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Insect herbivory can have important consequences for the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems. Despite a growing recognition of the role of herbivores in above-ground–below-ground interactions, our current understanding is mainly restricted to studies of vertebrates in grassland and tundra ecosystems, while ecosystems with tree-like canopies (termed forests below) and invertebrates remain underst

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Ecological compensation is the latest member of a growing family of concepts aimed at reducing degradation of environmental quality. This and other concepts of the family – like ecosystem services, green infrastructure, and nature-based solutions – have been subject to a range of different interpretations and subsequent implementation practices. The result is a complex governance system with uncle

Diversification of plant chemical phenotypes is typically associated with spatially and temporally variable plant–insect interactions. Floral scent is often assumed to be the target of pollinator-mediated selection, whereas foliar compounds are considered targets of antagonist-mediated selection. However, floral and vegetative phytochemicals can be biosynthetically linked and may thus evolve as i

Conservation biological control in agricultural landscapes aims to promote natural enemy populations to mitigate short and long-term pest damage on crops. However, natural enemy populations in agricultural landscapes typically rely on crop pests and non-pest prey populations resulting in complex trait- dependent ecological interactions. Such communities, of pests, non-pest prey, and natural enemie

One of the most important challenges for modern society is how to feed the world in a sustainable manner. Agriculture is an essential part of food production, but at the same time it has many negative impacts on the environment, through for example pollution, nutrient leaching, and greenhouse gas emissions, and it is a big driver of biodiversity loss. Organic farming is a farming system that in ma

Soil microbes function as decomposers in terrestrial ecosystems. They break down the organic matter, which plays a significant role in supplying nutrients to plants, but also in regulating biogeochemical cycling which feeds back to climate change. Like other organisms, soil microbes can be limited by the availability of essential resources, which could consequently affect their ability to decompos

Microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE) and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) are key parameters determining the fate of C and N in soils. Atmospheric N deposition has been found to heavily impact multiple soil C and N transformations, but we lack understanding of the responses of CUE and NUE to N deposition, and it remains uncertain whether responses may be mediated by topography. Here, a N addition ex

Scorzoneroides autumnalis is a highly polymorphic perennial with several described infraspecific taxa, largely differing in involucre colour and indumentum intensity. Here, we examine the role of ecotypic divergence and phenotypic plasticity in shaping large-scale geographical variation in these characters. We collected phenotypic data from herbarium specimens and garden-grown plants of S. autumna

Community cohesion is a recent concept in ecology referring to the varying levels of connectivity and integration between populations of different taxonomic or functional groups within ecosystems. Positive cohesion denotes positive interactions such as mutualism or facilitation, while negative cohesion implies negative interactions such as competitive exclusion or a preference for different habita

Microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE) describes the partitioning of carbon (C) between respiration and growth, and this defines the soil-atmosphere C balance. Despite its importance, CUE is not properly represented in soil biogeochemical models. Here, we estimated how CUE varied in soil along a continental gradient. Through a structural equation model, we found that bacterial growth, fungal commun

In 2015, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly agreed on 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with 169 targets as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Although the SDGs, which are to be achieved by 2030, are not the first attempt to guide policy actors through global goals, they go far beyond earlier agreements in their detail, comprehensiveness, and ambition. Yet the 2022 SD

Sustainability of Swedish meat consumption is assessed from the perspectives of nutrition, health, climate and land use. Our results suggest that more sustainable food systems can be achieved via changes in Swedish meat consumption and that our multidimensional approach can be useful in identifying such changes.

The Swedish carbon tax of 1991, one of the first of its kind, has positioned Sweden as a forerunner in climate governance. It is often depicted an international success and today constitutes the backbone of Swedish climate policy. At first, however, the tax received widespread criticism and had limited political support. The policy design process was short, with limited time for deliberation. Whil

Soil microbial growth and activity are generally assumed to recover rapidly after dissipation of organic toxicants. We studied the effects of four readily degradable isothiazolinone biocides (benzisothiazolinone, BIT; methylisothiazolinone, MIT; octylisothiazolinone, OIT; 4,5-dichloro-2-octyl-isothiazolinone, DCOIT) on bacterial growth, fungal growth, basal respiration, and substrate-induced respi