Unravelling tree diversity patterns and responses to environmental gradients in a tropical forest landscape of the Western Ghats
Available online 6 October 2025
Understanding spatial patterns of plant species diversity and the factors (e.g., climate and human) that drive these patterns is essential for biodiversity conservation. We used data from 170 0.1-ha...
Evaluating the relative importance of phylogeny and predictors in phylogenetic generalized linear models using the phylolm.hp R package
September 2025
Comparative analyses in ecology and evolution often face the challenge of controlling for the effects of shared ancestry (phylogeny) from those of ecological or trait-based predictors on species traits....
Biogeographic affinity partly shapes woody plant diversity along an elevational gradient in subtropical forests
September 2025
The ecological and evolutionary mechanisms underlying montane biodiversity patterns remain unresolved. To understand which factors determined community assembly rules in mountains, biogeographic affinity...
Genomic and population genomic analyses reveal contrasting diversity and demographic histories in a critically endangered and a widespread Oreocharis species
September 2025
Preserving genetic diversity is crucial for the long-term survival of wild plant species, yet many remain at risk of genetic erosion due to small population sizes and habitat fragmentation. Here, we...
Diversification rates in large-scale moss assemblages along latitudinal and climatic gradients across the world
September 2025
Species richness in any area results from the interplay of the processes of speciation, extinction, and dispersal. The relationships between species richness and climate should be considered as an outcome...
Genome analyses provide insights into Engelhardia’s adaptation to East Asia summer monsoon
September 2025
Genetic information has been instrumental in elucidating the relationship between the East Asian Summer Monsoon (EASM) and subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forests (EBLFs). However, how the genomic...
Genomic analyses provide insights into the genetic basis of quality traits in Amomum tsaoko
September 2025
•A chromosome-level genome of Amomum tsaoko (1.967 Gb, 93.9% completeness) provides an improved genomic resource.•Expanded terpene synthase families likely enhance medicinal terpenoid accumulation.•Population...
Chromosome-level genome assembly of Myristica yunnanensis sheds light on genomic limitations underlying its critically endangered status in China
September 2025
•The first chromosome-level assembly for the Myristicaceae family.•Myristicaceae represents the earliest diverging families within the Magnoliales•Genomic constraints and climatic fluctuations may have...
Phylogenetically close alien Asteraceae species with minimal niche overlap are more likely to invade
September 2025
Predicting whether alien species will invade a native community is a key challenge in invasion ecology. One factor that may help predict invasion success is phylogenetic relatedness. Darwin proposed...
Genomic signatures of local adaptation to precipitation and solar radiation in kiwifruit
September 2025
Local adaptation is critical for plant survivals and reproductions in the context of global environmental change. Heterogeneous environments impose various selection pressures that influence the fitness...
Grazing management can achieve the reconfiguration of vegetation to combat climate impacts and promote soil carbon sequestration
September 2025
Climate and grazing have a significant effect on vegetation structure and soil organic carbon (SOC) distribution, particularly in mountain ecosystems that are highly susceptible to climate change. However,...
Environmental drivers and future distribution of invasive alien plant species in the Gaoligong Mountains, southwestern China
September 2025
Invasive alien plant species (IAPS) pose severe threats to global biodiversity conservation. Effective management of IAPS requires mapping their distribution and identifying the environmental factors...
Genomic insights into the evolutionary history and conservation of the living fossil Tetracentron sinense
September 2025
Tetracentron sinense is a ‘living fossil’ tree in East Asia. Understanding how this ‘living fossil’ responds to climate change and adapts to local environments is critical for its conservation. Here,...
Habitat fragmentation differentially affects invasive and native plant diversity in a human-dominated wetland island system
September 2025
Managing invasive species requires identifying the factors that determine alien species invasion success. This study investigates how anthropogenic and biogeographical factors influence alien plant...
Climatic niche divergence and long-distance dispersal contributed to the pantropical intercontinental disjunctions of a liana lineage (Uncaria, Rubiaceae)
September 2025
The formation of pantropical intercontinental disjunction (PID) in plants has generally been attributed to vicariance, boreotropical migration, and long-distance dispersal. However, this pattern has...
The first haplotype-resolved genome assembly of Prunus s.l. subgenus Laurocerasus (Prunus spinulosa)
Available online 22 September 2025
Prunus spinulosa (2n = 4x = 32) is an evergreen species of significant medicinal usage and ecological value. However, the lacking of a high-quality genome of P. spinulosa has obstructed further exploration...
Effects of neighborhood diversity on herbivory in early-stage forests in southern China
Available online 19 September 2025
Herbivory plays important roles in forest ecosystems and is thought to be influenced by tree diversity. However, it is unclear whether, and if so how, tree diversity confers associational resistance...
High species discrimination in Pedicularis (Orobanchaceae): Plastid genomes and traditional barcodes equally effective via parsimony-informative sites
Available online 19 September 2025
Complete plastid genomes have been proposed as potential “super-barcodes” for plant identification and delineation, particularly in cases where standard DNA barcodes may be insufficient. However, few...
Speciation, endangerment and adaptation in limestone rocky environment of Urophysa (Ranunculaceae)
Available online 13 September 2025
Urophysa (Ranunculaceae) are plants endemic to the limestone regions of southern China, representing an attractive model for studying species differentiation, endangerment, and adaptive evolution in...
ddRAD sequencing of 1076 Camellia accessions reveals the genetic diversity and population introgression of the tea plant in China
Available online 11 September 2025
The tea plant (Camellia sinensis) is a widely cultivated and economically significant crop that originated from southwestern China. Owing to its high heterozygosity and complex genetic diversity, the...
Chromosome-level genome assembly and population genomics analysis of Camellia rubituberculata provide insights into adaptation to karst habitats
Available online 11 September 2025
Karst flora confined to isolated ‘habitat islands’ evolve specialized adaptations and unique traits, serving as ideal models for investigating adaptive evolution and species diversification mechanisms....
Complex plastome structural variation caused by intermolecular and intramolecular recombination accounts for leaf variegation in Heptapleurum ellipticum
Available online 8 September 2025
Plastome variation, including single spontaneous nucleotide substitutions and single insertions/deletions, is the major source of leaf variegation in plants. Additionally, one recent study has showed...
Spatially biased collections and the failure to cover all wild genetic clusters in plant populations under ex situ conservation
Available online 4 September 2025
Successful ex situ conservation of plant populations requires a high degree of genetic representativeness. However, spatially biased sampling in ex situ conservation efforts may fail to capture all...
Differences in leaf heat and drought tolerance but not cold tolerance between karst and non-karst forest plants
Available online 26 August 2025
Ongoing climate change and increasingly frequent extreme precipitation events pose greater threats to plant survival. Plants in the karst environment may face heightened risks because shallow soils...
Soil nutrients and heavy metals jointly shape spontaneous plant functional groups in abandoned mining areas
Available online 26 August 2025
Ecological recovery of abandoned mining areas requires developing and implementing effective nature-based solutions. However, ecological processes that underlie the establishment, development, and long-term...