Functional traits and cross-year effects mediate the biodiversity–stability relationship in desert ephemeral plants
Available online 28 April 2026
Understanding the mechanisms of biodiversity-driven functional stability is crucial for predicting ecological resilience. For desert ephemerals, whose aboveground biomass (AGB) is highly transient and...
Flora of the Alpine Subnival Belt of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau.
Available online 28 April 2026
The first telomere-to-telomere genome assembly of the soybean male-sterile germplasm 88-428BY by massive parallel sequencing
Available online 28 April 2026
Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) is a key source of plant protein and oil, yet genomic resources for male-sterile germplasms remain scarce. This study addresses this gap by presenting the first telomere-to-telomere...
High-quality chromosome-level genome assembly for deciphering genome evolution and the whole transcriptomic response to osmotic stress in Stipa grandis
Available online 24 April 2026
Persistent aridification drives the migration of plants to more favorable habitats and promotes genomic evolution that contributes to speciation. Stipa grandis is a dominant and constructive species...
Disentangling intrinsic and extrinsic drivers of herbivory across forests: Leaf functional traits, insect richness, and climatic factors
Available online 24 April 2026
Leaf herbivory substantially affects plant physiology and performance, and may intensify under ongoing climate change. Nevertheless, how leaf functional traits, insect richness and climate jointly drive...
Phylogenomic Conflict in Moraceae: Evidence for Pervasive Introgression and Incomplete Lineage Sorting
Available online 21 April 2026
Although the phylogenetic backbone of Moraceae, an ecologically important angiosperm family in tropical rainforests, has been significantly improved, phylogenetic discordance among nuclear genes and...
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...