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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.

Biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships may change over time. Here, Wagg et al. show that richness-productivity and richness stability relationships grow stronger over time in an experimental grassland community, and shed light on the ecological mechanisms.

Species’ traits and environmental conditions determine the abundance of tree species across the globe. Here, the authors find that dominant tree species are taller and have softer wood compared to rare species and that these trait differences are more strongly associated with temperature than water availability.

Using experimental communities of grassland species, this study shows that drought-exposure history can accelerate recovery from subsequent drought through increased niche complementarity between species. This transgenerational effect may enhance the sustainability of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in a future with more frequent droughts.

Experiments manipulating tree species diversity and measuring effects on ecosystem function have been important tools for assessing how biodiverse forests can accumulate biomass, store carbon and help to meet climate goals. This Review summarizes key findings from global tree biodiversity experiments.

It is unclear whether the linkage between tree species richness and insect herbivory is consistent across climates and forest types. Here, the authors analyse data from forest biodiversity experiments to show a generally positive tree growth–insect herbivory relationship that is modulated by leaf traits.

The interaction between perovskite oxides and water can have a significant influence on practical performance. Here the authors study the dynamics of surface water adsorption and hydroxide formation during monolayer formation on a ruthenate.

Finding ways to accumulate electronic spins of a given polarization in a given location is important to the development of spintronics. Endres et al.demonstrate a device that uses light to drive the accumulation of spin using a similar principle that a solar cell uses to drive the accumulation of charge.

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.

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.

Understanding how global changes affect both aboveground plants and belowground soil organisms is essential for preserving ecosystem functions and biodiversity. This study synthesizes extensive data, revealing decoupled responses in plant and soil biota to global changes across different biomes.

Whether plant epigenetic variation is subject to selection and contributes to adaptation is under debate. Here, the authors compare DNA methylation and phenotypes of Arabidopsis lines subject to simulated selection and their nearly isogenic ancestors and provide evidence that epigenetic variation contributes to adaptive responses.

Transcriptional regulator Rbpj is involved in T-helper subset differentiation. Here the authors show that expression of Rbpj in regulatory T cells is required to both regulate T_H2 responses and regulate T_reg T_H2 differentiation potential.

Research on biodiversity–ecosystem functioning relationships tends to focus on single trophic groups. This analysis of two biodiversity experiments, representing forests and grasslands, shows that plant diversity promotes ecosystem multifunctionality not only directly, but also by enhancing the diversity of other trophic levels.

What is the state of trust in scientists around the world? To answer this question, the authors surveyed 71,922 respondents in 68 countries and found that trust in scientists is moderately high.

Biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships may vary with climate. Here, the authors study relationships of plant and soil microbial diversity with soil nutrient multifunctionality in 130 dryland sites in China, finding a shift towards greater importance of soil microbial diversity in arid conditions.

To assess drivers underpinning biogeographic patterns of leaf nitrogen and phosphorus stoichiometry, this study used a global dataset of leaf nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations of 3,625 species from 7,549 sites. They found strong within-species variation related to environmental gradients, challenging the idea of a fixed biogeochemical niche.

Examining drivers of the latitudinal biodiversity gradient in a global database of local tree species richness, the authors show that co-limitation by multiple environmental and anthropogenic factors causes steeper increases in richness with latitude in tropical versus temperate and boreal zones.

A biodiversity–ecosystem functioning experiment in a young subtropical forest shows that, at high species richness, directed but not random species loss leads to pronounced productivity decrease.

Species-rich plant communities often have higher productivity than monocultures. Here, the authors analyse biodiversity-ecosystem functioning experiments in grasslands and forests and find that the biodiversity effects on community productivity strengthen over time thanks to shifts in contributions of species with different resource acquisition traits.

Identifying pairs of genotypes that perform better in mixture than monoculture is important for increasing crop yields. Using the model species Arabidopsis thaliana, this study provides a proof of principle of how such beneficial genotype pairs could be found using genome-wide association studies.

