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New Brazilian Floristic List Highlights Conservation Challenges

2012; Oxford University Press; Volume: 62; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1525/bio.2012.62.1.8

1525-3244

Rafaela Campostrini Forzza, José Fernando A. Baumgratz, Carlos Eduardo de Mattos Bicudo, Dora Ann Lange Canhos, Aníbal Alves de Carvalho Júnior, Marcus Alberto Nadruz Coelho, Andréa Ferreira da Costa, Denise Pinheiro da Costa, Michael John Gilbert Hopkins, Paula Leitman, Lúcia G. Lohmann, Eimear Nic Lughadha, Leonor Costa Maia, Gustavo Martinelli, Mariângela Menezes, Marli Pires Morim, Ariane Luna Peixoto, José Rubens Pirani, Jefferson Prado, Luciano Paganucci de Queiroz, Sidnei de Souza, Vinícius Castro Souza, João Renato Stehmann, Lana da Silva Sylvestre, Bruno Machado Teles Walter, Daniela C. Zappi,

Fern and Epiphyte Biology

A comprehensive new inventory of Brazilian plants and fungi was published just in time to meet a 2010 Convention on Biological Diversity target and offers important insights into this biodiversity's global significance. Brazil is the home to the world's richest flora (40,989 species; 18,932 endemic) and includes two of the hottest hotspots: Mata Atlântica (19,355 species) and Cerrado (12,669 species). Although the total number of known species is one-third lower than previous estimates, the absolute number of endemic vascular plant species is higher than was previously estimated, and the proportion of endemism (56%) is the highest in the Neotropics. This compilation serves not merely to quantify the scale of the challenge faced in conserving Brazil's unique flora but also serves as a key resource to direct action and monitor progress. Similar efforts by other megadiverse countries are urgently required if the 2020 targets of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation are to be attained.