Positive Effect Of Age Research Articles

The Impact of Women's Age at Marriage on Own and Spousal Labor Market Outcomes in India: Causation or Selection?

The labor market impacts of women’s age at marriage have recently received significant attention from social scientists. The focus of this literature, however, has been the developed world and almost nothing is known about how a delay in marriage affects labor market prospects of women in developing countries. This paper addresses this gap in the existing literature by providing the first comprehensive assessment of the relationship between women’s age at marriage and own as well as spousal labor market outcomes specifically in context of a developing country. Using nationally representative household data from India, we find evidence of positive effects of women’s age at marriage on their own and their spouses’ labor market outcomes. To examine whether these effects are causal or arise due to selection into marriage, we use an instrumental variables-based empirical strategy that utilizes variation in age at menarche to obtain exogenous variation in women’s age at marriage. Our results indicate that the positive effects of age at marriage of women on own as well spousal labor market outcomes are not causal and arise purely due to selection. The results are robust to addressing biases due to nonrandom selection of individuals into labor force. Our findings shed new light on theories of labor market in developing countries specifically through the lens of marriage.

Forest structure provides the income for reproductive success in a southern population of Canada lynx.

Understanding intrinsic and extrinsic drivers of reproductive success is central to advancing animal ecology and characterizing critical habitat. Unfortunately, much of the work examining drivers of reproductive success is biased toward particular groups of organisms (e.g., colonial birds, large herbivores, capital breeders). Long-lived mammalian carnivores that are of conservation concern, solitary, and territorial present an excellent situation to examine intrinsic and extrinsic drivers of reproductive success, yet they have received little attention. Here, we used a Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) data set, from the southern periphery of their range, to determine if reproductive success in a solitary carnivore was consistent with capital or income breeding. We radio-marked and monitored 36 female Canada lynx for 98 lynx years. We evaluated how maternal characteristics and indices of food supply (via forest structure) in core areas influenced variation in body condition and reproductive success. We characterized body condition as mass/length and reproductive success as whether a female produced a litter of kittens for a given breeding season. Consistent with life-history theory, we documented a positive effect of maternal age on body condition and reproductive success. In contrast to predictions of capital breeding, we observed no effect of pre-pregnancy body condition on reproductive success in Canada lynx. However, we demonstrated statistical effects of forest structure on reproductive success in Canada lynx, consistent with predictions of income breeding. The forest characteristics that defined high success included (1) abundant and connected mature forest and (2) intermediate amounts of small-diameter regenerating forest. These attributes are consistent with providing abundant, temporally stable, and accessible prey resources (i.e., snowshoe hares; Lepus americanus) for lynx and reinforce the bottom-up mechanisms influencing Canada lynx populations. Collectively, our results suggest that lynx on the southern range periphery exhibit an income breeding strategy and that forest structure supplies the income important for successful reproduction. More broadly, our insights advance the understanding of carnivore ecology and serve as an important example on integrating long-term field studies with ecological theory to improve landscape management.

Hormones and Fitness: Evidence for Trade-Offs in Glucocorticoid Regulation Across Contexts

Glucocorticoid hormones are important regulators of metabolic processes, and of the behavioral and physiological responses to stressors. Within-population variation in circulating glucocorticoids has been linked with both reproductive success and survival, but the presence and direction of relationships vary. Although conceptual models suggest the potential for interactions between glucocorticoid secretion under acute stress and non-acute stress contexts to influence phenotype and fitness, very little is known about the presence or implications of such interactions. Here we use a large data set from breeding tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor; n=215) to test the predictors of reproductive success and annual survival probability in females and males over a four-year period. Across years and life history stages, glucocorticoids predicted fitness in female tree swallows. Under challenging conditions, females that maintained low baseline corticosterone levels during incubation had higher reproductive success. During the nestling provisioning period, interactions between baseline glucocorticoids and the stress response suggest that females may face trade-offs in the regulation of glucocorticoids across contexts. Reproductive success was highest among females that maintained low baseline glucocorticoids coupled with a strong acute stress response, and among females with high baseline glucocorticoids and a weak acute stress response. Females with low or high glucocorticoid levels across contexts (baseline and acute stress) fledged fewer young. Glucocorticoid levels did not predict fledging success in males. None of the models of annual survival probability in females received strong support; model comparisons suggested weak negative effects of stress responsiveness during provisioning, and positive effects of body condition and age, on survival. Male survival probability was not predicted by breeding phenotype. Within and across years the glucocorticoid stress response was individually repeatable; across-year repeatability was particularly high during the nestling provisioning period. Both measures of the acute stress response – circulating stress-induced corticosterone levels and their stress-induced increase – showed similar repeatability, but baseline corticosterone was not repeatable within or across years. Overall, our results suggest that taking into account the potential for individual differences in glucocorticoid trait expression in one context to influence optimal endocrine expression in other contexts could be important for understanding the evolution of endocrine systems.

