Fernando T. Maestre
@ftmaestre.bsky.social
Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering #KAUST Husband, father, dryland ecologist & runner. PI #Maestrelab
Environmental science
40%
Agriculture
29%
Read the paper (#openaccess) here: besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Reposted by Ning Chen
Just published in @journalofecology.bsky.social Using data from 1,854 plant species coming from the @erc.europa.eu funded #BIODESERT survey, we show how climate & grazing jointly shape leaf phenolics—key defence compounds—across global drylands. Great work led by PhD student Kaarina Shilula
A few years ago I shared my @erc.europa.eu Starting Grant proposal (BIOCOM) openly on @figshare.com doi.org/10.6084/m9.f... I never imagined it would reach over 14K views and >6K downloads. A reminder of why sharing proposals & experiences matters—for those coming after us
Happy to share our new paper from the @erc.europa.eu funded #BIODESERT global survey! Brilliantly led by MSc student Imke Smit, we show that plant facilitation in drylands is driven by a consistent trait match between dominant and target species Out in Global Ecol Biog dx.doi.org/10.1111/geb....
📸 in the first tweet from Zoshua Colah
@unsplash.com
@unsplash.com
And let’s strive to be those reviewers and editors ourselves. A bit of kindness goes a long way—making the whole system better for everyone, but particularly for ECRs.
and genuinely encouraging. It was a reminder that peer review is not just gatekeeping; it’s a collaborative process that often improves our science. So let’s celebrate the many reviewers and editors who invest their time with rigor and kindness
Peer review in top journals is tough, and we often focus on its “dark side”: delays, rejections, and harsh reports. But there’s also a bright side we talk about far too little. Our recent acceptance came with exceptionally kind words from the handling editor—polite, thoughtful, ...