Dark diversity refers to all the species of plants that should be in a certain spot but are missing. You can think of it as Nature's secret plant list. But how do we know what should be on this list? Find out in this adapted article: www.sciencejournalforkids.org/articles/wha...
Here is the original Nature paper (open access), based on a global collaborative effort by the DarkDivNet consortium:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#DarkDivNet #darkdiversity
From Nature to the classroom! Key findings from our paper on global dark diversity are now adapted for students via Science Journal for Kids and Teens — a nice example of knowledge transfer.
#DarkDivNet #darkdiversity
www.sciencejournalforkids.org/articles/whats-on-natures-secret-plant-list/
Dark diversity by Melissa Pärtel #TIBS2026
Our global dark diversity study received the most public attention this past year among University of Tartu research! #DarkDivNet #darkdiversity
Observed and Dark Diversity of Alien Plants Across the World #bioinvasions 🌎🌐🧪 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
We had our traditional workgroup autumn seminar in a beautiful countryside hotel in central Estonia. With the help of our guest speaker @aveliina.bsky.social we discussed the topic 'Macroecology in the Anthropocene'. macroecology.ut.ee/en/macroecol...
Happy to welcome three visitors this autumn! Elisa Jordan is a MSc student from Germany. Wengang Zhang is a PhD student from China working on #darkdiversity of #alienspecies. Gerard Martínez Devesa is a PhD student from Spain working on #darkdiversity of #arthropods in deadwood microhabitats.
Although many ecosystems can weather several years of moderate drought, consecutive years of extreme dryness push them past a tipping point, resulting in dramatic declines in plant growth, researchers report in Science. https://scim.ag/4ogN9I8
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
Proud that our workgroup contributed to this study
Working with individual trait data and functional trait spaces and bored about means?
With @cpcarmona.bsky.social, Agnese Bissi and @etordoni.bsky.social, we put together a perspective to test the effect of individual observations on trait space properties 👇👇
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
After six years, Aleš, Eva, and @mariekonecna.bsky.social resampled their #DarkDivNet core plots in Novohradské hory. Relevés in pairs of mesic meadows, beech forests, and waterlogged spruce forests were done.
For sauropsids lovers: Two fresh papers map trait spaces of birds, turtles and crocodiles to reveal what disappears when species go extinct
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
🧪🌐🪶 🧮➕📏
#trait, #traits, #FunctionalTraits
Even remote forests aren’t safe. New research shows human activity reduces biodiversity far beyond city limits. #BiodiversityLoss #DarkDiversity #ConservationScience
Quote: "The problem is that over time, as we lose species due to human impact, we don’t see the number of species that are lost because we only see what we can perceive." www.ualberta.ca/en/folio/202... #darkdiversity
Excited to share our new open-access review led by Francesco de Bello in Ecological Monographs! With a fantastic international team, we identify key challenges (“Raunkiæran shortfalls”) in trait-based ecology.
esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
#FunctionalTraits 🌐
Norwegian Research Contributes to Global 'Dark Diversity' Study, Offering New Insights into Biodiversity Loss
Using dark diversity to disentangle the effects of protection and habitat quality on species diversity across the Mediterranean Sea
* A new paper in Biol Cons by Tal Gavriel, Jonathan Belmaker and others www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Map showing mycorrhizal profiles of selected ecoregions
April issue: Perspective led by Mari Moora describing how plant reliance on their mycorrhizal symbionts varies across ecological scales 🧪🌎
Web link: go.nature.com/4h1Rpre
Readcube: rdcu.be/eh0uC
New study in @nature.com: we focus on the diversity that's missing - “dark diversity.” Human impact means only 1 in 5 species persist in disturbed areas versus 1 in 3 in pristine ones. My summary of the project & its implications: the3dlab.org/2025/04/03/g...
Super happy to be coauthor of this prestigious paper from #darkdivnet under the lead of Meelis Partel! Huge congrats to all coauthors.
Important new study in @nature.com on how #darkdiversity can give insights on the diversity in local #plant communities that observed #diversity can't. With contributions from me, my two @au.dk colleagues @tokehoye.bsky.social & Signe Normand and many others. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Dark diversity made its way to Nature!🥳🥳
Led by Meelis Pärtel (@MacroecologyUT), we show that dark diversity - species locally absent but suitable - can reveal hidden effects of human impact on plant biodiversity, opening new pathways for conservation.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Excited to announce our new paper, “Global impoverishment of natural vegetation revealed by dark diversity,” out today in Nature – and it’s open access! Huge global collaboration led by Meelis Pärtel 🌐@macroecologyut.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Extremely excited to be part of this collaborative effort led by Meelis Pärtel and @macroecologyut.bsky.social
