Colombia’s bioregions as a source of useful plants (original) (raw)
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Vascular plant species count in a wet forest in the Chocó area on the Pacific coast of Colombia
1998
The total number of vascular plant species was counted and growth form distribution was studied in the Choco area on the Paci®c coast of Colombia, in two transects 400´10 m and ten transects 2´50 m, for a total sampled area of 0.9 ha. The species count of the ten transects (442 species in 0.1 ha) appears to be the highest number of species recorded with this methodology. There were 970 species for the total area (0.9 ha). Ninety to ninety-®ve percent of the species were under 10 cm dbh and 70±86% under 2.5 cm dbh, epiphytes and small trees and treelets £10 cm dbh being the most diverse growth forms. The most species-rich families and genera were those represented by herbaceous plants and treelets. Individuals were counted only in the ten 2´50 m transects (0.1 ha), where 4459 individuals were found. Palms and ferns were the most abundant growth forms. Arguments are presented against the way diversity is usually measured. Recommendations are made to include other growth forms besides trees when assessing alpha diversity for conservation purposes.
Biodiversidata: A novel dataset for the vascular plant species diversity in Uruguay
Biodiversity Data Journal, 2020
Background South America hosts some of the world’s most prominent biodiversity hotspots. Yet, Uruguay – a country where multiple major ecosystems converge – ranks amongst the countries with the lowest levels of available digital biodiversity data in the continent. Such prevalent data scarcity has significantly undermined our ability to progress towards evidence-based conservation actions – a critical limitation for a country with a strong focus on agricultural industries and only 1.3% of the land surface guarded by protected areas. Under today’s rapid biodiversity loss and environmental changes, the need for open-access biodiversity data is more pressing than ever before. To address this national issue, Biodiversidata – Uruguay’s first Consortium of Biodiversity Data – has recently emerged with the aim of assembling a constantly growing database for the biodiversity of this country. While the first phase of the project targeted vertebrate biodiversity, the second phase presented in ...
Bridging local and scientific knowledge for area-based conservation of useful plants in Colombia
Ambio
While the importance of interdisciplinary approaches is increasingly recognised in conservation, bridging knowledge systems across scales remains a fundamental challenge. Focusing on the Important Plant Areas (IPA) approach, we evaluate how complementing scientific and local knowledge can better inform the conservation of useful plants in Colombia. We worked in three municipalities to investigate knowledge on useful plant richness, species composition and use types, as well as perceptions on area-based plant conservation approaches. Participatory focus groups and ethnobotanical walks-in-the-woods were undertaken with local communities, while scientific data were represented by occurrence records from global data aggregators and digitised collections. A total of 1190 species with human uses were reported. Combining knowledge systems provided the richest understanding of useful plants but the relative contribution of each system varied between study areas, influenced by the history of...
Vegetation databases for the 21st century - Special Volume, 2012
The Colombian Páramo Vegetation Database (CPVD; GIVD ID SA-CO-001) originates from the rush of phytosociological studies developed during the second half of the last century. The efforts of Spanish, Dutch and Colombian botanists have allowed almost the entire territory of the country where this natural region (páramo) is present to be covered. The database currently has records of approximately 1,000 plots representing at least 327 different physiognomic types such as shrubs, Espeletia stem rosettes and bunchgrasses established in localities of the three Andean Cordilleras and in the Caribbean massifs, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and Serranía de Perijá. The Eastern Cordillera, which is the most explored mountain range, contains the highest diversity and richness in vegetation types. The construction of the database has allowed us to start the delimitation and syntaxonomical classification of vegetation units, as can be seen in the most recent phytosociological treatments of the páramo vegetation of the Western Cordillera and the massifs of the Caribbean region. The database provides information for programs on conservation of associated flora and fauna species and restoration – recovery of vegetation types under imminent risk due to habitat loss. Also relevant are its applications in spatial delimitation of conservation reserves, development of thematic cartography, and precise definition of altitudinal limits of the páramo region for land use purposes.
