Originally posted on Journal of Ecology Blog: Ecologists have mused over the mechanisms that structure plant communities for centuries. One such mechanism is negative density dependence, which has been proposed as a an important promoter of tree species diversity across plant communities. However, most negative density-dependence studies to date have focused on the roles played by insects and fungal pathogens. Less attention has been put ..read more

In this blog post, Andrew Torsney and Yvonne Buckley share findings from their latest research aiming to better understand and identify the drivers of tourism-related impacts on the environment. As we increasingly recognize the ancillary benefits of nature, such as improved mental health, the demand for access to nature is rising. While this presents potential benefits, it also brings conflicts related to environmental management. Research ..read more

Ryan Almeida talks us through recent research on extinction risk with Juan Bonachela and Julie Lockwood. Through a case study on the ground pangolin, or the Smutsia temminckii, the study uses models to consider rare species extinction risk and the rate at which overexploitation occurs. The economics of exploitation Overexploitation, the unsustainable harvest of species from the wild, is recognized as one of the “big ..read more

Co-authors Jenna Hutchen and MJ Robertson discuss how their latest research in interdisciplinary forest science led to a topology of Knowledge Exchange practices. Managing forests is not as simple as growing or cutting down trees. Global forest management is the complex interplay of government policies and directives, cultural and spiritual values, stakeholder perspectives, and efforts from both industry and conservationists to maintain ecological functions of ..read more

Every year Journal of Applied Ecology awards the Southwood Prize to the best paper in the journal by an author at the start of their research career. With entries spanning the 59th volume of the journal, our Senior Editors carefully shortlisted the following 12 papers. Chongzhe Zhang with ‘Leveraging functional traits of cover crops to coordinate crop productivity and soil health’ Elizabeth Koziol with ‘Manipulating plant microbiomes ..read more

Each year, Ecological Solutions and Evidence awards the Georgina Mace Prize to the best research article published by an early career author. Today, we present the shortlisted articles for this year’s award based on the previous volume of the journal. This is the third year we’ll be awarding the prize in honour of Professor Dame Georgina Mace, a pioneer in conservation science and policy who was ..read more

In their new research article, Mina Anders (University of Göttingen, Germany) and colleagues compared the effects of agronomic practices, including agronomic inputs (irrigation and managed honey bees), orchard design without external inputs (spatial orchard structure), and landscape factors on nut production in South African macadamia orchards. The need for sustainable agricultural practices Conventional agricultural intensification causes biodiversity loss and environmental degradation. To reduce these impacts ..read more

Author Dominic McAfee talks us through his and colleagues’ recently published research article which experimented with the use of home-made speakers to boost oyster recruitment at sites throughout Australia. We’ve all, at one time or another, used music as a band aid. Perhaps to mend a broken heart, or to help us through challenging times. And in this regard, it seems we are not alone ..read more

Chris Thomas and colleagues describe their latest Perspective article outlining a new framework – Facilitate-Accept-Resist (FAR) – that operationalizes conservation decision-making in a way that leads to greater adoption of positive biodiversity change. Conservation is in a bind. The biological world is changing, and so are our human priorities. When we declare a nature reserve on the basis of a particular species, for example, is ..read more

Frederik Gerits discusses their recently published article. Published in Journal of Applied Ecology, the article shows how variation in local land use types influence both biotic (e.g. presence and abundance of predatory arthropods and pollinators) and abiotic parameters (e.g. microclimate variation) in a peri-urban landscape. Our hypothesis is that these influences of landscape composition might further play a role in the resilience of landscapes in ..read more