Topical collection in PhytoKeys calls for studies on heathers (genus Erica)
Novel research on the nomenclature, taxonomy, phylogeny, ecology and conservation of the flowering species in the heather genus Erica (Ericaceae) is welcome to the newly launched topical article collection: Systematics, natural history, and conservation of Erica (Ericaceae), now open for submission at the open-access, peer-reviewed journal PhytoKeys.
Together, the publications in the collection are to work as a multidisciplinary, optimally accessible resource necessary to efficiently address the multifaceted challenge of conservation of this large and complex group of plants in the face of the current biodiversity crisis.
The collection is managed by a team of international editors, coordinated by Dr Michael Pirie (University of Bergen, Norway), and including: Dr Anina Coetzee (Nelson Mandela University, South Africa), Prof. Jaime Fagúndez Díaz (Universidade da Coruña, Spain), Dr Félix Forest (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, United Kingdom), Dr Seth Musker (University of Cape Town, South Africa), Dr Timotheus van der Niet (University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa), Dr E. Charles Nelson, and Prof. Fernando Ojeda (University of Cadiz, Spain).
“With its numerous, often rare and narrowly endemic species, concentrated in South Africa’s spectacular Cape Floristic Region, the flowering plant genus Erica is a typical example for a large group of plants for which conservation is particularly challenging,” point out the editors.
“It is only through better understanding of its species diversity and ecological interactions in the wild that we will be able to effectively obtain and use the necessary funding for conservation efforts.”
The collection will also serve as a tribute to world-renowned South African botanist and expert on the heather subfamily Ericoideae: Edward (Ted) George Hudson Oliver and his late wife Inge.
The collection will remain open for submissions at least until the end of 2023. In any way, researchers who might be considering submitting their work, are welcome to contact the guest editors anytime for further information.
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To have their paper considered for the collection, authors will need to select the collection while completing their manuscript submission. Once submitted, the document will be forwarded to the guest editors who will first verify whether it falls within the scope of the collection.
Once a manuscript successfully completes the peer review stage, it will proceed to publication straight away to avoid unnecessary delays in the spread and communication of scientific output.
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