New paper in The Lancet Planetary Health where we show that Nitrogen enrichment not only substantially increases the pollen production of grasslands, but also the pollen allergenicity 🤧.
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...
We are very happy to announce that the next Microclimate Ecology & Biogeography (MEB) conference will happen in Montpellier (FRANCE), 1 - 5 June 2026 ☀️
meb-network.com/meb-2026/
Microclimate scientists: save the date in your agenda!!
🌍 Why it matters:
With more droughts on the horizon due to climate change, forest management needs to be species- & site-specific.
Want the full details? Read the article here:
🔗 doi.org/10.1016/j.fe...
🔚 5/5
💡 The takeaway:
Competition reduction isn't a one-size-fits-all solution. Beech sees a trade-off: 🌿 more growth, but at very low competition, more drought stress.
For oak? Thinning didn't make much difference. 🌰
🧵4/5
🔬 How was it studied?
72 point dendrometers tracked daily water deficit (drought stress proxy) & growth along a competition gradient. 🌳📊
This gave a detailed look at how trees respond to competition & climate conditions.
🧵3/5
🌱 Key findings:
• Less competition boosted beech growth! 📈
• But... it sometimes made beech more drought-stressed.
• Oak? Unbothered—competition had no clear effect.
• Climate factors (rain ☔ & vapor pressure deficit 💨) influenced both species.
🧵2/5
📢 New research alert! How does reducing competition affect drought stress & growth in European beech and pedunculate oak? 🌳💦
A study led by Sanne Verdonck at @dfornatlan.bsky.social in @forestecosyst.bsky.social explores this in National Park Brabantse Wouden (Belgium). 🏞️
🔗 doi.org/10.1016/j.fe...
Ben jij benieuwd naar hoe publiek toegankelijk groen (zoals parken en bossen) jouw sociaal welzijn beïnvloedt? Wij ook!
Draag als student in het hoger onderwijs bij aan ons onderzoek door deze enquête (15') in te vullen: survey.kuleuven.cloud/88?lang=nl
Deel gerust!
@kuleuvenplantinst.bsky.social
Each month, we shine a spotlight on one of our colleagues in our FNL division🌳and share their interesting research! 🔍Today, we present the topic of @saskiadroege.bsky.social: Environmental outcomes of food and forest management certification. 🍫🍃
Today, we launch MicroFracNet, a global network exploring how biodiversity varies across SCALES - big and small. 🌍
If you love vegetation and want to be part of something both larger - and smaller - than yourself, join us!
Learn more & sign up: the3dlab.org/2025/02/10/m...
📢 Please share widely!
You'll be hosted by the sGlobe lab (@kvanmeerbeek.bsky.social, www.sglobelab.com) and the Earthmapps lab (@steflhermitte.bsky.social, www.earthmapps.io) at KU Leuven.
Interested? Get in touch! 🔗 #Postdoc #DeepLearning #Ecology #MarieCurie
Are you an expert in deep learning and eager to push the boundaries of species distribution modeling? 🌍🔍 We’re looking for a motivated candidate to apply for a Marie Curie postdoctoral fellowship!
Good to see UK universities beginning an exodus from Twitterx
www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-...
New paper out! 🌳 🌲 (and this one is very special to me)
➡️ Diversity boosts forest productivity also (and especially?) through its effect on the number of trees within forests
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
@journalofecology.bsky.social @cnrsoccitanieest.bsky.social
More ⬇️ 1/7
🚨 Mosses on the spotlight ⬇️ We made the cover of the current issue of Journal of Ecology 😍🤩 for the last paper of Eva's PhD on the affinity of understory #plant species, including mosses, to #forest #microclimate buffering 🌳
Picture from Eva Gril
@journalofecology.bsky.social
shorturl.at/LVS7F
Interesting story by @dancharles.bsky.social about what happens when farmers abandon land, and what types of ecosystems come back. (Globally agricultural land is still expanding on a net basis, but it is contracting in some places.)
"A study of federally funded research projects in the United States estimated that principal investigators spend on average about 45% of their time on administrative activities related to applying for and managing projects rather than conducting active research"
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
@kuleuvenuniversity.bsky.social @kuleuvenplantinst.bsky.social #ClimateChange #Drylands #MachineLearning #NatureClimateChange
Take-home message: ML-based EWS offer a scalable, data-driven way to predict and mitigate abrupt shifts in dryland ecosystems—essential in the face of climate change and increasing pressure on these vital regions (6/6)
The study focused on the Sudano–Sahelian drylands, a region highly vulnerable to climate change. Predictions for 2025 highlight a southern belt with high probabilities of abrupt ecosystem shifts, linked to long-term rainfall trends🌍🌱 (5/6)
Machine learning (ML) to the rescue! We used ML to analyze complex patterns in satellite data. By integrating resilience metrics (e.g., autocorrelation) with vegetation, rainfall, and other environmental factors, we achieved 75.1% accuracy and 76.6% precision (4/6)
Current methods for EWS rely on metrics like temporal autocorrelation to detect loss of resilience. However, applying these to large-scale satellite data is tricky due to noise & short time series. So, what’s the solution? 🤔 (3/6)
The problem: Drylands face degradation that threatens their ability to act as carbon sinks & provide resources. Abrupt shifts in ecosystem functioning—like desertification—can occur when thresholds are crossed. Early warning systems (EWS) are urgently needed (2/6)
New study alert! Drylands are critical to ~1/3 of the global population, but risk abrupt shifts due to climate change & land degradation. Can we predict these shifts? In a paper led by Paulo Bernardino in @natclimchange.bsky.social, we tackle this challenge: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
📖Published📖
Check out our new Research Article 👉 Measuring overall functional diversity by aggregating its multiple facets: Functional richness, biomass evenness, trait evenness and dispersion 🌎 🧪
https://buff.ly/3ZWJQwr
"Het gaat goed met onze natuur want kijk, er keren soorten terug!" Toch?
Voor @inbo.bsky.social mocht ik samen met @wimveraghtert.bsky.social van @natuurpunt.bsky.social een genuanceerd antwoord brengen in dS.
Het antwoord?
Een paar soorten: ja
Veel habitats: bwaaa
m.standaard.be/cnt/dmf20241...
Interesting read:
💰The high costs of peer review & grant writing
📊Bibliometrics as a partial alternative to peer review
🚀Exploring better ways to evaluate impact & fairness
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
#grantwriting #funding #science #peerreview #bibliometrics
Interested in more of this type of work? Follow the microclimate ecology starter park with all these great people inside!
go.bsky.app/7at8uFX
@pieterdefrenne.bsky.social @jlembrechts.bsky.social
@remybeugnon.bsky.social @thenaturedave.bsky.social @jonlen.bsky.social @niittynen.bsky.social @rebeccasenior.bsky.social @krystofchytry.bsky.social @linegreis.bsky.social @haesenstef.bsky.social @karen-depauw.bsky.social
