Trait‐Dependent Time Lags Amid Global Change in Marine Observed and Dark Diversity on the Dogger Bank (North Sea) Marine ecosystems can appear stable despite facing delayed changes. Using a probabilistic species pool approach, we estimated the suitability of species in observed and dark diversity—set of suitable...

Just published! Using suitability estimates from observed and dark diversity - set of suitable but absent species - we show that despite no net change in species number, species respond with delays, with distinct trait profiles linked to extinction debt and immigration credit.

shorturl.at/wYzF5

Dark diversity refers to all the species of plants that should be in a certain spot but are missing. You can think of it as Nature's secret plant list. But how do we know what should be on this list? Find out in this adapted article: www.sciencejournalforkids.org/articles/wha...

Global impoverishment of natural vegetation revealed by dark diversity - Nature A comparison of alpha diversity (number of plant species) and dark diversity (species that are currently absent from a site despite being ecologically suitable) demonstrates the negative effects of re...

Here is the original Nature paper (open access), based on a global collaborative effort by the DarkDivNet consortium:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#DarkDivNet #darkdiversity

What's on Nature's secret plant list? - Science Journal for Kids and Teens Scientists studied thousands of sites worldwide to discover that natural areas are missing many plant species that could live there, a hidden loss they call dark diversity.

From Nature to the classroom! Key findings from our paper on global dark diversity are now adapted for students via Science Journal for Kids and Teens — a nice example of knowledge transfer.
#DarkDivNet #darkdiversity
www.sciencejournalforkids.org/articles/whats-on-natures-secret-plant-list/

Dark diversity by Melissa Pärtel #TIBS2026

Study on the impact of human activity on biodiversity received the most public attention this past year among University of Tartu research In 2025, the study that drew the most attention in public digital channels was led by Professor of Botany Meelis Pärtel and confirms the negative effect of human activity on wildlife biodiversity.

Our global dark diversity study received the most public attention this past year among University of Tartu research! #DarkDivNet #darkdiversity

Observed and Dark Diversity of Alien Plants Across the World Aim Biological invasions are one of the major threats to ecosystems worldwide and are expected to increase further in the future. Prevention and swift responses are crucial to mitigate this threat. .....

Observed and Dark Diversity of Alien Plants Across the World #bioinvasions 🌎🌐🧪 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

We had our traditional workgroup autumn seminar in a beautiful countryside hotel in central Estonia. With the help of our guest speaker @aveliina.bsky.social we discussed the topic 'Macroecology in the Anthropocene'. macroecology.ut.ee/en/macroecol...

Happy to welcome three visitors this autumn! Elisa Jordan is a MSc student from Germany. Wengang Zhang is a PhD student from China working on #darkdiversity of #alienspecies. Gerard Martínez Devesa is a PhD student from Spain working on #darkdiversity of #arthropods in deadwood microhabitats.

Drought intensity and duration interact to magnify losses in primary productivity As droughts become longer and more intense, impacts on terrestrial primary productivity are expected to increase progressively. Yet, some ecosystems appear to acclimate to multiyear drought, with cons...

Although many ecosystems can weather several years of moderate drought, consecutive years of extreme dryness push them past a tipping point, resulting in dramatic declines in plant growth, researchers report in Science. https://scim.ag/4ogN9I8

IAVS Symposium 2026, Thematic 'Understanding Ecosystems Through Vegetation'.

📢 68th #IAVS Symposium: Understanding #Ecosystems through #Vegetation | 22-26 June 2026, Spain

Join us to explore how vegetation shapes #biodiversity and ecosystems worldwide!

📅 Call for Special Session proposals is now open: 15 Oct – 15 Nov 2025
👉 Details: gijon2026.iavs-meetings.org
#IAVS2026

Proud that our workgroup contributed to this study

Quantifying the influence of intraspecific variability in trait spaces - npj Biodiversity npj Biodiversity - Quantifying the influence of intraspecific variability in trait spaces

Working with individual trait data and functional trait spaces and bored about means?

With @cpcarmona.bsky.social, Agnese Bissi and @etordoni.bsky.social, we put together a perspective to test the effect of individual observations on trait space properties 👇👇

www.nature.com/articles/s44...

After six years, Aleš, Eva, and @mariekonecna.bsky.social resampled their #DarkDivNet core plots in Novohradské hory. Relevés in pairs of mesic meadows, beech forests, and waterlogged spruce forests were done.

Threat reduction must be coupled with targeted recovery programmes to conserve global bird diversity - Nature Ecology & Evolution Projections of extinctions of bird species and losses of functional diversity over the next 100 years suggest that even immediate and widespread threat abatement would be insufficient to prevent losse...

For sauropsids lovers: Two fresh papers map trait spaces of birds, turtles and crocodiles to reveal what disappears when species go extinct

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

🧪🌐🪶 🧮➕📏

#trait, #traits, #FunctionalTraits

Invisible Loss: How Cities Empty Forests Afar Even protected forests may be losing biodiversity due to human activity far away. A global study reveals the hidden erosion of nature’s potential.

