Plant Conservation Biogeography: New Perspectives 80 Years after Nikolai Vavilov

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2024 | Viewed by 1896

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Biology and Geology, University of Almería, 04120 Almería, Spain
Interests: taxonomy; biodiversity; conservation; ecology; conservation biology; invasive species; species diversity; ecology and evolution; biodiversity

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Guest Editor
Department of Biology and Geology, University of Almería, 04120 Almería, Spain
Interests: conservation biology; biodiversity; flora; data analysis; spatial analysis; ecosystem ecology

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Guest Editor
Department of Botany, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
Interests: mediterranean flora; botany environmental sciences; conservation biology; biodiversity; climate change; ecology; invasive species; natural resource management; species diversity; ecosystem ecology; ecology and evolution
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The year 2023 marks the 80th anniversary of the death of Nikolai Vaviliov, noted by Armen Takhtajan as the great pioneer who emphasized that understanding the distribution of flora and its patterns is essential for conservation. Since then, progress has been made to expand the synthetic discipline between biogeography and conservation biology, referred to as “conservation biogeography”. It is defined as “the application of biogeographical principles, theories, and analyses, being those concerned with the distributional dynamics of taxa individually and collectively, to problems concerning the conservation of biodiversity”. It is therefore an eclectic science and a "quick reaction" to the current context of extinction and loss of diversity.

Hence, we propose to address it using a wide and multidisciplinary approach. Consequently, this Special Issue is open to all papers that have vegetal (sensu lato) as their object of study at any of the organizational levels (genes, individuals, populations, taxa (including any of the hierarchical levels) and communities), as well as papers that analyze how their present, past, or modeled distributions affect conservation-related problems. Thus, there is room for priority establishment in plant conservation (selection of reserve areas, IPAs, hot spots), species–area/species–habitat relationships, island biogeography, and phylogeographic studies. This can also be extended to the conservation of habitats at the ecosystem level, including the effects of artificially altered distributions (invasive species), and the modeling and evaluation of scenarios when confronted with global change typical of the Anthropocene.

Dr. Francisco J. Pérez-García
Dr. Fabián Martínez Hernández
Dr. Antonio Jesus Mendoza-Fernández
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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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

  • biodiversity conservation
  • biogeography
  • chorology
  • conservation biology
  • global change
  • plant ecology

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 1328 KiB  
Article
Tracking Phenological Changes over 183 Years in Endemic Species of a Mediterranean Mountain (Sierra Nevada, SE Spain) Using Herbarium Specimens
by Katy V. Rondinel-Mendoza, Juan Lorite, Macarena Marín-Rodulfo and Eva M. Cañadas
Plants 2024, 13(4), 522; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13040522 - 14 Feb 2024
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Abstract
Phenological studies have a crucial role in the global change context. The Mediterranean basin constitutes a key study site since strong climate change impacts are expected, particularly in mountain areas such as Sierra Nevada, where we focus. Specifically, we delve into phenological changes [...] Read more.
Phenological studies have a crucial role in the global change context. The Mediterranean basin constitutes a key study site since strong climate change impacts are expected, particularly in mountain areas such as Sierra Nevada, where we focus. Specifically, we delve into phenological changes in endemic vascular plants over time by analysing data at three scales: entire massif, altitudinal ranges, and particular species, seeking to contribute to stopping biodiversity loss. For this, we analysed 5262 samples of 2129 herbarium sheets from Sierra Nevada, dated from 1837 to 2019, including reproductive structure, complete collection date, and precise location. We found a generalized advancement in phenology at all scales, and particularly in flowering onset and flowering peak. Thus, plants flower on average 11 days earlier now than before the 1970s. Although similar trends have been confirmed for many territories and species, we address plants that have been studied little in the past regarding biotypes and distribution, and which are relevant for conservation. Thus, we analysed phenological changes in endemic plants, mostly threatened, from a crucial hotspot within the Mediterranean hotspot, which is particularly vulnerable to global warming. Our results highlight the urgency of phenological studies by species and of including ecological interactions and effects on their life cycles. Full article
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Review

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17 pages, 1159 KiB  
Review
A Community-Based Framework Integrates Interspecific Interactions into Forest Genetic Conservation
by Xi Wang, Yu Xiao, Yan-Wen Lv, Zi-Han He, Francis C. Yeh and Xin-Sheng Hu
Plants 2024, 13(3), 435; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13030435 - 01 Feb 2024
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Abstract
Forest genetic conservation is typically species-specific and does not integrate interspecific interaction and community structure. It mainly focuses on the theories of population and quantitative genetics. This approach depicts the intraspecific patterns of population genetic structure derived from genetic markers and the genetic [...] Read more.
Forest genetic conservation is typically species-specific and does not integrate interspecific interaction and community structure. It mainly focuses on the theories of population and quantitative genetics. This approach depicts the intraspecific patterns of population genetic structure derived from genetic markers and the genetic differentiation of adaptive quantitative traits in provenance trials. However, it neglects possible interspecific interaction in natural forests and overlooks natural hybridization or subspeciation. We propose that the genetic diversity of a given species in a forest community is shaped by both intraspecific population and interspecific community evolutionary processes, and expand the traditional forest genetic conservation concept under the community ecology framework. We show that a community-specific phylogeny derived from molecular markers would allow us to explore the genetic mechanisms of a tree species interacting with other resident species. It would also facilitate the exploration of a species’ ecological role in forest community assembly and the taxonomic relationship of the species with other species specific to its resident forest community. Phylogenetic β-diversity would assess the similarities and differences of a tree species across communities regarding ecological function, the strength of selection pressure, and the nature and extent of its interaction with other species. Our forest genetic conservation proposal that integrates intraspecific population and interspecific community genetic variations is suitable for conserving a taxonomic species complex and maintaining its evolutionary potential in natural forests. This provides complementary information to conventional population and quantitative genetics-based conservation strategies. Full article
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Planned Papers

The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.

1. Endemic plants in the combat zone of the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war: what is the future for populations of Hyacinthella pallasiana (Steven) Losinsk. (Asparagaceae)?
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