We present a new database providing spatial data to support plant ecological research and conservation throughout mainland Spain. It integrates high-resolution spatial data of four main categories: (I) plant occurrence data, (II) environmental variables, (III) species distribution models, and (IV) thematic maps for conservation and management. The occurrence dataset includes georeferenced records for 81 tree and 101 shrub native species, and atlas data for 6,456 vascular plants and 1,252 bryophytes. Environmental variables include climatic, edaphic, hydrological, and solar, factors influencing plant distribution. Species distribution models are available for all the trees and shrubs (182 species). Thematic maps include species richness for woody and protected plants, distribution of vegetation types, and forest connectivity. All climatic variables, models, and thematic maps are projected under current and four future climate scenarios (2070-2100). The database is openly available on Zenodo.

Diverse climatic environments lead to distinct ecological conditions in different rice planting regions, resulting in a wide variety ofMagnaporthe oryzae(rice blast fungus) populations that frequently adapt and vary to suit their specific ecological niches. Understanding the diversity ofM. oryzaepopulations across different ecological planting zones is fundamental for controlling rice blast disease. This study systematically investigated the population structure, distribution of avirulence (Avr) genes, and pathogenicity ofM. oryzaeusing 174 monosporic isolates collected in 2021 from three counties in Hunan Province: Xinhua, Longhui, and Liuyang. The results indicated that while the number of physiological races in the three locations was similar, the dominant physiological races differed significantly. Overall, the resistance genePikmexhibited the highest resistance frequency. Additionally, genes likePik,Pikp, andPiztshowed good resistance against pathogen populations in some ecological zones. Resistance frequencies varied dramatically across different ecological environments, indicating differing practical value for specific resistance genes in different ecological regions. Representative isolates from each location were screened and used to test the resistance of locally main cultivated varieties. The results revealed significant differences in the proportion of varieties resistant to the pathogen populations from the three locations. These findings provide a data basis for resistance breeding and the rational distribution of rice varieties across different ecological regions in Hunan Province.

In 1992, at the start of the senior author's career as a plant ecologist, climate change was perceived as something that would occur in future, and efforts were focussed on predicting what the impacts of those future changes on ecosystems would be, using the tools of manipulative experiments and models. This was still largely the case a decade later, at the start of the more junior author's career in the same field, although observations of impacts resulting from climate change that had already occurred had become more common. More than two decades on, we are deep into the trajectory of climate change, with atmospheric CO2 having reached 50% above the pre-industrial average, and other drivers significantly beyond their 20th-century baselines. We therefore argue that we must rethink the way we conduct experiments. We will likely move from an experiment- to an observation-dominated era of climate change impact research. This transition could be more explicitly considered and may require adjustments in research policy and funding. We present a practical guide to plan experiments in this new era of researching global change impacts on plants.

Flowering plants have many modes of sexual reproduction, notably varying from selfing to outcrossing, and from bisexual flowers to individuals with separate sexes (dioecy). These reproductive modes are associated with floral and life-history traits that have evolved together, making it difficult to interpret correlations between traits. We analysed variation in 21 traits related to flowers, pollination, mating, sexual systems and life history from 361 species representative of flowering plant diversity. Outcrossing was mainly found among long-lived, large-stature plants, but hermaphroditic outcrossers and dioecious species appeared as largely nonoverlapping strategies in the trait space. Level of floral investment was the main difference between these strategies, with dioecious species having generally smaller, less rewarding flowers, a pattern that also occurred in biotically pollinated species. This multi-trait study shows that pollination can be achieved in many, often contrasting, ways. Despite extensive variation in reproductive traits, dioecy stands out as being linked to floral traits primarily, while correlations with lifespan and dispersal traits appear spurious. We provide a conceptual framework based on lifespan, floral investment and sexual separation that can be used to integrate pollination, reproduction and plant growth in future research on plant evolution and ecology.

