Fire-embracers possess higher shoot flammability, lower litter flammability and a more acquisitive strategy than fire-tolerators in Pinus yunnanensis
Available online 10 April 2026
Plants in fire-prone environments have evolved traits to survive recurrent fires. Some traits enable plants to survive under crown fires (fire-embracer strategy), while others support persistence under...
Assessing the performance of remotely sensed functional traits and spectral metrics for estimating multidimensional plant diversity in wetlands using UAV data
Available online 9 April 2026
Plant diversity underpins wetland ecosystem stability and functional sustainability, and its reliable assessment is vital for effective conservation and management. Remote sensing provides an efficient...
Phylofloristic regionalization of woody plants in East Asia and the drivers of phylogenetic structure
Available online 9 April 2026
East Asia is characterized by a rich flora with many relictual and endemic plant taxa. However, the floristic subdivision of East Asia remains debated due to differences in data sources, methodological...
Floral symmetry is associated with contrasting hydraulic strategies and trait coordination in angiosperm flowers
Available online 7 April 2026
Floral symmetry is widely recognized as a key driver of angiosperm diversification, yet how actinomorphic and zygomorphic flowers differ in their hydraulic architecture remains poorly understood. Clarifying...
Humboldtia Vahl – An under-utilised, under-researched, and vulnerable tree genus endemic to the Western Ghats-Sri Lanka biodiversity hotspot
March 2026
•Humboldtia, is a scientifically valuable yet underexplored endemic genus from the Western Ghats – Sri Lanka Biodiversity hotspot.•Comprising just eight species, all of which are under threat of extinction,...
Species evolution determines epiphyte evolution in Orchids
March 2026
Orchid diversity and conservation are tightly linked to the evolution of orchid lifeforms (e.g., epiphytic or terrestrial) as epiphytic species are highly sensitive to environmental changes and includes...
The relative role of regional species pools in determining tree species richness and rarity in Chinese subtropical and tropical forests
March 2026
The species pool hypothesis argues that local species diversity mainly depends on regional diversity, which is influenced by dispersal, historical and current environmental conditions. We hypothesize...
Phylogenomics unravels the early divergence and diversification in Bignoniaceae
March 2026
Bignoniaceae, a pantropical family comprising 79 genera and 901 species, exhibits remarkable morphological and ecological diversity, including lianas, shrubs, trees, and high-elevation herbs. Reconstructing...
Genomic insights into the survival code of karst plants
March 2026
•Karst endemic plants exhibit profound genetic vulnerability driven by historical and anthropogenic factors.•Whole-genome duplication (WGD) and gene family dynamics are key adaptive mechanisms for karst...
The context dependency of nitrogen deposition impacts on the compositional coupling between aboveground vegetation and soil seed bank
March 2026
The compositional coupling between aboveground vegetation and soil seed bank is critical for community stability and successional trajectories, but such relationships are highly sensitive to environmental...
Diversification of liverworts across spatial and climatic gradients in the world
March 2026
Liverworts are an important component of terrestrial ecosystems worldwide. They have adapted to and diversified in a wide variety of environments. Investigating variation in net diversification rate...
Elevational patterns of multidimensional plant diversity and community structure in a subtropical karst mountain system
March 2026
Understanding the mechanisms driving species assembly along elevational gradients in mountains is crucial for biodiversity conservation. However, no consensus has yet been reached on how these mechanisms...
Exploring the evolutionary landscape of mitochondrial genomes in the sunflower family (Asteraceae)
March 2026
Asteraceae, the largest family of flowering plants, comprises more than 26,000 species worldwide, many of which serve as crops, medicinal herbs, and ornamentals. While substantial genomic resources...
Speciation, endangerment and adaptation in limestone rocky environment of Urophysa (Ranunculaceae)
March 2026
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...
A robust phylogenomic framework supports a revised intrafamilial classification of Urticaceae
March 2026
Over the past decade, phylogenomics has significantly enhanced our understanding of relationships among numerous angiosperm lineages. However, comprehensive phylogenetic studies combining broad sampling...
Differences in leaf heat and drought tolerance but not cold tolerance between karst and non-karst forest plants
March 2026
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...
Stage-dependent shifts in native and invasive traits mediate community invasibility in subtropical urban ecosystems
March 2026
Biological invasions threaten biodiversity and ecosystem stability through stage-dependent functional trait mediation. However, the mechanistic linkages between invasion intensity and multidimensional...
Effects of neighborhood diversity on herbivory in early-stage forests in southern China
March 2026
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...
Tamarindus indica telomere-to-telomere genome reveals tartaric acid accumulation in fruit
March 2026
•First telomere-to-telomere genome of Tamarindus indica.•Fruit sourness is likely driven by duplication of tartaric acid biosynthesis genes during lineage-specific WGD.•Development of Tamarind Multi-Omics...
Soil nutrients and heavy metals jointly shape spontaneous plant functional groups in abandoned mining areas
March 2026
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...
Chromosome-level genome assembly and population genomics analysis of Camellia rubituberculata provide insights into adaptation to karst habitats
March 2026
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....
Influence of divergent sampling intensity across plant growth forms on estimating elevational richness patterns and their drivers
March 2026
Numerous studies have demonstrated that sampling intensity can significantly influence the detection of richness patterns and the assessment of the importance of driving factors. However, existing research...
Tree structural diversity mediates vegetation carbon storage in dry-hot valley savannas along an elevational gradient
March 2026
Understanding the factors that drive distributional variation in terrestrial vegetation carbon pools (VCPs) is crucial for assessing the potential of carbon sequestration and mitigating climate change....
High-quality genome of Oreocharis mileensis (Gesneriaceae) provides insights into the adaptation and conservation of highly threatened species in karst region
March 2026
Despite the ecological importance of karst ecosystems, genomic studies on the conservation and adaptation of karst plant species, particularly threatened wild species, remain scarce. Here, we investigate...
Climate modulation of phylogenetic and functional constraints on fruit volume: A case study of Chinese angiosperms
Available online 20 March 2026
Fruit volume is a pivotal reproductive trait that influences dispersal, seed predation, and offspring establishment, yet its large-scale drivers remain poorly understood. Here, we compiled phylogenetic,...