Abstract
Clonality is one of the defining features of the whole plant kingdom. It underlies a number of functions that plant species have, from reproduction and competition to disturbance responses.
Although clonality is present in the majority of plant species in Central Europe (53%), the importance of clonality in affecting colonization, persistence, abundance or interactions with other species has not been a focus of plant functional ecology. The international conference on clonality that began almost 30 years ago with a small meeting in the Netherlands has since provided an important platform for exchange of ideas and research among ecologists interested in clonality in plants.
The most recent conference, CLONE 2015, held in Třeboň, Czech Republic provided the motivation for this special issue. Research on the biology of clonal plants has progressed substantially since the first conference, both by articulating well established topics and by adding new ones.
Still, a number of topics relevant to understanding the wide-spread occurrence of clonality in plants have received little attention. In the collection of papers included in this special issue on the ecology of clonal plants, we have included several papers that explore new ideas that, we hope, will inspire further research into the role of clonality in plant ecological strategies.