We are pleased to announce a new special issue ofPlant Ecology on extreme weather events.The new report of IPCC (2013) predicts remarkableincrease in global mean air temperatures. Dependingon the scenarios, the best estimates of temperatureincrease range from 1.8 and 4.0 C by 2100. Climatechange may generally act in two ways: gradualwarming will affect plants and vegetation over short(decades), medium (centuries), and long (millenniaand over) timescales, with some effects alreadyevident, including upward altitudinal plant migrationsin mountain regions, species turnover, range shifts andchanges in vegetation patterns (Dullinger et al. 2012).In many cases, increased mean temperature corre-sponds to increased variability, leading to moreextreme temperatures, and increased heat energy inthe atmosphere, which promotes the development andintensity of extreme weather (Easterling et al. 2000).Consequently, climate change is characterized also byunpredictable extreme weather events (EWEs) such asheat waves, extreme droughts, heavy rains, storms andtheir associated effects like increased frequency offires, floods, etc. The occurrence of EWEs has beenmore common in the last 20 years, as a direct effect ofincreased temperatures (Easterling et al. 2000). EWEsmay adversely affect natural ecosystems, crop pro-ductivity and human health, and facilitate biologicalinvasions (Ciais et al. 2005). The recent examples ofEWEs include: the extremely hot summer in SouthernEurope in 2003, when the thermometer marked 40 Cfor several consecutive days, and the exceptionalfloodingofLake Eyre South (South Australia) in2011.However, our understanding of EWEs effects on plantlife and vegetation remains poor. While gradual risingof temperature allows species to adapt or at least toacclimate to the changing environment, extremeweather works like a stochastic event, with rapid andunpredictable effect on plant fitness and survival (Niuet al. 2014).The study of EWEs is in its infancy in the scientificliterature, and it is a promising and pertinent researchfield for the future. To date, most studies of the effectsof EWEs have been published in special issues of plantscience journals, demonstrating that special issuesplay the special role in promoting research in this fieldand summarizing the current state of knowledge.This special issue of Plant Ecology will advanceour ecological understanding of direct and indirecteffects of EWEs on plants, with attention to a broad