News from the deparment of Ecology

Find news from the department of Ecology.

More predators in food webs weakens predictive ability of single-trait models External web Ecology Centre for biological control (CBC) Department of Ecology Research Research news Researchers from SLU has shown how an increasing number of predator species weakens the ability of a single-trait food web model to predict experimentally observed outcomes of trophic interactions. This new information will be important when developing food web models that can be used to predict biological control. 29 May 2018
When nearby plants touch leaves, neighbours’ roots grow away from crowded areas External web Ecology Agricultural science Department of Ecology Department of Crop Production Ecology On start page external web Research news Corn seedlings that grow together give off underground signals that impact the growth of nearby plants, reports a study published May 2, 2018 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Velemir Ninkovic from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden, and colleagues. 03 May 2018
Peatland conservation for mitigating climate change is underrated External web Climate research Soil science Earth and environmental sciences Department of Ecology On start page external web Research news Press releases Environmental sciences Preserving peatlands around the world from degradation can be a relatively inexpensive and effective measure to tackle climate change, according to an article in Nature Communications written by Jens Leifeld, Agroscope (Switzerland) and Lorenzo Menichetti, SLU. They have analysed available data to evaluate the costs of global peatland degradation in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. The researchers are surprised that peatlands do not get more attention within research and climate policy at a... 25 April 2018
Long-awaited book about the birds of the forest External web Ecology Forest science Department of Ecology Department of Wildlife, Fish and Environmental Studies School for Forest Management On start page external web Research news Press releases Environmental sciences About 10 years ago Grzegorz Mikusiński's students at the School of Forest Management asked him if he could recommend a good book about birds in the forest. Now he can finally answer ‘yes’ to that question. Ecology and Conservation of Forest Birds is a unique review of northern hemisphere forest birds with emphasis on Europe - how they are adapted to living in the forest and how they are affected by changes in the habitat. Grzegorz has edited the book together with Jean-Michel Roberge and Rob... 26 March 2018
CBC's annual report 2017 External web Agricultural science Centre for biological control (CBC) Department of Ecology Institutionen för skoglig mykologi och växtpatologi Department of Molecular Sciences Platform Plant Protection The Centre for Biological Control, CBC, has now published highlights of the activities during 2017. 26 March 2018
How can you use Ecology Centre´s upgraded DNA-lab? External web Department of Ecology Department of Crop Production Ecology On start page staff web Research news News for SLU staff With molecular methods researchers can discover ecological relationships that they have not been able to study before. It may concern which prey species predatory insects may eat or which kind of flowers that pollinators visit. At the Ecology Centre there is now equipment for analyzing DNA on a much larger scale than before. This enables new exciting projects. And all researchers are welcome to contact the lab if they are interested in using it. 26 February 2018
Complex ecosystems provide better pest control with natural enemies External web Centre for biological control (CBC) Department of Ecology A more complex ecosystem is usually inhabited by a more diverse set of species. In a new study, it was found that complex ecosystems can induce rapid behavioral responses even before changes in diversity is shown. This can potentially promote the stability of ecosystem functions. 16 February 2018
Climate models should appreciate the little creatures in the soil External web Climate research Department of Ecology Department of Forest Ecology and Management On start page external web Research news Life in the soil is more important for the decomposition of organic matter than previously assumed, according to a European study that several SLU researchers participated in. This means that the commonly used climate models for predicting the amount of carbon dioxide released from the soil is not accurate. The results have recently been published in Nature Ecology and Evolution. 07 December 2017
Dead wood can reduce the risk of insect damage in forests External web Department of Ecology On start page external web Press releases Forest damages Platform Plant Protection The risk of outbreaks of pine sawflies can decrease with more dead wood in the forest, according to a new SLU study. It is most likely due to the fact that the dead wood provides shelter for small rodents that eat cocoons from pine sawflies. Outbreaks of the European pine sawfly occur occasionally, for example this summer in southern Sweden. The attacks from pine sawfly usually do not kill the trees, but the growth is negatively affected and therefore it could pose a problem for forestry. 21 November 2017
Can aphids be fought with biological control methods in a changing climate? External web Centre for biological control (CBC) Department of Ecology Benjamin Feit, most recently from the University of New South Wales in Australia, has recently come to SLU to work with biological control of aphids with natural enemies. 17 October 2017