http://www.journalofecology.org EarlyView RSS Feed http://www.journalofecology.org/details/journalArticle/1451039/Assessing_the_role_of_competition_and_stress_a_critique_of_importance_indices_an.html Summary 1. Many studies have explored how plant interactions vary along environmental gradients, and these relationships are fundamental to the many ideas in vegetation dynamics. 2. It has been argued that studies should differentiate between the intensity (absolute effect) and importance (relative effect) of a process, and several important indices have been presented in the literature. ... 2012-01-23T00:00:00Z http://www.journalofecology.org/details/journalArticle/1451041/Maternal_effects_alter_natural_selection_on_phytochromes_through_seed_germinatio.html Summary 1. Phytochromes regulate seed germination in response to light and temperature, and different phytochromes contribute to germination under different environmental conditions. 2. Using Arabidopsis thaliana mutants with different combinations of non‐functional phytochromes, we tested which phytochromes contribute to germination and other life‐history traits under field conditions and whether that... 2012-01-23T00:00:00Z http://www.journalofecology.org/details/journalArticle/1451043/Realistic_plant_species_losses_reduce_invasion_resistance_in_a_California_serpen.html Summary 1. The majority of experiments examining effects of species diversity on ecosystem functioning have randomly manipulated species richness. More recent studies demonstrate that realistic species losses have dramatically different effects on ecosystem functioning than those of randomized losses, but these results are based primarily on microcosm experiments or modelling efforts. 2. We conducted a... 2012-01-23T00:00:00Z http://www.journalofecology.org/details/journalArticle/1443737/Different_genetic_clines_in_response_to_temperature_across_the_native_and_introd.html Summary 1. Understanding how non‐native plants respond to environmental variation, and the limits to these responses, is important for predicting plant invasiveness. Until now, the extent to which species’ climatic limits differ on introduction to a new range has not been experimentally tested. Here, we investigate fitness responses to temperature and low‐temperature limits to reproduction of native and introduced populations of the... 2012-01-18T00:00:00Z http://www.journalofecology.org/details/journalArticle/1443739/Analysis_of_a_negative_plantsoil_feedback_in_a_subtropical_monsoon_forest.html Summary 1. The Janzen–Connell hypothesis provides explanations for species coexistence and predicts that recruitment of tree juveniles is reduced by host‐specific enemies, particularly soil biota. Previous studies, however, have not fully addressed the aspect of host specificity. Using a legume tree (Ormosia glaberrima) in a subtropical monsoon forest as a model, we experimentally investigated the mechanisms underlying a Janzen–Connell effect. ... 2012-01-18T00:00:00Z http://www.journalofecology.org/details/journalArticle/1440819/Which_plant_traits_determine_abundance_under_longterm_shifts_in_soil_resource_av.html Summary 1. Soil resource availability and disturbance are widely recognized as key drivers of plant community structure. However, the relative importance of different plant traits in determining species abundance following shifts in soil resource availability and disturbance remains little studied, particularly in long‐term experiments. 2. We studied trait‐based plant community assembly in a 27‐year grassland... 2012-01-12T00:00:00Z http://www.journalofecology.org/details/journalArticle/1440821/Maintenance_of_tree_phylogenetic_diversity_in_a_highly_fragmented_rain_forest.html Summary 1. Deforestation and forest fragmentation can drive species to local extinction, potentially changing the phylogenetic community structure and diversity of remaining assemblages. We tested this hypothesis analysing a large vegetation data set from a highly fragmented rain forest. 