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Sensory adaptation is the process whereby brain circuits adjust neuronal activity in response to redundant sensory stimuli. Although sensory adaptation has been extensively studied for individual neurons on timescales of tens of milliseconds to a few seconds, little is known about it over longer timescales or at the population level. We investigated population-level adaptation in the barrel field of the mouse somatosensory cortex (S1BF) using in vivo two-photon calcium imaging and Neuropixels recordings in awake mice. Among stimulus-responsive neurons, we found both adapting and facilitating neurons, which decreased or increased their firing, respectively, with repetitive whisker stimulation. The former outnumbered the latter by 2:1 in layers 2/3 and 4; hence, the overall population response of mouse S1BF was slightly adapting. We also discovered that population adaptation to one stimulus frequency (5 Hz) does not necessarily generalize to a different frequency (12.5 Hz). Moreover, responses of individual neurons to repeated rounds of stimulation over tens of minutes were strikingly heterogeneous and stochastic, such that their adapting or facilitating response profiles were not stable across time. Such representational drift was particularly striking when recording longitudinally across 8-9 days, as adaptation profiles of most whisker-responsive neurons changed drastically from one day to the next. Remarkably, repeated exposure to a familiar stimulus paradoxically shifted the population away from strong adaptation and toward facilitation. Thus, the adapting vs. facilitating response profile of S1BF neurons is not a fixed property of neurons but rather a highly dynamic feature that is shaped by sensory experience across days.

Ecosystem engineers alter habitat and resource availability within ecosystems, but the magnitude of these effects depends on abiotic context and spatial scale. We examined how the effects of freshwater mussels, an ecosystem engineer, changed with spatial scale. We combined a field enclosure experiment and comparative field study to evaluate associations among mussels and macroinvertebrate communities across three spatial scales: mussel individuals (~ 0.01 m2), patches of mussels (0.25 m2), and large aggregations of many mussel patches (mussel beds, ~ 1000 m2). We used canonical correspondence analysis and variation partitioning to evaluate how mussel abundance, food availability, substrate heterogeneity, and flow influenced macroinvertebrate communities. We found that mussels' influence on macroinvertebrate communities differed among spatial scales. At the smallest scale, macroinvertebrate density increased on the shells of live mussels, likely due to mussel influences on food availability to grazers. At the patch scale, we found no mussel effects, likely because they were overridden by a flood event. At the mussel bed scale, macroinvertebrate communities were primarily controlled by flow and secondarily by food availability. As such, the continued loss of freshwater mussels means the loss of habitat creation and food provisioning for other aquatic groups, and alteration of facilitation landscapes within streams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Premise of research. In ecosystems where they are common, vascular epiphytes usually interact positively with both their hosts and other epiphytes. However, there are no integrative studies simultaneously analyzing both host-epiphyte and epiphyte-epiphyte associations in ecosystems with a high abundance of vascular epiphytes, such as cloud forests. Most studies have described host-epiphyte associations, but there is a lack of studies evaluating the type of associations established between vascular epiphytes with different growth forms, reproductive states, and taxonomic identities. The goal of this study was to describe the host-epiphyte and epiphyte-epiphyte associations in a cloud forest in central Mexico. Moreover, we evaluated the effect of vascular epiphyte reproductive state, growth form, and taxonomic identity on those associations. Methodology. We first described the host and vascular epiphyte species in the community. Then all host-epiphyte and epiphyte-epiphyte associations were recorded. Pivotal results. All types of associations were recorded among both host-epiphyte (random: 44%; positive: 29%; negative: 27%) and epiphyte-epiphyte (random: 69%; positive: 15%; negative: 16%) associations. Most epiphytes were hosted by four phorophyte species; however, the most abundant phorophytes hosted few or no epiphytes. Epiphyte-epiphyte conspecific associations were mostly positive, whereas the heterospecific associations were predominantly random. At the community level, this pattern did not vary between reproductive states. Associations between heterospecific epiphytes with different growth forms were predominantly random but were positive between conspecifics. Epiphytes with creeping and rosette growth forms established negative associations with their neighbors. Conclusions. Our results show the importance and complexity of the host-epiphyte and epiphyte-epiphyte associations established. To our knowledge, this is the first study in which the epiphyte-epiphyte and host-epiphyte associations and the effect of epiphyte growth form and reproductive state are evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exotic plant invaders can promote others via direct or indirect facilitation, known as "invasional meltdown." Increased soil nutrients can also promote invaders by increasing their competitive impacts, but how this might affect meltdown is unknown. In a mesocosm experiment, we evaluated how eight exotic plant species and eight Eurasian native species responded individually to increasing densities of the invasive plant Conyza canadensis, while varying the supply and fluctuations of nutrients. We found that increasing density of C. canadensis intensified competitive suppression of natives but intensified facilitation of other exotics. Higher and fluctuating nutrients exacerbated the competitive effects on natives and facilitative effects on exotics. Overall, these results show a pronounced advantage of exotics over native target species with increased relative density of C. canadensis under high nutrient availability and fluctuation. We integrate these results with the observation that exotic species commonly drive increases in soil resources to suggest the Resource‐driven Invasional Meltdown and Inhibition of Natives hypothesis in which biotic acceleration of resource availability promotes other exotic species over native species, leading to invasional meltdown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The elemental allelopathy hypothesis states that the metal‐rich litter of hyper‐accumulating species may have a detrimental impact on neighbouring plants giving a competitive advantage to hyper‐accumulators. Here, we aim to specify the conditions of application of this hypothesis in realistic field conditions, and its relative importance compared to other positive effects found in metalliferous systems.We disentangled the litter‐induced elemental allelopathy and canopy effects of two metallophyte species (Arenaria multicaulis and Hutchinsia alpina) with different levels of leaf Zn and Cd accumulation on two ecotypes of Agrostis capillaris with different levels of metal tolerance. The experiment was conducted in two habitats with contrasting pollution levels in a former mining valley in the Pyrenees (France).The metallophyte species that accumulates more metals (Hutchinsia alpina) showed a strong elemental allelopathy effect on the target with lower metal tolerance in the habitat with lower pollution level, while the metallophyte species that accumulates less metals (Arenaria multicaulis) had no litter effect. Both metallophyte species had positive canopy effects likely due to improvement of micro‐climatic conditions. The drought that occurred during the experiment may have influenced these canopy effects, increasing their importance during the course of the study. For Hutchinsia alpina, the positive canopy effects were stronger than the negative litter effects, resulting in overall positive effects on both target ecotypes.Synthesis. Our results brought a better understanding of the occurrence of elemental allelopathy in metallophyte communities and its relative importance as compared to micro‐climatic facilitation in a global warming context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Host-associated