Staffing Practices and Employee Performance: The Role of Age

Purpose: Staffing is the tool that employers use to decrease information asymmetry when hiring employees. However, how its effectiveness evolves according to employee demographic characteristics, is under-researched. In this paper, we develop and test a model linking staffing practices, age and employee performance. Design/methodology/approach: Using a stratified sample of 1254 employees we hypothesize (i) main effects of staffing practices on employee performance, (ii) main effects of age on employee performance and (iii) moderating effects of age on the relationship between staffing practices and employee performance. Findings: The results show significant positive effects of staffing and age on employee performance and a negative moderation effect of age on the above relationship. Practical implications: The organizations are urged to invest in recruitment and selection practices and implement focused practices that appeal to an ageing workforce. Originality/value: The paper is the first to explore the topic of ageing workforce and the efficiency of staffing practices on employee performance in the context of Greece. We discuss the results, theoretical contributions, practical implications and future research directions under the light of the ageing workforce management challenge.

Fatty Acid Composition, Cholesterol and Nutritional Indices of Srinidhi and Vanaraja Chicken Varieties at 16, 20 and 24 Weeks of Age

The fatty acid profile and cholesterol content were studied in Srinidhi and Vanaraja chicken varieties – slaughtered at the 16, 20 and 24  weeks. All fatty acids studied were significantly (P<0.01) influenced by age and sex. Study recorded significantly (p<0.01) less saturated  fatty acid in Srinidhi and Vanaraja chicken at 24 weeks of age followed by 20 weeks and 16 weeks of age. Unsaturated fatty acid recorded  significantly (p<0.01) highest in Srinidhi and Vanaraja chicken at 24 weeks of age followed by 20 weeks of age and then 16 weeks of age. MUFA decreased significantly (p<0.01) with age from 16 week to 24 weeks. This corresponded to the significant decrease in C16:1  and C18:1 in the older chickens and might be lower desaturase activity. Significantly (p<0.01)higher PUFA recorded in Srinidhi chicken  than Vanaraja chicken at 24 weeks of age than Srinidhi chicken and these might be due to higher Elongase and Thioesterase indices in  these birds.Study recorded positive effect of age on atherogenic and thrombogenic index, while h/H and p/s ratio increased significantly.  Additionally, n-6/n-3 ratio decreased substantially in the older chickens. Cholesterol content significantly (p<0.01) less in Srinidhi chicken  than Vanaraja chicken in all age group and older chicken exhibited significantly (p<0.01) higher cholesterol content as age advanced.  Effect of sex dimorphism on cholesterol content also recorded significant. These results opens new prospective for further research on  the breeding practices of Srinidhi and Vanaraja varieties in order to produce slow-growing chickens with beneficial fatty acid composition  of meat for the consumers.&nbsp

Rising to the Occasion? Youth Political Knowledge and the Voting Age

Voting is a fundamental human right. Yet, individuals that are younger than 18 do typically not have this right since they are considered uninformed. However, recent evidence tentatively suggests that the political knowledge of youths is endogenous to the voting age. I test for the existence of such dynamic adjustments utilizing voting age discontinuities caused by Swedish laws. I employ a regression discontinuity strategy on Swedish register data to estimate the causal effect of early age voting right on political knowledge around age 18. The results do not support the existence of positive causal effects of early age voting right on political knowledge. Thus, we should not expect that 16-year-olds respond by acquiring more political knowledge if they are given the right to vote. This finding weakens the case for a lowering of the voting age from 18 to 16.