2. We assessed 9000 trees (both saplings and adults) from 268 species in 45 rain forest patches (ranging from < 1 to... 2012-01-12T00:00:00Z http://www.journalofecology.org/details/journalArticle/1440823/Forest_productivity_increases_with_evenness_species_richness_and_trait_variation.html Summary 1. Although there is ample support for positive species richness–productivity relationships in planted grassland experiments, a recent 48‐site study found no diversity–productivity relationship (DPR) in herbaceous communities. Thus, debate persists about diversity effects in natural versus planted systems. Additionally, current knowledge is weak regarding the influence of evenness on the DPRs, how DPRs are affected by the... 2012-01-12T00:00:00Z http://www.journalofecology.org/details/journalArticle/1440825/Finescale_spatial_heterogeneity_and_incoming_seed_diversity_additively_determine.html Summary 1. Plant establishment is critical for community assembly, but mechanisms regulating establishment can be obscured by covarying influences of incoming seed diversity and fine‐scale spatial environmental heterogeneity (microhabitat heterogeneity). Both can maximize establishment, depending on whether species differences or environmental variability more fundamentally structures plant communities. ... 2012-01-12T00:00:00Z http://www.journalofecology.org/details/journalArticle/1436119/Hydraulic_conductivity_traits_predict_growth_rates_and_adult_stature_of_40_Asian.html Summary 1. Stem xylem characteristics have a great impact on growth and adult stature of trees because of their role in mechanical support, long‐distance water transport and whole‐plant carbon allocation. Yet, despite the potential causal link between xylem traits and plant growth/adult stature, most studies have tried to link wood density, an indirect but easy to measure proxy for wood properties, to tree growth and size. ... 2012-01-04T00:00:00Z http://www.journalofecology.org/details/journalArticle/1436121/Multiple_mechanisms_for_trait_effects_on_litter_decomposition_moving_beyond_home.html Summary 1. Evidence is growing that leaf litter generally decomposes faster than expected in its environment of origin, owing to specialization of litter and topsoil decomposer communities to break down litter encountered most often. Nevertheless, this home‐field advantage (HFA) in decomposition is inconsistently supported by experimental data and fails to account for situations where contrasting qualities of litter coexist within... 2012-01-04T00:00:00Z http://www.journalofecology.org/details/journalArticle/1436123/Plant_diversity_improves_protection_against_soilborne_pathogens_by_fostering_ant.html Summary 1. Rhizosphere bacteria antagonistic to fungal pathogens improve plant performance by preventing infection. In temperate grasslands, primary productivity often increases with plant diversity, and we hypothesized that this effect may in part rely on the interactions between plants and antagonistic bacteria. 2. We investigated the impact of plant diversity and functional group composition on soil bacteria... 2012-01-04T00:00:00Z http://www.journalofecology.org/details/journalArticle/1436125/Agerelated_decline_of_stand_biomass_accumulation_is_primarily_due_to_mortality_a.html Summary 1. Age‐related reductions in stand biomass accumulation are frequently observed in old‐growth forests. The phenomenon may be caused by reduced production, increased mortality or both. The relative importance of production and mortality is not well studied, so the mechanisms controlling age‐related decline of stand biomass accumulation remain unclear. 2. In this study, conducted in a Quercus‐dominated... 2012-01-04T00:00:00Z http://www.journalofecology.org/details/journalArticle/1436127/Stabilizing_selection_for_withinseason_flowering_phenology_confirms_pollen_limit.html Summary 1. We examined the fitness consequences of pollen limitation in the valley oak (Quercus lobata Née, Fagaceae), a wind‐pollinated, predominantly outcrossing tree endemic to California, by examining the relationship between within‐year phenology and acorn production over an 8 year period. 2. We predicted that pollen limitation should result in trees flowering relatively early and late in the season, when fewer ... 2012-01-04T00:00:00Z http://www.journalofecology.org/details/journalArticle/1436129/Inferring_community_assembly_mechanisms_from_functional_diversity_patterns_the_i.html Summary 1. Many studies of community assembly focus on two mechanisms: environmental filtering and competitive interactions. This focus ignores the importance of other assembly processes such as equalizing fitness processes and facilitation. The contribution of different processes to community assembly can be elucidated by examining functional diversity patterns of traits that differ in their contribution to different assembly... 2012-01-04T00:00:00Z