Even remote forests aren’t safe. New research shows human activity reduces biodiversity far beyond city limits. #BiodiversityLoss #DarkDiversity #ConservationScience

Uncovering ‘silent’ species losses key for conservation efforts: study According to a recent study, accounting for dark diversity — the species that could be in a particular area but aren’t — could be the best way to identify and restore “silent losses” in plant diversit...

Quote: "The problem is that over time, as we lose species due to human impact, we don’t see the number of species that are lost because we only see what we can perceive." www.ualberta.ca/en/folio/202... #darkdiversity

Raunkiæran shortfalls: Challenges and perspectives in trait‐based ecology Trait-based ecology, a prominent research field identifying traits linked to the distribution and interactions of organisms and their impact on ecosystem functioning, has flourished in the last three...

Excited to share our new open-access review led by Francesco de Bello in Ecological Monographs! With a fantastic international team, we identify key challenges (“Raunkiæran shortfalls”) in trait-based ecology.
esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

#FunctionalTraits 🌐

Norwegian Research Contributes to Global 'Dark Diversity' Study, Offering New Insights into Biodiversity Loss Photo credit: Robert Lewis, NINA Behind the study is a global research network of more than 200 researchers, called  DarkDivNet, coordinated by the University of Tartu in Estonia, and advised by an i...

Norwegian Research Contributes to Global 'Dark Diversity' Study, Offering New Insights into Biodiversity Loss

Using dark diversity to disentangle the effects of protection and habitat quality on species diversity across the Mediterranean Sea
* A new paper in Biol Cons by Tal Gavriel, Jonathan Belmaker and others www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Getting Out of the Dark about Global Biodiversity YouTube video by Trent University

youtu.be/_sK4EAz_E6s?...
www.trentu.ca/news/story/4...

Map showing mycorrhizal profiles of selected ecoregions

April issue: Perspective led by Mari Moora describing how plant reliance on their mycorrhizal symbionts varies across ecological scales 🧪🌎
Web link: go.nature.com/4h1Rpre
Readcube: rdcu.be/eh0uC

Norwegian Research Contributes to Global 'Dark Diversity' Study, Offering New Insights into Biodiversity Loss Photo credit: Robert Lewis, NINA Behind the study is a global research network of more than 200 researchers, called  DarkDivNet, coordinated by the University of Tartu in Estonia, and advised by an i...

Norwegian Research Contributes to Global 'Dark Diversity' Study

Global impoverishment of natural vegetation revealed by ‘dark diversity’ Back in 2019, we ventured into the field with a rather unusual mission: to search for the biodiversity that wasn’t there. At first glance, this might seem counterintuitive – after all, we’re …

New study in @nature.com: we focus on the diversity that's missing - “dark diversity.” Human impact means only 1 in 5 species persist in disturbed areas versus 1 in 3 in pristine ones. My summary of the project & its implications: the3dlab.org/2025/04/03/g...

The Invisible Biodiversity Crisis: Global Study Reveals Brno and Průhonice, 10. 04. 2025 – According to a new study by a team of more than 200 botanists from around the world, published in the prestigious journal Nature, the vegetation of natural areas is ...

The Invisible Biodiversity Crisis

Super happy to be coauthor of this prestigious paper from #darkdivnet under the lead of Meelis Partel! Huge congrats to all coauthors.

Global impoverishment of natural vegetation revealed by dark diversity - Nature A comparison of alpha diversity (number of plant species) and dark diversity (species that are currently absent from a site despite being ecologically suitable) demonstrates the negative effects of re...

Important new study in @nature.com on how #darkdiversity can give insights on the diversity in local #plant communities that observed #diversity can't. With contributions from me, my two @au.dk colleagues @tokehoye.bsky.social & Signe Normand and many others. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Global impoverishment of natural vegetation revealed by dark diversity - Nature A comparison of alpha diversity (number of plant species) and dark diversity (species that are currently absent from a site despite being ecologically suitable) demonstrates the negative effects of re...

Dark diversity made its way to Nature!🥳🥳

Led by Meelis Pärtel (@MacroecologyUT), we show that dark diversity - species locally absent but suitable - can reveal hidden effects of human impact on plant biodiversity, opening new pathways for conservation.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Global impoverishment of natural vegetation revealed by dark diversity - Nature A comparison of alpha diversity (number of plant species) and dark diversity (species that are currently absent from a site despite being ecologically suitable) demonstrates the negative effects of re...

Excited to announce our new paper, “Global impoverishment of natural vegetation revealed by dark diversity,” out today in Nature – and it’s open access! Huge global collaboration led by Meelis Pärtel 🌐@macroecologyut.bsky.social

www.nature.com/articles/s41...