organisms (i.e., symbionts) commonly interact within their shared hosts to form complex ecological communities. Here we suggest that within-host facilitation, where the presence of one symbiont group promotes establishment, growth, or reproduction of another, is prevalent, can arise from six fundamental mechanisms, and has broad implications for ecosystem dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In drylands, grass germination occurs after a large rainfall event. However, trees influence the water requirements for germination either by decreasing the rate of evaporation from soil surface or by interception rainfall with their canopy. The aim of this work was to evaluate the role of Neltuma flexuosa tree on the germination of Leptochloa crinita and Pappophorum caespitosum grasses in response to precipitation events of different sizes. The experiment was conducted in two locations within the Monte desert, Argentina: a semi‐arid location with an average annual precipitation of 345 mm and an arid location with an average annual precipitation of 156 mm. Six microsites were established under N. flexuosa canopies and six microsites in open areas at both locations. Within each microsite, 35 seeds of each grass species were exposed to precipitation events of varying sizes. This procedure was repeated 14 times across two growing seasons. Germinated seeds were counted in the laboratory. Generalized linear mixed models were then applied to evaluate the effects of accumulated precipitation and the microsite on the grass germination in both locations. Results showed that N. flexuosa did not influence the germination of either grass species in the arid location. However, in the semi‐arid location, N. flexuosa facilitated the germination of P. caespitosum only. Large precipitation events would act as an environmental signal for these perennial grasses, allowing them to germinate in favorable years regardless of the microsite or the location. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, numerous ecosystems have been co‐invaded by multiple exotic plant species that can have competitive or facilitative interactions with each other and with native plants. Invaded ecosystems often exhibit spatial heterogeneity in soil moisture and nutrient levels, with some habitats having more nutrient‐rich and moist soils than others. The stress‐gradient hypothesis predicts that plants are likely to engage in facilitative interactions when growing in stressful environments, such as nutrient‐deficient or water‐deficient soils. In contrast, when resources are abundant, competitive interactions between plants should prevail. The invasional meltdown hypothesis proposes that facilitative interactions between invasive species can enhance their establishment and amplify their ecological impact. Considering both hypotheses can offer insights into the complex interactions among invasive and native plants across environmental gradients. However, experimental tests of the effects of soil moisture and nutrient co‐limitation on interactions between invasive and native plants at both interspecific and intraspecific levels in light of these hypotheses are lacking. We performed a greenhouse pot experiment in which we cultivated individual focal plants from five congeneric pairs of invasive and native species. Each focal plant was subjected to one of three levels of plant–plant interactions: (1) intraspecific, in which the focal plant was grown with another individual of the same species; (2) interspecific, involving a native and an invasive plant; and (3) interspecific, involving two native or invasive individuals. These plant–plant interaction treatments were fully crossed with two levels of water availability (drought vs. well‐watered) and two levels of nutrient supply (low vs. high). Consistent with the stress‐gradient and invasional meltdown hypotheses, our findings show that under low‐nutrient conditions, the biomass production of invasive focal plants was facilitated by invasive interspecific neighbors. However, under high‐nutrient conditions, the biomass production of invasive focal plants was suppressed by invasive interspecific neighbors. When competing with native interspecific neighbors, high‐nutrient conditions similarly enhanced the biomass production of both invasive and native focal plants. Invasive and native focal plants were neither competitively suppressed nor facilitated by conspecific neighbors. Taken together, these results suggest that co‐occurring invasive exotic plant species may facilitate each other in low‐nutrient habitats but compete in high‐nutrient habitats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cover cropping is practiced in conservation agriculture to preserve soil and water resources, alleviate soil compaction, sequester organic carbon, and control weeds. Meanwhile, cover cropping is rarely used in forestry, probably due to the lack of awareness of this management practice. In this short essay, we discuss the concept of utilizing cover crops to prepare degraded lands for afforestation or reforestation projects. The benefits of this practice are similar to those in agriculture. The risks of this practice are mostly related to plant-plant interactions, and particularly, to the potential competition for resources with the target trees. As such, this practice should be implemented cautiously, to prevent adverse impacts on the forest system. Also, attention should be paid to ensure the delivery of ecosystem services and functions by the target land. Further, the co-use of complementary practices may be considered to accelerate the success rate of cover cropping in degraded lands designated for afforestation and reforestation. Among these practices, application of soil additives, such as composts, manures, and biochars, may be useful in increasing soil concentrations of organic carbon and nutrients, thus improving soil quality and fertility. Additional complementary active practices may be the direct seeding or planting of nurse shrubs and trees, as well as the inoculation of soil surface with biocrust slurries, aimed to increase ecosystem complexity by forming a multi-story vegetation structure. Recommendations and guidelines for implementing cover crops in forestry should be site-specific and case-dependent, and consider both the desired benefits and potential risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This article expands literature on user innovation by exploring the mechanisms that support user innovations in the context of a public organisation. Research has hitherto documented support mechanisms for user innovation in producer companies, where users contribute in early or temporary innovation phases as external non-employees or lead-users engaged by the producer. Complementarily, this paper explores a lesser known area of support mechanisms, those that support internal user innovations in a public sector setting. Design/methodology/approach: Employing a qualitative study of a Norwegian public hospital at the interface between users (personnel and patients) and organisational support (facilitators who orchestrate user innovations), this article analyses in-house user innovation based on observations, text documentation and interviews over a four-year period. Findings: In this public hospital, holistic organisational facilitation of "public user innovators" formed the key support mechanism built on "people" (facilitating co-creation), "process" (facilitating ideas, project realisation and implementation) and "coordination" (facilitating systems and communication). The findings show that public and producer organisational mechanisms both resemble and differ in many respects, as illustrated by the framework developed to describe these characteristics, such as that producers insource users, while the public organisation outsources production. Originality/value: The originality of the article lies in the identification and description of "public user innovation", a new term developed from this study of a public organisation in contrast to the dominant literature on producer companies. This article contributes new insights by differentiating the roles of user innovators and the mechanisms that support such innovations. New implications are drawn from the public side of organisational support in user innovation research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant species bearing extrafloral nectaries (EFNs) may indirectly influence other plant species by sharing protective ants, potentially altering herbivory levels. However, the