Weed Ecology and Diversity

The term “weed” is rather subjective, as we are the ones who decide what plants are called weeds, and the term usually carries a negative connotation. However, there is a reason why weeds grow in some places and behave in their particular manner. Today, certain groups of weeds have become extremely rare, and some species have even gone extinct where they were once abundant. Climate change also creates a huge challenge, and weeds often act as indicators of this change.

This Special Issue discusses the ecology and diversity of weeds in natural and human-impacted agroecosystems on different continents. The focus is on the weeds' distribution, abundance, and diversity and how anthropogenic factors, pedoclimatic conditions, and genetics create, alter, and destroy specific weed communities.