In recent decades, wildfire regimes have changed significantly, with increases in frequency, severity and area affected, leading to major habitat alterations that may impact species ecology. While fire's role in plant ecology is well studied, its effects on animal biotic interactions remain poorly understood. In northern Portugal, where wildfires are common, the native rock-dwelling lizard Podarcis lusitanicus may thrive postfire due to its preference for open rocky outcrops, which expand after fires. This suggests not only resilience but also a capacity for persistence in postfire disturbances driven by habitat preferences. However, changes in prey availability after fire induce dietary shifts in this insectivorous lizard, potentially affecting trophic interactions and, consequently, gut microbiota communities. Gut microbiota influence host fitness through effects on nutrition, immunity and behaviour; on the other hand, gut microbiota are affected by variations in diet and environment. This study assessed how fire history affects P. lusitanicus gut microbiota. Sampling occurred across 12 sites in northern Portugal, representing three fire histories: long-unburned, burned in 2016 and burned in 2022. Cloacal swabs were analysed by metabarcoding the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene. Results showed that gut bacterial composition varied with fire history, as well as with sex, body size and diet. Females had higher microbial richness despite similar diet richness between sexes. While microbiome composition shifted, predicted microbiome function remained relatively stable, indicating both resilience and ecological flexibility in fire-prone environments. These findings enhance understanding of how lizard microbiomes respond to environmental disturbances and may help predict host and microbiota tolerance under changing fire regimes.

Abstract Despite similar universal primary physiological functions, plant leaves exhibit myriad shapes and sizes. Understanding this morphological variation is invaluable in plant taxonomy, ecology, evolution, and biomimetics. Achieving a comprehensive understanding of eco-evo-devo research requires diverse leaf-image datasets collected across regions and over time. While many datasets support morphometric studies using advanced imaging and machine learning, few provide standardised leaf images that enable uniform interspecific comparisons. We present a dataset of 161 high-quality RGB images of leaves of wild and cultivated tree species from Kerala, India, collected between 2020 and 2023. All leaves, including their petioles, were scanned using a digital scanner (Epson L360), centrally framed on a white background, and uniformly scaled to 1024 × 1024 pixels. In addition, the dataset comprises codes to compute the leaf morphometry using two novel objective morphometric measures: segmental fractal complexity ( D ΣS ) and geometric entropy ( S L ). These metrics were validated against the leaf dataset, showing strong correlations between D ΣS and leaf dissection index ( LDI ) ( ρ = 0.94) and between S L and D ΣS ( ρ = 0.94), confirming the relationship between leaf patterns and leaf lobiness, pinnation, and serration. D ΣS surpasses LDI by incorporating spatial positioning of leaflets, lobes and fine serration features. Both D ΣS and S L outperform geometric morphometric techniques, which are limited to intraspecific comparisons. Their objectivity, ease of use, and lack of statistical preprocessing make D ΣS and S L reliable metrics for interspecific leaf comparisons. We encourage researchers to expand or replicate our analysis using codes and leaf datasets from diverse locations. This dataset supports the development and validation of future leaf morphometric techniques. Despite limitations in resolution imaging and intra-specific variability, it remains valuable for advancing research and fostering collaboration across taxonomy, ecology, and computer vision.

Cooperation among conspecific seeds, which influences germination timing and quantity, can enhance the interspecific competitive ability and environmental adaptability of invasive plants. However, the specific underlying mechanisms require further investigation. This study investigates whether a chemical mechanism of mutual perception exists among seeds of the invasive plant Ambrosia trifida L. and its potential impact on seed germination. We found that increased seed density and higher concentrations of seed extracts significantly promoted germination rates and reduced germination time in Ambrosia trifida L. seeds. Aggregated seeds germinated earlier and more synchronously than isolated seeds, indicating the presence of seed-to-seed communication mediated by chemical signals. Widely targeted metabolomic analysis identified 527 chemical compounds in the seed extracts, with 150 involved in key metabolic pathways. Notably, secondary metabolites in the shikimates and phenylpropanoids class were enriched, particularly angelicin. Quantitative analysis confirmed that angelicin significantly enhanced germination synchronicity when applied at various concentrations. Our research findings indicate that Ambrosia trifida seeds communicate through secondary metabolites, with angelicin playing a key role in promoting synchronized germination. This chemical communication among conspecific seeds facilitates the rapid and uniform establishment of populations. Understanding this mechanism provides new insights into plant ecology and offers potential strategies for managing invasive species.