propagation of indirect effects in this type of mutualism has seldom been investigated. We investigated indirect effects via ant sharing among 21 EFN‐bearing plant species of the tribe Bignonieae distributed on 28 plots in the central Brazilian Amazon. We used an ecological network index to quantify potential indirect effects among plant species through shared dominant and subordinate ant species. Plant species that were more attractive to ants (promoter species) had the highest potential to indirectly influence ant visitation to less attractive plant species (receptor species) in the community, primarily through changes in the attraction of dominant ant species. However, these potential indirect effects did not result in significant differences in herbivory patterns among the studied plants. Ant attendance and herbivory levels were similar among promoter species, neighbouring plants, and non‐neighbouring plants. Unlike other mutualisms involving plants (e.g., pollination), the indirect effects among plant species that share protective ants had limited consequences. The low levels of herbivory and the small foraging areas of shared ant defenders could be responsible for the observed limited impact of indirect interactions among plant species in this system. Synthesis: This study demonstrates that plant species with EFNs can indirectly influence other plant species through ant sharing. The attractiveness of certain plants to ants enables them to affect the ant visitation patterns of less attractive plants in the community. However, these indirect effects did not significantly alter herbivory levels among plants. Overall, this study advances ecological understanding by showing that the sharing of protective ants among plant species can in some cases confer limited costs and benefits, leading indirect interactions to have minimal impact on herbivory patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several recent regional studies have cast doubt on the widespread assumption that nitrogen‐fixing plants (N‐fixers) act as facilitators of neighbouring plant communities. We conducted a meta‐analysis to synthesize the effects of N‐fixers on plant communities and to understand how ecological context moderates these effects. We analysed studies that assessed paired effects of N‐fixers and non‐fixers on soil N, neighbouring‐plant (non‐fixer) biomass and plant community diversity; ecological moderators included climate, soil texture and N‐fixer growth form and invasive status. N‐fixers led to higher soil N and neighbouring‐plant biomass, but lower community diversity compared to non‐fixers. The effect of N‐fixers on neighbouring‐plant biomass was strongly mediated by soil texture; N‐fixer invasive status and growth form were also significant mediators of the facilitative effects of N‐fixers. Synthesis: N‐fixer effects lie on a continuum between facilitation and suppression that is moderated by intrinsic and extrinsic processes, and this analysis provides insight into how these factors moderate the effects of N‐fixers. Overall, N‐fixers facilitate neighbour biomass but suppress diversity, though high variation in these effects can be explained in part by ecological context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThe purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework to describe facilitators’ use of power in facilitation practice. Facilitators are mainly, in theory as well as in practice, described as neutral power sharers. This reductive understanding of the role of facilitators is problematic as it hides the influence that these practitioners have over the process and outcome of collaborative governance. Analyzing two Swedish collaborative governance processes, we develop a framework that sheds light on facilitators’ use of power. The framework includes three alternative power moves that facilitators can make: sequencing, framing and concluding. Facilitators’ attempts to make these moves are, in the framework, located on a continuum between authority and argumentation in the following positions: authority, tempered authority, tempered argumentation and argumentation. This paper contributes to the facilitation and collaborative governance literatures by providing a conceptual framework applicable for further research into facilitators’ use of power, as well as for developing facilitation handbooks and training programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Besides environmental sorting, other processes like biotic interactions and dispersal limitation are vital for the assembly of plant communities in high mountains and their re‐assembly under changing climatic conditions. Nevertheless, studies that compare the impact of these factors on plant community assembly above the tree line are largely lacking so far. We analysed occurrence changes in vascular plant communities of 492 permanent 1‐m2 plots in the alpine‐nival ecotone of Mt. Schrankogel, Austrian Alps by comparing resurvey data from 2014 with data from the initial survey in 1994. We combined these data with species inventories from 899 additional plots sampled in 2021 and 2022 across a larger landscape above the tree line covering an elevational range of 1700 m, which we used for fine‐scale habitat suitability modelling. We assessed the relative effects of projected habitat suitability, propagule pressure from surrounding populations and biomass density of neighbours on 1532 colonization and 372 extirpation events of 31 species observed on the permanent plots. We found that all three factors are significantly related to both colonisations and extirpations, with habitat suitability having the strongest, propagule pressure a slightly weaker, and vegetation density the weakest effect. Colonisations can be better explained by the three process proxies than extirpations. Our results indicate a crucial role of dispersal limitation besides the predominant effect of environmental filtering on the (re‐)assembly of the alpine‐nival plant community, while competitive/facilitative effects between plants tend to play a minor role. The strong imprint of nearby source plant populations on colonization/extirpation events suggests that recent plant migrations predominantly occur in small steps. This implies that while the topographically complex alpine terrain offers climatic microrefugia for plants, it may also pose potential barriers, hindering species from following their suitable climatic niches upwards. Synthesis: Besides filtering by environmental conditions dispersal limitation had a strong effect on the observed changes in a local alpine plant community over two decades. Limited dispersal capacities of plant species may counteract the ability of isolated cold areas to effectively shelter high alpine plants from the effects of climate warming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Mutual learning and shared decision-making are key elements of Participatory Action Research (PAR), highlighting the important role of the facilitator to support this. This study aims to illustrate how a facilitator can contribute to successful PAR sessions based on the reflection of three PAR projects. Methods: Participatory sessions took place with adolescents for 3–4 school years. After each session (n = 252 sessions across three projects), facilitators filled in a reflection form that assessed the group process and their facilitating role. Facilitators independently coded a selection of 135 reflection forms partly deductive and partly inductive based on core PAR principles derived from a pragmatic literature search. Results: A well-prepared session – for example, including active and creative participatory methods and a clearly stated goal – contributed to efficiency and the necessary flexibility. Making agreements, making sure everyone is heard and taking 'fun-time' appeared important for creating and maintaining a safe, functional and positive atmosphere. Finally, facilitators needed to encourage co-researchers to take the lead and adapt to the group dynamics, to ensure ownership and shared decision-making. Conclusion: In-depth qualitative analyses of a standardized reflection form used in three different PAR projects resulted in various lessons to support facilitators in collaborating with co-researchers in PAR projects. Highlights: Detailed preparation of participatory sessions with multiple scenarios allows the flexibility needed for productive sessions. Ensuring a positive, safe and functional atmosphere encouraged productive participatory sessions. Facilitators need to continuously adapt to the