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In the Invited Special Paper Paolillo and Zobel propose and establish that the occurrence of adventitious roots on roots is vastly underreported in dicots growing in their natural habitats. They believe that adventitious branch roots form routinely in the secondary tissues of normal parental root axes of woody and nonwoody (fleshy) roots and that their presence can be demonstrated using straightforward anatomical investigations. The authors hope that distinguishing between roots of different origins will eventually allow a clarification of the role of adventitious roots in fine root turnover in the soil. (see p. 1361)

Resolving the urticalean rosids

In an important study Sytsma et al. have taken on the urticalean rosids, comprising maximally the Cannabinaceae, Cecropiaceae, Celtidaceae, Moraceae, Ulmaceae, and Urticaceae, whose well-known and popular members include the elms, figs, hackberries, hops, marijuana, and nettles. Noteworthy conclusions are that (1) Ulmaceae are sister to the rest of the Urticales and separate from the Celtidaceae, (2) Cannabaceae are derived out of Celtidaceae, (3) Cecropiaceae are embedded in the Urticaceae, and (4) Moraceae are monophyletic. Further, drupelike fruits evolved independently several times and are strongly correlated with the shift to wet tropical forest habitat. (see p.1531)

More than just a social call

Here Cahill, Castelli, and Casper confirm and go beyond results reported recently in Ecology about perturbations that occur when field ecologists visit and handle plants during research. In a field experiment using three focal species, Apocynum cannabinum, Potentilla recta, and Erigeron philadelphicus, they demonstrate that species respond differently to human visitation, and that repeated handling and human visitation can differentially affect plant growth and herbivory. Trail creation associated with trampling of neighboring vegetation altered plant allocation patterns and leaf herbivory, while handling altered the emergence of a stem-boring moth. (see p. 1401)

Fungal diversity: seasonal and spatial patterns

Pringle and Bever explore mechanisms that may promote and maintain the diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi. They present convincing evidence that there are distinct seasonal guilds in such fungi after tracking the sporulation of individual AM fungal species in a North Carolina grassland. In addition, they observed a spatial patterning with AM fungal species aggregating at fine scales. These cool vs. warm season and spatially aggregated guilds of fungi may in turn promote diversity in the plant community. (see p. 1439)

This Article Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Search for Related Content