The six reviews in this latest issue of Advances in Ecological Research cover a broad spectrum of ecology, from micro-patterns and processes, to the ecophysiology of the individual organism, to forest-scale processes. Topics covered include the possible evolutionary forces that have shaped particular strategies, and the potential and limitations for techniques in ecology, such as fractal geometry, field experiments and eddy co-variance measures. Despite this diversity of topics, there are plenty of points of contact and cross-reference.