characteristics, moods and emotions of co-researchers. We present an improved reflection form to support facilitators in optimizing their PAR sessions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Theory questions the persistence of nonreciprocal interactions in which one plant has a positive net effect on a neighbor that, in return, has a negative net impact on its benefactor – a phenomenon known as antagonistic facilitation. We develop a spatially explicit consumer‐resource model for belowground plant competition between ecosystem engineers, plants able to mine resources and make them available for any other plant in the community, and exploiters. We use the model to determine in what environmental conditions antagonistic facilitation via soil‐resource engineering emerges as an optimal strategy. Antagonistic facilitation emerges in stressful environments where ecosystem engineers' self‐benefits from mining resources outweigh the competition with opportunistic neighbors. Among all potential causes of stress considered in the model, the key environmental parameter driving changes in the interaction between plants is the proportion of the resource that becomes readily available for plant consumption in the absence of any mining activity. Our results align with theories of primary succession and the stress gradient hypothesis. However, we find that the total root biomass and its spatial allocation through the root system, often used to measure the sign of the interaction between plants, do not predict facilitation reliably. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While genetic diversity is theorised to increase the restoration success of degraded plant populations, previous studies examining its impacts on restoration outcomes have yielded mixed results. We hypothesise that the importance of genetic diversity for the performance of plants targeted for restoration increases with environmental stress and varies with specific plant traits related to different plant successive life stages. To test this, we conducted a fully factorial common garden experiment, crossing salinity and genetic diversity under low‐ and high‐nitrogen conditions on the growth and reproduction of Scirpus mariqueter, a threatened endemic saltmarsh plant in the Yangtze Estuary. The impacts of genetic diversity varied across stress gradients and metrics. Under high stress (high salinity, low nutrients), greater diversity enhanced reproductive traits such as clonal growth and seed production, but not under low stress. Plant growth traits showed no diversity effects regardless of stress. Synthesis: Our results highlight the importance of considering intraspecific genetic diversity in ecological restoration and help explain the context‐dependent effects of diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South American subtropical landscapes are dominated by open grasslands and mosaics of forest–grassland formations. Forests are often restricted to riverine margins with sharp forest–grassland ecotones. Understanding the mechanisms maintaining forest–grassland ecotones is important to anticipate the effects of changing climate and disturbance regimes on the extent of these biomes and the ecosystem services they provide. We used a combination of field surveys and long‐term field experiments to explore the mechanisms that explain tree cover expansion at the ecotone of riverine forests and grasslands in central Uruguay, within the South American Campos. We assessed the role of tree seed dispersal and seedling establishment limitations, and experimentally tested for the effects of cattle, nurse tree cover and grasses on the recruitment of forest and grassland tree species at the forest–grassland ecotone. We found that forest expansion depends on the interplay between cattle and nurse trees. Vachellia caven trees colonize the grassland successfully and facilitate the formation of forest patches by enhancing seed accumulation and seedling establishment of forest tree species. Surprisingly, grass cover had mostly positive effects on early seedling survival of forest tree seedlings. However, cattle limits tree seedling growth and survival, especially of forest tree species. This results in a nucleated vegetation pattern of tree patches that ultimately limits forest expansion. Synthesis and applications. Tree cover can potentially expand on the subtropical South American grasslands. Reductions in cattle densities and increases in rainfall levels associated with climate change could facilitate forest expansion in this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Facilitation is an ecological interaction that has allowed plant lineages to survive past climate aridification. This same interaction can be expected to buffer the effects of current climate change, which is tending to become more arid in the Mediterranean basin. However, facilitation may wane when stress conditions are extreme. Here we argue that the erosion of the facilitation signal between Quercus ilex and its nurses detected by García‐Fayos et al. (2020) along 50 years in the eastern Iberian Peninsula may have been due to the reversion of facilitation to competition imposed by an increasingly arid climate. To support this speculation, we reconstructed the climatic niche of Q. ilex and its nurses as well as the local climate change occurring in the populations studied. We found that the decreasing trend in precipitation is pushing Q. ilex out of its climatic optimum in the stressful (semi‐arid) but not in the mild (sub‐humid) habitats. These results suggest that facilitation will be unable to mitigate the effects of climate change, especially those related to aridification. However, other scenarios linking climatic change with herbivory and rural abandonment should be considered to fully understand the past, present and future of facilitation interactions. Reconstructing past interactions can serve as an early warning signal about the future of populations in the face of climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global change is a multifaceted, unprecedented crisis hitting the life support system of our planet. Among global changes, climate change is regarded as one of the most grave threats to biodiversity because of its direct impacts on species and ecosystems integrity and because of its indirect consequences through synergistic effects with other global change factors such as biological invasions. The challenges presented to either reduce or mitigate this biodiversity crisis derived from climate change require novel synthesis and innovation in ecological and evolutionary theory. Positive species interactions within and between trophic levels can play a key role in the resilience of ecological communities. Depending on the tolerance of nurse species to different aspects of climate change, communities can be more or less resilient to those changes. This knowledge has important implications for both natural communities and agroecosystems. Further, our fundamental understanding of the role of positive interactions can also enable both effective conservation and restoration levers in space and time. This special issue includes studies addressing the role of facilitative interactions on the response of ecological systems to climate change. Key concepts examined included stress, gradients, nurse species, spatial scale, translocation, phylogenetics alongside physiochemicals, and variation in the capacity of species to buffer changes. Alpine, tundra, drylands and temperate forests were directly tested, but salient principles were relevant to all ecosystems including a contribution on soil biota and also a call to more open data and collaborative science. Together, this corpus of work highlighted the significance of facilitative interactions in mitigating many of the effects of climate change on biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our understanding of the fundamental role that soil bacteria play in the structure and functioning of Earth's ecosystems is ever expanding, but insight into the nature of interactions within these bacterial communities remains rudimentary. Bacterial facilitation may enhance the establishment, growth, and succession of eukaryotic biota, elevating the complexity and diversity of the entire soil community and thereby modulating multiple ecosystem functions. Global climate change often alters soil bacterial community composition, which, in turn, impacts other dependent biota. However, the impact of climate change on facilitation within bacterial communities remains