On the Use of Taxon Names in Community Ecology

Abstract

Vegetation science and community ecology focus on ecosystems composed of multiple species and other taxonomic ranks, such as subspecies. Scientific work in these fields requires accurate identification of these taxa in the field and recording them using standardized scientific names. However, as journal editors, we frequently encounter manuscripts where authors misunderstand taxonomic nomenclature, leading to errors and making articles challenging for readers to follow. Here, we highlight some practices that we believe should be improved for the benefit of vegetation science and community ecology.

Every year, the editors of Applied Vegetation Science select one article for the Editors' Award. For the year 2024, the award was bestowed on Lina Lüttgert for the article “Linking trends of habitat types and plant species using repeated habitat mapping data” (Lüttgert et al. 2024). The ongoing changes in habitats and the abundance and distribution of species in landscapes are important research topics (Kapfer et al. 2017; Knollová et al. 2024). However, individual studies focus either on changes in habitat area (e.g., studies based on remote sensing) or on changes in habitat quality, such as the decline of characteristic or threatened species. It is usually assumed that the decline in habitat area correlates with the decline in habitat quality, but is this always the case? Lüttgert et al. (2024) used data from repeated habitat mapping and data on plant species occurrence from southwestern Germany over the last three decades and compared the changes in habitat area with changes in species occurrence. They found that in some habitats, such as grasslands, the decline in habitat area is correlated with the decline in species characteristic of that habitat. However, this is not always the case. For example, the area of deciduous forests in southwestern Germany increased, but the abundance of the deciduous forest's characteristic species decreased. An important lesson from this study is that conclusions based on the assessment of changes in habitat quantity cannot be interpreted as changes in habitat quality.

There were other articles worthy of consideration. Rivas, Guerrero-Casado, and Navarro-Cerrillo (2024) also assessed changes in vegetation over the last three decades, but they focused on the fragmentation and functional connectivity of seasonally dry forests in Ecuador. They found that the loss of forest area was 30%, while the loss of connectivity was 75%. Based on their findings, they proposed a new reforestation plan that prioritizes areas where reforestation would improve functional connectivity.

Another interesting paper was the meta-analysis by Berto, Ritchie, and Erickson (2024), which looked at the effects of seed enhancement technologies such as acid treatment, coating, pelleting, flash flaming and priming on germination, emergence, shoot and root length, and biomass of native grasses. These technologies are critical in ecological restoration projects where native grasses are seeded. The meta-analysis based on 2320 paired comparisons from 102 different studies showed that coating, pelleting, and priming, in particular, are beneficial across multiple life stages of grasses. However, the benefits observed in the laboratory or greenhouse studies may not be observed under field conditions.

As with other journals published by Wiley, the PDF versions of Applied Vegetation Science articles will now appear in a new, more compact layout. The logo on the first page of the new journal design indicates that the journal is owned by the International Association for Vegetation Science (IAVS).

We would like to thank all associate editors and reviewers (see Appendix A) for their voluntary work, which maintains the high scientific standard of the journal.

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.