Coenological Investigations of Grassland Ecosystems
A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Ecology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 December 2025 | Viewed by 28
Special Issue Editors
Interests: coenological investigations of grasslands; taxonomy of Poaceae species; grasslands management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: grassland science; biodiversity; plant ecology; conservation biology; invasive species; species diversity
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Grasslands are among the most vital ecological systems on Earth. They not only support both plant and animal biodiversity but also provide critical ecosystem services, including hay production, grazing, erosion control, pollination, recreation, aesthetics, and carbon sequestration. However, grasslands rank among the most vulnerable ecosystems globally, as they experience the highest rates of land conversion, intensification, agricultural abandonment, and biological invasions. Due to human activities, the extent of grasslands has been steadily declining since the second half of the 20th century, while their use and the intensity of surrounding land use continue to increase.
Among the various factors affecting grasslands, climate change is one of the primary drivers of ecosystem transformation. Due to continuous utilization, the vegetation of grasslands has undergone structural changes, with plant communities shifting and potentially degrading. The species composition could also be entirely altered, necessitating conservation and restoration efforts.
In this context, this Special Issue focuses on the following key research topics, including phytosociological studies of grassland species composition, the relationships between species diversity and biomass, and grassland management, particularly mowing and grazing. Additionally, it encompasses grassland restoration outcomes, degradation processes, invasion patterns, and their link to land use, as well as the revision of grassland syntaxonomy. We also invite submissions exploring the interactions between pasture type, habitat conditions, and grazing intensity, along with other aspects of grassland ecology.
To halt biodiversity loss, it is crucial to establish a global inventory and database of grassland ecosystems, along with the identification, conservation, and restoration of key areas. Numerous publications can provide valuable data to support these efforts.
Dr. Károly Penksza
Dr. Szilárd Szentes
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
- grassland
- grassland ecology
- grassland ecosystem
- vegetation
- plant biodiversity
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