poorly understood even though it may have important cascading consequences for entire ecosystems. The wealth of metagenomic data currently being generated gives community ecologists the ability to investigate bacterial facilitation in the natural world and how it affects ecological systems responses to climate change. Here, we review current evidence demonstrating the importance of facilitation in promoting emergent properties such as community diversity, ecosystem functioning, and resilience to climate change in soil bacterial communities. We show that a synthesis is currently missing between the abundant data, newly developed models and a coherent ecological framework that addresses these emergent properties. We highlight that including phylogenetic information, the physicochemical environment, and species‐specific ecologies can improve our ability to infer interactions in natural soil communities. Following these recommendations, studies on bacterial facilitation will be an important piece of the puzzle to understand the consequences of global change on ecological communities and a model to advance our understanding of facilitation in complex communities more generally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assisted tree migration has been proposed as a conceptual solution to mitigate lags in biotic responses to anthropogenic climate change. The rationale behind this concept is that tree species currently growing under warmer and drier climates will be more resistant and resilient to the new climatic conditions than tree species naturally growing in currently wetter and colder climates. However, we hypothesize that, by being more stress‐tolerant to warmer and drier conditions, translocated species should exhibit different functional attributes, which could induce important ecological and societal costs and overcome the desired benefits of maintaining wood production and other ecosystem services. We used principal component analysis (PCA) to analyze variation in seven traits of 106 tree and tall shrub species from contrasting latitudinal distributions in western North America and Europe to predict the potential functional changes of forest ecosystems due to the translocation of tree species from low to high latitudes. We show that species from both continents differed primarily by their position on the leaf economy spectrum (LES) and their size traits. Even though, in Europe, differences in LES were significantly correlated to species southern latitudinal positions, in both continents differences in size traits were significantly correlated to latitude. These results suggest that assisted migration by translocating more conservative species of shorter stature in currently cooler climates should decrease the buffering capacity of forest canopies, decrease facilitation for understory species, and increase wildfire risks, whose effects have the potential to accelerate climate warming through negative atmospheric feedback processes. As an alternative solution to assisted migration that may accelerate rather than mitigate climate change, we recommend that foresters gradually diversify the vertical structure and layering of the existing forest canopy to maintain a sustainable water cycle and energy balance between the soil, the tree and the atmosphere without increasing the wildfire risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alpine habitats are regarded as particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. On one hand, global warming is supposed to contributes to alpine environments becoming less stressful. On the other hand, altered snowpack due to warmer temperatures can intensify the stress in these habitats. The presence of non‐native plants on some of these habitats is due to the facilitative effects exerted by native nurse plants, becoming an additional threat. According to the stress gradient hypothesis the importance of facilitative interactions with nurse species is expected to diminish as environmental harshness decreases due to climate change yet remains important if climate change heightens the stress in alpine habitats. However, the responses also depend on climate change's impact on the nurse species. We conducted an experimental warming experiment in the Andes of the central Chile to assess the effects of warmer temperatures on the growth, reproduction and photochemical efficiency of the cushion nurse plant Azorella madreporica. Further we performed a cushion removal experiment involving three native species (Gamocarpha ventosa, Nocaccea magellanica and Rytidosperma pictum) and two non‐native species (Cerastium arvense and Taraxacum officinale) to assess whether facilitative interactions changed with warming. We expected that under warmer conditions facilitation continued be important for the native species but decreased for the non‐natives as the latter are abundant at warmer low elevations. We found that warmer conditions increased the photochemical efficiency and growth of the nurse cushions. Removal of cushions resulted in high mortality rates for all species. However, under warmer conditions, native species exhibited lower survival rates, whereas non‐natives showed no significant changes compared to control groups. In summary, warmer temperatures were beneficial for the nurses maintaining the importance of facilitative interactions for native species, but not for the non‐natives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deserts are subject to significant anthropogenic pressure. The capacity to buffer against changes in the local environment and biodiversity are critical for ecosystem functioning. Foundation species can be a solution to rapidly assess ecological function and provide a simple nature‐based solution to protect against continuing biodiversity losses. A foundation species is defined as a species that exerts and promotes a positive set of processes for the biotic network. Two different shrub species in the central drylands of California were used to assay a potential buffer for plant species richness and to examine the species‐specificity of foundation facilitation. A five‐year dataset in two distinct regions differing in aridity was used to test the hypothesis that the direct effects of foundation plants facilitate other plant species and buffer diversity losses to a changing climate. The predicted positive effects of both shrub species on species richness increased with increasing local temperatures sampled. Finally, projected temperature increases for the region in trained Bayesian models demonstrated that both shrub species can profoundly increase in their capacity to facilitate plant species richness. Colloquially, this positive ecological effect can be described as the patronus charm hypothesis because regardless of the form of the protector, shrub species provided a talisman against local loss of richness driven by temperature increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is widespread evidence that plants can facilitate associated species through microclimate moderation. These effects can act locally, by increasing vital rates via direct effects on the conditions experienced by the beneficiary, or at the landscape scale, by enhancing population persistence via environmental heterogeneity and connectivity. Despite linkages between microclimate moderation and the consequences of climate change, few frameworks apply the concepts of facilitation, connectivity, and heterogeneity through this lens. We highlight the utility of expanding current research on facilitators to better understand how their ability to buffer abiotic conditions, promote heterogeneity, and enhance connectivity could shape beneficiaries' response to climate change at multiple scales. We additionally suggest tools and methods for enhanced incorporation of facilitators into models of species response, centered around the integration of facilitator‐moderated microclimates and species responses with the goal of better defining the scenarios under which facilitators could mitigate the effects of climate change. As climates continue to change, the consequences of microclimate moderation at local and landscape scales will become increasingly important to predict, understand, and manage biodiversity response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interactions between and within abiotic and biotic processes generate nonadditive density-dependent effects on species performance that can vary in strength or direction across environments. If ignored, nonadditivities can lead to inaccurate predictions of species