Plant Spatial Phylogenetics: Evolutionary Patterns and Conservation Priorities

Plant diversity is unevenly distributed across the globe, shaped by millions of years of diversification, dispersal, and extinction. Recent advances in spatial phylogenetics, macroecology, and biodiversity informatics now make it possible to map not only where species occur, but where evolutionary history itself is concentrated. By integrating phylogenetic frameworks with species distribution data, researchers can identify evolutionary hotspots, centers of endemism, and climate refugia, and connect these patterns to the processes that generate and sustain plant diversity. Yet many regions and lineages remain poorly sampled, and the links between spatial pattern, evolutionary mechanism, and conservation action are still far from resolved.The goal of this Research Topic is to bring together work that explores the spatial and evolutionary dimensions of plant diversity and translates it into conservation insight under ongoing global change. We aim to connect phylogenetic patterns to their underlying evolutionary drivers, with an emphasis on reproducible analyses and open data. Contributions from underexplored tropical, arid, insular, and montane ecosystems are especially encouraged.We welcome Original Research, Review, Mini Review, Methods, and Perspective articles covering, but not limited to, the following themes:• Spatial phylogenetics and phylogenetic endemism in plant lineages • Macroecological and historical drivers of plant diversification • Phylogenomics and molecular systematics of plant groups • Ecological niche modeling and species distribution approaches in plant biogeography • Impacts of climate and land use change on plant evolutionary diversity • Conservation prioritization using phylogenetic approaches Topic editors: Marilyn Vásquez-Cruz, José Arturo de Nova Vázquez, Sara V. Good Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/83613/plant-spatial-phylogenetics-evolutionary-patterns-and-conservation-priorities