Continental-scale mapping of forest tree density in North America using remote sensing and deep learning with uncertainty quantification
August 2026
Accurate, spatially consistent estimates of tree density remain elusive at continental scales, limiting our ability to assess forest structure, carbon stocks, and biodiversity. Existing global assessments...
Altitudinal variation in drought resilience of Tianshan spruce (Picea schrenkiana) in the Middle Tianshan Mountains, China
August 2026
Understanding how forest resilience varies with altitude is critical for predicting drought responses in mountain ecosystems. As a major water source for arid Central Asia, the Tianshan Mountains have...
Meta-analysis of 21st century studies shows that deforestation induces profound changes in soil characteristics, particularly soil organic carbon accumulation
April 2025
Deforestation is one of the most serious environmental problems facing humankind. It continues to escalate rapidly across many regions of the world, thereby deteriorating the forest soil quality. This...
Microbial necromass underpins long-term soil carbon stability and ecosystem carbon persistence in pine reforestations
August 2026
The long-term carbon (C) sequestration potential of plantations hinges on the dynamics and persistence of mature forest C sinks, yet how C storage and stability evolve with increasing forest age remains...
Modeling adaptive growth in forest trees: Integrating individual variation to understand climate responses in widely-distributed species
August 2026
An improved understanding of how forest trees may respond individually and differentially to climate across broad environmental gradients, due to adaptation or physiological acclimation, may facilitate...
A global meta-analysis reveals coupled biogeochemical and microbial successional trajectories in forest soils
August 2026
Forest succession fundamentally reshapes soil biogeochemistry and the resident microbial communities, yet a synthesis of global response patterns has been hindered by methodological inconsistencies...
Understory functional trait adaptation to climate change is primarily mediated by soil conditions under long-term afforestation on the Loess Plateau
August 2026
Soil and climate conditions drive plant trait variation in natural ecosystems. However, afforestation induces rapid and significant shifts in these environmental drivers. Yet the extent to which such...
Patterns of decomposition rates in central European forests differ among carrion, leaf litter and deadwood
August 2026
Decomposition of dead organic matter is essential for ecosystem functioning and nutrient cycling, but carrion, leaf litter, and deadwood vary in their physicochemical characteristics, associated decomposer...
Bryophytes as bioindicators in natural pine forests on mineral soils in Poland
August 2026
Although bryophytes are often underrepresented in vegetation classifications, our study demonstrates their crucial role in differentiating pine forest communities and highlights their untapped potential...
Environmental heterogeneity regulates species-area relationships through the spatial distribution of species
2022
Species-area relationships (SARs), also known as species-area curves, are fundamental scaling tools for biodiversity research. Sampling design and taxonomic groups affect the widely cited forms of species-area...
Allometric models generalisation adding more variables to estimate aboveground biomass for algarrobo (Neltuma flexuosa) across environmental gradients in Argentinian Monte Desert woodlands
August 2026
Dryland forests provide essential contributions to human communities, including timber production and carbon sequestration. Estimating forest biomass and productivity is an essential input for forest...
The effects of incubation temperature, incubation duration, and sample storage condition on the activity of β-1,4-glucosidase across different soil types
August 2026
Soil β-1,4-glucosidase is a key enzyme involved in microbial cellulose degradation and the terrestrial carbon cycle. However, reliable determination of its potential activity is often hampered by methodological...
Dominant species stability outweighs species asynchrony and diversity in regulating temperate forest regeneration
August 2026
Climate change increasingly threatens forest regeneration by disrupting seedling dynamics, yet the stabilizing mechanisms underpinning these critical early life stages remain poorly understood. Using...
Effects of habitat fragmentation on multiple ecosystem functions in urban remnant forests
April 2026
Urbanization-driven habitat fragmentation threatens ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF) in remnant forests through biodiversity erosion. This study investigates the effects of habitat fragmentation on...
The patterns of forest soil particulate and mineral associated organic carbon characteristics with latitude and soil depth across eastern China
April 2025
Forest ecosystems function as the largest carbon (C) sink in terrestrial ecosystems, and nearly half of the C in forest ecosystems is stored in forest soils. However, the patterns of two main fractions...
The footprint of fire history on fuel structure strongly shapes fire severity in Mediterranean and Oceanic ecosystems of southern Europe
August 2026
Extreme wildfires are increasingly frequent across southern Europe, yet the extent to which fire history legacies modulate ecosystem-specific fire severity responses remains poorly understood in this...
To clear-cut or not to clear-cut: Diversifying benefits from small-scale forestry in Sweden
April 2026
This study explores the motivations, perceived benefits, and challenges associated with the adoption of clearcut-free forestry by early adopters among non-industrial private forest (NIPF) owners in...
A resilience dichotomy in mangrove forests: Native resistance versus exotic compensation to climatic and tidal extremes
August 2026
Native and exotic mangrove trees are increasingly challenged by the synergistic pressures of climate change, yet the mechanisms defining their comparative resilience remain unresolved. This study characterizes...
Old-growth mixed beech-dominated forests continue accumulating carbon with advancing age
April 2026
Old-growth forests uniquely support biodiversity while serving as some of the planet's most important carbon stocks. The influence of tree and stand age on carbon flux dynamics remains debated—an urgent...
Land use and landscape pattern changes dominated ecosystem service trade-offs and synergies in a temperate mountain region
April 2026
Climate change, land use/cover changes (LUCC), and landscape pattern alterations have increasingly complicated interactions among ecosystem services (ES) in temperate mountain forests, underscoring...
Potential for improved groundwater recharge and dry-season flows through forest landscape restoration on degraded lands in the tropics
December 2025
As interest in tropical forest restoration accelerates, understanding its hydrological implications is increasingly urgent. While concerns persist that reforestation will reduce annual water yields—particularly...
Threshold-dependent plant-microbe interactions shape soil microbial life-history strategies and stability across an elevational gradient
August 2026
Despite growing recognition of nonlinear plant–microbe relationships, the ecological thresholds at which plant multidimensional diversity triggers shifts in microbial life-history strategies and community...
Unveiling the climatic tolerance and refugia potential of Abies cilicica Carr. through integrative niche modeling under climate change
August 2026
Understanding the climatic responses of regionally restricted species is essential for developing robust conservation strategies. This study focuses on Abies cilicica, an oro-Mediterranean fir species...
Elongated gaps provide a good compromise between abiotic and competitive conditions for sessile oak regeneration
August 2026
Continuous cover forestry is gaining importance in temperate forests as an alternative to rotation forestry. However, for light-demanding oaks, especially when coexisting with shade-tolerant tree species,...
Disentangling the seasonal dynamics of biodiversity–productivity relationships: the role of species evenness in a subtropical forest
August 2026
Understanding the degree to which the species diversity-productivity relationship (SDPR) is applicable to natural ecosystems–beyond modeling and experimental contexts - is of vital importance for comprehending...