Genetic and Morphological Structure and Diversity of Forest Species: Implications for Conservation and Climate Change Adaptation
A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Genetics and Molecular Biology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026
Special Issue Editors
Interests: dendroflora; plant morphology; population genetics; genetic variability
Interests: dendroflora; population genetics; morphological and chemical variability within the populations; conservation biology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
In today’s world, where climate change is becoming increasingly pronounced, environmental pressures are driving rapid losses of both habitats and genetic diversity on a global scale. Genetic diversity and morphological plasticity play a vital role in the adaptation and survival of species. Maintaining high levels of diversity enhances the ability of species to evolve and respond to mounting environmental pressures.
Forests, which cover nearly one-third of the Earth’s land area, are particularly vulnerable to these external stressors. The conservation of forest genetic resources is therefore essential to maintain biodiversity and ensure the resilience and adaptive capacity of forest ecosystems under climate change.
This Special Issue brings together research on the genetic structure and genetic and morphological diversity of forest species, offering insights that can inform conservation strategies while supporting the livelihoods of both people and wildlife. As scientists, we bear the responsibility to employ traditional and modern tools—such as microsatellites (SSRs), single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), inter simple sequence repeats (ISSRs) and the establishment of experimental plots—to protect ecosystems. The urgency of this task cannot be overstated if we are to ensure resilient forests and thriving biodiversity for generations to come.
Possible topics include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Assessment of genetic and morphological diversity and population structure of forest tree species;
- Phylogeography and evolutionary history of forest species under changing environmental conditions;
- Impacts of climate change and habitat fragmentation on the genetic variability and adaptive potential;
- Comparative studies of morphological and genetic variation across environmental or geographic gradients;
- Conservation genomics and landscape genetics;
- Adaptive traits and local adaptation in response to biotic and abiotic stressors;
- Ex situ and in situ conservation strategies;
- Genetic monitoring and long-term experimental plots for evaluating forest resilience and adaptability.
Dr. Antonio Vidaković
Dr. Igor Poljak
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short 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.
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. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2600 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
- genetic diversity
- morphological diversity
- conservation
- epigenetics, plasticity
- molecular markers
- experimental plots
- climate change adaptation
- population genetics
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