Category Archives: Science
The dark secrets of dark diversity
Dark diversity. A term that sounds sufficiently dramatic to catch the attention of many an ecologist. But it’s a good theory as well to explore: instead of the common ‘diversity’, which looks at the diversity of species/genes/traits present at a … Continue reading
The true thermal niche of forest plant species
I might have mentioned this before*, but microclimate is crucial to improve our estimates of species distributions. As species are reacting to micro- rather than macroclimate, and both are at the local scale only very weakly correlated, ignoring microclimate could … Continue reading
A correction and a warning
Finally, we got to publish something that was véry long overdue: the necessary correction to our ‘Global maps of soil temperature’. A correction, indeed, as we had identified an error in the analyses that had to be rectified. So, what … Continue reading
A call answered across the globe
It’s safe to say that last month’s call for microclimate data for our growing SoilTemp database was a success. Almost two hundred new datasets, ranging from just a few sensors to a whopping 32 thousand per dataset, poured into our … Continue reading
Microclimate can save plant species from population migration
Global warming would force plant species to move dozens of kilometres north at breakneck speed to still find suitable habitat. “A failure for flora,” was the scientific consensus for a long time. Recent research suggests that such population relocation would … Continue reading
ForestClim – bioclimatic variables for forest understory
Those bioclimatic variables that we ecologists all love so much, but at a higher resolution and from right there where your study organisms are living? Wouldn’t that be a dream come true? Time to pinch yourself, as we now released … Continue reading










