Plant Evolutionary Ecology lab

Contrast in Mycorrhizal Associations Leads to Divergent Rhizosphere Metabolomes and Plant–Soil Feedback Among Grassland Species Most terrestrial plants are colonised by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi but vary in the degree to which they benefit from and depend on these fungi. Here we show that plants can make the interaction wi...

So glad to see this study finally out after several years of trying to find time to put data together despite fast pace of life and new projects coming along! 🎉We linked plant-soil feedbacks to mycorrhizal associations and soil metabolomics: doi.org/10.1111/ele.... @petriacqp.bsky.social @wiley.com

Growth form and lifespan of herbaceous species mediate the role of traits in short-term drought response - Nature Ecology & Evolution Using 63 globally distributed grassland and shrubland sites from the International Drought Experiment, this study identified plant traits linked to drought resistance after 1 year of extreme drought a...

Using 63 globally distributed grassland and shrubland sites from the International Drought Experiment, this study identifies plant traits linked to drought resistance after 1 year of extreme drought across growth forms, lifespans and climate 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

🐑🌱 What drives functional change in grazed grasslands?
Eshelman et al. report that increased grazing favours avoidance, resistance, and tolerance traits, with most trait shifts arising from intraspecific variation rather than species turnover.

Postdoctoral position in Forest Genetics at @uni-freiburg.de with a focus on local adaptation and/or stress reaction of trees. The position combines research and teaching (4 SWS), and offers the opportunity to develop an independent research profile (4+ years).

Introducing.... The Soil Ecology Seminar Series 2026!
Join us on Wednesday the 25th of February at 1 pm GMT for the first installment. We will delve into microbial ecology with exciting talks from Dr Ashish Malik and Josh Thurston:
Register your interest here: urldefense.com/v3/__https:/...

#transgenerational transmission of a core #microbiome that protects against downy mildew from soil to #phyllosphere

Fantastic and important study by @jellespooren.bsky.social @rlberendsen.bsky.social
@cornepieterse.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/ismej/advanc...
#plantscience

Epigenetic mechanisms linking mycorrhizal interactions and transgenerational responses.

#TansleyReview: #Mycorrhizas: Epigenetic Regulation & Transgenerational Legacy

📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
by Beltrán-Torres et al.

@irissammarco.bsky.social @stephane-maury.bsky.social @vtec.bsky.social

Figure was created in BioRender (BioRender.com/8rq6i2c).

Transferred resistance to root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne incognita) in clover (Trifolium repens) after cocropping with rye (Secale cereale) for 5, 7 or 9 wk.

Transferred resistance – interspecific transfer of plant defence against soilborne pathogens
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

#Commentary by Costa and Mathesius highlighting the recent work by Hama et al.
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/2JZ2PX...

📖Published!

Land use change can affect both species diversity and evolution within species🌍🐿️

We find that evolutionary response to land use change can be masked in the field by phenotypic plasticity, revealing hidden adaptation to global change👇️

buff.ly/TRxJ3bM

Amazing! I have a soft spot for owls especially. And long-tailed tits. And woodpeckers too! 😂

Continuously grazed grassland with high species richness and large populations of grassland specialist species

Abandoned grassland experiencing biodiversity decline and shrub and tree encroachment

Have you heard about countergradient variation? We found it plays a role in plant response to grassland land use change: phenotypic plasticity masks evolutionary response to grazing abandonment! @erc.europa.eu @journalofecology.bsky.social

doi.org/10.1111/1365...

Frontiers | Multilevel selection theory informs context-dependent mycorrhizal functioning Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi form widespread, ancient, and critically important symbioses with plants, but their functioning and beneficial effects are ...

Check out our new paper, Multilevel selection informs context-dependent mycorrhizal functioning! This is my very first first-authored publication, and I worked w some incredible folks to make it happen:

@meafkhami.bsky.social @balachaudhary.bsky.social
and Nancy Johnson!

doi.org/10.3389/frmb...

“Bektaş et al. (2026) offer a valuable template for future studies embracing the complexity of whole-plant strategies, inviting the scientific community to go beyond the traditionally used traits (Matthus et al., 2025).”
Thank you @karlandraczek.bsky.social & @newphyt.bsky.social 🙏🏽

British Ecological Society invites applications for Associate Editor; deadline 23 February. Background shows ants on a green plant.

💭Are you a researcher or practitioner with an interest in publishing?

We are looking for Associate Editors who can help advance outstanding ecological research by joining the Editorial Board for one of our seven Society-owned journals.

