Conservation, Ecology and Management of Rare and Endangered Plant Species
A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Ecology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 May 2026 | Viewed by 28
Special Issue Editors
Interests: conservation biology; ethnobotany; orchids; waterworts (Elatine)
Interests: conservation biology; plant biology; nature conservation; endangered species; field studies; plant ecology; biodiversity; botany; ecology; conservation
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The accelerating loss of plant diversity represents one of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time. Despite international agreements and decades of conservation initiatives, the decline of rare and endangered plant species shows no sign of abating. Vast numbers of taxa across diverse ecosystems are facing extinction, driven primarily by habitat destruction, fragmentation, land-use change, pollution, biological invasions, overexploitation, and the far-reaching impacts of climate change. These processes not only endanger individual species but also undermine the ecological stability and resilience of entire ecosystems, with profound implications for the services they provide to humanity.
Understanding how and why plant populations fluctuate through space and time is fundamental to effective conservation. Modern approaches that integrate field botany, ecology, systematics, and biogeography offer powerful means of revealing the mechanisms behind these patterns and identifying priority actions for preservation. Equally, the role of botanic gardens and germplasm banks in ex situ conservation has become increasingly vital, complementing in situ efforts to safeguard genetic diversity and support species reintroduction.
This Special Issue of Plants aims to bring together innovative, interdisciplinary research that advances our understanding of the ecology, evolution, and management of rare and threatened vascular plants. We particularly welcome studies addressing species distribution, habitat requirements, extinction risk assessment, reproductive and population biology, conservation genetics, and biotic interactions influencing survival and regeneration. Contributions exploring the socio-ecological dimensions of conservation—including restoration ecology, sustainable land use, urban and agro-ecological contexts, and communication or education strategies—are also encouraged.
By fostering dialogue among conservation biologists, ecologists, and practitioners, this Special Issue seeks to promote evidence-based approaches that can effectively mitigate biodiversity loss and ensure the persistence of the world’s most vulnerable plant species for generations to come.
Dr. Attila Molnár V.
Dr. Judit Bódis
Dr. Attila Takács
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. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2700 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
- autecology
- biodiversity
- biogeography
- biotic interactions
- botanical gardens
- ecology
- evolution
- ex situ conservation
- extinction
- in situ conservation
- pollination
- population biology
- reproductive biology
- species distribution
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