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Forest ecology: Conservation through closure

The maintenance of closed canopy conditions can delay the onset of warming-induced changes in plant community composition, according to an experimental manipulation of temperature, light and nutrient levels in a temperate forest understorey.

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Figure 1: Oxalis acetosella (wood sorrel) is a shade-adapted species found in the understorey of temperate forests, which reduces light capture during sunflecks through changes in leaf orientation.

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Correspondence to Michael Scherer-Lorenzen.

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Scherer-Lorenzen, M. Forest ecology: Conservation through closure. Nature Plants 1, 15116 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nplants.2015.116

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