John A. Finn | Lightnews

John Finn

@johnfinn310.bsky.social

120 followers 110 following 28 posts

Ecologist, biodiversity and ecosystem function in agricultural grasslands and High Nature Value farming systems. Ireland☘️. Art & sports. Kerryman.

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Environmental science 46%

Agriculture 25%

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John Finn @johnfinn310.bsky.social · 5d

🚨 Plant diversity in 6-species #multispecies mixtures generally increased multifunctionality (MF) (measured as 6 ecosystem functions related to agronomy). We also looked at effect of drought on MF.
short🧵

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Effects of experimental drought and plant diversity on multifunctionality of a model system for crop rotation - Scientific Reports

Scientific Reports - Effects of experimental drought and plant diversity on multifunctionality of a model system for crop rotation

www.nature.com

Reposted by John A. Finn, Laura E. Dee, Benjamin Wildermuth

Functional Agrobiodiversity & Agroecology @funcagroeco.bsky.social · 2d

📢 Join our team: Are you interested in the synthesis of ecological data?

We are offering a postdoctoral researcher position on the effects of collaborative agri-environment measures on multiple taxa and ecosystem services.

See #job advert
www.uni-goettingen.de/en/vacancy+f...

Reposted by John A. Finn

Bertrand Dumont @bdumontae.bsky.social · 5d

Interested in a cross-analysis of how Romanian and French farmers are adapting to climate change? Watch Agroecology-TRANSECT webinar to find out more: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uu4m...

🌱 Necula et al 2024 👉 link.springer.com/article/10.1...

🐮 Allart et al 2024 👉 doi.org/10.1017/S174...

#agroecology

John Finn @johnfinn310.bsky.social · 5d

📢Special bonus, check out the *amazing* interactive visualisation by @rishvish07 where you can manipulate i) relative importance of the functions, and ii) relative proportions of the species and functional groups, and see effects on the functions, and trangressive overyielding

John Finn @johnfinn310.bsky.social · 5d

A wide range of higher-diversity, lower-nitrogen (150N) mixtures typically had higher multifunctionality than a low-diversity, higher-nitrogen (300N) grass monoculture. (Fig. 1).

John Finn @johnfinn310.bsky.social · 5d

Drought reduced multifunctionality, but not as much as changes in diversity. For productive forage grassland plots with lower diversity, increasing diversity enhanced multifunctionality -> drought adaptation option.
Rainfed control, top panel; drought treatment, bottom.

John Finn @johnfinn310.bsky.social · 5d

Plant diversity in mixtures increased mean levels of multifunctionality (MF, x-axis) *and* reduced variation in MF (y-axis), leading to higher multifunctional stability (which is highest in the lower right quadrant in the figure)
nature.com/articles/s4159…

John Finn @johnfinn310.bsky.social · 5d

Multifunctionality across a range of mixture diversity exceeded that of the best monoculture, under both rainfed and drought conditions (transgressive overperformance). (See Fig. 4)

John Finn @johnfinn310.bsky.social · 5d

No single community was best across each of the six individual functions; there was no ‘super-species’ that was best at everything. Thus, there are trade-offs among communities when comparing across single functions. (drought only shown here)

John Finn @johnfinn310.bsky.social · 5d

It’s more complex to choose best mixture(s) for multiple responses (yield, forage quality, weed suppression, nutrient use etc.). If same species’ mixtures are the best at everything, then it’s easy (but this is unusual!). If not, one needs to manage the trade-offs.

John Finn @johnfinn310.bsky.social · 5d

3: choose (or breed) species that are able to persist in mixtures at reasonable proportions (or have adaptive strategies to achieve this). No matter how high-performing and synergistically interactive a species is, it will not contribute much with a relative abundance of 2%.

John Finn @johnfinn310.bsky.social · 5d

'more species is better' is not necessarily correct to maximise a response. Species' identity, richness and relative abundance ALL affect the response. Even at richness = 6 in our example (see scatterplot), these diversity aspects completely determine which community is best.

John Finn @johnfinn310.bsky.social · 5d

2: choose species' with traits that maximise synergistic interactions. Positive mixing effects will push the mixture responses higher up the x-axis. When interactions are ++ positive, at least some mixtures can out-perform the best monoculture (or other reference point).

John Finn @johnfinn310.bsky.social · 5d

1: choose the best-performing agronomic species (for the response of interest) based on their performance in monoculture = higher starting point on the x-axis. This ensures high performance with fewer species.

John Finn @johnfinn310.bsky.social · 5d

ICYMI
2024 publication
How can we ‘best’ design multi-species grassland mixtures?
How can we better predict the effect of diversity on mixture performance?
Demonstration of principles and practical examples from Mini Review in J of Ecology

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Design principles for multi‐species productive grasslands: Quantifying effects of diversity beyond richness

We describe approaches that separate plant diversity into its underlying components: species richness, composition and relative abundance. Disentangling these three components facilitates a more nuan....

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Reposted by John A. Finn

Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Network (BES-Net) @besnet.bsky.social · 12d

📌 Carbon has a common unit, biodiversity doesn’t; and that makes progress harder to compare.

The upcoming IPBES #BizBiodiversity Assessment arrives at exactly the right moment for clearer methods and signals.

Reposted by John A. Finn

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 12d

Rare butterflies bounce back after landowners in Wales cut back on flailing hedges

More than 300 brown hairstreak butterfly eggs discovered near Llandeilo this winter after decade of decline Record numbers of eggs of the rare brown hairstreak butterfly have been found in south-west Wales after landowners stopped flailing hedges every year. The butterfly lays its eggs on blackthorn every summer. But when land managers and farmers mechanically cut hedges every autumn, thousands of the eggs are unknowingly destroyed. Continue reading...

