Phytochemical Diversity and Ecological Functions in Plants
A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Phytochemistry".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2026 | Viewed by 21
Special Issue Editor
Interests: vaccinium; berries; chemical composition; polyphenolics; antioxidants; lipids; extracts; biorefinery; bioeconomy; valorization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Plants produce a remarkable diversity of specialized metabolites—phytochemicals—and they play essential and tailored roles in the interactions with the environment. Beyond the commonly recognized role of chemical defence, phytochemicals mediate a wide range of ecological functions, including deterring herbivores and pathogens, attracting pollinators and seed dispersers, and interactions with microbes and neighbouring plants. Yet, the ecological and evolutionary significance of phytochemical diversity, particularly its variation within and among species, remains an emerging frontier in plant science. This Special Issue, “Phytochemical Diversity and Ecological Functions in Plants”, aims to combine the distribution and functional roles of phytochemical diversity across ecological contexts. Growing evidence highlights that variations in plant chemistry—across genotypes, environments, organs, and developmental stages—can influence species interactions, community dynamics, and ecosystem functioning. Methodological advances in metabolomics, chemical ecology, and phylogenetic approaches offer new tools and opportunities to characterize and interpret the complex chemical traits and interactions of the environment and the plants. Understanding how global changes—such as climate shifts, habitat fragmentation, and species invasions—impact phytochemical landscapes is increasingly relevant for biodiversity conservation, sustainable agriculture, and ecosystem management. This Special Issue encourages contributions that move beyond single-compound perspectives to integrative studies examining phytochemical diversity at multiple biological and ecological scales. We particularly welcome research that links plant chemistry to ecological functions, evolutionary processes, and applications of biotechnology and conservation. By advancing our understanding of phytochemical diversity and recognizing its ecological roles, we aim to foster a more holistic view of plant biodiversity—one that recognizes chemical variation as a fundamental, dynamic, and ecologically relevant component of life on Earth and the human interaction with it.
Dr. Linards Klavins
Guest Editor
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
- phytochemical diversity
- chemical ecology
- metabolites
- plant–environment interactions
- metabolomics
- ecological functions
- biodiversity
- conservation
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