In this third part of the fifth volume of New Journal of Botany, we are pleased to publish another selection of papers reflecting our focus on northwest European botany. This includes one paper by Paul Ashton et al. on the segregation of Tilia cordata and T. platyphyllos (Malvaceae) along environmental gradients. Micheline Sheehy Skeffington and Lieveke Van Doorslaer offer new insights into the distribution and habitats of Erica mackayana and Erica × stuartii (Ericaceae) in Ireland and suggest ideas regarding their origins. Hannah Fielder et al. discuss enhancing the conservation of crop wild relatives in Wales, while Tim Smith and Phil Buckley consider how the growth of the non-native Crassula helmsii (Crassulaceae) increases the rarity scores of aquatic macrophyte assemblages in south-eastern England. We are also pleased to publish an opinion paper by Gordon Mackenthun, who discusses the evidence relating to a claim that a spruce in Sweden is the world's oldest living tree. Plant records and six book reviews round off this issue.
There have been two developments regarding production of the journal. Firstly, our publisher, Maney Publishing, has been taken over by Taylor & Francis, with whom the BSBI has now signed a 5-year contract. Secondly, we intend that from 2016, New Journal of Botany will be published almost entirely in electronic form. This move will represent a considerable financial saving to the society, enabling us to channel more resources towards core activities such as our training, research and outreach programmes. Should anyone feel that a print copy is essential to their enjoyment of New Journal of Botany, please contact us at [email protected] for more details or you can write to the Editorial Office (see Inside Front Cover).
After 5-years in post, this is my last issue as receiving editor for the journal. Although remaining on the Editorial Board, I shall be handing over my current duties to Dr Ian Denholm, who has kindly agreed to take over from me. I should like to thank all of my co-editors who have worked so hard in turning manuscripts round as quickly as possible. Their efforts have made the job a lot easier, for which I am extremely grateful. Two will be retiring from the Board: Dr Chris Preston and Dr Mike Foley, and to them I offer my warmest thanks for their services. Replacements come in the form of Dr Micheline Sheehy Skeffington, and Prof. Alistair Jump and Dr Markus Ruhsam who start in 2016. Lastly, I should also like to thank my Editorial Assistant, Louise Marsh, here at University of Leicester, and the former staff at Maney Publishing, all of whom have always been very supportive and helpful.
We hope that, in this third part of our fifth volume, we have once again met our aim of providing something of interest to almost any botanist who cares to look inside. Although we are determined to retain the interest of our British and Irish readership, we also hope to engage plant scientists from across northern and Western Europe, and encourage botanists from outside Britain and Ireland to submit their work for publication. While we can only publish what passes the peer review process, we do encourage submissions from all authors who feel their work might sit well on our pages. Our aim is to broaden the academic scope of the journal whilst retaining the core topics, and we welcome the submission of both original research papers and short notes, and also occasional reviews and opinion articles, designed to provoke and stimulate thought and further research.
In summary, New Journal of Botany has a Northern and Western European focus and is a new forum for communicating the results of scientific studies relating to the vascular plants and charophytes of this region. Topics of particular interest are:
Phytogeography, floristics, distribution and recording;
Taxonomy, systematics and evolution;
Population & conservation biology, including ecological genetics;
Ecology, including autecological, physiological and phenological studies;
Plant/animal interactions, including plant biochemistry;
History of botany, including its development not only in Britain and Ireland but also in a European context.
We look forward to hearing your responses to this fifth volume of New Journal of Botany.