responses to environmental and compositional changes. While there are increasing empirical efforts to test the constancy of pairwise biotic interactions along environmental and compositional gradients, few assess both simultaneously. Using a nationwide forest inventory that spans broad ambient temperature and moisture gradients throughout New Zealand, we address this gap by analyzing the diameter growth of six focal tree species as a function of neighbor densities and climate, as well as neighbor × climate and neighbor × neighbor statistical interactions. The most complex model featuring all interaction terms had the highest predictive accuracy. Compared with climate variables, biotic interactions typically had stronger effects on diameter growth, especially when subjected to nonadditivities from local climatic conditions and the density of intermediary species. Furthermore, statistically strong (or weak) nonadditivities could be biologically irrelevant (or significant) depending on whether a species pair typically interacted under average or more extreme conditions. Our study highlights the importance of considering both the statistical potential and the biological relevance of nonadditive biotic interactions when assessing species performance under global change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Communication is an integral part of natural resource management and sustainability transformations, and questions on how communication helps or hinders the development of more sustainable relationships between people and their environments have become increasingly urgent. This special issue directs our attention to the processes and outcomes of such communication and explores what a focus on communication makes visible and accessible for practical as well as academic analysis. The twelve articles collected in this issue examine a wide range of contexts and practices of environmental communication, here understood as the joint construction of meaning related to environmental and sustainability issues. In this editorial, we propose five conceptual lenses that, as we argue, are crucial for an in-depth engagement with environmental communication. Together, these provide us with an understanding of communication as arising from manifold interactions that are shaped by and shaping disagreement, power relations and, more generally, the interplay between structure and agency. We examine the contributions to this special issue in light of these conceptual lenses and highlight how the twelve articles help us to understand the role of meaning-making in environmental management and sustainability transformations. We conclude with suggestions for future work, identifying spaces for further conceptual development and empirical scrutiny as well as scope for new ideas on environmental communication to gain in importance and influence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Facilitators of collaborative governance structure communication between stakeholders. They influence the process and, in some instances, also the outcome of collaborative governance. Even so, facilitators are, in the literature and in practice, most often reduced to being neutral or seen merely as power sharers. This reductive understanding obscures facilititators' use of power. The purpose of this paper is to outline a nuanced understanding of authority in facilitation practice. We analyse a Swedish collaborative governance process where a governmental agency facilitates collaboration between actors with conflicting interests. We combine the work of Hannah Arendt and Mark Warren to study authority as relationally performed. We find that facilitators' use of power takes the form of a pendulum movement between authority and argumentation. Hence, authority and argumentation are linked, rather than incompatible, in facilitation practice. This paper sheds new light on the unrecognised, and yet influential, leadership role that facilitators play. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: Species interactions should be considered during the design of restoration plans for tropical dry forests. Legume trees dominate old-growth and regenerating tropical dry forests with some pioneers becoming temporarily monodominant during secondary succession. Yet, the mechanisms promoting legume coexistence in this ecosystem are poorly understood but essential to develop restoration strategies for degraded forests. We studied plant–plant interactions in the regeneration niche of an early and a late successional legume tree species, increasingly co-occurring in northwestern Mexico due to persistent climatic and anthropogenic disturbance that is altering forest dynamics. Our experiment comprised two species (Acacia cochliacantha, typical early successional and monodominant, and Lysiloma watsonii, typical late successional) × two habitats (direct light and shade) × three plant interaction treatments (control, intraspecific and interspecific). Each of the 12 experimental units contained 20 pots, totaling 240 replicates. We examined germination, seedling survival, and growth dynamics and determined seedling dry mass (total and root: shoot) at the end of the experiment. Our results suggest that legume monodominance in regenerating tropical dry forests starts early during germination and may be temporarily maintained through the interplay between interspecific facilitation and intraspecific competition. In contrast, late successional species may avoid negative heterospecific interactions by recruiting later (benefiting from neighbors' shade) and maintaining neutral associations with conspecifics since early ontogenetic stages. Therefore, a cautious selection of early and late successional species and their spatial arrangement should be considered during the planning stage of restoration programs for tropical dry forests. Advancing our understanding of plant interactions in tropical dry forests should lead us to develop better tools for restoring this highly degraded ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Coral–algal interactions are pivotal in reef ecosystems globally as they can scale up ecosystem levels and lead to dominance shifts. In this study, we conducted a systematic review of global coral–algal interactions, identifying the most studied locations, species, and types of interactions. We then assessed how these interactions may be impacted by consumers and climate change. Over the past 20 years (2001–2020), coral and algae interactions were mostly explored in the Pacific, and the Caribbean and US East Coast, where branching and massive corals were the focus, while other coral growth forms received less attention, and effects on algae were often overlooked. Adult corals were generally reported to be damaged when directly interacting with algae through physical abrasion or allelopathy. Conversely, algae interactions were found to have a positive impact on juvenile corals by facilitating larval recruitment and settlement. As expected, coral–algal interactions and the type of coral–algal relationships vary globally, most likely due to differences in abiotic conditions, community composition and the number of studies performed in a region. Despite the large emphasis on the role of consumers in controlling coral–algal interactions, few studies directly explored the effects of herbivory on coral–algal interactions. Given the growing evidence that ocean warming and acidification can reduce the competitive ability of corals, understanding the dynamic relationships between coral, algae, and consumers under future climate change conditions is crucial in predicting future coral recruitment potential and reef composition patterns. Here, we highlight the main findings from coral–algal interaction studies performed in the last 20 year and point to future directions, such as: 1) diversifying location, coral species, growth forms and life phases; 2) considering effects on both sides of interaction, not neglecting effects on algae; and 3) taking a closer look into the role of consumers and microbiomes. Advancing our understanding of coral–algal interactions, as well as how these interactions shift under changing conditions, is critical in predicting how coral reef ecosystems may operate in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Positive plant–plant interactions (facilitation) may enhance the recruitment and establishment of species less adapted to local macroclimatic conditions. A major cause of this effect is climatic buffering, which implies an increased mismatch between the