Forest ecosystems are complex, multiscale ecological systems dominated by tree communities and structured by vertical stratification (canopy, understory, forest floor) that regulate energy flow, biogeochemical cycles, and habitat availability. They integrate interactions among primary producers, heterotrophs, decomposers, and abiotic factors such as climate, soils, and hydrology, resulting in distinct successional dynamics and disturbance regimes (e.g., fire, windthrow, pest outbreaks). Forest ecosystems play central roles in carbon sequestration, nutrient cycling, and water regulation, exhibit high spatial heterogeneity and biodiversity, and are key model systems for studying resilience, feedbacks between vegetation and climate, and anthropogenic impacts such as fragmentation, land-use change, and altered disturbance frequencies.
Even in sunny forest gaps, browsing by roe deer prevents the natural regeneration of many tree species. Researchers at the University of Würzburg show just how strongly these ungulates shape forest development.
Plants & Animals
Nov 6, 2025
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Elevated carbon dioxide levels generated as a result of climate change could significantly increase the temperatures found within the canopies of the world's woodlands and forests, new research has suggested.
Plants & Animals
Nov 5, 2025
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The United Nations warned Wednesday that climate change poses a threat to the world's northern forests, saying it was putting the planet's most powerful natural defense at serious risk.
Environment
Nov 5, 2025
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In Finland, forest stands damaged by the European spruce bark beetle (Ips typographus) tend to concentrate in groups and form clusters, especially in mature Norway spruce forests close to previous infestations, a new study ...
Ecology
Nov 5, 2025
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Thinning, the practice of removing some trees to promote the growth of others, is a common forestry management technique, but its effects on forest carbon dynamics vary greatly depending on the forest type.
Ecology
Nov 5, 2025
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2
A study by research teams at the National Museum of Natural Science and National Taiwan University has, for the first time, unveiled Taiwan's vanished Pleistocene ecosystem: a warm, arid savanna environment dominated by grasslands ...
Ecology
Nov 5, 2025
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149
A satellite imagery analysis shows that the 2021 "heat dome" scorched almost 5% of the forested area in western Oregon and western Washington, turning foliage in canopies from a healthy green to red or orange, sometimes within ...
Plants & Animals
Nov 5, 2025
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Forest ecosystems play a vital role in the global carbon cycle. While the significance of tree mycorrhizal fungi in this process is well-documented, the manner in which different types of tree mycorrhizae influence forest ...
Ecology
Nov 4, 2025
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A new study led by Prof. Chen Hongsong from the Institute of Subtropical Agriculture of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has revealed that calcium-rich bedrock can reshape the latitudinal diversity gradient (LDG) within karst ...
Ecology
Nov 4, 2025
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Insect-driven tree mortality is rising across Europe, according to an international study led by the Czech University of Life Sciences with participation of WSL. Conifers are hit harder, broadleaf damage declines and warm, ...
Plants & Animals
Nov 3, 2025
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