Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by John Dwyer

ESA Plant-Soil Ecology @esaplantsoilecol.bsky.social · 7d

Loyalty and nutrient trade… University of Western Australia researchers show how plants and fungi keep their partnerships alive—even in the face of cheating 🍃 ❤️ 🍄

#Mycorrhiza #Evolution

A simple plant–mycorrhizal fungal resource trade co‐evolution model explains mutualism stability, extinction and transitory parasitism via fitness feedback

The mutualism between mycorrhizal fungi and plants has persisted for over 400 million years, despite the mutualism paradox predicting that mutualisms should be evolutionarily unstable due to the fit.....

t.co

3 8

Reposted by John Dwyer

Australian Journal of Botany @ausjbotany.bsky.social · 8d

#openaccess New #LiDAR methods are revealing the influence of land use change and climate change on forest height, as Patrick Norman and colleagues write

Landscape-wide modelling of canopy tree crowns and heights using LiDAR: a case study in the Northern Rivers of New South Wales, Australia

Context Understanding the extant structure of forests reveals important insights into their ecological condition, age, biodiversity and related ecosystem services. Advances in LiDAR and computational…

www.publish.csiro.au

6 12

Reposted by John Dwyer

Sally Aitken 🇨🇦 @sallyaitken.bsky.social · 15d

We are searching for a Forest Ecophysiologist (tenure track Assistant or Associate Professor) to join the Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia Faculty of Forestry. Please share! Details are here: ubc.wd10.myworkdayjobs.com/ubcfacultyjobs

1 160 210

John Dwyer @john-m-dwyer.bsky.social · 19d

It’s going off!!!

1 1

John Dwyer @john-m-dwyer.bsky.social · 19d

My day in photos (hours of driving excluded). Lots of talk about trees and lidar with @lilydun.bsky.social and the brilliant folks at ArborMeta.
The access code to the cafe toilet was an unexpected challenge.

1 6

John Dwyer @john-m-dwyer.bsky.social · 23d

Sophora fraseri…grrrrrrr

John Dwyer @john-m-dwyer.bsky.social · 23d

Diospyros yandina…mmmm

1 4

Reposted by John Dwyer

Bob Muscarella @bobmuscarella.bsky.social · Aug 27

Ever wonder about what spatial scale of biodiversity #eDNA 🧬 samples capture?

We did. So we used data from the 16-ha Luquillo Forest Dynamics Plot 🇵🇷 to investigate the spatial scale of soil eDNA samples for tree🌴🌳 diversity.

(Please share with #eDNA folks!)

www.pnas.org/doi/full/10....

PNAS

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...

www.pnas.org

1 10 24

Reposted by John Dwyer

Tommaso Jucker @tommaso-jucker.bsky.social · Aug 14

We have a #Tansley review out today @newphyt.bsky.social led by Becky Banbury Morgan in which we put forward a new framework that aims to explain how and why edge effects on forest structure vary across ecosystems and through time

📜 doi.org/10.1111/nph....

Graphical illustration of the four key stages of edge evolution following edge creation.

1 28 73

Reposted by John Dwyer

Belinda Medlyn @bmedlyn.bsky.social · Sep 9

Postdoctoral position in Forest Monitoring available. Know your way around spatial datasets? Join us to help monitor changes in Australia's precious forest estate! @westsyduhie.bsky.social
jobs.smartrecruiters.com/WesternSydne...

Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Forest Monitoring

Company Description: Western Sydney University is a modern, forward-thinking, research-led institution at the heart of Australia’s fastest-growing and most economically significant region. With 11 cam...

jobs.smartrecruiters.com

1 24 21

Reposted by John Dwyer

Tommaso Jucker @tommaso-jucker.bsky.social · Sep 9

Arthur Yambayamba's first PhD chapter is out today @biotropica.bsky.social 🍾

Using NFI data from Zambia we explore how climate and competition shape the crown allometries of Miombo woodlands 🌳📐

📜 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

6 15

Reposted by John Dwyer

Peter Petrík @peterpetrik94.bsky.social · Sep 9

New research just dropped! Revisiting Paradigms Related to Root Hydraulic Limitation Under Drought is now available—challenging classic hydraulic-fuse models and outdated assumptions about root embolism, xylem safety-efficiency trade-offs, and ABA signalling. doi.org/10.1007/124_...

