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Plants and Habitats in Changing World: New Data for Climate Change Interpretation and Sustainable Management

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainability, Biodiversity and Conservation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 November 2025 | Viewed by 886

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Faculty of Agricultural, Environmental and Food Sciences, Free University of Bolzano, Piazza Università 5, 39100 Bolzano, Italy
Interests: forestry; applied ecology;floristic diversity; vegetation dynamics; soil ecology

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Guest Editor
Department Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Ravnice 48, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Interests: bryophytes; forests; botany
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The global climate change and the disruption of socio-economic conditions that have characterized the last 50 years are significantly altering the distribution and abundance of plant species and habitats worldwide. Since these are the foundations of traditional landscapes and the economies of different countries, the urgency to address climate change and promote sustainable management policies becomes increasingly evident. In this regard, the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), published in March 2023, highlights the urgent need for immediate and ambitious action to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The report warns that the current efforts are insufficient to prevent the catastrophic impacts of climate change on ecosystems and biodiversity, emphasizing how effective mitigation policies can only be achieved by increasing knowledge concerning the state of ecosystems.

The importance of up-to-date floristic and vegetational data in better understanding climate change and sustainability policies cannot be underestimated. In fact, these data provide crucial information on the distribution of plants and habitats, thus allowing researchers to assess the impact of environmental changes on plant communities.

This Special Issue aims to gather new floristic and vegetational data, as well as to provide updates and reviews to facilitate a better interpretation of ongoing changes. The included articles will address a wide range of topics, including changes in the distribution of plant species, plant responses to climate change, conservation, and management strategies for habitats.

Therefore, we invite researchers, scholars, and professionals in the field to contribute their studies and research to this Special Issue, to enrich scientific knowledge, and to provide a solid foundation for environmental sustainability policies. International and multidisciplinary collaboration is essential for addressing complex challenges, such as climate change and biodiversity loss, and this Special Issue aims to be a platform that facilitates such an exchange of knowledge and ideas.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Geographic plants and habitats distribution;
  • Alien and invasive species;
  • Plant ecology;
  • Synecology;
  • Bio-indicators;
  • Endangered plants and habitats;
  • Neglected plants and habitats;
  • Environmental dynamics and management;
  • Environmental protection and recovery;
  • Habitats assessment and restoration.

We look forward to receiving your contributions./p>

Dr. Giacomo Mei
Dr. Vedran Šegota
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. Sustainability 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 2400 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

  • floristic update
  • alien species
  • invasive species
  • bryophytes
  • biodiversity assessment
  • biodiversity measurement
  • habitats

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

16 pages, 6127 KiB  
Article
Endemic and Endangered Vascular Flora of Kazakhstan’s Altai Mountains: A Baseline for Sustainable Biodiversity Conservation
by Aidar A. Sumbembayev, Yuriy A. Kotukhov, Alevtina N. Danilova and Meruyert Aitzhan
Sustainability 2025, 17(16), 7283; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17167283 - 12 Aug 2025
Viewed by 364
Abstract
The Altai Mountains of Kazakhstan form a critical part of the Altai-Sayan Ecoregion, one of Central Asia’s most important centers of plant endemism and biodiversity. However, this fragile mountain ecosystem is increasingly threatened by climate change, unsustainable land use, and habitat degradation. This [...] Read more.
The Altai Mountains of Kazakhstan form a critical part of the Altai-Sayan Ecoregion, one of Central Asia’s most important centers of plant endemism and biodiversity. However, this fragile mountain ecosystem is increasingly threatened by climate change, unsustainable land use, and habitat degradation. This study provides the first comprehensive checklist of rare, endemic, and endangered vascular plant species of Kazakhstan’s Altai, integrating herbarium data and spatial analyses to support regional conservation and sustainability goals. A total of 65,540 herbarium specimens from eight major collections were reviewed, and species identifications were verified using national and international databases. In total, 230 rare and endangered species were recorded, including 73 strict endemics. Species were assessed using IUCN Red List categories, and their distributions analyzed with GIS and hierarchical clustering tools. The results revealed a high concentration of threatened species in the Ivanovskiy, Narym, and Azutau ridges. Notably, 127 species were assessed for rarity status for the first time, with families such as Poaceae and Orchidaceae disproportionately represented. The study highlights substantial gaps in current conservation frameworks, as many species remain in the “Data Deficient” category, and some highly threatened taxa occur outside protected areas. These findings provide essential baseline data to inform the expansion of protected zones, guide national Red Book updates, and support targeted ex situ conservation. By prioritizing biodiversity-rich areas and incorporating plant rarity data into spatial planning, this research contributes directly to long-term sustainability and ecosystem resilience strategies in Kazakhstan’s mountainous regions. Full article
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