CALL FOR PARTICIPANTS Why are some species present and others absent in a locality? Only a subset of all species in a region can tolerate the ecological conditions of a given site (the site-specific species pool). Of those, not all are realized in local communities. The absent part of the species pool forms the dark diversity of a community.
Dark Diversity Network (DarkDivNet) is a new coordinated global sampling network to explore the dark diversity of plant communities. The main aims of the global network are: * to determine observed diversity, dark diversity and species pool in different habitats, and link them to abiotic and biotic factors as well as to human impact * to test and improve the methods for estimating dark diversity * to expand the dark diversity concept to include the functional and phylogenetic aspects of diversity DarkDivNet aims to include globally replicated vegetation surveys from a wide range of ecosystems and environmental conditions. We are now inviting participants from all over the world to join DarkDivNet and contribute with one or more terrestrial study areas sampled at both local and regional scales. If you are interested in joining DarkDivNet, please visit the DarkDivNet webpage (http://bit.do/darkdivnet) for the participation guidelines. For more information, contact us at darkdiv...@ut.ee. DarkDivNet Steering Committee (University of Tartu, Estonia), Meelis Pärtel, Carlos P. Carmona, Martin Zobel, Mari Moora, Kersti Riibak, Riin Tamme Please feel free to forward this announcement to your colleagues and other relevant mailing lists!
