Plant ecology articles from across Nature Portfolio

Identifying ecological thresholds — that is, when and where small environmental changes can potentially cause large effects on ecosystems — is key to managing ecosystems under global changes. We used trait distributions to detect ecological thresholds and reveal how land use intensification drastically alters the ecosystem structure, stability and biodiversity of grasslands.

This study reveals that the varying responses of plant biomass to phosphorus addition across plant functional groups align with the leaf economics spectrum, with plants characterized by more acquisitive traits exhibiting stronger responses to phosphorus addition.

Identifying ecological thresholds — that is, when and where small environmental changes can potentially cause large effects on ecosystems — is key to managing ecosystems under global changes. We used trait distributions to detect ecological thresholds and reveal how land use intensification drastically alters the ecosystem structure, stability and biodiversity of grasslands.

The increasing severity of global large-scale fires is hindering forest recovery, which is observed as an increase in the recovery time and likelihood of recovery stagnation. Coupled with the adverse effects of climate change (such as warming and drought), recovery challenges might signify a high risk of forest decline.

The classic genetics × environment × management framework, used for assessing crop yield, can be extended to include four enabling factors for yield intensification (knowledge, availability of critical goods and services, experience, and capability). The resulting framework, ‘GEM4’, enables managers and advisors to identify farm-level constraints to yield intensification. The framework may be a useful tool for research and development initiatives at local or global levels supporting crop yield intensification.

Crop rotation has been shown to synergistically improve barley yields and soil quality on the Tibetan Plateau, where challenging climatic conditions, limited crop choices and low baseline soil fertility threaten agricultural sustainability.