez-Ramos, Manuel E. Mendoza, Diego R. Perez-Salicrup
Summary: This study describes the fire scar patterns in two conifer species in Mexican temperate forests. The results suggest that the absence of visible fire scars in smooth-bark Mexican pines does not imply the absence of fire, and sacred firs can exhibit external fire scars like pines.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF WILDLAND FIRE
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Guillermo Ibarra-Manriquez, Mario Gonzalez-Espinosa, Miguel Martinez-Ramos, Jorge A. Meave
Summary: Vegetation is crucial for biodiversity and human well-being. The goal of vegetation ecology is to understand the factors affecting vegetation and propose solutions to challenges through reviewing recent advances. Vegetation science will continue to provide knowledge and tools for addressing global environmental crisis.
BOTANICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Environmental Studies
Daniel Martin Auliz-Ortiz, Victor Arroyo-Rodriguez, Eduardo Mendoza, Miguel Martinez-Ramos
Summary: Restricted policies in protected areas may worsen poverty, but less restrictive areas may be better at alleviating poverty. However, this permissibility may reduce the effectiveness of preventing forest loss.