Excited so share our new work out in @conservationsp.bsky.social that sheds light on the complex impacts of #savanna afforestation on birds across a rainfall gradient in India which is comparable to that of the Serengeti! conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... @avishkarm.bsky.social

I am excited to hire a PhD candidate at #iiserpune to work on savannas! Please share widely among relevant circles! sites.google.com/view/nerlekar

"... the trees are innumerable / Marumbi, taraṭī, and hivara / hiṅgaṇa, pācunda, and bābara / ṭākaḷī, and vehaṅkaḷī are abundant... Such is this thorny forest / it is highly frightening / this forest is empty / peacocks scream here" besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Descriptions of plants in traditional Indian myths, poems, and folk songs provide greater context to the ecological history of western Maharashtra and suggest that local tropical savannas are not the result of deforestation! 🧪 besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Very cool grassland research using old poems and songs to show that western Indian savannas are ancient. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/202...

New from lab alum @ashishnerlekar.bsky.social. Traditional Marathi compositions up to 800 years old illustrate the antiquity of west Indian savannas. They are ancient and important conservation targets, not relicts of colonial forest clearance besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Cool paper documenting ecological insights about Indian tropical savannas in traditional literature between the 13th and 20th century. Grassland-scrubland biomes are often misconceived as deforested and/ or degraded wastelands. So, important paper. besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

VERY excited to start my own lab today at @IISERPune! Please check out our new website and keep an eye out for some cool #tropical #savanna #ecology research sites.google.com/view/nsel/ho...

🌟New Pub🌟! Out in @peopleandnature.bsky.social Ecology meets Mythology: Medieval stories and songs uncover India’s ecological past. Link to paper: besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... (click "MR" for Marathi abstract). @dhmsu.bsky.social @msunatsci.bsky.social 1/n

🔥🌱 The new #AJB Special Issue, “Understanding novel #fire regimes using plant trait‐based approaches," is now online! 🌱🔥 This issue features studies from evolutionary, ecological, organismal, physiological, fire management & conservation perspectives. bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/15372197...

🔥🌾🦬New Pub in @botsocamerica.bsky.social ! We show that the flammability–palatability trade‐offs that operate in Africa also explain correlated suites of traits in #Texas #grasses. @tamu.bsky.social bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

🔥🌱 From the upcoming #AJB Special Issue: “Understanding novel fire regimes using plant trait‐based approaches" 🌱🔥 Grass functional traits reflect the long history of #fire & grazers in the #savannas of #Texas By @ashishnerlekar.bsky.social et al. bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Out today in @biotropica.bsky.social: We show that deciduous dipterocarp and semi-evergreen forests in Cambodia have distinct species, but similar soils across their abrupt boundaries. But we see differences in fire history and fire adapted functional traits. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

New paper alert! @lars-brudvig.bsky.social, @nashturley.bsky.social and I reveal key context-dependent impacts of seed mix design decisions on restored prairie community structure!🌾 🧪 #PlantScience #EcologicalRestoration #ecosystem esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

137 of us share our concerns with policymakers in an open letter: "There are more than just trees and forests to be conserved and restored" nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... @plantspeopleplanet.bsky.social

such a fascinating study!

Grassland restorations must better foster forbs to facilitate high biodiversity Check out @ashishnerlekar.bsky.social's recent call for "forb-centric" grassland restoration Message if you lack access and would like to a copy onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...