Víctor González-García

Deciduous leaves may have evolved to be symmetrical and subtly lobed so they fall quicker and land near their parent tree, recycling their annually sequestered carbon. Join us 22 Oct 3:00 PM (London, UK) to hear #JRSocInterface author Kaare Jensen talk about his research: cassyni.com/events/5PbU2...

IAVS Symposium 2026, Thematic 'Understanding Ecosystems Through Vegetation'.

📢 68th #IAVS Symposium: Understanding #Ecosystems through #Vegetation | 22-26 June 2026, Spain

Join us to explore how vegetation shapes #biodiversity and ecosystems worldwide!

📅 Call for Special Session proposals is now open: 15 Oct – 15 Nov 2025
👉 Details: gijon2026.iavs-meetings.org
#IAVS2026

Our results suggest that city biodiversity can be enhanced by passive rewilding of managed park lawns, non-intervention on residential vacant lots, direct restoration of industrial vacant lots, and conservation of natural and agricultural habitat remnants as sources of native species.

Compositional novelty for plants, fungi and bacteria. Compositional novelty was calculated as the NMDS multidimensional distance from each urban plot to the centroid of two reference pre-urban habitats (forests, panels A-C-E; and meadows, panels B-D-F). Novelty was calculated separately for plants (panels A-B), fungi (panels C-D) and bacteria (panels E-F).

We used the NMDS to calculate a compositional novelty index, using the distance from each of the urban plots to the centroid of the two reference pre-urban habitats.

Novelty was found higher when compared to forests than to meadows and also found higher for plants than for fungi and bacteria.

Plant, fungal and bacterial diversity across habitats. Top panels show Venn plots for the shared numbers of (A) plant species, (B) fungal ASVs and (C) bacterial ASVs between pre-urban (forests, meadows) and urban (parks, roadsides, residential lots and industrial lots) habitats. Bottom panels show biplots of community composition ordination produced by Non-metric Multi-Dimensional Scaling (NMDS). The NMDS were conducted for (D) the plant survey (by species presence/absence), (E) the soil fungal survey (by ASV presence/absence) and (F) the soil bacterial survey (by ASV presence/absence). Colors indicate the habitat. In the biplots, arrows and labels indicate soil variables with a significant correlation with the composition of the communities.

We tested the hypothesis that cities are composed of different degrees of ecological novelty by studying four urban (parks, roadsides, and residential and industrial lots) habitats with differing degrees of management and human legacy and two natural ones (hay meadows and forests).

Compositional novelty of plant, fungal and bacterial communities across urban habitats Understanding urban community novelty can help to predict the rewilding potential of vacant urban spaces, facilitating their integration into biodiver…

🚨Paper alert!🚨

Just published in Landscape and Urban Planning at
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

In this study we developed a novelty index by comparing plant, fungal and bacterial communities in urban and natural habitats.

@sebot.bsky.social @uodivulga.bsky.social

Today I presented at #iDivconference2025 on using the microclimf R-package to model within-forest climate conditions for vegetation science 🌳🌡️. The model is performing really well so far—exciting insights ahead!
Full results coming soon at #BES2025 this December 🌱

During the last day of the conference we visited one of the last Abies pinsapo forests, a tree endemic only to Málaga and Cadiz in Southern Spain.

Also we were able to visit the Botanical Garden El Castillejo, where Abies pinsapo and other endangered plants are reproduced for their conservation.

Last week I could attend the II SEBOT conference in Seville, where I presented my research focused on the natural communities of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) in the Iberian Peninsula.

@sebot.bsky.social

El viernes 26 estaremos en #Gijón en la #EuropeanResearchersNight con el stand "Las plantas viajeras" @universidadoviedo.bsky.social @imibasturias.bsky.social #science4all #MSCANight #NIGHTSpain

This research represents the most profound study of the family Orchidaceae in Asturias, which can be qualified as an European hotspot for orchids

@sebot.bsky.social
@sebicop.bsky.social
@jovenesbotanica.bsky.social
@uodivulga.bsky.social
@imibasturias.bsky.social
@natusferaes.bsky.social
@gbif.es

Represention of the most important variables in the understanding of the ecology of the orchid family in the Principality of Asturias.

As expected, most Asturian orchids were found to prefer open and sunny spaces, (i.e., grasslands, shrubalnds), with only a few growing on shady forests.

Yet, soil pH was found as one of the main drivers in their distribution, as their diversity decreases eastwards, where acid soils are dominant.

Orchis spitezlii

Ophrys lutea

Ophrys speculum

Gymnadenia densiflora

Thus, we have determined that in Asturias we can find, at least, 52 confirmed species, more than all of Portugal, and 13 hybrids.

Some of these taxa were recorded for the first time for the region, such as Ochis spitzelii, Ophrys lutea, O. speculum or Gymnadenia conopsea.

Orquídeas de Asturias En este proyecto se recopilarán todas las orquídeas silvestres presentes en el Principado de Asturias. El proyecto está mantenido por el Laboratorio de Vegetación y Biodiversidad de la Universidad de ...

In addition to our own fieldwork, we have collected many records from other sources, such as different herbaria, scientific literature, social media, and of course, citizen science platforms such as @inaturalist.bsky.social where we have created our own project:

www.inaturalist.org/projects/orq...

🚨Paper alert!🚨

Just published in Mediterranean Botanty at
revistas.ucm.es/index.php/MB...

In this study we focused on the orchid diversity of the Principality of Asturias (NW Spain) and the drivers behind such diversity.

Functional trade‐offs and ecological correlates of seed oil traits in alpine ecosystems This study examines seed oil content patterns in 47 alpine species, revealing a significant trade-off between seed oil and seed longevity.