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by John A. Finn

Shauna Corr @shaunacorr.bsky.social · 13d

Months of work finally unveiled as a major investigation I worked on with the @independent.ie launches.

Every council in Ireland was asked to write a Climate Action Plan identifying local risks and what they plan to do to reduce emissions causing those risks.

We read them all...

bit.ly/3Mf9h8x

How your county is weighing in on fighting climate change

bit.ly

Reposted by John A. Finn

Science X / Phys.org @sciencex.bsky.social · 14d

Deforestation is accelerating drying in the Amazon, with up to 72% of reduced rainfall in the southern region directly linked to forest loss, raising concerns about earlier-than-expected ecosystem tipping points. doi.org/qpj4

Deforestation is drying out the Amazon rainforest faster than previously thought

Deforestation is having a more devastating effect on the Amazon rainforest than earlier data suggested. While cutting down large swaths of trees destroys vital habitats, it also harms the region's ability to generate its own rainfall.

phys.org

Reposted by John A. Finn

Katharine Hayhoe @katharinehayhoe.com · 14d

As a climate scientist I am quite sure I could use this reply at least two dozen times per week.

A screenshot of what looks like a tweet but I got it off Instagram saying, “don’t let my knowledge get in the way of your confidence.”

John Finn @johnfinn310.bsky.social · 18d

After being online for about 5 weeks, over 8,500 downloads already!
Multispecies grasslands produce more yield from lower nitrogen inputs across a climatic gradient | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
#legacynet

Multispecies grasslands produce more yield from lower nitrogen inputs across a climatic gradient

High-yielding forage grasslands frequently contain low species diversity and receive high inputs of nitrogen fertilizer. To investigate multispecies mixtures as an alternative strategy, the 26-site in...

www.science.org

Reposted by Stefan Rahmstorf, John A. Finn, Andrew L. Jackson , and 5 more Stefan Rahmstorf, John A. Finn, Andrew L. Jackson, Stacy D. VanDeveer, Jesús García, Juanjo Medina, Pierre Mariotte, Paul Caplat

Veronika Meduna @veronikameduna.bsky.social · 28d

Not a single day in 2025 was cooler than the 1991-2020 average, on a global scale. @copernicusecmwf.bsky.social

A graph showing daily temperature anomalies since the 1940s

Reposted by John A. Finn, David Leclère

Bertrand Dumont @bdumontae.bsky.social · Jan 8

👋 Agroecology-TRANSECT YouTube channel www.youtube.com/@agroecology... provides material to learn on the agronomic, social and political dimensions of #agroecology

Next webinar (Jan.22) is on #intercropping and sustainable #pest management

To register 👉 www.agroecology-transect.net/events/boost...

Reposted by John A. Finn

John Gibbons 🇵🇸 🇺🇦 🇪🇺 @thinkorswim.bsky.social · Jan 6

Gosh, it looks like Ireland is in for some “stark” weather, just perfect, apparently, for lounging around in the park, catching some rays.

Come on, media, you could at least make an effort at trying to communicate the disaster that is #climate change.

Reposted by John A. Finn

Ali Sheridan @alisheridan.bsky.social · Jan 6

“Ireland had its warmest spring and summer since 1900 last year, according to Met Éireann, and its overall second warmest year on record.

The last four years - 2022 to 2025 - are now the top four warmest years on record in Ireland.”

jrnl.ie/6919300

Ireland had its warmest spring and summer since 1900 last year

As Ireland grows warmer, it is forecast to face increasingly turbulent weather.

jrnl.ie

John Finn @johnfinn310.bsky.social · Jan 6

New research:
An online survey of farmers' perspectives on the adoption of multispecies swards: Barriers, benefits and knowledge gaps -

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

TL;DR: more widespread adoption of grassland mixtures needs improved knowledge transfer

An online survey of farmers' perspectives on the adoption of multispecies swards: Barriers, benefits and knowledge gaps

An Irish farmer survey found that multispecies swards can reduce fertiliser use and enhance drought resilience and biodiversity. While awareness is high, adoption is limited by challenges like weed c...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Reposted by John A. Finn

BEC Consultants @bececology.bsky.social · Dec 15

'Minister O’Sullivan publishes new report on the status of Ireland’s EU-Protected Habitats and Species' - @npwsireland.bsky.social

#NatureConservation #HabitatsDirective #Article17 #Ireland

www.npws.ie/news/ministe...

Minister O’Sullivan publishes new report on the status of Ireland’s EU-Protected Habitats and Species | National Parks & Wildlife Service

www.npws.ie

Reposted by John A. Finn

IntercropVALUES @intercropvalues.bsky.social · Dec 15

🌱 How could the post-2027 CAP be updated to promote #intercropping in Europe? 🫛
In this video, Boglárka Bozsogi from @organicseurope.bsky.social presents some of the recommendations from our Project.
Also gathered in a policy brief:
intercropvalues.eu/wp-content/u...

youtu.be/bi1drtErmaE?...

ICV - RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE FUTURE OF THE COMMON AGRICULTURAL POLICY

YouTube video by IntercropVALUES & ReMIX

youtu.be

Reposted by John A. Finn

ithinkwellhugh.bsky.social @ithinkwellhugh.bsky.social · Dec 15

What you asked for in the grant proposal.
What you actually received.

John Finn @johnfinn310.bsky.social · Dec 14

#LegacyNet results in The Conversation.
More diverse #mixtures of forage grassland species deliver higher yields than grass-only with higher nitrogen fertiliser. And the yield benefits were larger in higher temperatures. #multispecies #multi4more
theconversation.com/growing-a-mi...

Growing a mix of plants in fields can save farmers money and help the environment – new research

Farmers are struggling to adapt to climate change and its challenges, but new research has some helpful advice.

theconversation.com

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