A multi-ancestry genome-wide association meta-analysis of kidney cancer identifies 63 regions associated with disease susceptibility including one locus that was associated with increased risk in individuals with African ancestry.

Global spatiotemporal patterns of plant diversification are unclear. Here, the authors use a genus-level phylogeny and global distribution data for 14,244 flowering plant genera, finding a negative correlation between spatial patterns of diversification and genus diversity.

Physical complementarity among trees in the use of vertical space increases productivity due to species-specific differences and plasticity in crown architecture.

Trees often associate with mycorrhizal fungi, arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) or ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi. Luo et al. analyze 74,563 forest plots across the contiguous USA, showing that forests with mixed AM and ECM tree species are more productive than when dominated by AM or ECM tree species.

Using data from the BEF-China tree diversity experiment, the authors demonstrate that the diversity of arthropods is higher in plots with higher tree diversity and that the suppression of herbivores by enemy arthropods could be a potential mechanism through which higher tree diversity promotes productivity.

Biodiversity often increases the functioning and productivity of ecosystems or communities. This work shows that such a positive diversity effect, namely overyielding in mixtures of two divergent Arabidopsis thaliana genotypes, can be genetically mapped and resolved to a single gene.

Angelo Fasce et al. conducted a systematic literature review and applied natural language processing methods to develop a taxonomy that relates anti-vaccination arguments to their psychological roots.

Circulating tumour DNA profiling in early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer can be used to track single-nucleotide variants in plasma to predict lung cancer relapse and identify tumour subclones involved in the metastatic process.

In a long-running forest biodiversity experiment in China, the authors ask which measures of tree functional trait diversity impact productivity as forests develop. While productivity increased with community-weighted mean trait values early on, after 7 years productivity was significantly increased in plots with higher functional diversity.

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.

Vaccination mandates can increase vaccine uptake, but might cause unintended psychological effects with social and political consequences. In this Review, Schmid et al. present a toolbox of complementary and alternative interventions informed by psychological science to tackle vaccine hesitancy.

Plant diversity stabilizes grassland soil temperature by boosting soil organic carbon and increasing plant leaf area, according to an 18-year plant diversity experiment.

The mode of miRNA transfer between tumour-immune cells is usually via exosomes. Here, the authors show that an alternative mode of transfer whereby miR-375 from apoptotic tumour cells can be transferred to tumour-associated macrophages via CD36 receptor, which induces macrophage migration and infiltration to the tumours.

Species richness is often reported to enhance ecosystem functioning, but it is unclear whether similar diversity-functioning relationships occur at larger scales. Here Oehri et al. combine land cover survey and remote sensing data to show a positive relationship between landscape diversity and landscape functioning.

Explainable Artificial Intelligence can improve conservation decisions by revealing hidden insights to where human impacts on biodiversity are greatest. In this investigation of freshwater fish in Switzerland, around 90% of potentially habitable areas were negatively impacted human influences - these areas form the species’ “shadow distribution”.

In this study the authors introduce a measure of pandemic fatigue and report the existence of, and changes in, pandemic fatigue during the COVID-19 pandemic. They also identify correlates of pandemic fatigue and show that those who experienced more pandemic fatigue were less likely to adhere to various health-protective behaviors.

Understanding how N₂ fixation is distributed in aquatic systems is key to enabling robust N-budgets. In a model ecosystem, Ehrenfels et al. find that the hydrodynamic regimes (stratification/upwelling) play a critical role in modulating N₂ fixation.

A single nuclear spin is detected at a distance of ∼3 nm from a nitrogen-vacancy centre in diamond.

The effects of biodiversity on ecosystem function are usually studied within trophic levels. These authors conduct a large experiment across trophic levels to show how manipulations of plant diversity affect function in different groups. The effects are consistent across groups, but are stronger at adjacent trophic levels and in above-ground rather than below-ground groups.