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Life
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Bryophyte Responses to Climate Changes
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Bryophyte Responses to Climate Changes

A special issue of Life (ISSN 2075-1729). This special issue belongs to the section "Diversity and Ecology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 June 2021) | Viewed by 11273

Special Issue Editors

Dr. David Draper

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Guest Editor
Centro de Ecologia, Evolução e Alterações Ambientais (CE3C- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes), University of Lisbon, 1649-004 Lisboa, Portugal
Interests: species conservation; niche modeling; protected areas; climate change; red listing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Cecília Sérgio

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Universidade de Lisboa, Museu Nacional de História Natural e da Ciência, CE3C-Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Rua da Escola Politécnica, 58, 1250-102 Lisboa, Portugal
2. CE3C-Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Faculdade de Ciências de Lisboa. Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
Interests: bryophyte taxonomy; Mediterranean and Macaronesia; phytogeography; spatial ecology data and climate changes; monitoring plant diversity; ecology and indicators; biodiversity and conservation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The establishment of plant life on land is one of the most significant evolutionary outcomes. As organisms adapted to life on land, they had to overcome several challenges when colonizing the dry terrestrial environment. Bryophytes are often referred as early land plants and represent key organisms to study land plant evolution. Climate change is expected to cause stressful environmental conditions for most species in the coming decades.

Bryophytes (mosses, liverworts, and hornworts) are the earliest group of land plants on the planet. Bryophytes have crucial roles in regulating water storage and flow, stabilizing the soil and preventing erosion, and contributing substantially to nutrient cycles. They are also extremely sensitive to changes in the environment, being coined as ‘canaries in the coal mine.’ Consequently, the big question is whether, where, and how these species can cope with the accelerated rate of environmental changes.

In this context, this Special Issue of Life aims to publish a collection of studies dealing with evolutionary adaptations of bryophytes incorporating ecological modelling, genomic and evolutionary parameters. Authors are invited to submit related original research articles, reviews, and communications.

Dr. David Draper
Dr. Cecília Sérgio
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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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. Life is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2600 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

  • Biodiversity loss
  • Climate Change
  • Conservation
  • Demographic decline
  • Genetics/Genomics
  • Plant adaptations
  • Phylogeography
  • Morphological adaptations
  • Species distribution models