This study introduces an optimized and selective extraction methodology using dichloromethane/methanol (DCM/MeOH, 95:5, v/v) in combination with accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) for the targeted stilbenoid and phenanthrene derivatives from five orchid species: Cattleya nobilior (root), Cymbidium defoliatum (root and bulb), Dendrobium phalaenopsis (stem), Encyclia linearifolioides (leaf), and Phalaenopsis aphrodite (root). Sequential extraction was performed with hexane, followed by DCM/MeOH (95:5 and 1:1, v/v) under controlled temperatures (70 °C for hexane, 100 °C for DCM/MeOH), using three static cycles per stage. Chemical profiling by high-performance liquid chromatography with a diode-array-detector and tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-DAD-MS/MS) enabled the identification of twenty specialized metabolites—seven stilbenoids and thirteen phenanthrenes—several reported here for the first time, including crepidatuol B, dendrosinen D, and coeloginanthridin. The analytical method showed excellent separation of structurally related phenolic compounds, demonstrating the efficiency of the extraction protocol and the selectivity of the solvent system. Many of the identification metabolites are known for cytotoxic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and metabolic regulatory properties, while newly detected compounds remain unexplored and present promising candidates for future biological evaluation. The broad distribution of these metabolites across the studied orchids enhances the current understanding of their phytochemical diversity and suggests chemotaxonomic relevance within the Orchidaceae family. Importantly, the extraction strategy requires minimal plant material, offering ecological advantages when working with rare or endangered species. Overall, this environmentally conscious extraction approach provides a robust platform for metabolic discovery and supports future research in natural products chemistry, plant ecology, drug discovery, structure–activity relationships studies and biotechnological applications.

Introduction.Today, due to the growth of idiopathic male infertility, the problem of the impact of chemical and physical factors on the reproductive function in men remains very relevant.Studies on the effect of radiation and hexavalent chromium on male fertility in small doses deserve special attention.Literature data on gonadotoxicity and embryotoxicity under exposure to factors in small doses are very contradictory.Materials and methods. The experimental study was conducted on sexually mature BALB/c mice and Wistar rats of both sexes (a total of 189 animals). The animals were divided into groups according to the received dose of training and potassium dichromate. In mice, group 1 was a control, group 2 consisted of males who received a dose of 0.25 Gy, and group 3 received a dose of 0.5 Gy. In rats, group 1 was a control, group 2 consisted of males who received potassium dichromate (K2Cr2O7) at a dose of 0.028 mg/kg, and group 3 – at a dose of 0.28 mg/kg for 48 days. The state of spermatogenesis was assessed in smears from testicular cell homogenate. To analyze embryonic losses, experimental animals were mated with intact females.Results. Analysis of the testicles of animals after irradiation and chromium intoxication revealed the following: a 20% decrease in the relaxation index, an increase in multinucleated cells by 40% (dose 0.5 Gy) and 25% (dose 0.28 mg/kg), in aberrant germ cells by 1.5–2 times (dose 0.028 mg/kg and 0.5 Gy, respectively), and an almost 2-fold increase in the number of spermatids with micronuclei. The number of spermatozoa with abnormal heads increases: by 15–20% with irradiation and by 1.5–2 times with chromium intoxication. Mating of experimental males with intact females indicates an increase in the overall embryonic mortality in fetuses by 1.5–2 times with chromium intoxication.Limitations. In the study, when using the quantitative cytological express method in assessing spermatogenesis disorders under the influence of radiation and xenobiotics in small doses, there are no data on remote effects (90–120 days), which would allow determining the prognostic significance of these indicators in solving reproductive problems.Conclusions. For the first time, based on quantitative, morphological indicators, the degree of spermatogenesis impairment and the level of embryonic losses during irradiation and chromium intoxication in low doses were shown. The most pronounced degree of spermatogenesis impairment during chromium intoxication leads to a higher level of embryonic mortality.Compliance with ethical standards. The experimental study was approved by the Bioethics Committee of the Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (protocol No. 13 dated 03/12/2025).Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.Funding. The study was carried out within the framework of State Assignment to Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology (No. 122021000085-1).Received: April 28, 2025 / Accepted: June 26, 2025 / Published: December 19, 2025

Outcomes of ecological interactions often depend on the abundance and identity of the organisms involved. Flower-bacteria interactions can strongly affect plant ecology, and the identities of epiphytic flower bacteria are relatively well documented. Yet little is known about how the abundance of epiphytic bacteria on flowers changes over time. In this field study, we quantified how the abundance of culturable epiphytic bacteria on flowers changed as flowers aged and how abiotic factors influenced bacterial abundance and flower longevity. To accomplish this, we sampled flowers from anthesis to senescence of 8 plant species that varied substantially in terms of flower longevity and comprised 8 different genera from 7 different families. As expected, flowers of all plant species accumulated more bacteria with age. However, plant species with longer-lived flowers accumulated bacteria relatively more slowly, suggesting such plant species may have evolved more effective antibacterial defenses. Although elevated temperature is often expected to boost bacterial growth and diminish flower longevity, temperature was negatively associated with both flower longevity and bacterial accumulation, suggesting that changes to flower longevity strongly affect bacterial populations. In contrast, precipitation was positively associated with flower longevity and negatively associated with bacterial accumulation, likely because precipitation reduced plant water stress while also dislodging bacteria from flowers. Finally, we discuss the implications of our results for plant-bacterial-pollinator interactions.