Effect of age at cochlear implantation and at exposure to Cued Speech on literacy skills in deaf children

The aim of this study was to investigate how age at cochlear implantation (CI) and age at exposure to Cued Speech (CS, Manual system that resolves the ambiguity inherent lipreading) could impact literacy skills in deaf children. Ninety deaf children fitted with CI (early vs late) and exposed to CS (early vs late) from primary schools (from Grade 2 to Grade 5) took part in this study. Five literacy skills were assessed: phonological skills through phoneme deletion, reading (decoding and sentence comprehension), word spelling and vocabulary. The results showed that both age at CI and age at first exposure to CS had some influence on literacy skills but there was no interaction between these factors. This implies that the positive effects of age at CI, especially on all literacy skills in the younger children, were not strengthened by age at exposure to CS.

Age at Menarche and Time Spent in Education: A Mendelian Randomization Study

Menarche signifies the primary event in female puberty and is associated with changes in self-identity. It is not clear whether earlier puberty causes girls to spend less time in education. Observational studies on this topic are likely to be affected by confounding environmental factors. The Mendelian randomization (MR) approach addresses these issues by using genetic variants (such as single nucleotide polymorphisms, SNPs) as proxies for the risk factor of interest. We use this technique to explore whether there is a causal effect of age at menarche on time spent in education. Instruments and SNP-age at menarche estimates are identified from a Genome Wide Association Study (GWAS) meta-analysis of 182,416 women of European descent. The effects of instruments on time spent in education are estimated using a GWAS meta-analysis of 118,443 women performed by the Social Science Genetic Association Consortium (SSGAC). In our main analysis, we demonstrate a small but statistically significant causal effect of age at menarche on time spent in education: a 1 year increase in age at menarche is associated with 0.14 years (53 days) increase in time spent in education (95% CI 0.10–0.21 years, p = 3.5 × 10−8). The causal effect is confirmed in sensitivity analyses. In identifying this positive causal effect of age at menarche on time spent in education, we offer further insight into the social effects of puberty in girls.

Impact of socio-demographic factors on job satisfaction among academic staff of universities in Ghana

The study examined the effect of age, rank, marital status and gender on job satisfaction among academic staff of universities in Ghana. The descriptive survey design was employed for the study. A proportional stratified random sample of 361 academic staff made up of 287 males and 74 females completed a validated survey questionnaire. The results of ANOVA show a significant positive effect of age, rank and marital status on job satisfaction among academic staff of universities in Ghana with senior lecturers being the most satisfied academic staff among the ranks. Independent samples t-test results found no significant difference between male and female members of the academic staff with regard to their levels of job satisfaction. It is recommended from the study that universities in Ghana engage young academics who have the opportunity of progressing on the academic ladder.

The effect of early fusion of the spheno-occipital synchondrosis on midface hypoplasia and obstructive sleep apnea in patients with Crouzon syndrome

IntroductionThe investigators hypothesized that patients with Crouzon syndrome and premature fusion of the spheno-occipital synchondrosis (SOS) more often have, or have more severe midface hypoplasia and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). MethodsA prospective cohort study was performed among patients with Crouzon syndrome to analyze SOS closure, midface hypoplasia represented by the sella-nasion angle (SNA) and OSA. ResultsForty patients were included in whom the OSA-prevalence was 65%. Kaplan Meier analyses suggest a trend towards earlier closure of synchondrosis in patients with OSA (p = 0.066). The mean SNA was 74.7°. There was a positive effect of age on the SNA (p = 0.020). There was no difference in SNA for patients with an open SOS as compared to patients with a closed SOS after correction for age. ConclusionsThe longitudinal data are suggestive of a trend towards earlier fusion of the SOS in patients with Crouzon syndrome and OSA as compared to patients with Crouzon syndrome without OSA. Although the SNA increases with age, our results suggest that this increase in independent closure of the SOS.

Determinants of Obesity in Turkey: A Quantile Regression Analysis from a Developing Country