macroclimatic conditions and the climatic requirements of the existing community – climatic disequilibrium – of plants living under canopies. Here we explore the effect of drought‐induced defoliation of Mediterranean shrubland canopy on the recruitment of woody species. We analyzed the differences in the climatic disequilibrium across different categories of canopy defoliation and plant–plant interactions: facilitation, neutral and inhibition. Climatic disequilibrium was estimated as the Euclidean distance in the multivariate environmental space between observed macroclimate and community inferred climate. The inferred climate was calculated by averaging the coordinates of the species' climatic niche centroids, obtained from species distribution, weighted by the species' relative abundances in each community. We found that the recruiting community growing under canopy showed higher climatic disequilibrium than the community growing in the gaps. The facilitated recruiting community growing under dead and living canopy showed the highest disequilibrium, followed by the community growing under mid‐affected canopy. The climatic disequilibrium of the recruiting communities experiencing neutral and inhibited interaction was not affected by canopy defoliation. These findings indicate that the climatic disequilibrium of the recruiting community is determined by the facilitation–competition balance. Living canopy provides climatic buffering, but it also implies competition, while dead canopy may provide some structural climatic buffering, without implying competition for resources. These results highlight the relevance of incorporating plant–plant interactions, particularly facilitation, to better forecast plant community responses to extreme climate events and climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To support improved understanding of interaction among the heterogeneous people with aphasia who attend facilitated conversation groups we applied discourse structure analysis (DSA). We focused on group members with mild and severe aphasia. We identified the function of each communicative move, an utterance unit core to DSA, individuals made in conversation. We described the communication profiles of group members with mild and severe aphasia and analyzed the interactive patterns surrounding their contributions. The mild group demonstrated higher average percentages across each speech function and greater variability in their communication profiles. While they enacted communicative autonomy, the severe group used direct and indirect communication supports in the majority of their communication. Given these findings and prior research, we suggest a few ways that facilitators can interact to supporting members with severe aphasia. We also suggest continued work focused on support members with mild aphasia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Creating an online learning environment that engages learners beyond the given course period is challenging. Open, participant-driven discussion forums, where participants are provided with greater agency on what to learn, how to learn, and whom to learn with, have a unique potential to help learners engage in learning experiences based on their interests and needs. Based on sequential and qualitative analysis of speech acts found in the participant-initiated discussion threads hosted as part of a massive open online course, this paper explored the impact of participant actions as facilitative moves to gain a better understanding of the types of actions in the discussion that stimulated deeper engagement with the ideas of interest. The analysis identified several facilitative moves that nurture or hinder deeper conversation in an open online discussion forum that has design implications. The paper also highlights the potential of analysing conversation sequences of posts as a promising method to study discussion forum data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Educators in early years settings influence children's physical activity (PA) levels through their pedagogical choices and behaviours. To date, minimal research has been conducted on the relationship between educator action and children's PA levels. The purpose of this systematic review was to understand which educator behaviours and actions in early years settings have been shown to engage children in PA. Methods: Five online databases (Academic Search Complete, ERIC, SPORTDiscus, CINAHL Complete and PubMed) were searched for articles that showed an association between educator behaviour and the PA level of children between the ages of zero and eight. Results: Eleven studies met all inclusion criteria, yet showed great variability in design and data collection methods. The risk of bias was assessed using previously published criteria adapted to this study and inline with the CONSORT statement. A binomial test on the data revealed a statistically significant deviation from chance expectation (p <.001) in relation to educator action influencing child PA. Ten of the studies focussed on educator PA, four studies highlighted the use of prompting and encouragement, three studies analysed broad statements of adult interaction, two studies called for planning activity sessions and discussions and two studies encouraged role modelling. The low number of studies included in the review and the high risk of bias indicates that caution with these results is needed. Conclusions: While this review highlights the importance of educator PA (and other behaviours that had a positive association) on child PA level, it underscores the need for high‐quality research to examine the relationship between educator actions and child PA. (PROSPERO registration: CRD42022338819). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Successful problem-based learning (PBL) often requires students to collectively regulate their learning processes as a group and engage in socially shared regulation of learning (SSRL). This paper focuses on how facilitators supported SSRL in the context of middle-school game-based PBL. Using conversation analysis, this study analyzed text-based chat messages of facilitators and students collected during gameplay. The analysis revealed direct modeling strategies such as performing regulative processes, promoting group awareness, and dealing with contingency as well as indirect strategies including prompting questions and acknowledgment of regulation, and the patterns of how facilitation faded to yield responsibilities to students to regulate their own learning. The findings will inform researchers and practitioners to design prompts and develop technological tools such as adaptive scaffolding to support SSRL in PBL or other collaborative inquiry processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: Dominant plants shape belowground communities, which in turn influences ecosystem functioning. Similarly, herbivores affect belowground communities through physical disturbance and redistribution of organic inputs, but also through their interactions with plants themselves. However, we know little about how grazing moderates the effects of dominant plants on belowground organisms. Methods: We established a three-year shrub removal experiment in a grazed and an ungrazed alpine meadow on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau to assess how grazing moderates the effects of a dominant plant, Dasiphora fruticosa, on nematode communities. We used piecewise structural equation modelling to assess how grazing moderates the direct effects of dominant plants and, indirect effects via changes in edaphic variables and microbial pathways. Results: We found that 1) grazing significantly decreased nematode diversity mainly due to a reduction in omnivores; 2) there was a significant grazing by shrub interaction effect on nematode diversity, whereby shrub had a positive direct effect on nematode diversity only in the grazed meadow; 3) in the ungrazed alpine meadow, microbial diversity was a strong predictor of nematode, while in the grazed meadow, grazing suppressed the microbial pathways of shrub presence. Conclusion: The study shows that grazing decreases the diversity of soil communities and suppresses the interactions among soil biota, while shrub presence plays a vital role in alleviating the negative effects of grazing on understory communities. Therefore, the findings further highlight herbivory in inducing facilitation of dominant shrubs on understory community stabilization and ecosystem functioning in alpine meadows