biogeography

An operational definition of the biome for global change research

[Access the paper here.](http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/nph.16580) Biomes are constructs for organising knowledge on the structure and functioning of the world's ecosystems, and serve as useful units for monitoring how the biosphere responds to …

Functional traits explain the Hutchinsonian niches of plant species

[Access the paper here](https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13048) Aim: The Hutchinsonian niche is a foundational concept in ecology and evolutionary biology that describes fundamental characteristics of any species: the global maximum population growth rate …

African biomes are most sensitive to changes in CO2 under recent and near-future CO2 conditions

[Access the paper here.](https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-1147-2020) Current rates of climate and atmospheric change are likely higher than during the last millions of years. Even higher rates of change are projected in CMIP5 climate model ensemble runs …

Mismatches between demographic niches and geographic distributions are strongest in poorly dispersed and highly persistent plant species

[Access the paper here.](https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1908684117) Forecasts of global change impacts on biodiversity often assume that the current geographical distributions of species match their ecological niches. Here we examine this assumption …

Fire and life history affect the distribution of plant species in a biodiversity hotspot

[Access the paper here.](https://doi.org/10.1111/ddi.12921) Aim: Species distribution models (SDMs) provide valuable insights into species--environment relationships and potential climate change impacts on diversity. Most SDMs do not account for the …

Defining functional biomes and monitoring their change globally

[Access the paper here.](https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13367) Biomes are important constructs for organizing understanding of how the worlds' major terrestrial ecosystems differ from one another and for monitoring change in these ecosystems. Yet …

The future distribution of the savannah biome: model-based and biogeographic contingency

[Access the paper here.](https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2015.0311) The extent of the savannah biome is expected to be profoundly altered by climatic change and increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Contrasting projections are given when using …

A novel phylogenetic regionalization of phytogeographical zones of southern Africa reveals their hidden evolutionary affinities

[Access the paper here.](https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.12619) Aim: Although existing bioregional classification schemes often consider the compositional affinities within regional biotas, they do not typically incorporate phylogenetic information …

Maintenance of species integrity in the context of a recent radiation: the case of Jamesbrittenia (Scrophulariaceae: Limoselleae) in southern Africa

[Access the paper here](https://doi.org/10.1111/boj.12447) Incomplete post-zygotic isolation poses challenges for the maintenance of species integrity in recently radiated lineages. An example is Jamesbrittenia, a southern African-centred genus, the …

Revising the biome concept for understanding and predicting global change impacts

[Access the paper here.](https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.12701) Biomes are globally distributed, structurally and functionally similar vegetation units defined without reference to plant species composition. The boundaries between biomes are presumed to …