This outstanding biodiversity fascinated early naturalists including Alexander Von Humboldt, who proposed the foundations of biogeography by observing the floristic gradients of the Andes ( Humboldt & Bonpland, 1805), and Alfred Wallace, whose proposal of Amazonian rivers as isolation barriers for animals built one of the pillars of evolutionary theory ( Wallace, 1852). The Neotropical region has also been an important natural laboratory for more recent advances in ecology and evolution, such as the role of the landscape and ecological interactions in the diversification of plants ( Antonelli et al., 2018 Rull & Carnaval, 2020). Since the last special issue on the topic of Neotropical plant evolution ( Hughes, Pennington & Antonelli, 2013), the field has seen increased advances in theory, data and methods, expanding our understanding of how such outstanding biodiversity was formed. These advances are allowing us to answer some remaining questions about what has driven the outstanding diversification of the Neotropical flora. In this special issue, we bring together 25 papers that, in combination, use a multitude of approaches linking micro- and macroevolution to present a renewed view of the drivers of the exceptional biodiversity of the Neotropics. In particular, they emphasize the importance of geological and climatic changes throughout the Cenozoic in the diversification of the Neotropical flora. These studies also highlight the relevance of processes such as hybridization and polyploidization and the role of reproductive biology in generating floristic diversity. Moreover, it is widely recognized that biodiversity supports resilience and welfare of human societies. Neotropical ecosystems host extreme levels of biodiversity, but they are highly threatened by global environmental changes. The papers published in this special issue also offer an opportunity to reflect on how we can learn from the past to best plan for the future in the face of challenges that the region has been and is subject to such as biodiversity loss. In a perspective article, Antonelli (2022) highlights not only the impressive levels of species diversity in the Neotropical region, but also the concerning disappearance of such richness. He contrasts the long-term evolution of Neotropical biodiversity with its recent and rapid decline due to anthropogenic factors. Although the Neotropics are the most biodiverse region in the world, currently 33% of all Neotropical species are threatened with extinction due to anthropogenic actions, such as intensification of land-use change (primarily driven by agriculture), direct exploitation, invasive species and climate change. In this perspective, the author also points out important opportunities for conservation and restoration of Neotropical ecosystems under the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework actions to promote our peace with nature. Geological information is crucial for understanding the deep-time origins and history of modern species diversification, but geological history from chronological and palaeoecological perspectives of many Neotropical domains, including the Amazonian region, are still under-studied and largely unknown (but see Hoorn et al., 2010a, b Latrubesse et al., 2010). In a perspective paper in this issue, Hoorn et al. (2022) discuss the biogeographical importance of the Pebas system, a large wetland in western Amazonia, in generating biodiversity.
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