Urban biodiversity matters for human health! Our new study shows that children living closer to biodiverse urban green spaces had lower allergy risk. One soil bacterial group stood out especially strongly and was promoted by plant diversity and proximity to urban forests. doi.org/10.1016/j.uf...

Trait‐Dependent Time Lags Amid Global Change in Marine Observed and Dark Diversity on the Dogger Bank (North Sea) 🔗 buff.ly/hV6wKAb

🌳Species pool size drives annual forest productivity, while community completeness best predicts multi-year gains. Dark diversity's effect is indirect, mediated by observed diversity & structure. Integrating regional species pools is key to understanding BEF relationships 👉️ buff.ly/V9Hoy3D

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...

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

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 #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.

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

📢 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

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.

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

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

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

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

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...

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

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

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

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

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...

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...

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...

Extremely excited to be part of this collaborative effort led by Meelis Pärtel and @macroecologyut.bsky.social

News article about our recent paper in Nature on global impoverishment of natural vegetation by Conny Sattler (cosattler.com) and myself in @theconversation.com @aunz.theconversation.com theconversation.com/invisible-lo... www.nature.com/articles/s41...

New @nature.com study: the negative effect of human activities on wildlife biodiversity may be notable hundreds of kilometres away ⚠️ For the study, @ufz.de's and iDiv's @lottekorell.bsky.social recorded plant species and so-called dark diversity in the Lüneburg Heath. www.idiv.de/nature-study...

New global study of dark diversity by #DarkDivNet led by Meelis Pärtel, where Aleš, Maruška, and Eva are co-authors with the dataset from Novohradské Hory, is now out in @nature.com: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#Biodiversity has many facets - some might be less apparent, such as the absence of species in locations that would normally be suitable for them. Important reminder that human activity impacts the biosphere in many ways! Happy to have contributed to the 2nd northernmost dataset in this study :) 🌐🌿☘️

Very excited to see our paper just published in @nature.com (open access)! Massive collaborative effort led by Meelis Pärtel @macroecologyut.bsky.social and team #darkdiversity – is crucial in the context of #ecologicalrestoration and habitat conservation 🌿 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Happy to have contributed to this paper just out @nature.com. #Darkdiversity is highly relevant in the context of #ecologicalrestoration and #biodiversitymonitoring www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Dark diversity reveals global impoverishment | EurekAlert! www.eurekalert.org/news-release...

Our new paper on the effect of human footprint on local plant diversity came out in @natureportfolio.nature.com today. The study was led by Meelis Pärtel and the amazing DarkDivNet Team! www.nature.com/articles/s41... #ecology #biodiversity #conservation #nature #science

🌿 The first article of our DarkDivNet consortium, led by Meelis Pärtel, has been published in Nature. Our dataset from 5500 sites in 119 world regions, collected specially for this purpose, shows that plant diversity is negatively affected not only by direct human impact such as local disturbance.

The first paper from #darkdivnet is out now! Huge thank you to all our >200 co-authors who helped to reveal dark diversity in different parts of the world! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

We're very proud of our workgroup member @e-beccari.bsky.social who received her PhD degree last week! Thank you to the opponent @biogeokreft.bsky.social who helped to lead an interesting discussion, and to Eleonora's supervisor @cpcarmona.bsky.social macroecology.ut.ee/en/eleonora-...

Our workgroup members Juni and Blanca had a successful expedition to Ghana where they sampled plant above- and below-ground traits for #TraitDivNet macroecology.ut.ee/en/traitdivn...