Etienne Laliberté, winner of the 2016 New Phytologist Tansley Medal for excellence in plant science, describes how he became interested in plant science, the thought process behind his Tansley insight 'Below-ground frontiers in trait-based plant ecology', the hot topics in the field and his advice for early-career researchers. Read Etienne's Tansley insight: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nph.14247/full Find out more about the New Phytologist Tansley Medal: https://www.newphytologist.org/tansleymedal