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Plants
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Origin and Evolution of the East Asian Flora (EAF)—2nd Edition
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Origin and Evolution of the East Asian Flora (EAF)—2nd Edition

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Systematics, Taxonomy, Nomenclature and Classification".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 1179

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Kewang Xu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, College of Life Science, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210018, China
Interests: plant phylogeny and taxonomy; reticulate evolution; lycophytes and ferns; flora
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Wenbo Liao

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Resources, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
Interests: plant phylogeny and taxonomy; plant speciation; floristic phytogeography; phylogeography; palaeoflora
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The East Asian flora (EAF) represents a key biodiversity hotspot in understanding the origin and evolution of Northern Hemisphere floras. Two main floras, the Sino-Himalayan flora (mainly the Rhododendron flora) and the Sino-Japanese flora (mainly the Metasequoia flora), have been recognized as being part of the EAF. The EAF has high plant species diversity and contains many Cenozoic relict seed plants, and, therefore, the assembly of the EAF over time is of great concern among both botanists and biogeographers.

In recent years, due to the application of new technologies and theories, such as molecular phylogeny, molecular ecology, and phylogeography, significant achievements have been made in further understanding a flora’s evolutionary history in relation to space and time.

For this Special Issue, papers on regional flora, plant speciation, plant phylogeny and classification, endemism, relict elements, discontinuous distribution, and palaeoflora associated with EAF will be considered. Research that combines multiple pieces of evidence will be especially welcome.

Dr. Kewang Xu
Prof. Dr. Wenbo Liao
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

  • flora of East Asia
  • phylogeography
  • molecular phylogeny
  • plant diversity
  • plant taxonomy
  • palaeoflora

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 3828 KiB  
Article
Phylogenetic Structure Shifts Across Life-History Stages in Response to Microtopography and Competition in Subtropical Forests
by Weiqi Meng, Haonan Zhang, Lianhao Sun, Jianing Xu, Yajun Qiao and Haidong Li
Plants 2025, 14(14), 2098; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14142098 - 8 Jul 2025
Viewed by 297
Abstract
This study focuses on a subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest in China, utilizing a large permanent plot established in the Yaoluoping National Nature Reserve. By integrating data from a full-stem census and total station surveying, we analyzed the phylogenetic structure of the plant community [...] Read more.
This study focuses on a subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest in China, utilizing a large permanent plot established in the Yaoluoping National Nature Reserve. By integrating data from a full-stem census and total station surveying, we analyzed the phylogenetic structure of the plant community as a whole and across different life-history stages (saplings, juveniles, and adults) while quantitatively assessing microtopographic variables and an interspecific competition index. The results indicate that the overall community in the Yaoluoping plot exhibited a weakly overdispersed pattern, and key microtopographic factors—including aspect, terrain position index (TPI), terrain ruggedness index (TRI), roughness, and flow direction—significantly influenced the evolution of phylogenetic structure. Distinctions were also observed among saplings, juveniles, and adults in phylogenetic structuring across life-history stages. Specifically, saplings displayed a higher degree of phylogenetic clustering, significantly influenced by density, elevation, TPI, and flow direction—suggesting that environmental filtering predominates at this stage, possibly due to lower environmental tolerance, limited dispersal ability, and conspecific negative density dependence. In contrast, juveniles and adults showed a more dispersed phylogenetic structure, with density, interspecific competition, aspect, TRI, TPI, and roughness significantly correlated with phylogenetic patterns, indicating that competition and niche differentiation become increasingly important as trees mature and establish within the community. Interspecific competition was found to play a crucial role in community structuring: the competition index was generally negatively correlated with the net relatedness index (NRI) and nearest taxon index (NTI) in juveniles and adults, implying that intense competition leads to the exclusion of some species and reduces overall diversity, with the strength and significance of competitive effects differing across stages. This study enhances our understanding of the complex interplay between microtopography and interspecific competition in shaping the phylogenetic structure and diversity of subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forests, elucidates the coupled mechanisms among microtopography, phylogenetic structure, and competition, and provides a scientific basis for forest conservation and management. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Origin and Evolution of the East Asian Flora (EAF)—2nd Edition)
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18 pages, 3587 KiB  
Article
Phylogeography and Population Demography of Parrotia subaequalis, a Hamamelidaceous Tertiary Relict ‘Living Fossil’ Tree Endemic to East Asia Refugia: Implications from Molecular Data and Ecological Niche Modeling
by Yunyan Zhang, Zhiyuan Li, Qixun Chen, Yahong Wang, Shuang Wang, Guozheng Wang, Pan Li, Hong Liu, Pengfu Li, Chi Xu and Zhongsheng Wang
Plants 2025, 14(12), 1754; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14121754 - 7 Jun 2025
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Abstract
The diverse topography and mild monsoon climate in East Asia are considered to be important drivers for the long-term ecological success of the Tertiary relict ‘living fossil’ plants during the glacial/interglacial cycles. Here we investigated the phylogeographic pattern and demographic history of a [...] Read more.
The diverse topography and mild monsoon climate in East Asia are considered to be important drivers for the long-term ecological success of the Tertiary relict ‘living fossil’ plants during the glacial/interglacial cycles. Here we investigated the phylogeographic pattern and demographic history of a hamamelidaceous Tertiary relict ‘living fossil’ tree (Parrotia subaequalis) endemic to the subtropical forests of eastern China, employing molecular data and ecological niche modeling. In the long evolutionary history, P. subaequalis has accumulated a high haplotype diversity. Weak gene flow by seeds, geographical isolation, and heterogeneous habitats have led to a relatively high level of genetic differentiation in this species. The divergence time of two cpDNA lineages of P. subaequalis was dated to the late Miocene of the Tertiary period, and the diversification of haplotypes occurred in the Quaternary period. Paleo-distribution modeling suggested that P. subaequalis followed the pattern of ‘glacial expansion-interglacial compression’. The Dabie Mountain and Yellow Mountain in Anhui Province and the Tianmu Mountain and Simin Mountain in Zhejiang Province were inferred to be multiple glacial refugia of P. subaequalis in East Asia and have been proposed to be protected as ‘Management Units’. Collectively, our study offers insights into the plant evolution and adaptation of P. subaequalis and other Tertiary relict ‘living fossil’ trees endemic to East Asia refugia. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Origin and Evolution of the East Asian Flora (EAF)—2nd Edition)
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