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Biogeography is the study of the large-scale distribution of species. It investigates how these distributions change over time and the processes that govern distribution patterns.
Climate warming is accelerating successional processes, leading to late-successional species (fir) quickly outcompeting pioneer species (birch) at Himalayan treelines. This finding offers insights into the composition and interactions of future forest species, as well as their influences on ecosystem services.
Fire has less direct influence on tropical savanna tree cover than previously believed, while heat stress, water availability, wind throw and changes in fire regime are more critical, according to simulations using a Bayesian limitation framework
Climate warming is accelerating successional dynamics, with late-successional species rapidly outcompeting pioneer species at Himalayan treeline ecotones, offering insight into future forest succession and its influences on ecosystem services.
Forests are subject to natural and human-induced disturbances, which can be important in shaping their form and function. In this study, the authors examine the landscape patterns of global forest disturbance and their drivers to better inform sustainable forest management and policy.
Climate warming is accelerating successional processes, leading to late-successional species (fir) quickly outcompeting pioneer species (birch) at Himalayan treelines. This finding offers insights into the composition and interactions of future forest species, as well as their influences on ecosystem services.
Analysis of distributional data for 25,000 species challenges the assumption that species are bound to the climatic conditions that they inhabit today, and argues that many species may be able to venture into unoccupied areas of their fundamental niche.
Efforts to monitor genetic diversity in populations vary greatly among European countries. The populations and species that are most likely to experience the greatest impacts of climate change are not well covered by these efforts, which suggests an urgent need for a substantial expansion in their monitoring.
Floristic homogenization — an increase in plant similarity within a given region — threatens biodiversity. By studying the taxonomic similarity of the floras of South Pacific islands over the past 5,000 years, we find that initial human settlement was probably a major driver of floristic homogenization.
An analysis of distributions of over 99% of the world’s seed plant flora shows that species that originate from large and biodiverse regions are more successful at establishing naturalized populations outside of their native range. They are also more likely to be used by humans for economic purposes.
An analysis of the geographical range and climatic niche dynamics of Australian frogs highlights the role of an emerging chytrid fungal disease in reshaping the distributions of native species through novel host–pathogen interactions.
