From Traits to Rates: Fire Effects on Plant Evolution
A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Ecophysiology and Biology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2020) | Viewed by 3915
Special Issue Editors
Interests: biodiversity and conservation of fire-prone Mediterranean heathlands; Drosophyllum lusitanicum; ecology and biogeography of Mediterranean heathland plants; Erica; fire and evolution of woody plants in Mediterranean-climate ecosystems
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Wildfires are generally perceived by society as catastrophic events that, apart from risking human lives and causing economic losses, destroy natural habitats, threaten biodiversity, and transform green landscapes into barren lands. Although fire damage to people is undeniable, the social perception of wildfires largely contrasts with what science substantiates. Over the past two decades, a growing body of research has been devoted to exploring the role of fire as a key natural process influencing plant evolution, community structure, and biodiversity, mostly in Mediterranean-type ecosystems. It is important that this information permeate through society, since understanding how fire shapes plant traits and biodiversity is crucial for nature conservation and management.
This Special Issue aims to bring together specialists in fire ecology and plant evolution, both young researchers and established scholars worldwide. It seeks to gather novel research and review/synthesis contributions on different aspects of fire evolution, from the phenotypic selection of particular plant traits in wild populations to diversification at the macroevolutionary scale. The main purposes of this Special Issue are (i) to update the knowledge of the effects of fire on plant evolution; and (ii) to draw society’s attention to the actual relationship of wildfire with plant biodiversity and conservation.
Dr. Fernando Ojeda
Dr. Susana Gómez-González
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.
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Keywords
- biodiversity
- evolutionary ecology
- fire ecology
- fire-prone ecosystems
- genetic variation
- natural selection
- phylogeny
- plant traits
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