This study investigates the factors that may influence the obesity in Turkey which is a developing country by implementing Quantile Regression (QR) methodology. The control factors that we consider are education, labor market outcomes, household income, age, gender, region and marital status. The analysis is conducted by using the 2008, 2010 and 2012 waves of the Turkish Health Survey (THS) prepared by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT). The obesity indicator in our study is the individual’s Body Mass Index (BMI). QR regression results provide robust evidence that additional years of schooling has negative effect on individual’s BMI and this effect significantly raises across different quantiles of BMI. QR results also indicate that males tend to have higher BMI at lower quantiles of BMI, whereas females have higher BMI at the top quantiles. This implies that females have higher tendency to be obese in Turkey. Our findings also imply that the positive effect of age on individual’s BMI levels raises across the quantiles at a decreasing rate. In addition, the effect of living in urban or rural areas do not significantly differ at the highest quantile distributions of BMI. Our results also reveal that the negative effect of being single on BMI increases gradually in absolute value across the quantiles of BMI implying that single individuals have less tendency to be obese or overweight compared to the married or widowed/divorced individuals. Moreover, the negative effect of being in labor force on individual’s BMI increases across the quantiles of BMI implying that an individual is more likely to be obese if he/she is out of labor force. Finally, the impact of household income on BMI is positive and significant at all quantiles.

Determinants of Obesity in Turkey: A Quantile Regression Analysis from a Developing Country

This study investigates the factors that may influence the obesity in Turkey which is a developing country by implementing Quantile Regression (QR) methodology. The control factors that we consider are education, labor market outcomes, household income, age, gender, region and marital status. The analysis is conducted by using the 2008, 2010 and 2012 waves of the Turkish Health Survey (THS) prepared by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT). The obesity indicator in our study is the individual’s Body Mass Index (BMI). QR regression results provide robust evidence that additional years of schooling has negative effect on individual’s BMI and this effect significantly raises across different quantiles of BMI. QR results also indicate that males tend to have higher BMI at lower quantiles of BMI, whereas females have higher BMI at the top quantiles. This implies that females have higher tendency to be obese in Turkey. Our findings also imply that the positive effect of age on individual’s BMI levels raises across the quantiles at a decreasing rate. In addition, the effect of living in urban or rural areas do not significantly differ at the highest quantile distributions of BMI. Our results also reveal that the negative effect of being single on BMI increases gradually in absolute value across the quantiles of BMI implying that single individuals have less tendency to be obese or overweight compared to the married or widowed/divorced individuals. Moreover, the negative effect of being in labor force on individual’s BMI increases across the quantiles of BMI implying that an individual is more likely to be obese if he/she is out of labor force. Finally, the impact of household income on BMI is positive and significant at all quantiles.

Creating winners and losers: Date of birth, relative age in school, and outcomes in childhood and adulthood

Using an unanticipated policy reform that shifted 4months the cutoff date for school eligibility in the state of Tlaxcala, Mexico, we estimate the effect of relative age on test scores in grades 3–9. Different identification strategies produce similar results: 1year of additional age confers an advantage of roughly 0.3 standard deviations. By contrasting Tlaxcala with a neighboring state that did not change the cutoff concurrently, we decompose the effect of relative age into a positive effect of age at test, and a negative effect of the position in the distribution of age. Older classmates have a positive spillover, whereas younger classmates have a negative spillover. If tested at the exact same age, younger students would outperform their older classmates. We complement the analysis with estimates of relative-age effects in six labor and marriage market outcomes in a sample of Mexican adults. Significant effects are found in the six outcomes. Lastly, we lay out a theoretical model to explain differences in relative-age effects in wages across countries, highlighting the role played by selectivity of the mechanisms used to allocate educational opportunities and the wage premium to those educational opportunities in the labor market.

Plasma Total Antioxidant Capacity and Activities of Blood Glutathione Peroxidase and Superoxide Dismutase Determined in Healthy Dogs by Using Commercially Available Kits

Abstract Data on the values of selected blood antioxidant parameters, i.e. total antioxidant capacity, glutathione peroxidase, and superoxide dismutase in healthy dogs, are lacking. There are no published accepted standard reference methods for their determination. The aim of this study was to determine the values of plasma total antioxidant capacity and the activities of whole blood glutathione peroxidase and erythrocyte superoxide dismutase in 30 healthy client-owned dogs (19 females, 11 males). The effect of age and sex on the measured antioxidant parameters was also investigated. Antioxidant parameters were determined with an automated biochemical analyser, using the commercially available Randox kits. No significant difference in age, weight, and antioxidant parameters was determined between females and males. A significant positive effect of age (p = 0.002, r2 = 0.284) on superoxide dismutase activity was confirmed. There was no effect of sex on any of the antioxidant parameters measured. However, we observed a tendency of the effect of sex (p = 0.063, r2 = 0.118), as well as age (p = 0.073, r2 = 0.111), on the activity of glutathione peroxidase. Our results are in part comparable with the results of other studies in which the same types of methods and samples were used to determine antioxidant parameters. In conclusion, the sex and age of dogs should be taken into consideration when planning a study on antioxidant status parameters.

