The associations of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) or ectomycorrhiza (EcM) fungi with plants have sequentially evolved and significantly contributed to enhancing plant nutrition. Nonetheless, how evolutionary and ecological forces drive nutrient acquisition strategies of AM and EcM woody plants remains poorly understood. Our global analysis of woody s...
Societal Impact Statement To help save our planet, we need to shift to plant-based protein food and enhance sustainable agricultural practices. Cultivation of legumes, including soybean, will be key because they produce protein-rich beans without high applied fertilizer input. This complex challenge involves many stakeholders beyond the agricultura...
Numerous biodiversity–ecosystem functioning (BEF) experiments have shown that plant community productivity typically increases with species diversity. In these studies, diversity is generally quantified using metrics of taxonomic, phylogenetic, or functional differences among community members. Research has also shown that the relationships between...
Fungal conservation is gaining momentum globally, but many challenges remain. To advance further, more data are needed on fungal diversity across space and time. Fundamental information regarding population sizes, trends, and geographic ranges is also critical to accurately assess the extinction risk of individual species. However, obtaining these ...
Paratylenchus cacao n. sp., a pin nematode associated with cocoa ( Theobroma cacao L.) from Ghana, is described herein based on morphology, morphometrics and phylogenetic relationships with other species. Morphologically, P. cacao n. sp. is characterised by a female body length of 174-265 mu m, body assuming a 'C' or 'J' shape after heat relaxation...
A proposal to change the conserved type of Ipomoea was published in December 2020, and recommended by the Nomenclature Committee in 2023. This was done in the light of the possible negative consequences for a name change in the crop sweetpotato, which risk our proposal would significantly minimize. Recently, Munoz-Rodriguez & al. have published a r...
peer reviewed / Madagascar’s seagrass meadows are among the least-studied ecosystems in the western Indian Ocean region. To facilitate sustainable management, understanding the traditional uses of seagrass areas in relation to current management policies is necessary. This study assessed the uses of, and policies relevant to, seagrass ecosystems of...
1. Forests can foster mental health and well-being. Yet, the contribution of forest biodiversity remains unclear, and experimental research is needed to unravel pathways of biodiversity–health linkages. Here, we assess the role of tree species richness, both actual and perceived, and how stress reduction and attention restoration can serve as poten...
Between 2016 and 2022, the ladybird (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) fauna was surveyed on seven main islands of the Canary Islands archipelago. Adult specimens were collected and screened for thalli of Laboulbeniales (Ascomycota: Laboulbeniomycetes). Altogether, 9,807 ladybird specimens belonging to 39 species were screened, of which 103, representing ...
Most empirical research on biological shortfalls has focused on vertebrate taxa. This is important given many species in poorly studied groups such as invertebrates, plants, and fungi are predicted to possess high conservation risk. Here, we focus on Laboulbeniomycetes: a class of microfungi that are understudied. We examined four shortfalls: Linne...
