A special issue entitled “Understanding the evolution of biodiversity in Asia” has been recently published in Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. The special issue was edited by Prof. Zhou Zhekun, Prof. Su Tao, and Prof. Robert Spicer of Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG). 

“Despite numerous investigations spanning modern taxon inventories, molecular phylogenetics and so far somewhat limited well-dated fossil data, our understanding of the evolutionary history of Asian biodiversity is still far from enough to fully understand how this biodiversity came about, and what is required to sustain it under rapidly changing environmental conditions driven by regional economic development and global climate change”, said Prof. Zhou Zhekun in the editorial. 

The special issue takes a wide overview of what the fossil record tells us about Cenozoic biodiversity in Asia in order to better target future exploration. 

One new genus and eight new species are described in this special issue. Meanwhile, the researchers integrate different aspects of paleobotany, paleoclimatology, paleoecology, geology and other disciplines to better understand the biodiversity history and its paleoenvironmental background in South and East Asia. 

“Collectively it is illustrative of the breadth of taxonomic and paleoenvironmental work being conducted in Asia at the present time, and hopefully will encourage similar multifaceted research”, said Prof. Su Tao.