Abstracted/indexed

In an era of environmental crises, conservation and management strategies need a new generation of applied ecologists. Here, we stimulate the next generation of applied ecologists to acquire a pragmatic mentality of problems solvers in real contexts, using the wide arsenal of concepts, approaches and techniques available in the project management (PM) arena and using a road map based on the main steps of the conservation project cycle.

This study determines the diversity of pollen morphotypes of Atriplex halimus (Amaranthaceae) along a large-scale climatic gradient. Occurrences of 10 pollen grain shapes were quantified at seven climates across a humid-to-hyperarid gradient. We discuss how the evolutionary effects of climate gradients on pollen morphology and variability in dryland induce a high level of specialization to maximize trade-offs between adaptation to severe ecological conditions and pollination efficiency.

We introduce the Alpine research platform Ödenwinkel to promote observational and experimental research on the emergence of multidiversity and ecosystem complexity. The Ödenwinkel platform will be available as a long-term ecological research site where researchers from various disciplines can contribute to the accumulation of knowledge on ecological successions and on how interactions between various taxonomic groups structure ecological complexity in this Alpine environment.

Invasive acacias are spreading in Iberia, harming ecosystems. We did a bibliographic search of acacia invasions in S Europe and used spatial data on their distribution and abiotic parameters in Iberia – Acacia dealbata and A. melanoxylon prefer acid soils and warm and humid areas with high fire incidence, while A. saligna prefers neutral soils in the driest and warmest areas. Several acacias outcompete native shrubs partly thanks to enemy release, so biocontrol agent introduction can be useful.

This paper summarizes the tree composition and structure of six sacred forests, located in northwestern Greece. These forests are recognized as important components of the cultural landscape and local traditional knowledge. However, they are gradually fading because of rural depopulation. To understand the effect of management on the forests' vegetation composition, we classified tree species across forests. Our results show the key role of former management in shaping the forests' structure.

Human population growth imposes increasing demands on crop yield (i.e., crop production per unit area). Worryingly, first signs of yield deceleration and stagnation were reported. In our study we show how crop cultivation region, type of harvested organ, pollinator dependency, and life form affect yield growth and/or stability of globally important crops. Our results together advocate for a more diverse agriculture involving the cultivation of different crops with different ecological features.

Biocrusts are a key component in Spanish drylands, where their ecological relevance has been widely studied. However, by doing a literature review, we found that the social dimension of their role still remains unexplored. This may hinder biocrusts and their benefits from being known and understood by the policy community and the general public. Thus, we identified social–ecological knowledge gaps and proposed new research areas that need to be addressed to advance towards biocrust conservation.

The Roman snail has a high conservation status in Germany, and it is important to study the impact of predators and parasites on local populations. Morphometric traits and signs of external attack and internal utilization were studied in eight subpopulations. External attacks by predators were more frequently recorded on larger shells, while internal utilization depended on body density and local soil pH values. This highlights the value of abiotic habitat conditions and trophic interactions.

The rapid expansion of urban environments invariably presents a novel series of pressures on wildlife due to changes in environmental factors. In reptiles, any changes in temperature may be critical for their thermal ecology. How reptiles adapt to such changes may vary from those species that are impacted negatively to others that have the behavioural flexibility to exploit new conditions. This paper describes a behaviour change in in the African lizard, Agama agama.

The abandonment of extensively managed mountainous meadows affects the diversity of both plants and associated pollinators. However, not much is known about the effects of abandonment on hoverflies which consitute an important pollinator group in grasslands. Our research suggests that extensive management is most beneficial in preserving hoverfly richness in mountainous grasslands.

The lunar cycle influences frogs' vocal activity. Herein we examined a community of 37 Brazilian species to elucidate how their vocal activity is influenced by such a cycle. We found that most species prefer the darkest phase for vocalizing. This result indicates that artificial lighting could interfere with the species' natural behaviors, affecting their conservancy. To find this, we observed the vocal activity of 1691 frogs for 882 d in a way to better understand Brazilian biodiversity.

Many factors can facilitate the coexistence of species that feed on the same resource and occupy the same niche. In this work, we saw that different feeding strategies adopted by curimatid fish promote differences in detritus consumption. This point may be essential for the detritivores to be one of the most representative and abundant trophic groups in rivers and floodplain environments in the Amazon.

Cerrado savannas in Brazil are under increasing pressure. Long-term vegetation dynamics (1987–2019) of a Cerrado area showed marked woody plant encroachment (WPE) processes, possibly linked to fire and grazing suppression. Open shrubby grasslands and wetlands shrunk, while forest and denser woodlands increased, concurrently with vegetation indexes (NDVI). Decreasing open cerrado and wetlands may imply biodiversity and water supply losses. WPE should be considered for Cerrado conservation.

Research on the effect of close-to-nature management (CTNM) on the univariate and bivariate distribution of the spatial structure of forest stands provides a scientific basis for the evaluation of CTNM implemented in forestry and further promotes the success of forest management.