Concepts

Way in which individuals distribute themselves across landscape, including movement patterns and spatial organization like home range size and overlap

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

The identity and relative abundance of species within an ecological community

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

SPAD measurement of leaf chlorophyll concentration indicating photosynthetic capacity

Taxa that are significantly associated with particular habitat conditions and can be used to assess ecosystem state or restoration success

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

Chemical composition of plant litter that determines its decomposability, typically characterized by C:N ratios and lignin content

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

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

Preserved plant specimens that are picked in the field, pressed flat, dried and attached to archival-grade paper with relevant information recorded, then stored in climate-controlled cabinets

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

A metric that compares observed values to null model expectations, calculated as (observed - expected) / standard deviation of null distribution

Loss of cellular electrolytes through compromised cell membranes, used as indicator of heat stress damage

Ability of plants to survive exposure to elevated temperatures, measured as lethal temperature causing 50% electrolyte leakage (LT50)

The distance between branch whorls on conifers, used to measure annual growth

Standardized method for observing and counting birds at fixed locations for specified time periods

Distinct layers in soil profile with different physical and chemical properties

The rate at which temperature decreases with elevation, typically expressed as degrees Celsius per kilometer