Leaf anatomy is a key factor determining plant ecology. Cell size and number are related to leaf size in tracheophytes, but this has been little studied in bryophytes, which never reach large leaf sizes. We studied the main anatomical factors determining leaf size in mosses, and how this is related to their ecology. We measured cell and leaf dimensions in 287 moss species, as well as cell density, cell wall thickness and midrib length. These measurements were contrasted against different traits, highlighting growth form and genome size, and correlations among traits. Moss leaf size was positively correlated with cell size but negatively correlated with cell density. The longest moss leaves were always supported by midribs reaching or surpassing the leaf apex. Genome size was positively correlated with cell and, especially, leaf size. All these relationships were stronger in acrocarpous mosses. Leaf size in mosses is limited by the mechanical support provided by cell turgor and the midrib. Both mechanical support and effect of genome size were more important in acrocarpous mosses. Our findings suggest anatomy as a key linking factor between genome size and plant ecology.

Maize (Zea mays) is a globally vital cereal crop that sustains billions of people as a food staple while supporting livestock, biofuel, and industrial applications. Maize was domesticated from teosintes, a group of Zea mays subspecies that originated in ancient Mesoamerica. Plant domestication and intensive agriculture may have reduced beneficial endophytic diversity in maize, underscoring the need to characterise microbial roles in plant performance. Investigating seed and seedling microbiomes is critical for unravelling how microbial communities influence plant ecology and function. The study tested the hypothesis that the seedborne microbial communities of teosintes were more diverse than those of domesticated maize. Seedborne microbial endophytic communities were surveyed from 85 geographical diverse Zea accessions, 65 cultivars and 20 teosintes accessions, originating from 28 countries sourced from international genebanks. The fungal ITS2 region and bacterial 16S rRNA genes were sequenced using the Illumina MiSeq platform to analyse the microbiomes associated with the shoot, root and kernel from five seedlings of each accession. The teosintes accessions, on average, had a significantly higher bacterial and fungal Shannon diversity index and observed taxon indices than the domesticated maize accessions. Pseudomonadota and Actinomycetota were the most abundant and prevalent bacterial phyla across all accessions of teosintes, comprising an average of 80% and 17% of the total reads, respectively. In contrast, Pseudomonadota was extremely abundant in domesticated maize, comprising an average of 98% of the bacterial reads, compared to 71% in teosintes. Sarocladium and Fusarium were the most abundant fungal genera across the accessions averaging 90% of the total reads. This study revealed significant differences in seed and seedling microbiomes between domesticated maize and teosintes, with accessions of the latter harbouring greater microbial diversity. The dominance of Pseudomonadota in domesticated maize and the reduced microbial richness suggest that domestication has resulted in specialised microbial associations, potentially impacting plant resilience. These findings highlight the importance of preserving and restoring microbial diversity in modern crops that have the potential to enhance stress tolerance, nutrient uptake, and disease resistance.

Spatial heterogeneity influences processes in agriculture and can be configured optimally for production and disease management. Landscape composition can be analyzed to infer sources of inoculum or vectors influencing points of interest such as crop fields, and to estimate risk to improve management. Substantial research in plant ecology and disease epidemiology has addressed the importance of the dispersal kernel to spatial epidemic dynamics, but a methodological knowledge gap remains for situations in which the magnitude of dispersal from different landscape types varies. This knowledge gap is important to the study of emerging pathosystems in which inoculum sources or reservoirs may not be well-characterized, and to vectored-disease systems in which transmitting arthropods are polyphagous with unknown host preference. Using simulated data, we describe issues that arise from the practice of summarizing spaces as concentric rings to infer dispersal kernels or identify influential landscape classes, and we demonstrate utility of instead analyzing variation at a point of interest as a sum of simultaneously distance- and class-weighted remote sources. Of particular interest are scenarios where the form of the true dispersal kernel is unknown and the goal is to rank landscape types depending on their magnitude of influence. Results emphasize that nonlinear regression methods are necessary for simultaneously fitting distance weighting functions and estimating relative influence of landscape types, and show that ring-based descriptions of landscapes for analysis can lead to misapprehensions about dispersal processes. Methodological development is needed in plant disease epidemiology research where dispersal kernels may vary depending on biological considerations.