🌿🍄‍🟫🌱🍄We’re recruiting!!🌿🍄‍🟫🌱🍄

I’m looking for two postdocs and a technician to join my group @sheffielduni.bsky.social @sheffieldpps.bsky.social to work with me on my exciting @royalsociety.org Faraday Discovery Fellowship project, details for each post as follows:

Tree evolution is surprisingly quirky! 🌳 Trees are likely ancestral in many plant groups, often re-evolve on islands, and Arabidopsis can be made tree-like by tweaking a few genes. We revisited what genes really make a tree a tree using comparative genomics. @trhvidsten.bsky.social #trees #evolution

The Bug‐Network (BugNet): A Global Experimental Network Testing the Effects of Invertebrate Herbivores and Fungal Pathogens on Plant Communities and Ecosystem Function in Open Ecosystems The Bug-Network (BugNet) is a novel global collaborative research network that implements standardized consumer-reduction experiments in herbaceous- or shrub-dominated ecosystems to assess the impact...

Our first paper from the Bug-Network (BugNet) is out! 🎉

BugNet is a global network studying how invertebrate herbivores and fungal pathogens shape plant diversity & ecosystem functioning worldwide. The paper reports on the methods of the experimental part:

📄 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Thanks for sharing! This paper makes a very good point

Ecological acclimation: A framework to integrate fast and slow responses to climate change Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Ecological acclimation: A framework to integrate fast and slow responses to climate change - Stemkovski - 2025 - Functional Ecology - Wiley Online Library besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Neighbourhood diversity increases tree growth in experimental forests more in wetter climates but not in wetter years - Nature Ecology & Evolution How tree diversity effects on ecosystem functioning vary along climatic gradients is unclear. Here, analysing data from 15 experimental forest sites, the authors show that tree growth responses to nei...

🗞️New publication🗞️

How do neighbourhood diversity effects on tree growth change with climatic conditions?🌳🌲🔆🌧️

We adress this question in our new study in @natecoevo.nature.com led by Liting Zheng.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

/w @liting-zheng.bsky.social, Peter Reich & #TreeDivNet

Integrating intraspecific trait variability in functional diversity: An overview of methods and a guide for ecologists Variability in traits within species (intraspecific trait variability; ITV) has attracted increased interest in functional ecology, as it can profoundly influence the detection of functional trait pa....

Hot off the press 🔥 New Ecological Monographs paper shows why, when and how to include intraspecific trait variability to enhance functional diversity research. Huge shout out to Facundo Palacio for his vision and leadership. Read here 👉 doi.org/10.1002/ecm....
#traits #functionaldiversity 📏🌐

Origin matters: mycorrhizal growth response and induced resistance to pathogens depend on mycorrhizal and pathogen source Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are critical to native plant community ecology and influence plant invasions. Research has focused on nutritional benefits of AMF, although evidence shows that the...

Check out our new paper: Origin matters: mycorrhizal growth response and induced resistance to pathogens depend on mycorrhizal and pathogen source, where we show that mycorrhizal induced resistance occurs within native plant species 🌱 @newphyt.bsky.social

Diversity Increases but Community Specialists Decline Over Three Decades in Dry Grassland Communities of Central Germany Aim Dry grasslands are vulnerable to climate and land-use change. Increasing temperatures, drought, grazing cessation and nitrogen deposition can all result in shifts in grasslands' taxonomic and fu...

⬆️🌡️Increasing temperatures,☀️ drought,🐮🐑🚫 grazing cessation and nitrogen deposition amount to tough times for vulnerable dry grasslands. A three-decade long case study in Germany by Horka et al. gives us more insights on the changes these communities face.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Looks like a familiar place from Popbio visit last year and portions haven’t got smaller!

Cool! And nice to learn what next door office neighbours are actually doing! Greetings from #Rhizosphere6

Welcome back! You forgot to mention mosquitos!

Chemically mediated plant–enemy interactions promote positive biodiversity effects on young tree growth A large-scale tree diversity experiment reveals that early growth of trees is influenced by phytochemically mediated trophic interactions. Specifically, foliar chemical diversity is higher for trees ...

led by Cathy Fahey, we used #metabolomics in the #BiodiversiTREE experiment to show that chemically mediated plant–enemy interactions promote positive biodiversity effects on young tree growth - Journal of Ecology #treedivnet besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Looks delicious! Cool spring here - about a month till we get any berries!

Ever wondered how plant interactions with soil pathogens and mutualists may regulate both species co-existence and diversity-productivity relationships? It is complicated 📈📉 but we tried to put different threads together:

Nitrogen deposition decouples grassland plant community from soil bacterial and fungal communities along a precipitation gradient

🦠Research reveals that nitrogen deposition decouples grassland plant community from soil bacterial & fungal communities, posing great challenges for an accurate evaluation of ecosystem functions under future global change scenarios 🧪🌍