Soil extracellular enzymes, produced primarily by microorganisms and plant roots, catalyse the breakdown of complex organic compounds and thus drive the cycling of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and ...

Forest ecosystem dynamics encompass the processes by which species composition, structure and function change over time in response to biotic interactions and abiotic factors such as climate, soil and ...

Healthy ecosystems depend on more than just having lots of species—they rely on the complex relationships between plants, prey and predators, according to new international research led by the ...

A research team led by Prof. Li Yuqiang from the Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources (NIEER) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has uncovered the mechanisms behind the formation of ...

Dynamic changes of soil microbial networks and key species during the restoration process of artificial vegetation to native forests on tropical coral islands. The ecosystem of tropical coral islands ...

Introduction -- Setting the scene : the context of investigating ecosystem functioning -- What do we need for a functioning ecosystem? The debate on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning -- Becoming ...

In marine environments, sponges tend to eat other organisms to get their nutrients. But a study published in Functional ...

Soil and water ecosystems are undergoing unprecedented transformation driven by accelerating geoenvironmental change. Rapid urbanization, industrialization, ...

(Beyond Pesticides, May 6, 2025) A study in Ecology Letters finds “severe degradation of ecosystem functioning in the form of loss of organic matter consumption and dramatic shifts in primary ...

For decades, ecologists have puzzled over a mystery: Why do some natural habitats get overrun by invasive species while others seem to repel outside threats? In a classic 1958 book on the subject, the ...

Over the past twenty years, coral reef restoration has seen unprecedented growth worldwide. From Indonesia to the Caribbean, thousands of projects have been launched with the goal of “saving” coral ...

If you liked this story, share it with other people. The combined effects of humanity’s actions are making ecosystems less resistant to change, and threatening the vital ecosystem services humanity ...