Third PhD paper alert!
Just published in Plant Biology available at onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
We explored the functional trade-offs and ecological correlates of seed oil traits by examining seed oil patterns in 47 alpine species. (1/5)

(A) Ecorregiones de Europa occidental, obtenidas del conjunto de datos RESOLVE Ecoregions (Ecoregions2017 ©Resolve; https://ecoregions.appspot.com/). El rectángulo negro incluye la ecorregión del estudio (en verde) y parte de otras ecorregiones. (B) Ecorregión del estudio. Los colores más oscuros representan mayores altitudes (≤2626 m). Los puntos rojos indican presencias registradas de especies invasoras (descargadas de diferentes bases de datos; ver el texto principal). Las imágenes de flores dentro de cada tipo de hábitat representan especies invasoras comunes (izquierda) y nativas (derecha) que ocurren en dichos hábitats. Los colores rojo y azul representan la fenología de la floración de las especies invasoras y nativas, respectivamente.

¿Sabías que las plantas #invasoras florecen más tarde y por más tiempo que las nativas? Un estudio con datos de @gbif.org e @inaturalist.bsky.social - @natusferaes.bsky.social así lo ha observado para el norte de la Península Ibérica:
▶️ doi.org/10.1093/aob/... 👇

These findings highlight the importance of considering phenology of invasive and native species in prediction, early response and management of biological invasions.

@sebot.bsky.social @imibasturias.bsky.social @jovenesbotanica.bsky.social @invaplant.bsky.social @uodivulga.bsky.social

Ipomoea indica

Tradescantia fluminensis

Carpobrotus acinaciformis

Arctotheca calendula

This temporal mismatch could allow invasive plants to avoid direct competition during key periods of their life cycle.

Also, a prolonged flowering might confer a competitive advantage to invaders by maximizing the access to resources when most native plants have completed their reproductive cycle.

We have found that invasive species display a delayed and longer flowering phenology when compared to native species, especially those invaders from temperate and tropical occurring in man-made habitats.

In this study we have compared the flowering start, ending and duration of invasive against native plants co-occurring at the same elevations in the Cantabrian Mixed Forests Ecoregion, taking into account also the habitat where they grow and their climatic and geographic origin.

Invasive plants have a delayed and longer flowering phenology than native plants in an ecoregional flora | Request PDF Request PDF | Invasive plants have a delayed and longer flowering phenology than native plants in an ecoregional flora | Background and Aims Flowering phenology has been suggested as an important fact...

Hello everyone! Our latest paper "Invasive plants have a delayed and longer flowering phenology than native plants in an ecoregional flora" is available in @annbot.bsky.social

www.researchgate.net/publication/...

Dryopteris aemula

Sori of Dryopteris aemula, with their characteristic glands

Cystopteris diaphana (= D. viridula)

Spike-ornamented spores of Cystopteris diaphana (= C. viridula)

Some of them need to be checked in the lab to be sure of the species, like Dryopteris aemula, characterized by its glandular sori, or Cystopteris diaphana (= D. viridula), with a quite peculiar ornamentation in its spores.

@jovenesbotanica.bsky.social @sebot.bsky.social @sebot.bsky.social @gtp-sebot.bsky.social

Llames waterfall in Villaviciosa (photo: Eduardo Fernández Pascual)

Woodwardia radicans in Villaviciosa (photo: Eduardo Fernández Pascual)

Woodwardia radicans community in Villaviciosa (photo: Eduardo Fernández Pascual)

Vandenboschia speciosa

Some of these ferns can become dominant and create their own communities, like the huge Woodwardia radicans or Culcita macrocarpa.

However, other species are rarer and must be sought in very specific refugia, like Vandenboschia speciosa of Hymenophyllum tunbrigense, which grow in very humid walls.

Culcita macrocarpa community in Nueva (Llanes, Asturias) (photo: Eduardo Fernández Pascual)

Culcita macrocarpa community in Nueva (Llanes, Asturias) (photo: Eduardo Fernández Pascual)

Culcita macrocarpa

Hymenophyllum tunbrigense

Yesterday we visited some places in Asturias where unusual ferns can be seen.

These ferns are more typical from tropical and subtropical regions, like Macaronesia.

Yet, they have survived to several climatic shifts and thrive in humid and warm valleys close to the coast, like Nueva, in Llanes.

Invasive plants have a delayed and longer flowering phenology than native plants in an ecoregional flora

🎉 Good news! The paper ‘🎉 Good news! The paper ‘Invasive plants have a delayed and longer flowering phenology than native plants in an ecoregional flora’ in @annbot.bsky.social by Adrián Lázaro-Lobo and co-authors is now #free for a limited time 🧵(1/7)

👉 doi.org/ppkm

#AoBpapers #PlantScience

Hoy ha comenzado el #VBiomaratón de Flora Española. ¡A esta hora ya tenemos más de 2000 observaciones en nuestro proyecto de @inaturalist.bsky.social! Puedes seguir las observaciones en tiempo real en www.inaturalist.org/projects/v-b...

@sebot.bsky.social @sebicop.bsky.social

EVA-MAP: www.EVAMAP.eu
We have launched a new online map of vegetation plots in the European Vegetation Archive (EVA) and ReSurveyEurope database. You can select plots using a filtering form or drawing an area in the map, explore plot metadata and export lists of selected plots with metadata.

In this study we tested if the floristic dissimilarities of eight different forests from the temperate Europe are caused by environmental filters (e.g., climate) or the dispersal limitation of their plants (i.e., their current or past isolation).

Stay tuned for further updates!