Societal Impact Statement People and nature need a renewable energy transition to help address the growing, and catastrophic, effects of climate change. A sustainable energy transition involves rigorously examining the potential impacts on nature – including plant life – and creating pathways for impact mitigation that strike a clear balance between energy production and biodiversity conservation. Given the critical roles that plants play in ecosystems, culture, wellbeing and prosperity, including for Indigenous people, their protection must be recognised, upheld and enhanced in the energy transition. This review seeks to chart a course for policymakers, proponents and practitioners to consider plants when planning, designing and implementing renewable energy infrastructure and projects. Summary A global scale renewable energy transition is now underway, bringing opportunities and challenges for nature, including plant life. Plants form the basis of terrestrial ecosystems and provision of essential ecosystem services; their protection and stewardship must be ensured during the renewable energy transition. Here, we provide a synthesis of the potential impacts of the energy transition on plants. We combine knowledge from research literature in plant ecology, plant biology, sustainability, conservation, spatial planning and social justice with that from policy documents, working papers and environmental assessments for existing renewable developments. The DPSIR method (Drivers, Pressures, State, Impacts, Responses) is used to organise the synthesis, including an examination of the utility of project life cycle assessment for anticipating impacts to plants. Where impacts may negatively affect plants or people, specific calls to action are offered. These include the need to tackle ‘plant blindness’ (i.e., the tendency to overlook, or undervalue plants, compared to animals) in the life cycle of renewable projects – from approval to decommissioning – and the need for Indigenous ownership and benefit sharing. Solutions which can accommodate and enhance plant biodiversity in conjunction with renewable energy projects, including closed‐loop or circular renewable design within the landscape, are discussed. Multiple global strategies call for the biodiversity and climate crises to be addressed in tandem (e.g., the Paris Accord, Global Biodiversity Framework, UN Sustainable Development Goals), underscoring the need for a nature‐based transition to renewable energy. Plant life must be recognised, valued and secured alongside wider biodiversity to achieve a sustainable future for Earth.

Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) allocation strategies are central to plant ecology, yet most studies oversimplify stems by ignoring the functional divergence between bark and wood. In addition, the combination of stoichiometric homeostasis and network analysis to elucidate adaptation strategies between evergreen and deciduous species has rarely been investigated. Here, we measured N and P concentrations across the plant-soil system (leaf, bark, wood, root, and soil) in 75 subtropical woody species (44 evergreen and 31 deciduous). Bark exhibited a lower N vs. P scaling exponent (α = 0.80) compared to wood (α ≈ 1.0). Functionally similar organs (e.g., leaf-bark in photosynthesis, wood-root in transport) showed isometric N and P allocation (α ≈ 1.0), whereas functionally divergent organs (e.g., leaf-root) followed an allometric scaling relationship (α < 1.0), aligning with the functional similarity rule. Compared to deciduous species, evergreen species exhibited greater stoichiometric homeostasis, higher network edge density (0.61 vs. 0.25; indicating stronger resource integration), and reduced modularity (0.09 vs. 0.31; reflecting functional interdependence rather than division). Our findings demonstrate that evergreen and deciduous species adopt divergent strategies through homeostasis and network structure differentiation, and highlight the need to refine ecosystem models by incorporating bark-wood differentiated N-P allocation mechanisms.

Phragmites australis is one of the most widely distributed macrophytes in the world and a compelling model system for biological invasions, as both native and introduced lineages grow sympatrically across North America. Decades of research on this tall grass and its biotic and abiotic interactions have advanced our understanding of plant ecology and plant invasions. These ecological, evolutionary, and invasion science studies have harnessed new omics methods and facilitated new research into the molecular and chemical mechanisms of plant responses to novel and changing environments. Here we review pivotal research on P. australis ecology, evolution, genetics, and management, highlighting differences between lineages and the impacts of the invasion of introduced P. australis on North American ecosystems.

There is no Abstract - this is an Obit for Dr Bob Parsons

Michael Sheridan, Roots of Power: The Political Ecology of Boundary Plants (New York: Routledge, 2023) 290 pp., $128.00 (cloth), $43.99 (pbk). ISBN: 978-1032411408.

The TAP-IVS-EPSPS glyphosate resistance mutation evolved in Amaranthus hybridus exhibits an adaptation cost in a glyphosate free environment.

Deep-CABPred: Deep learning model for predicting functional chlorophyll a-b binding proteins in trait-based plant ecology using hybrid embedding with semi-normalized temporal convolutional networks