Network characteristics and driving factors of leaf trait networks along a gradient of rocky desertification
September 2026
Rocky desertification severely constrains ecosystem functioning and vegetation in karst landscapes. Understanding how soil environmental changes influence plant functional coordination is therefore...
Advances in single-cell and spatial multi-omics for plant development and stress responses
September 2026
Recent advances in single-cell and spatial multi-omics have enabled high-resolution profiling of plant cellular heterogeneity and tissue organization. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) captures...
Chromosome-level genome assembly of Nekemias grossedentata provides new insights into genome evolution and flavonoid biosynthesis
September 2026
•A chromosome-scale genome assembly of Nmpelopsis grossedentata provides a foundational genomic resource.•Karyotype analysis positions N. grossedentata as having a karyotype most closely resembling...
Latitudinal diversity gradients of soil seed bank and aboveground vegetation in China
September 2026
The latitudinal diversity gradient is one of the most general biogeographical patterns. However, current latitudinal diversity gradients have been mostly focused on aboveground vegetation, while such...
Invasive plant richness and abundance synergistically amplify co-invasion success: Experimental evidence for invasional meltdown
September 2026
Co-invasion by multiple invasive species is becoming increasingly prevalent, yet the role of interactions among invasive species in shaping invasion success remains poorly understood. While invader...
Heterogeneity in leaf tannin inducibility across woody and non-woody plants: A meta-analysis
September 2026
Tannins are widespread secondary metabolites that can be induced by herbivory or mechanical damage and contribute to defense against herbivores. Reported tannin inducibility varies across taxa and study...
Leaf nutrients regulate phyllosphere microbial dynamics in rubber trees
September 2026
Mechanisms underlying the assembly and succession of phyllosphere microbiota in rubber plantations are crucial for understanding ecosystem health and functionality, yet poorly understood. In this study,...
Assessing the performance of remotely sensed functional traits and spectral metrics for estimating multidimensional plant diversity in wetlands using UAV data
September 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...
High invader density alone drives invasive plant dominance, but its impacts on native community biomass and diversity depend on nutrients and microplastics
September 2026
Freshwater ecosystems are increasingly exposed to multiple global change drivers such as nutrient enrichment and emerging pollutants, which significantly influence biological invasions. Although high...
Tougher leaves under global urbanization
September 2026
Urban environments expose resident organisms to intense, multifaceted selective pressures. Studies employing intraspecific responses of functional traits have proven particularly valuable for understanding...
Herbivore defense syndromes differ between native and invasive plant species
September 2026
In their non-native ranges, invasive plant species may escape specialist herbivores and thus experience exclusive pressure from generalists. This is predicted to shape the defense strategies of successful...
Scale-dependent evidence for the abundant-center hypothesis and underlying mechanisms
September 2026
Whether species are more abundant near the center of their distribution has been intensively debated. Previous studies have largely focused on local sampling units, often overlooking the inherent scale-dependence...
Floral symmetry is associated with contrasting hydraulic strategies and trait coordination in angiosperm flowers
September 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...
Two Eremogone (Caryophyllaceae) genomes provide insights into alpine adaptation
September 2026
•Chromosome-scale genomes of two Eremogone species.•A recent shared genome triplication shaped Caryophyllaceae evolution.•Reconstruction of the ancestral Caryophyllaceae karyotype (ACK, n = 9).•Biased...
Determinants of herbivory on seedlings in a subtropical forest: Insights from plant apparency, Janzen-Connell effects, and functional traits
September 2026
Herbivory is widely known to play a critical role in structuring plant communities. However, much less is known about what factors determine herbivory in forest ecosystems. Here, we monitored herbivory...
Polyploidy meets the Cape: Evolutionary dynamics of Heliophila (Brassicaceae)
September 2026
The Cape Floristic Region (CFR), a global biodiversity hotspot, provides an exceptional setting for studying plant diversification. The South African genus Heliophila (Brassicaceae), notable for its...
Fire-embracers possess higher shoot flammability, lower litter flammability and a more acquisitive strategy than fire-tolerators in Pinus yunnanensis
September 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...
Divergence in plant water relations mediates the clear niche differentiation of two congeneric desert shrub species
September 2026
Desert plants, despite overall well adapted to drought, exhibit considerable inter-specific differentiation of micro-habitats and variation in adaptive characteristics in the generally much water-limited...
An evidence-chain framework for classification under reticulate evolution: formalizing subtribal and generic delimitation in Campanuleae (Campanulaceae)
Available online 19 September 2026
Phylogenomic studies have greatly improved our understanding of relationships in reticulate plant groups, but they have also made classificatory decisions more difficult, especially where cytonuclear...
Plant evolutionary history and environmental filtering shape Russulaceae associations in the fully mycoheterotrophic plant Monotropastrum humile
Available online 17 September 2026
Fungal associations can promote ecological specialization and lineage divergence in mycoheterotrophic plants, yet the relative contributions of plant evolutionary history and environmental variation...
Population genomics of the rice landrace Acuce reveals exceptional dynamics of immune receptors
Available online 12 September 2026
In cultivated plants such as Oryza sativa, landraces harbour high levels of diversity, in sharp contrast with genetically uniform modern varieties. The Yuanyang terraces (China) are renowned for traditional...
Genome sequencing of rice landraces from the Yuanyang terraces uncovers ancient and diverse lineages of indica rice
Available online 12 September 2026
High-yielding elite rice cultivars exhibit limited genetic variability, raising concerns about our capacity to sustain productivity amid changing biotic and abiotic threats. Meeting the challenges that...
Habitat loss of the Tsuga-dominated coniferous forest in southwestern China under global warming: Evidence from a Holocene peat record in the Wuliang Mountains
Available online 11 September 2026
High-altitude vegetation faces severe risk of habitat loss under global warming. Long-term peat sediment records are essential to understand these dynamics. Here, we present a multi-proxy reconstruction...
Chromosome-level genome assembly of Clerodendrum trichotomum sheds light on its complex whole genome duplication history
Available online 5 September 2026
•The first chromosome-level assembly for the genus Clerodendrum•Recent autotetraploidization shaped the Clerodendrum trichotomum genome•Balanced subgenome evolution supports an autotetraploid origi...