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Vascular plants are diverse and a major component of terrestrial ecosystems, yet their geographic distributions remain incomplete. Here, I present a global database of vascular plant distributions by integrating species distribution models calibrated to species’ dispersal ability and natural habitats to predict native range maps for 201,681 vascular plant species into unsurveyed areas. Using these maps, I uncover unique patterns of native vascular plant diversity, endemism, and phylogenetic diversity revealing hotspots in underdocumented biodiversity-rich regions. These hotspots, based on detailed species-level maps, show a pronounced latitudinal gradient, strongly supporting the theory of increasing diversity toward the equator. I trained random forest models to extrapolate diversity patterns under unbiased global sampling and identify overlaps with modeled estimations but unveiled cryptic hotspots that were not captured by modeled estimations. Only 29% to 36% of extrapolated plant hotspots are inside protected areas, leaving more than 60% outside and vulnerable. However, the unprotected hotspots harbor species with unique attributes that make them good candidates for conservation prioritization.
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Global hotspots of plant phylogenetic diversity
Summary Regions harbouring high unique phylogenetic diversity (PD) are priority targets for conservation. Here, we analyse the global distribution of plant PD, which remains poorly understood despite plants being the foundation of most terrestrial habitats and key to human livelihoods.Capitalising on a recently completed, comprehensive global checklist of vascular plants, we identify hotspots of unique plant PD and test three hypotheses: (1) PD is more evenly distributed than species diversity; (2) areas of highest PD (often called ‘hotspots’) do not maximise cumulative PD; and (3) many biomes are needed to maximise cumulative PD.Our results support all three hypotheses: more than twice as many regions are required to cover 50% of global plant PD compared to 50% of species; regions that maximise cumulative PD substantially differ from the regions with outstanding individual PD; and while (sub‐)tropical moist forest regions dominate across PD hotspots, other forest types and open biomes are also essential.Safeguarding PD in the Anthropocene (including the protection of some comparatively species‐poor areas) is a global, increasingly recognised responsibility. Having highlighted countries with outstanding unique plant PD, further analyses are now required to fully understand the global distribution of plant PD and associated conservation imperatives across spatial scales.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1930030
- PAR ID:
- 10435642
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- New Phytologist
- Volume:
- 240
- Issue:
- 4
- ISSN:
- 0028-646X
- Format(s):
- Medium: X Size: p. 1636-1646
- Size(s):
- p. 1636-1646
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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