Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Go Belowground! @exfumo.bsky.social · 12h

Cold-season cattail harvest = cleaner water, happier wetlands, and usable biomass—without stressing the system. Win-win 👍
More on our blog ▶️ 1url.cz/8JhAe
#Wetlands #NatureBasedSolutions #WaterQuality #GoBelowground #ExFuMo

2

Go Belowground! @exfumo.bsky.social · 7d

Tubers = survival engines. Packed with energy, resilient in tough soils, vital for people & ecosystems.
More on our blog: 1url.cz/qJDNS
#tubers #resilience #energy #ecosystems #indigenous #ExFuMo #GoBelowground @ibotcz.bsky.social @czechacademy.bsky.social

1 1

Go Belowground! @exfumo.bsky.social · 8d

Big news! Our colleague Martin Bitomský from the #ExFuMo department is heading to Spain for a two-year research stay under the #MSCA project. Wishing him lots of luck, scientific success and invaluable experience. ¡Buena suerte! 🇪🇸 #GoBelowground @ibotcz.bsky.social @czechacademy.bsky.social

1 3

Go Belowground! @exfumo.bsky.social · 13d

Thanks @harvardforest.bsky.social

Go Belowground! @exfumo.bsky.social · 14d

A little digging in the forests of New England
A new post on our blog ▶️ 1url.cz/pJdXm
Many of the plants have very long rhizomes that twist through the thick litter layer! Thanks @josephtumber.bsky.social @czechacademy.bsky.social @ibotcz.bsky.social
#ExFuMo #Rhizome #Clonality #GoBelowground

1 3 8

Go Belowground! @exfumo.bsky.social · 16d

⛏️🌿Reflections from #IAVS2025 in Greeley - Commentary by Johanne Gresse (University of Tübingen) on Belowground workshop... they took us from plant anatomy to field digs to talks on belowground organ traits... more on our blog ▶️ 1url.cz/uJdHi
#ExFuMo #GoBelowground #clonality #bud #storage #morhology

Going belowground at the IAVS annual meeting

Commentary by Johanne Gresse from the University of Tübingen in Germany. Photo by Gabriela Silva. I had the pleasure of attending the Belowground workshop at the annual meeting of the Int…

1url.cz

Go Belowground! @exfumo.bsky.social · 16d

#GoBelowground course is over! Huge thanks to all participants and lecturers! We hope you made it home safely and found the course useful. And also big thanks @czechacademy.bsky.social and @ibotcz.bsky.social for their support. Until next time! #ExFuMo #functional #morphology #clonality #roots

5 9

Go Belowground! @exfumo.bsky.social · 19d

The final day of the #GoBelowground course on plant belowground #traits consisted of students´ miniprojects on #rooting depth, #bud bank, plant #age structure, fine #root traits and #clonal growth organs. See you next year!
Thanks @czechacademy.bsky.social and @ibotcz.bsky.social for the support

2 9

Go Belowground! @exfumo.bsky.social · 20d

🌷The fourth day of the #GoBelowground course was dedicated to #bud #traits and bud bank, fine #root traits with @joanabergmann.bsky.social and participants' presentations. Thanks to @czechacademy.bsky.social @ibotcz.bsky.social
#ExFuMo #clonality #functional #ecology #course #morphology #phenology

2 10

Go Belowground! @exfumo.bsky.social · 21d

#Carbohydrate #storage, #analytical #methods of carbohydrate storage, sweet tasting and #plant #belowground organs hunt were the program of the third day of the #GoBelowground course 🌷🌿🪻
@czechacademy.bsky.social @ibotcz.bsky.social
#ExFuMo

2 5

Go Belowground! @exfumo.bsky.social · 22d

The second day of the #GoBelowground! The course on #plant #belowground #functional #morphology was about the fine #roots and #anatomy of #storage #organs. We are grateful to @czechacademy.bsky.social and @ibotcz.bsky.social for the support, and to all participants for their enthusiasm! #ExFuMo 🌱🌴🌷

3 9

Go Belowground! @exfumo.bsky.social · 23d

The first day of the 7th edition of the #GoBelowground course! 16 participants from 7 countries and 3 continents are admiring the ecological functions of clonal growth organs. Our mission? Not to overlook crucial plant part - belowground!
Thanks @czechacademy.bsky.social @ibotcz.bsky.social #ExFuMO

2 7

Go Belowground! @exfumo.bsky.social · 28d

🚩Beware the Hoof! 🦓🐮 A new on our blog ⏩ 1url.cz/tJsmC
South Africa’s mesic #grasslands depend on #forbs, but heavy #grazing threatens their rich #biodiversity.
Protect them with careful grazing and time to recover.
#ExFuMo #GoBelowground @czechacademy.bsky.social @ibotcz.bsky.social

1 4 8

Go Belowground! @exfumo.bsky.social · Sep 4

Blue-and-white Blue Onion #cibulak a classic Central European motif began as a pomegranate motif resembling an onion. These images push it further😄They fuse leaves, stems, flowers & belowground! #GoBelowgroud #ExFuMo #art #science @ibotcz.bsky.social @czechacademy.bsky.social ▶️ 1url.cz/EJkYG

