Preface: Listen to the voices of local beech forests: An ecological and evolutionary conception of beech under phylogenetic and environmental constraints

Abstract

Beech has long been the subject of ecological research in many fields. Recent studies using new methods are now being conducted. This special feature focuses on local beech forests and offers a collection of articles to readers of Ecological Research.

Message from the new Editor‐in‐Chief

“…Last year, three Special Features were published-"Functional biogeography: Lessons from the geographic variations in the most dominant tree species in Japan" in Issue 1; "Listen to the voices of local beech forests: An ecological and evolutionary conception of beech under phylogenetic and environmental constraints" in Issue 2; and "Blue carbon dynamics in coastal habitats: Their role in climate change mitigation and ecosystem function" in Issue 4 (see Hiura, 2023;Kitamura et al, 2023;Sharma et al, 2022 for prefaces, respectively). Your proposals for future Special Features are welcome and should be submitted to ecores@esj.ne.jp.…”