Special Issue "Complex System Theory Applied to Plant Sciences"

Guest Editor
Prof. Dr. Gustavo Maia Souza
Laboratório de Ecofisiologia Vegetal - UNOESTE - Campus II, Rodovia Raposo Tavares KM 572, Presidente Prudente - SP, CEP - 19067-175, Brazil
Website: http://www.unoeste.br/ecolab
E-Mail: gustavo@unoeste.br
Interests: cerrado; complex system biology; ecophysiology; photosynthesis; plant physiology; savanna; stress physiology

Dear Colleagues,

Complex System Theory, a new emergent science based on General System Theory of Ludwig von Bertallanfy (1968), is addressed to phenomena that show some special traits such as: network organization with non-linear relations among some elements that constitute the system (complex networks), irregular (complex, eventually chaotic) temporal dynamic, self-organization, and robustness.

As other living system, plants are complex systems hierarchically organized and composed by interactive elements, from molecular to whole plant level, showing some properties that may not be understood by isolated elements, that is, high levels of organization exhibit emergent properties.

Analyses that evaluate interactions among network components can improve predictions of plant behavior under environmental changes. The relationship between complexity and physiological stability has been observed among different kinds of biological systems. In plants, some evidence indicates that more complex temporal dynamics in parameters such as photosynthesis, enzymatic reactions and a broad class of fluxes are associated with a greater capacity of system homeostasis.

Therefore, approaches that assess and quantify such systemic properties, considering the relationships among system elements (networks) and complex dynamics, could play an important role in improving classical physiological knowledge and its methods.

Dr. Gustavo Maia Souza
Guest Editor

Submission

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. Papers will be published continuously (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as 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.

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. For the first couple of issues the Article Processing Charge (APC) will be waived for well-prepared manuscripts. English correction and/or formatting fees of 250 CHF (Swiss Francs) will be charged in certain cases for those articles accepted for publication that require extensive additional formatting and/or English corrections.

• system biology
• network
• temporal complex dynamics
• plant modeling
• stability
• robustness
• chaos
• fractals
• thermodynamical open systems
• sel-organization
• plant intelligence
• plant signaling and behavior