1 2 16

Go Belowground! @exfumo.bsky.social · Aug 27

📢Fine root responses to soil uncovered with high-resolution sampling of multiple nutrients
A new on our blog ▶️ 1url.cz/SJVhx
..."We were surprised at the strength of fine root responses to cations like magnesium and calcium"...
#GoBelowgrund #ExFuMo @czechacademy.bsky.social @ibotcz.bsky.social

Fine root responses to soil uncovered with high-resolution sampling of multiple nutrients

New research by Caroline Dallstream from the Soper Lab at McGill University in Canada. The illustration above depicts how trees could experience substantial soil heterogeneity at various spatial sc…

1url.cz

2 6

Go Belowground! @exfumo.bsky.social · Aug 20

🚩When Roots Meet: The Social Life Belowground
A new on our blog ⏩ 1url.cz/3J333
...In the presence of a neighbour, the primary root’s behaviour changed: nutations became more frequent and faster...
#GoBelowground #ExFuMo #Root @czechacademy.bsky.social @ibotcz.bsky.social

When Roots Meet: The Social Life Belowground

New research by Valentina Simonetti, from the University of Padova in Italy. In the Mind(The)Plant laboratory ( at the University of Padova, we study plant growth from a behavioural perspective. On…

1url.cz

2 6

Go Belowground! @exfumo.bsky.social · Aug 7

🌴🌲🌾Plant Bodies are here! A new book by @jitkaklimesova.bsky.social
Do You Want to Know How Plant Structures Contribute to Our Comprehension of Their Life-History Strategy?
1url.cz/ZJRTl
#morphology #architecture #ecology #GoBelowground #ExFuMo @czechacademy.bsky.social @ibotcz.bsky.social

6 15

Go Belowground! @exfumo.bsky.social · Aug 7

📢Context matters: Plant diversity affects soil carbon storage differently across ecosystems
To know more, read our blog ▶️ 1url.cz/zJRTz
#GoBelowground #ExFuMo #biodiversity #soil #carbon #sequestration #persistence #environment
@ibotcz.bsky.social @czechacademy.bsky.social

2 4

Go Belowground! @exfumo.bsky.social · Aug 1

The Dynamic World of the Root Cortex!
📢A new on our blog ▶️ 1url.cz/qJFBz ..."If you’ve ever marvelled at how grasses manage to survive in everything from soggy swamps to scorching deserts, you’re not alone"...
#GoBelowground #ExFuMo #grass #root #cortex #anatomy

2 5

Go Belowground! @exfumo.bsky.social · Aug 1

It Takes Digging to See the Whole!
📢A new on our blog ▶️ 1url.cz/RJFEx ..."As a geologist, it always seemed to me that plant scientists don’t seem to hesitate to sweep conclusions based only on aboveground parts..." 🙉
#ExFuMo #GoBelowground

It Takes Digging to See the Whole

News and commentary by Ying Fan from Rutgers University in the US. The illustration above, by F. Curtis Lubbe, gives a peek into the hidden belowground. “One cannot understand why a particular plan…

1url.cz

2 2

Go Belowground! @exfumo.bsky.social · Jul 9

🔔A new on our blog: Belowground traits significantly differ between decreasing and increasing plant species in alpine meadows 🌻🌹▶️ 1url.cz/FJBzX
#Alpine #Climatechange #GoBelowground #Traits #Rhizomes #Roots #Abundance #Drought #Stress #Functional #Ecology #ExFuMo

2 4

Go Belowground! @exfumo.bsky.social · Jul 8

📢Klimešová et al. (2025) in Trends Plant Sci: Belowground persistence types relevant to severe disturbance - a new classification! ▶️ 1url.cz/FJExZ
#GoBelowground #ExFuMo #Clonality #BudBank #Resprouting #Disturbance #Storage

Belowground persistence types relevant to severe disturbance

Despite recent advances in plant trait ecology, we identified a knowledge gap in understanding how plants strategize to cope with severe and recurrent disturbances. Here, we propose a new classificati...

1url.cz

10 20

Go Belowground! @exfumo.bsky.social · Jul 2

Research waste in ecology... a new on our blog 1url.cz/cJqmE
"Research waste in ecology is not only used paper bags, but also poorly planned, conducted or reported research, the results of which are not traceable, usable, or understandable..."
#GoBelowground #ExFuMo

Research waste in ecology

A commentary, by Jitka Klimešová, from the Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences. The illustration, by F. Curtis Lubbe, features a different kind of ecological waste. Research waste …

1url.cz

1

Go Belowground! @exfumo.bsky.social · Jun 25

Maybe we are upside down 🙃🙂
A new on the blog! 1url.cz/WJ298
Do we really know the point of view of plants? Maybe their focus is different...
#GoBelowground #ExFuMo #storage #plants #upsidedown #whatif
@czechacademy.bsky.social @ibotcz.bsky.social

Maybe we are upside down

Illustration and commentary by F. Curtis Lubbe from the Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences. Our view of plants shows us that aboveground parts, like leaves, are at the top and bel…

1url.cz

2 7

Go Belowground! @exfumo.bsky.social · Jun 18

The Limits of Sharing in Ecology - a new commentary on our blog by @jitkaklimesova.bsky.social ▶️ 1url.cz/lJHkH
Let’s look at the reasons why it is sometimes difficult to #share (#resources, #data, or #ideas) in #ecology.
#GoBelowground #ExFuMo
@ibotcz.bsky.social @czechacademy.bsky.social

1 1