Plants

New proposals to understand how the planet's vegetation works

An international team -where Josep Peñuelas has participated- explores the factors that most affect plant behavior and how they can be included in predictive models to improve them. The result, published in Nature Plants wants to improve understanding of the global carbon cycle and ecosystem services and their future if forests change due to climate change.

Climate change Forests Global carbon cicle Global change Plants Predictive models Vegetation Vegetation dynamics

The hidden side of rarity: it's not that rare being rare

Begoña García has spent many years passionately studying a curious plant, Borderea chouardii. It is a rare species with a biogeographical origin that dates back to the Tertiary and remains confined to a few limestone cliffs in the Central Pyrenees. Unknown until the middle of the 20th century, it is considered an endangered species. But... is it?

Citizen science Ecology Endangered species Endangeres Extinction Festina lente @en Metapoblations Plants Rare species Rarity

Are the tropical forests losing their carbon storage capacity?

Recently published in the journal Nature Plants, a pioneering international study led by CREAF-based CSIC researcher Josep Peñuelas has used L-band passive microwave observations to measure carbon stocks and fluxes in the planet’s tropical forests more reliably than ever before.

Amazon Congo @en Forests Geu @en Indonesia @en Jungle Nature @en Plants Tropical @en

Increased CO2 only leads to faster growth in plants if they have enough water

According to a study published recently in the journal PNAS, climate change has caused forests to alter the way they grow, in that they only take advantage of the fertilizing effect of carbon dioxide (CO2) to grow faster if they have plenty of water.

Carbon dioxide Climate change Forestry Forests Pinus @en Plants Rossella guerrieri @en Stomata Tree Uhn @en Usa

From the Arctic to the tropics: researchers present a unique database on Earth’s vegetation

Which plant species grow where, alongside which others - and why? In a new study, an international research team presents the world's first global vegetation database which contains over 1.1 million complete lists of plant species for all terrestrial ecosystems.

Climate change Comunities Data Data base Functional traits Geu @en Global change Josep peñuelas @en Nature ecology & evolution @en Plants