1 13 31

Reposted by John Dwyer

Ian Wright @ianjwright.bsky.social · Sep 9

📢🌿Available #traits #FunctionalTraits PhD position in my group @westsyduhie.bsky.social, closes 30th Oct. Topics: “Climate adaptations in Australian native grasses”; OR “Plant resource economics”. Apply via WSU Online Portal. Eligibility and other key info here: wrightlab.wordpress.com/news/

16 11

John Dwyer @john-m-dwyer.bsky.social · Sep 9

Just heading back from a quick couple of days in the scrub at Yarraman with a wonderful crew including Dr Bill McDonald.

2 8

John Dwyer @john-m-dwyer.bsky.social · Sep 7

This Turraea pubescens (Meliaceae) we planted 1.5 yrs ago is loving life. Covered in flower buds already #dryrainforest

6

Reposted by John Dwyer

Tommaso Jucker @tommaso-jucker.bsky.social · Sep 5

Only a pre-print for now, but after 4 years of hard work I couldn't resist sharing this!

The Global Canopy Atlas: analysis-ready maps of 3D structure for the world's woody ecosystems

📜: doi.org/10.1101/2025...

Huge team effort led by the brilliant Fabian Fischer!

Global distribution of forest landscapes covered by airborne LiDAR

7 63 200

Reposted by John Dwyer

Julian Schrader @julianschrader.bsky.social · Sep 6

Thrilled to see my Tansley insight review published in @newphyt.bsky.social!

I provide an overview of recent advances in integrating plant traits into island ecology and highlight key opportunities for future research in island systems.

nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Trait‐based island biogeography as a tool for studying future ecological communities

Understanding the future of ecological communities under global change is among the most pressing challenges in plant ecology. Islands, with their reduced species diversity and clear boundaries, have...

nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

10 22

Reposted by John Dwyer

Tommaso Jucker @tommaso-jucker.bsky.social · Aug 14

Many thanks to @leverhulme.ac.uk for funding this work! Keep your eyes peeled for a quantitative test of some of these ideas usign airborne LiDAR, which is coming soon!
@bristolbiosci.bsky.social @cabot-institute.bsky.social

Real-world example of how airborne LiDAR data can be used to advance our understanding of forest edge effects.

3 9

John Dwyer @john-m-dwyer.bsky.social · Sep 5

🦗🦗🦗😭😭😭

1

Reposted by John Dwyer

Kali Middleby @kalimiddleby.bsky.social · Sep 4

Can tropical rainforest trees keep their cool? Now out in @globalchangebio.bsky.social we explored whether intraspecific variation in leaf energy balance was a result of adaptation to local climate.
doi.org/10.1111/gcb....

Local Adaptation Drives Leaf Thermoregulation in Tropical Rainforest Trees

We tested whether tropical rainforest trees adjust their leaf traits and resulting leaf temperatures across their distributions within the Australian Wet Tropics. Using field measurements from across...

doi.org

2 20 41

John Dwyer @john-m-dwyer.bsky.social · Sep 5

Both excellent choices @timcurran.bsky.social
I tip my hat.

2

John Dwyer @john-m-dwyer.bsky.social · Sep 5

Thanks for tuning in from across the ditch @timcurran.bsky.social! Hopefully you noticed that I didn’t forget your one true “scrub love”?🥰

1 1

Reposted by John Dwyer

Tim Curran @timcurran.bsky.social · Sep 4

Tuned in yesterday for an impassioned plea and delightful talk by @john-m-dwyer.bsky.social on how dry rainforest trees, including our beloved vine thickets, could be used to revegetate Brisbane's streets in the lead up to the 2032 Olympics.

Lots of neat data on temp. niches!

Temperature niche of two tree species in relation to Brisbane's temperature now and the prediction for 2070. We want street trees to last 50+ years, so they need to be able to cope with future climates. Croton would be better suited in this instance.

Graph showing temperature niche of species best able to cope with Brisbane's future temperatures, with Owenia venosa as the example.

2 5 12

Reposted by John Dwyer

Tim Curran @timcurran.bsky.social · Sep 4

Much of this work described by @john-m-dwyer.bsky.social is underpinned by the excellent PhD thesis by @jradford-smith.bsky.social. You can see some of his papers and his study area here.

#urbantrees #heatwaves

The study area and some papers from the excellent PhD thesis by Julian Radford-Smith

1 2

Reposted by John Dwyer

Tim Curran @timcurran.bsky.social · Sep 4

In his excellent talk @john-m-dwyer.bsky.social explained that naming his preferred street tree is like choosing your favourite David Bowie album...impossible!

However, here is his attempt at best trees for different circumstances.

IMO the best tree is ooline, and Bowie song is Under Pressure.

John Dwyer's suggested tips for urban trees in various locations...

2 1 1