Global Change Biogeography: Understanding Past, Present, and Future Biotic Responses

Dear Colleagues,

Ongoing global changes pose unprecedented threats to biodiversity. Key projections indicate continuing and irreversible rises in temperature and sea levels, coupled with more frequent and intense extreme weather events and accelerated glacier and sea ice melt. However, biotic responses to such ecosystem disruptions remain poorly understood. While some species may persist, adapt, or shift their range to more favorable environments, others may decline or go extinct, leaving ecological voids that can be filled by invasive species. Understanding these complex and varied responses remains a major challenge in the field of contemporary ecology and evolution. 

A promising way forward is to look beyond individual species and examine historical and phylogenetic patterns of diversification and extinction across entire clades. Global change biogeography integrates insights from the past, present, and future to reveal how lineages have historically responded to environmental changes and consider how they might respond to the Anthropocene.

This Special Issue aims to advance research in global change biogeography with clear examinations of the past, present, and future biotic responses to the changing planet. We welcome original research articles, perspectives, and reviews that address any organismal group and geographical region, with interdisciplinary and integrative approaches being particularly welcome.

We are looking forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Matjaž Kuntner
Dr. Daiqin Li
Guest Editors

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