Berichte der Reinhold-Tüxen Gesellschaft, 2017
The tropical Andes in South America are a global centre of plant diversity, housing an estimated 50,000 vascular plant species. Unfortunately, our knowledge about the mesoscale patterns of plant diversity within this region is still rudimentary. We use the currently available floristic checklists and a plant distribution dataset downloaded from the GBIF portal to investigate patterns of diversity in general at genus level plus more detailed patterns at species level for trees and epiphytic plants. We confirm extraordinary levels of diversity throughout the tropical Andes, with a displacement towards the eastern slope of the Andes in the Central Andean region. Documented genus and species numbers are particularly high in the northern Andes. The highest levels of generic diversity are reported from Colombia, with up to 2,380 genera per 1° latitudinal band, of which 1,945 are found in the Andes. Ecuador, and especially Peru and Bolivia have slightly lower, but overall similar genus numbers. Across the region, between 71 and 83% of all epiphytic plant species are found in the Andean region, whereas tree diversity is higher in the lowlands. Within the tropical Andes we found no evidence for major biogeographic borders at the genus-level, but a very high number of plant genera reach their southern distribution limit at about 19°S in Bolivia. A more detailed view of mesoscale patterns of diversity is compromised by the very unequal distribution of plant records, which is generally highest in Ecuador and Colombia, much lower in Peru and Bolivia. Seemingly less biodiverse regions there clearly correspond to regions with low numbers of plant records and the same appears to be true for much of the Central and Southern Andes. A correlation of the number species/genera recorded per 1x1° grid cell with the number of records indicates that very few grid cells along the Andes have likely been recorded to near-saturation. The bulk of the grid cells still have less than 5,000 records, which probably captures only a fraction of the plant diversity present. The few well sampled regions in the Central Andes indicate that plant diversity of the humid eastern Andean slopes in Peru and Bolivia is likely similar to that of the Northern Andes. For a more complete understanding of patterns of diversity, it would be required to greatly expand the amount of georeferenced data, mainly by targeted collecting and the systematic evaluation of local and national herbaria in South America.
Systematics and Biodiversity, 2013
Mexico is considered a megadiverse country containing more than 10% of the world's biodiversity. The distribution of this species richness and endemism is different among the different Mexican states. We examined the species richness patterns of 13 families of vascular plants (including ferns, gymnosperms and angiosperms) in Mexico using political divisions (states) as units of analysis. We analysed the species richness values (absolute richness, endemic richness and restrictive richness) of these plant families using stepwise multiple regression analysis, assessing their relationship with a set of 10 environmental variables (expressed as heterogeneity coefficients). A combined cluster analysis with multidimensional scaling analysis (MDS) and an analysis of similarities were also undertaken to define the spatial-geographical patterns. Additionally, we proposed a methodological strategy to determine which states of Mexico have priorities for conservation. Our results suggested that the three species richness values used were significantly predicted by environmental factors, especially by climatic heterogeneity. Notwithstanding that a linear pattern was recognized, the Mexican states were gathered in four groups, which were confirmed by the MDS and the cluster analysis: (1) the Yucatan Peninsula, (2) arid Mexico, (3) the Mexican Transition Zone and (4) the megadiverse states. We proposed that 12 Mexican states include all the environmental conditions and are candidates for developing conservation programmes: (1)
Angiosperm flora and biogeography of the páramo region of Colombia, Northern Andes
Páramo is the neotropical high elevation ecosystem in the northern Andes and Central America consist-ing of multiple dissected open areas above 3000 m a.s.l. Complex evolutionary processes that occurredwithin these ecosystems gave rise to a unique tropical Andean flora. Previous phytogeographical clas-sifications for Colombian páramos have been based on subjective assessments of species distributions.However, a detailed floristic analysis highlighting affinities between páramo regions in Colombia has notyet been proposed. The aim of this study is to provide an analytical scenario for the patterns of regionalplant diversity in a hierarchical framework based on the biogeographical history of the páramos, basedon 30 localities of the Colombian páramos. Parsimony analysis of endemicity (PAE) and Jaccard similarityindices were applied to a presence/absence data matrix of páramo angiosperm species. Altitudinal distri-bution of species was used to determine the percentage of the páramo flora endemic to this ecosystem.Genera are shared among páramos, whereas species composition is highly endemic. 86% of the páramoangiosperm plant species is endemic to this ecosystem. The Colombian Páramo areas can be grouped usingPAE into five biogeographical units, based on angiosperm species composition. These are: (1) Páramosde la Cordillera Oriental; (2) Páramos de la Cordillera Central and Macizo Colombiano; (3) Páramos deAntioquia; (4) Páramos del Norte; (5) Páramos de la Cordillera Occidental.