Human societies depend on an Earth system that operates within a constrained range of
nutrient availability, yet the recent trajectory of terrestrial nitrogen (N) availability is uncertain …

The stomata of angiosperms respond to changes in ambient atmospheric concentrations of
CO2 (Ca) in ways that appear to optimize water‐use efficiency. It is unknown where in the …

Premise of research. Numbering around 10,000 species, ferns are the second-largest group
of vascular plants. Relatively little work, however, has focused on the population genetic …

The Cretaceous period saw dramatic shifts in the functional plant biology of the Earth's flora.
This was an episode of explosive plant radiations that produced our modern angiosperm …

Ferns appear in the fossil record some 200 Myr before angiosperms. However, as
angiosperm‐dominated forest canopies emerged in the Cretaceous period there was an …

Most people correctly associate lush fern growth with humid and shady forests (Plates 1C,
2B). Indeed, the highest diversity of ferns is found in tropical rain forests, where some 65% of …

Little is known about how a predominantly passive hydraulic stomatal control in ferns and
lycophytes might impact water use under stress. Ferns and lycophytes occupy a diverse …

Functional traits determine how species interact with their abiotic and biotic environment. In
turn, functional diversity describes how assemblages of species as a whole are adapted to …

Opportunistic diversification has allowed ferns to radiate into epiphytic niches in angiosperm
dominated landscapes. However, our understanding of how ecophysiological function …

The expansion of angiosperm‐dominated forests in the Cretaceous and early Cenozoic had
a profound effect on terrestrial biota by creating novel ecological niches. The majority of …