Dear Colleagues,

The conservation of threatened plants inside and outside of protected areas is an old concern of scientists and a priority in the current context, in which the pressure on ecosystems, natural habitats, and species is increasing due to humanity's increased need for natural resources as well as due to climate change, which generates additional stress on the natural environment and has implicit effects on biodiversity. A better knowledge of biological diversity, including rare and endemic plants, the better protection of valuable areas by expanding ecological networks, the restoration and sustainable management of degraded ecosystems, and combatting the effects of global changes are objectives/commitments of the European Union in EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030. The conservation of rare and endemic plants is part of this strategy because they are the elements that are the most exposed to the danger of extinction against the background of altered and fragmented natural habitats in a natural environment that is constantly changing.

To achieve this Special Issue, we invite contributors in the field of phytodiversity conservation to contribute to the knowledge and evaluation of rare, endemic, endangered plant species, and plant communities from different ecosystems and biogeographical regions and of management measures that can maintain or improve their conservation.

Articles focused on the following topics (but also on other related topics) are welcome:

• Rare and endemic plants and plant communities in different types of ecosystems and the factors that influence their distribution and evolution;
• The "in situ" and "ex situ" conservation of rare and endemic plants;
• The impact of global changes on rare and endemic plants and plant communities;
• The impact of invasive species on rare and endemic plants;
• Disturbances in ecosystems and natural habitats that can influence the evolution of rare and endemic plants and plant communities;
• The reintroduction of rare and endemic plant species in ecologically restored habitats;
• The relationships between rare and endemic plants with the other components of biocenoses and how these relationships influence their evolution;
• The management of protected areas and ecological corridors to improve the conservation state of protected plant species and plant communities.

Prof. Dr. Marius Mirodon Fagaras
Prof. Dr. Alexandru Sabin-Badarau
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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• rare and endemic plants
• plant communities
• conservation
• protected areas
• global changes
• phytodiversity
• ecosystems
• natural habitats