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Plants
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Mangrove Plant Communities: Ecology, Evolution and Biogeography
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Mangrove Plant Communities: Ecology, Evolution and Biogeography

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Ecology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 November 2023) | Viewed by 7082

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Valentí Rull

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Botanic Institute of Barcelona, Spanish Scientific Research Council (CSIC), Barcelona, Spain
Interests: palynology and paleoecology applied to plant ecology; evolution and biogeography
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Mangroves are transitional land-sea tropical/subtropical wetland ecosystems that are essential for the maintenance of terrestrial and marine biodiversity, and play a key role in the functioning of global biogeochemical processes. These ecosystems are highly sensitive to natural and anthropogenic changes such as climatic shifts, sea-level oscillations, deforestation, habitat loss, invasion by alien species, coastal erosion, global warming, increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration and extreme weather events, among others. Currently, mangroves are considered to be among the world’s most threatened ecosystems. This special issue is aimed at showing how ecological, paleoecological, geographical, biogeographical and evolutionary studies may contribute not only to the understanding of present-day mangrove ecosystems but also to inform their conservation, in the face of the ongoing global change. Contributions of any type (original research, review, brief report, comment, essay, opinion, hypothesis, perspective, etc.) and from any geographical and temporal framework dealing with the origin, evolution, ecology and biogeography of mangroves are welcome. Papers using novel methodologies such as last-minute molecular phylogenetic, biomarker or image-analysis developments, among others, are especially welcome. Potential contributors are encouraged to contact the guest editor for any new ideas that may improve mangrove knowledge and are not specified in this brief summary.

Prof. Dr. Valentí Rull
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • mangroves
  • evolution
  • biogeography
  • ecology
  • paleoecology
  • biodiversity
  • conservation

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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24 pages, 22214 KiB  
Article
Assessment the Impacts of Sea-Level Changes on Mangroves of Ceará-Mirim Estuary, Northeastern Brazil, during the Holocene and Anthropocene
by Sérgio. P. D. Q. Nunes, Marlon C. França, Marcelo C. L. Cohen, Luiz C. R. Pessenda, Erika S. F. Rodrigues, Evandro A. S. Magalhães and Fernando A. B. Silva
Plants 2023, 12(8), 1721; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12081721 - 20 Apr 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1302
Abstract
Predictions of the effects of modern Relative Sea-Level (RSL) rise on mangroves should be based on decadal-millennial mangrove dynamics and the particularities of each depositional environment under past RSL changes. This work identified inland and seaward mangrove migrations along the Ceará-Mirim estuary (Rio [...] Read more.
Predictions of the effects of modern Relative Sea-Level (RSL) rise on mangroves should be based on decadal-millennial mangrove dynamics and the particularities of each depositional environment under past RSL changes. This work identified inland and seaward mangrove migrations along the Ceará-Mirim estuary (Rio Grande do Norte, northeastern Brazil) during the mid–late Holocene and Anthropocene based on sedimentary features, palynological, and geochemical (δ13C, δ15N, C/N) data integrated with spatial-temporal analysis based on satellite images. The data indicated three phases for the mangrove development: (1°) mangrove expansion on tidal flats with estuarine organic matter between >4420 and ~2870 cal yrs BP, under the influence of the mid-Holocene sea-level highstand; (2°) mangrove contraction with an increased contribution of C3 terrestrial plants between ~2870 and ~84 cal yrs BP due to an RSL fall, and (3°) mangrove expansion onto the highest tidal flats since ~84 cal yr BP due to a relative sea-level rise. However, significant mangrove areas were converted to fish farming before 1984 CE. Spatial-temporal analysis also indicated a mangrove expansion since 1984 CE due to mangrove recolonization of shrimp farming areas previously deforested for pisciculture. This work mainly evidenced a trend of mangrove expansion due to RSL rise preceding the effects of anthropogenic emissions of CO2 in the atmosphere and the resilience of these forests in the face of anthropogenic interventions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mangrove Plant Communities: Ecology, Evolution and Biogeography)
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14 pages, 3631 KiB  
Article
Taxon Cycles in Neotropical Mangroves
by Valentí Rull
Plants 2023, 12(2), 244; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12020244 - 05 Jan 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1713
Abstract
The concept of the taxon cycle involves successive range expansions and contractions over time, through which a species can indefinitely maintain its core distribution. Otherwise, it becomes extinct. Taxon cycles have been defined mostly for tropical island faunas; examples from continental areas are [...] Read more.
The concept of the taxon cycle involves successive range expansions and contractions over time, through which a species can indefinitely maintain its core distribution. Otherwise, it becomes extinct. Taxon cycles have been defined mostly for tropical island faunas; examples from continental areas are scarce, and similar case studies for plants remain unknown. Most taxon cycles have been identified on the basis of phylogeographic studies, and straightforward empirical evidence from fossils is lacking. Here, empirical fossil evidence is provided for the recurrent Eocene to the present expansion/contraction cycles in a mangrove taxon (Pelliciera) after a Neotropical-wide study of the available pollen records. This recurrent behavior is compatible with the concept of the taxon cycle from biogeographical, chronological and ecological perspectives. The biotic and abiotic drivers potentially involved in the initiation and maintenance of the Pelliciera expansion/contraction cycles are analyzed, and the ecological and evolutionary implications are discussed. Whether this could be a trend toward extinction is considered under the predictions of the taxon cycle theory. The recurrent expansion and contraction cycles identified for Pelliciera have strong potential for being the first empirically and unequivocally documented taxon cycles and likely the only taxon cycles documented to date for plants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mangrove Plant Communities: Ecology, Evolution and Biogeography)
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Review

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45 pages, 12407 KiB  
Review
Responses of Caribbean Mangroves to Quaternary Climatic, Eustatic, and Anthropogenic Drivers of Ecological Change: A Review
by Valentí Rull
Plants 2022, 11(24), 3502; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11243502 - 13 Dec 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3315
Abstract
Mangroves are among the world’s most threatened ecosystems. Understanding how these ecosystems responded to past natural and anthropogenic drivers of ecological change is essential not only for understanding how extant mangroves have been shaped but also for informing their conservation. This paper reviews [...] Read more.
Mangroves are among the world’s most threatened ecosystems. Understanding how these ecosystems responded to past natural and anthropogenic drivers of ecological change is essential not only for understanding how extant mangroves have been shaped but also for informing their conservation. This paper reviews the available paleoecological evidence for Pleistocene and Holocene responses of Caribbean mangroves to climatic, eustatic, and anthropogenic drivers. The first records date from the Last Interglacial, when global average temperatures and sea levels were slightly higher than present and mangroves grew in locations and conditions similar to today. During the Last Glaciation, temperatures and sea levels were significantly lower, and Caribbean mangroves grew far from their present locations on presently submerged sites. The current mangrove configuration was progressively attained after Early Holocene warming and sea level rise in the absence of anthropogenic pressure. Human influence began to be important in the Mid-Late Holocene, especially during the Archaic and Ceramic cultural periods, when sea levels were close to their present position and climatic and human drivers were the most influential factors. During the last millennium, the most relevant drivers of ecological change have been the episodic droughts linked to the Little Ice Age and the historical developments of the last centuries. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mangrove Plant Communities: Ecology, Evolution and Biogeography)
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