Telomeres are elongated in older individuals in a hibernating rodent, the edible dormouse (Glis glis).

Telomere shortening is thought to be an important biomarker for life history traits such as lifespan and aging, and can be indicative of genome integrity, survival probability and the risk of cancer development. In humans and other animals, telomeres almost always shorten with age, with more rapid telomere attrition in short-lived species. Here, we show that in the edible dormouse (Glis glis) telomere length significantly increases from an age of 6 to an age of 9 years. While this finding could be due to higher survival of individuals with longer telomeres, we also found, using longitudinal measurements, a positive effect of age on the rate of telomere elongation within older individuals. To our knowledge, no previous study has reported such an effect of age on telomere lengthening. We attribute this exceptional pattern to the peculiar life-history of this species, which skips reproduction in years with low food availability. Further, we show that this “sit tight” strategy in the timing of reproduction is associated with an increasing likelihood for an individual to reproduce as it ages. As reproduction could facilitate telomere attrition, this life-history strategy may have led to the evolution of increased somatic maintenance and telomere elongation with increasing age.

Statistical methodology for age-adjustment of the GH-2000 score detecting growth hormone misuse.

BackgroundThe GH-2000 score has been developed as a powerful and unique technique for the detection of growth hormone misuse by sportsmen and women. The score depends upon the measurement of two growth hormone (GH) sensitive markers, insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) and the amino-terminal pro-peptide of type III collagen (P-III-NP). With the collection and establishment of an increasingly large database it has become apparent that the score shows a positive age effect in the male athlete population, which could potentially place older male athletes at a disadvantage.MethodsWe have used results from residual analysis of the general linear model to show that the residual of the GH-2000 score when regressed on the mean-age centred age is an appropriate way to proceed to correct this bias. As six GH-2000 scores are possible depending on the assays used for determining IGF-I and P-III-NP, methodology had to be explored for including six different age effects into a unique residual. Meta-analytic techniques have been utilized to find a summary age effect.ResultsThe age-adjusted GH-2000 score, a form of residual, has similar mean and variance as the original GH-2000 score and, hence, the developed decision limits show negligible change when compared to the decision limits based on the original score. We also show that any further scale-transformation will not change the adjusted score. Hence the suggested adjustment is optimal for the given data. The summary age effect is homogeneous across the six scores, and so the generic adjustment of the GH-2000 score formula is justified.ConclusionsA final revised GH-2000 score formula is provided which is independent of the age of the athlete under consideration.

Synovial sarcoma: current perspectives

Synovial sarcoma: current perspectives Bernadette Brennan Department of Paediatric Oncology, Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, Manchester, UK Abstract: Synovial sarcoma (SS) is a distinct soft tissue sarcoma, occurring across all ages, from young children to the elderly, but the incidence of SS peaks in young adults. Recently, its biology, specifically the biomarker genomic index, may prove to be the most important prognostic marker, explaining findings such as the positive effect of younger age on outcome. While believed to be a chemosensitive soft tissue sarcoma, surgery remains the most important modality of treatment for many people, especially in localized disease, plus or minus radiotherapy to improve local control. Moving forward, the demonstration that SS has multiple therapeutic targets such as vascular endothelial growth factor, and new emerging targets, allows us to start to consider different systemic therapeutic interventions other than just chemotherapy. This is particularly important for advanced/metastatic SS which, with conventional chemotherapy only, continues to have a very poor outcome. The way forward, therefore, is an all-age trial combining perhaps anti-angiogenesis agents with chemotherapy, focusing on those SS cases whose outcome, as determined by biology, site, or metastatic status, is poor with just conventional sarcoma chemotherapy. This also allows prospective evaluation of the role of genomic index and other biomarkers. Keywords: children/adolescents, genomic index, targeted therapy, MAMS design

Couples\u2019 arts participation: assessing individual and joint time use

In this paper, we analyse the joint and individual time that Italian couples allocate to the different arts activities and arts practices. The Time Use Survey of Italian households (ISTAT 2002–2003) is used for the first time for this purpose. Despite an unbalanced gender division of paid and unpaid work in this country, women are shown to have a greater predisposition towards engaging in the arts. Altogether, Italian couples spend half of their arts time together. After we apply a Heckman’s selection model, results show the overall positive effects of age, education, individual and couple’s well-being and weekend participation, and the negative effects of children and residence in southern regions. Yet we demonstrate that the likelihood to participate in the arts and the amount of time allocated to them are determined by different factors. In particular, we highlight some differences and complementarities in partners’ personal and mutual influence and respective roles within the couple and the household.

