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Analysis combining multiple global tree databases reveals that whether a location is invaded by non-native tree species depends on anthropogenic factors, but the severity of the invasion depends on the native species diversity.

Across 97% of forest area from eight million sampled forested locations worldwide, the density of aboveground biomass is lower near forest edges than in forest interiors. Given widespread forest fragmentation, this edge effect is estimated to be responsible for 9% reduction in forest aboveground biomass.

Analysis of ground-sourced and satellite-derived models reveals a global forest carbon potential of 226 Gt outside agricultural and urban lands, with a difference of only 12% across these modelling approaches.

Cities serve as climate change laboratories for phenology studies. Here, the authors show that results of such studies should be interpreted with caution, as urban-rural phenology gaps are primarily driven by species composition differences rather than temperature differences.

Comparing 396 Northern Hemisphere woody plant species grown under identical conditions in a common garden, the authors show that eastern North American species have 11% shorter vegetation periods than their European and East Asian relatives.

This study reveals that the varying responses of plant biomass to phosphorus addition across plant functional groups align with the leaf economics spectrum, with plants characterized by more acquisitive traits exhibiting stronger responses to phosphorus addition.

This study reveals that winter soil warming causes significant crop biomass carbon loss due to soil organic matter degradation. Ignoring this effect could lead to a 4-19% overestimation of future food production.

PM_2.5 pollution partially counteracts vegetation greening trends by delaying green-up dates and reducing photosynthetic activity. This study shows that the negative feedback between PM_2.5 pollution and terrestrial carbon uptake introduces unforeseen uncertainty in China’s carbon neutrality goals.

Precipitation impacts leaf senescence. Here, the authors use carbon flux and satellite data to demonstrate that reduced precipitation frequency is associated with a faster drought response in trees and show that Earth system models don’t capture the impact of reduced precipitation.

Wood density is an important plant trait. Data from 1.1 million forest inventory plots and 10,703 tree species show a latitudinal gradient in wood density, with temperature and soil moisture explaining variation at the global scale and disturbance also having a role at the local level.

The evolutionary reasons for the variation in silicon concentrations across plant families remain unclear. This paper provides new evidence that silicon variation is closely linked to global and long-term climate change, suggesting temperature could have driven the evolution of plant silicification.

The fraction of plant biomass in aboveground versus root tissues has implications for carbon storage and dynamics. Here the authors collate a dataset on root-mass fractions and use these data to explore large scale patterns of belowground plant biomass.

Alternative stable states in forests have implications for the biosphere. Here, the authors combine forest biodiversity observations and simulations revealing that leaf types across temperate regions of the NH follow a bimodal distribution suggesting signatures of alternative forest states.

An annually resolved 3476-year tree-ring record from the Tibetan Plateau reveals severe 20^th century droughts and highlights the interplay between the Asian Monsoon and Westerlies. Droughts are often linked to the collapse of dynasties.

Temperature differences between cities and the countryside have been regarded as useful surrogates for ecological responses to climate warming. However, research reveals mismatch between the phenological responses to spatial and temporal temperature gradients as well as complex interactions between urbanization and climate.

Temperatures at global forest edges are higher than in interiors across most biomes and seasons, exceeding thermal optima for productivity especially in tropical forests, according to satellite surface temperature data at nearly 13 million sites.

The authors combine 393,139 forest inventory plots with satellite data to understand the impact of biodiversity on the sensitivity of spring leaf-out dates to temperature (S_T). They show that high diversity significantly weakens S_T, a relationship that Earth system models largely fail to reproduce.

Understanding patterns in woody plant trait relationships and trade-offs is challenging. Here, by applying machine learning and data imputation methods to a global database of georeferenced trait measurements, the authors unravel key relationships in tree functional traits at the global scale.

Terrestrial mammalian fossils have previously reconstructed a single cohesive late Miocene savannah biome across Eurasia and Africa. Here, palaeobotanical data tell a different story, pointing instead to mixed forest biomes across the same region. The results emphasize the need to use both palaeofaunal and palaeobotanical data in reconstructing past environments.

Integrating inventory data with machine learning models reveals the global composition of tree types—needle-leaved evergreen individuals dominate, followed by broadleaved evergreen and deciduous trees—and climate change risks.

Photoperiod is only an important leaf-out regulator for woody plants in areas with short winters and in lineages that derive from lower latitudes. Consequently, photoperiod constraint on range expansion should be limited to these areas and species.

Multidecadal ground and remote-sensing observations of Northern Hemisphere forests show that, at the decadal scale, autumn senescence dates and total net carbon assimilation are positively related, despite a negative relationship at the annual scale. This suggests that acclimation relieves the leaf longevity constraints.

An earlier spring phenology reduces daily carbon uptake rates during the early growing season, diminishing the potential gains in productivity from the extended duration during this period, based on an analysis integrating satellite and ground-based carbon flux data.

Earlier peak of vegetation activity across the Northern Hemisphere is mainly driven by enhanced early-season carbon uptake, impacted by an earlier onset of the growing season and higher temperature, based on an analysis of satellite observations and carbon flux measurements