Concepts

A measure of community diversity that accounts for both species richness and relative abundance, calculated using the Shannon-Weiner index

Fungal symbionts that form specialized structures (arbuscules, vesicles) within plant root cells and are important for nutrient exchange

A group of fungal endophytes characterized by dark-pigmented, septate hyphae that commonly colonize plant roots and can increase under environmental stress

Theory that predicts patterns of distribution, abundance, and energetics using instantaneous values of community state variables including total area, total abundance, total species richness, and tota...

Experimental removal of the most abundant plant species to test effects of species loss on community structure and function

The process by which non-native species become established and spread in new environments

A measure of the evolutionary history represented in an ecological community, calculated as the sum of branch lengths connecting species in a phylogenetic tree

Distribution of metabolic rates over individuals in a community, obtained by summing over abundance

Classification of species with similar characteristics into plant functional groups or plant functional types to reduce complexity in ecological communities

Plot showing cumulative number of species discovered as a function of sampling effort, used to assess sampling completeness

Theory asserting that plant-pollinator interactions are neutral, random processes based on species abundances without considering traits or competitive dynamics

Species with greater primary production exert the main controls for the functioning of ecosystems due to greater aboveground abundance of biomass or leaf area that promotes resource uptake

Percentage of leaf area affected by pathogen symptoms including powdery mildew, rust, and other fungal diseases

A statistical distribution commonly observed in species abundance patterns, predicted by METE for undisturbed communities

Underground ecosystem components crucial for sustaining ecosystem function but often remain unseen

Competition between fungal groups for limited plant photosynthate allocation

Decrease in compositional similarity between communities with increasing geographic distance or environmental separation

The study of spatial distribution patterns of microorganisms and the factors controlling these patterns