Summary1. The factors associated with plant species' endangerment and (conversely) invasiveness are of broad interest due to their potential value in explaining the causes and consequences of population status. While most past work has focussed on ecological variables, recent work suggests that genetic attributes may be strongly associated with plant species status. 2. We collated data on chromosome numbers for 640 endangered species (worldwide) and their 9005 congeners, and for 81 invasive species and their 2356 congeners. We related ploidy (diploid versus polyploid) to endangerment and invasiveness. We also related chromosome number (absolute number and relative to the minimum recorded for the genus) to endangerment and invasiveness with a randomization test, taking the variation of reported chromosome numbers into account. All analyses considered the relatedness of the taxa. 3. We found that endangered plants are disproportionately likely to be diploid and to have lower ploidy ratios, whilst invasive plant species are generally found to have high chromosome counts and to be polyploid. 4. While considering the effect of relatedness, being endangered is c. 8% less likely as ploidy ratio doubles and 14% less likely for polyploids compared with diploids. Being invasive is 12% more likely as chromosome number doubles and 20% more likely for polyploids compared with diploids. There was no significant effect of raw chromosome number on endangerment or of ploidy ratio on invasiveness.5. Our findings demonstrate the importance of genomic attributes as risk factors of vulnerability to endangerment or invasiveness in higher plant species, and raise interesting questions as to potential causes of the pattern. 6. Synthesis. Our findings generate new hypotheses on plant rarity and invasiveness influenced by genomic attributes and further our understanding of the role of ploidy in rarity and invasiveness in higher plants. The cause of these relationships are potentially complex, requiring further research; ultimately, understanding the mechanistic basis of population status could aid conservation programs seeking to identify potentially endangered or invasive species.

Global average temperature increase during the last century has induced species geographic range shifts and extinctions. Montane floras, in particular, are highly sensitive to climate change and mountains serve as suitable observation sites for tracing climate-induced biological response. The Himalaya constitute an important global biodiversity hotspot, yet studies on species’ response to climate change from this region are lacking. Here we use historical (1849–50) and the recent (2007–2010) data on temperature and endemic species’ elevational ranges to perform a correlative study in the two alpine valleys of Sikkim. We show that the ongoing warming in the alpine Sikkim Himalaya has transformed the plant assemblages. This study lends support to the hypothesis that changing climate is causing species distribution changes. We provide first evidence of warmer winters in the region compared to the last two centuries, with mean temperatures of the warmest and the coldest months may have increased by 0.76±0.25°C and 3.65±2°C, respectively. Warming-driven geographical range shifts were recorded in 87% of 124 endemic plant species studied in the region; upper range extensions of species have resulted in increased species richness in the upper alpine zone, compared to the 19th century. We recorded a shift of 23–998 m in species’ upper elevation limit and a mean upward displacement rate of 27.53±22.04 m/decade in the present study. We infer that the present-day plant assemblages and community structure in the Himalaya is substantially different from the last century and is, therefore, in a state of flux under the impact of warming. The continued trend of warming is likely to result in ongoing elevational range contractions and eventually, species extinctions, particularly at mountaintops.

SummaryUnderstanding how species' traits relate to their status (e.g. invasiveness or rarity) is important because it can help to efficiently focus conservation and management effort and infer mechanisms affecting plant status. This is particularly important for invasiveness, in which proactive action is needed to restrict the establishment of potentially invasive plants.We tested the ability of genome size (DNA 1C-values) to explain invasiveness and compared it with cytogenetic traits (chromosome number and ploidy level). We considered 890 species from 62 genera, from across the angiosperm phylogeny and distributed from tropical to boreal latitudes.We show that invasiveness was negatively related to genome size and positively related to chromosome number (and ploidy level), yet there was a positive relationship between genome size and chromosome number; that is, our result was not caused by collinearity between the traits. Including both traits in explanatory models greatly increased the explanatory power of each.This demonstrates the potential unifying role that genome size, chromosome number and ploidy have as species' traits, despite the diverse impacts they have on plant physiology. It provides support for the continued cataloguing of cytogenetic traits and genome size of the world's flora.

Ecosystem damage and population resettlements loom, owing to poor planning and impact assessments.