The coexistence of plant species in diverse tropical forests can be promoted by specialised enemies that act in a density-dependent manner. Density-dependent seedling survival is widely observed but its causes have rarely been identified. In Belize we used pesticides to test whether insects and plant pathogens cause density-dependent seedling recruitment and survival, and assessed the consequences for plant diversity and composition.

The coexistence of plant species in diverse tropical forests can be promoted by specialised enemies that act in a density-dependent manner. Density-dependent seedling survival is widely observed but its causes have rarely been identified. In Belize we used pesticides to test whether insects and plant pathogens cause density-dependent seedling recruitment and survival, and assessed the consequences for plant diversity and composition.

The high biomass of tropical rainforests is closely related to their structure and dynamics, often characterized by their stem size distribution. We apply statistical as well as geometrical ‘crown packing’ methods for analysing these distributions using field data from tropical forests. Results indicate the rejection of the widely-spread assumption of power-law distributed stem sizes.

Brazilian cerrados are key indicators of responses of tropical vegetation to climate change. We present 7 years of reproductive phenology of a cerrado community, with a seasonal pattern of flowering (end of dry season) and fruiting (wet season). ENSO events interacted with seasonality, El Niño years decreased flower and fruit production and modified timing of phenophases at the community level.

Restoration of Plantations on Ancient Woodland Sites (PAWS) towards native composition has been prioritised in British forestry practice over recent years. However, it is often regarded as being incompatible with continued economic timber production, deterring many woodland owners and managers from active PAWS restoration. This paper reports case-study examples showing how ecological restoration and timber production can be effectively combined.

Permanent plots established in 1974 in Wytham Woods have been recorded at roughly decadal intervals since, most recently in 2011-12.  The mean species richness across the whole set has not changed, but there has been considerable turnover of species at the plot level related to changes in canopy cover and deer grazing  levels.

We conducted a landscape-level assessment of human regulation of a fecal-detritus food web in the Brazilian Amazon, coupling data on human impact, mammal and dung beetle communities, and secondary seed dispersal. Human impact correlated with decreased game primate abundance and beetle biomass, though did not influence seed burial. Cascade strength was mediated by both forest type and beetle species traits. 

We adapt the individual based gap model FORMIND to the temperate zone to model mixed central European forest stands. We parameterize eight tree species by data of yield tables and trait databases under a reference climate of the area and time of the yield tables. Our model generates realistic simulations of forest biomass and basal area for Germany and France.

Little is known about how tree species alter soil infiltration capacity, despite increasing use of tree buffer zones and woodland to protect water quality and reduce erosion. We compared influence of a broadleaf and conifer species, investigated processes involved, including interaction with soil macrofauna, and discuss implications for land management.

Effects of coppicing on growth and regeneration of oak standards has been rarely studied. We have found significant releases in oak standards after historically documented coppicing events, substantial mature oaks recruitment during the period of coppicing management and significant competition between oaks and coppiced underwood. Maintenance of oaks apparently depends on clearings large enough to enable the species to regenerate.

Changes in land use and climate are the major drivers of Global Change. We evaluated the effect of both climatic constraints and traditional livestock abandonment on the Juniperus thurifera woodland growth. We found a spatial structured non-stationary response to global warming within the species range and a rapid ecosystem change in composition and structure when herbivory was locally reduced.

Using an extensive liana removal experiment, we provide the first forest-level estimate of the impact of lianas on the carbon balance of tropical forests. During the first dry season, carbon uptake of trees in liana-free plots was 1.14 Mg ha^-1, compared to 0.64 Mg ha^-1 in control plots. Lianas therefore reduced forest-level tree carbon uptake by 0.50 Mg ha^-1.

Predicting the outcome of deer culling, aimed at improving habitat conservation value, is difficult. We develop the first spatially-explicit simulation model to predict the functional responses of birch (Betula spp.) woodland to land-management in the Scottish Highlands. We use the model's predictions to discuss how managers may increase birch regeneration.

Climate is a fundamental driver of forest carbon sequestration, and quantifying the influence of temperature and rainfall is key to understanding the influence of future climates on forest carbon. Dendrometer bands affixed to more than 1000 trees in and around Wytham Woods, Oxfordshire, tracked tree growth over three years, revealing the effect of the wet summer of 2012.