of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of its initiative to promote the adoption of model‐based approaches in the development of present and upcoming missions, the European Space Agency (ESA) organised this year its annual workshop on Model‐Based Space Systems and Software Engineering (MBSE2023) at its European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) premises. The aim of this year's workshop was to investigate how the model‐based systems engineering community could contribute to bridging the gap with domain‐specific model‐based approaches used in subsystem design. The World Café Method was used to facilitate the group discussions, the outcomes of which are summarized and presented in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2018, the International Council on Systems Engineering has promulgated a set of competencies for systems engineers. It is organized in a framework structure that describes the knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviors that are important to systems engineering effectiveness. There are five "levels" of competence, that span from awareness to expert. The five categories of competencies are Professional, Core, Technical, SE Management, and Integrating. This paper focuses on culturally‐based characteristics of systems engineers relative to the Professional Competencies. It includes a discussion of culturally‐based research and conclusions regarding their implications for how to use them in selecting systems engineers, forming and developing systems teams, and making design decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this research was to analyze the P. brutia natural regeneration and the environments where it was established in the absence of a wildfire in the open formations of the species in the middle elevations of the central part of Cyprus. Forty-eight rectangular plots of 0.1 ha were established in three site productivity types. Individuals of the species with a height from 0.1 m to 1.5 m were considered regeneration plants. Within each plot, various measurements and estimations were made. Moreover, 480 hemispherical photographs were taken. Additionally, hemispherical photographs were taken above each of the recorded naturally regenerated P. brutia plants. In all the site productivity types, the most regeneration plants were established and grew under the process of facilitation. In each of the site productivity types, there were no differences in the light condition diversity between the environments where the regeneration plants grew and the existing light conditions. Regeneration exhibited a small number of plants and constituted only a very small proportion of all trees in the three site productivity types. To achieve sustainability in P. brutia forests, forest practices must develop strategies for the enhancement of P. brutia regeneration in the studied area and in analogous environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Mutual learning and shared decision-making are key elements of Participatory Action Research (PAR), highlighting the important role of the facilitator to support this. This study aims to illustrate how a facilitator can contribute to successful PAR sessions based on the reflection of three PAR projects. Methods Participatory sessions took place with adolescents for 3–4 school years. After each session (n = 252 sessions across three projects), facilitators filled in a reflection form that assessed the group process and their facilitating role. Facilitators independently coded a selection of 135 reflection forms partly deductive and partly inductive based on core PAR principles derived from a pragmatic literature search. Results A well-prepared session – for example, including active and creative participatory methods and a clearly stated goal – contributed to efficiency and the necessary flexibility. Making agreements, making sure everyone is heard and taking 'fun-time' appeared important for creating and maintaining a safe, functional and positive atmosphere. Finally, facilitators needed to encourage co-researchers to take the lead and adapt to the group dynamics, to ensure ownership and shared decision-making. Conclusion In-depth qualitative analyses of a standardized reflection form used in three different PAR projects resulted in various lessons to support facilitators in collaborating with co-researchers in PAR projects.

Abstract Biodiversity conservation are increasingly focused on involving stakeholder engagement, making power a key concept in understanding its success and failure. Power is often conceptualized as unidimensional and coercive, but a multidimensional view better reflects structural power, as well as its productive and enabling potential. This paper investigates how different dimensions of power in participatory processes affect biodiversity conservation objectives. Six case studies from Europe and Asia‐Pacific were analysed using an adapted framework that explores the interlinkages between ‘power over’ and ‘transformative power’, looking at the scale and space in which power occurs, and analysing in which arenas of power and under which form of expression it appears. The framework distinguishes between the different ways to exert influence (‘power to’, ‘power with’, ‘power within’, ‘power for’), as well as the dynamics of domination and resistance observed in decision‐making (visible power), hidden biases and exclusionary experiences (hidden power), and actions that either reinforce or resist social norms and beliefs (invisible and systematic power). Focusing on biodiversity, the different arenas of power allow us to go deeper than the surface issues and conflicting interests of diverse participants, regarding for example wildlife, to question underlying power dynamics. Different expressions of power, more specifically the ‘power for’ dimension, allow an understanding of how participants integrate nature and biodiversity in their aspirations. The different levels of power also highlight the need to focus not only on the local level but to analyse how participatory processes are embedded in national, or even international governance in a globalized world. Finally, they shed light on two challenges in participatory processes regarding biodiversity: the representation of non‐human interests (designated here as ‘beyond‐human’ voices), and the integration of multiple forms of knowledge systems. Synthesis and applications: Integrating power into biodiversity issues involves deconstructing normalized discourses that focus solely on certain more powerful human agents, their interests and scientific knowledge, and creating new narratives, knowledge and embodied practice of learning and action to encompass a wider diversity of voices and views. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

The Learning Action Cell (LAC) is defined as a collective of educators who participate in collaborative learning sessions to address common obstacles experienced within the educational institution. This study aimed at finding out if the extent of implementation of the school learning action cell sessions in terms of facilitation, resource speakers and materials is related to the teachers' school performance. The respondents of this study were the secondary public school teachers in Laak South District. A descriptive - correlational study was employed utilizing a universal sampling technique. Findings revealed that the extent of implementation of the School Learning Action Cell in Terms of Facilitation and Resource Speaker is very high, while in terms of Materials it has a descriptive equivalent of high. Findings also revealed that the level of the performance of teachers in terms of self-management, teamwork, professionalism and ethics, result-focus, service orientation, innovation and individual performance commitment and review form (IPCRF) rating is high. The null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance to test the correlation of variables. Results show that there is no significant correlation between school learning action cell and teachers' performance. In conclusion, the extent of implementation of the School Learning Action Cell in Terms of Facilitation and Resource Speaker is very high, while in terms of Materials it has a descriptive equivalent of high. This means that all indicators of the independent variable are perceived and observed very well by the respondents but it does not significantly correlates to the dependent variables which is the teacher's performance in school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]