Serological patterns of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, Pasteurella multocida and Streptococcus suis in pig herds affected by pleuritis.

BackgroundRespiratory illness is traditionally regarded as the disease of the growing pig, and has historically mainly been associated to bacterial infections with focus on Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae and Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae. These bacteria still are of great importance, but continuously increasing herd sizes have complicated the scenario and the influence of secondary invaders may have been increased. The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of A. pleuropneumoniae and M. hyopneumoniae, as well as that of the secondary invaders Pasteurella multocida and Streptococcus suis by serology in four pig herds (A–D) using age segregated rearing systems with high incidences of pleuritic lesions at slaughter.ResultsPleuritic lesions registered at slaughter ranged from 20.5 to 33.1 % in the four herds. In herd A, the levels of serum antibodies to A. pleuropneumoniae exceeded A450 > 1.5, but not to any other microbe searched for. The seroconversion took place early during the fattening period. Similar levels of serum antibodies to A. pleuropneumoniae were also recorded in herd B, with a subsequent increase in levels of antibodies to P. multocida. Pigs seroconverted to both agents during the early phase of the fattening period. In herd C, pigs seroconverted to P. multocida during the early phase of the fattening period and thereafter to A. pleuropneumoniae. In herd D, the levels of antibodies to P. multocida exceeded A450 > 1.0 in absence (A450 < 0.5) of antibodies to A. pleuropneumoniae. The levels of serum antibodies to M. hyopneumoniae and to S. suis remained below A450 < 1.0 in all four herds. Pigs seroconverted to M. hyopneumoniae late during the rearing period (herd B–D), or not at all (herd A).ConclusionDifferent serological patterns were found in the four herds with high levels of serum antibodies to A. pleuropneumoniae and P. multocida, either alone or in combination with each other. Seroconversion to M. hyopneumoniae late during the rearing period or not at all, confirmed the positive effect of age segregated rearing in preventing or delaying infections with M. hyopneumoniae. The results obtained highlight the necessity of diagnostic investigations to define the true disease pattern in herds with a high incidence of pleuritic lesions.

The contribution of patch‐scale conditions is greater than that of macroclimate in explaining local plant diversity in fragmented forests across Europe

AbstractAimMacroclimate is a major determinant of large‐scale diversity patterns. However, the influence of smaller‐scale factors on local diversity across large spatial extents is not well documented. Here, we quantify the relative importance of local (patch‐scale), landscape‐scale and macroclimatic drivers of herbaceous species diversity in small forest patches in agricultural landscapes across Europe.LocationDeciduous forest patches in eight regions along a macroclimatic gradient from southern France to central Sweden and Estonia.MethodsThe diversity of forest specialists and generalists at three levels (whole forest patch, sampling plots within patches and between scales) was related to patch‐scale (forest area, age, abiotic and biotic heterogeneity), landscape‐scale (amount of forest, grasslands and hedgerows around the patch, patch isolation) and macroclimatic variables (temperature and precipitation) using generalized linear mixed models and variation partitioning for each group of variables.ResultsThe total amount of explained variation in diversity ranged from 8% for plot‐scale diversity of generalists to 54% for patch‐scale diversity of forest specialists. Patch‐scale variables always explained more than 60% of the explained variation in diversity, mainly due to the positive effect of within‐patch heterogeneity on patch‐scale and between‐scale diversities and to the positive effect of patch age on plot‐scale diversity of forest specialists. Landscape‐scale variables mainly contributed to the amount of explained variation in plot‐scale diversity, being more important for forest specialists (21%) than for generalists (18%). Macroclimatic variables contributed a maximum of 11% to the plot‐scale diversity of generalists.Main conclusionsMacroclimate poorly predicts local diversity across Europe, and herbaceous diversity is mainly explained by habitat features, less so by landscape structure. We show the importance of conserving old forest patches as refugia for typical forest species, and of enhancing the landscape context around the patches by reducing the degree of disturbance caused by agriculture.