Chun-Feng Yang, Wuhan Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, discusses their article: Nectar sugar concentration contributes to structuring bumble bee and plant interactions Why do flowers vary their nectar sugar concentrations? Producing nectar entails significant energetic costs for plants, with investment strongly correlated to sugar concentration. It is therefore believed that interspecific variation…

Journal of Ecology Blog

18.09.2025

Looking up and down: How forest layers work together to keep ecosystems functioning |

Jie Li, Beijing Forestry University in China, discusses their article: Cross-scale effects of multi-strata plant diversity on ecosystem multifunctionality in temperate forests What makes a forest thrive? While we often admire towering trees in a forest, what happens under their shade—the herbs, ferns, and small plants carpeting the forest floor—can be just as important. In…

Journal of Ecology Blog

23.09.2025

How Plants Play the Game of Survival |

Ruiling Liu and Wenyong Guo, East China Normal University, discuss their article: Grime’s CSR theory revisited: A whole-plant view of vascular plant functioning across contrasting environments You might think plants are quiet and slow, but their lives are full of strategy. Some race ahead, dominating fertile fields, while others hang on stubbornly in rocky cliffs…

Journal of Ecology Blog

30.09.2025

Functional traits are important predictors of tree growth but their effects vary with age and leaf habit. |

Mégane Déziel, Université du Québec à Montréal, discusses her article: Resolving the Effects of Functional Traits on Tree Growth Rates: The Influence of Temporal Dynamics and Divergent Strategies by Leaf Habit Functional ecology has long assumed that variation in tree growth reflects differences in functional traits, which serve as proxies for resource acquisition and investment…

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Nectar sugar concentration matters in shaping bee-flower interactions |

Looking up and down: How forest layers work together to keep ecosystems functioning |

How Plants Play the Game of Survival |

Functional traits are important predictors of tree growth but their effects vary with age and leaf habit. |

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Journal of Ecology Blog