The diversity of neuronal cells, especially in the size and shape of their dendritic and axonal arborizations, is a striking feature of the mature nervous system. Dendritic branching is a complex process, and the underlying signaling mechanisms remain to be further defined at the mechanistic level. Here we report the identification of shrub mutations that increased dendritic branching. Single-c...

The understanding of inland wetlands’ distribution and their level of vulnerability is important to enhance management and conservation efforts. The aim of the study was to map inland wetlands and assess their distribution pattern and vulnerability to natural and human disturbances such as climate change (temperature increase) and human activities by the year 2080. Inland wetland types i.e. for...

We compared the distribution of sympatric Ixodes scapularis Say and Amblyomma americanum (L.) within several suitable forested habitats at different spatial scales and characterized differences in microhabitat features accounting for the observed distribution of questing ticks. We used automatic data loggers placed in the shrub and litter layers to contrast mesoclimate and microclimate conditio...

Recent regional climate-change models indicated significant changes in the temporal and spatial distribution of rainfall in the Mediterranean-Basin region. Understanding the consequences of rainfall alterations for soil respiration and carbon processing in these regions is essential, considering their crucial functions for soil fertility and ecosystem functioning. Our aim was to evaluate the ef...

A 1977 tundra fire burned a hillslope where prefire soils and vegetation ranged from poorly drained moist tussock-shrub tundra on the lower slopes to well-drained dwarf shrub tundra on the back slope and very poorly drained wet sedge meadow on the flat crest. We sampled the vegetation on this slope before the fire and at 8 sites following the fire at irregular intervals from 1 yr to 25 yr. Duri...

in order to investigate variations in plant diversity in dr. dorostkar's forest reservoir, located in gisoum talesh, 44 sampling plots were applied by the randomized-systematic method. the diameter of all tree species (dbh?5 cm) was measured in 400 m2 (20×20 m) square sampling plots. in addition, the number of individuals of shrubs and saplings (dbh?5 cm) were enumerated in circular 100 m2...

The western Ordos Plateau is a key area of shrub diversity and a National Nature Reserve of endangered shrub species in north-west China. Desert expansion is becoming the most important threat to these endangered species. However, little is known about the effects of sand burial on the dynamics of the shrub community. This study aims to investigate how the shrubs as a community and as different...

In arctic tundra, where wind transport of snow is common, shrubs can significantly modify the distribution and physical characteristics of the snow cover. We examined interactions between shrubs and snow by measuring snow depths along three 1-km transects in arctic Alaska and then measuring plant canopy characteristics at the same locations during the following growing season. Snow depths corre...