Plant Adaptation to Extreme Environments in Drylands—Series II

Dear Colleagues,

Arid and semi-arid lands cover about 35% of the Earth’s terrestrial area, and they are typically characterized by rainfall scarcity, higher temperate, salinization, nutrient-poor soil, and a paucity of vegetation cover. Climate prediction indicates that the frequency and intensity of extreme environmental events in this region will continue to increase. Revealing the adaptation of desert plants to extreme environments has become one of the research hotspots in assessing the impact of global climate changes on drylands. Notwithstanding the enormous efforts of academic researchers, the differences in adaptive strategies between species, as well as the variance of plant adaptability across environmental gradients, still require study. In this Special Issue of Forests, we are looking for new research articles, review articles, and opinion papers on the adaptation of trees to extreme environments, such as drought, high temperature, salinization and nutrient-poor soil, and the impact of the plant–environment relationship on diversity, community structure, and function. We hope our Special Issue can provide some insights into how plants adapt to extreme environments under global climate change.

Potential topics include but are not limited to:

• Plant adaptation to extreme environments;
• Variance in functional traits along extreme environmental gradients;
• Different adaptive strategies to extreme environments among species;  
• Responses of plant diversity and community structure to extreme environments;
• Influence of extreme environmental events on plants;
• Influence of human-induced environmental changes on plants in arid regions;
• Collaborative influence of climate and human activities on the plant–environment relationship.

Prof. Dr. Xiao-Dong Yang
Prof. Dr. Guang-Hui Lv
Prof. Dr. Nai-Cheng Wu
Dr. Xue-Wei Gong
Guest Editors

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