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 5116 KiB  
Article
Dynamics of Silurian Plants as Response to Climate Changes
by Josef Pšenička, Jiří Bek, Jiří Frýda, Viktor Žárský, Monika Uhlířová and Petr Štorch
Life 2021, 11(9), 906; https://doi.org/10.3390/life11090906 - 31 Aug 2021
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 4528
Abstract
The most ancient macroscopic plants fossils are Early Silurian cooksonioid sporophytes from the volcanic islands of the peri-Gondwanan palaeoregion (the Barrandian area, Prague Basin, Czech Republic). However, available palynological, phylogenetic and geological evidence indicates that the history of plant terrestrialization is much longer [...] Read more.
The most ancient macroscopic plants fossils are Early Silurian cooksonioid sporophytes from the volcanic islands of the peri-Gondwanan palaeoregion (the Barrandian area, Prague Basin, Czech Republic). However, available palynological, phylogenetic and geological evidence indicates that the history of plant terrestrialization is much longer and it is recently accepted that land floras, producing different types of spores, already were established in the Ordovician Period. Here we attempt to correlate Silurian floral development with environmental dynamics based on our data from the Prague Basin, but also to compile known data on a global scale. Spore-assemblage analysis clearly indicates a significant and almost exponential expansion of trilete-spore producing plants starting during the Wenlock Epoch, while cryptospore-producers, which dominated until the Telychian Age, were evolutionarily stagnate. Interestingly cryptospore vs. trilete-spore producers seem to react differentially to Silurian glaciations—trilete-spore producing plants react more sensitively to glacial cooling, showing a reduction in species numbers. Both our own and compiled data indicate highly terrestrialized, advanced Silurian land-plant assemblage/flora types with obviously great ability to resist different dry-land stress conditions. As previously suggested some authors, they seem to evolve on different palaeo continents into quite disjunct specific plant assemblages, certainly reflecting the different geological, geographical and climatic conditions to which they were subject. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bryophyte Responses to Climate Changes)
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12 pages, 4848 KiB  
Article
Monitoring Air Quality with Transplanted Bryophytes in a Neotropical Andean City
by Ángel Benítez, Lizbeth Armijos and James Calva
Life 2021, 11(8), 821; https://doi.org/10.3390/life11080821 - 12 Aug 2021
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2976
Abstract
Air pollution is one of the main global environmental problems, where bryophytes, due to their high capacity to retain metals and other pollutants, have been widely used in active air quality monitoring studies in temperate and tropical zones. Thus, in this study, we [...] Read more.
Air pollution is one of the main global environmental problems, where bryophytes, due to their high capacity to retain metals and other pollutants, have been widely used in active air quality monitoring studies in temperate and tropical zones. Thus, in this study, we analyzed for the first time the concentrations of eight metals (cadmium, copper, nickel, aluminum, iron, manganese, lead and zinc) in three species of transplanted mosses (Rhacocarpus purpurascens (Brid.) Paris, Sphagnum sp. and Thuidium delicatulum (Hedw.) Schimp.) from Ecuador. Significant differences were found for the three species in the concentrations of Al, Mn, Fe and Zn between urban and control areas, pointing to the Central zone as the main source of contamination with the highest concentrations of Al, Fe, Mn and Zn, related to vehicular traffic. Lead did not differ between zones for Rhacocarpus purpurascens and Sphagnum sp.; however, Thuidium delicatulum accumulated different concentrations between urban areas and the control areas. The three species of mosses provided valuable information on the contamination of Al, Fe, Mn, Pb and Zn in the urban area of the city of Loja, and therefore can be used in future air quality monitoring programs over time in tropical cities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bryophyte Responses to Climate Changes)
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11 pages, 877 KiB  
Article
Are Juglans neotropica Plantations Useful as a Refuge of Bryophytes Diversity in Tropical Areas?
by Jefferson Medina, Wilson Quizhpe, Jorge Déleg, Karina Gonzalez, Zhofre Aguirre, Nikolay Aguirre, Luis Montaño and Ángel Benítez
Life 2021, 11(5), 434; https://doi.org/10.3390/life11050434 - 12 May 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2590
Abstract
Neotropical montane forests are considered biodiversity hotspots, where epiphytic bryophytes are an important component of the diversity, biomass and functioning of these ecosystems. We evaluated the richness and composition of bryophytes in secondary successional forests and mixed plantations of Juglans neotropica. In [...] Read more.
Neotropical montane forests are considered biodiversity hotspots, where epiphytic bryophytes are an important component of the diversity, biomass and functioning of these ecosystems. We evaluated the richness and composition of bryophytes in secondary successional forests and mixed plantations of Juglans neotropica. In each forest type, the presence and cover of epiphytic bryophytes was registered in 400 quadrats of 20 cm × 30 cm. We analyzed the effects of canopy openness, diameter at breast height (DBH) and forest type on bryophyte richness, using a generalized linear model (GLM), as well as the changes in species composition using multivariate analysis. Fifty-five bryophyte species were recorded, of which 42 species were in secondary forests and 40 were in mixed plantations. Bryophyte richness did not change at forest level; however, at tree level, richness was higher in the mixed plantation of J. neotropica compared to the secondary forests, due to the presence of species adapted to high light conditions. On the other hand, bryophyte communities were negatively affected by the more open canopy in the mixed plantation of J. neotropica, species adapted to more humid conditions being less abundant. We conclude that species with narrow microclimatic niches are threatened by deforestation, and J. neotropica plantations do not act as refuge for drought-sensitive forest species present in secondary forests. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bryophyte Responses to Climate Changes)
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