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Título del libro: Biodiversity Hotspots
Título del capítulo: Plant biodiversity hotspots and biogeographic methods

Autores UNAM:
MERCEDES ISOLDA LUNA VEGA; RAUL CONTRERAS MEDINA;
Autores externos:

Idioma:
Inglés
Año de publicación:
2011
Resumen:

Current loss of biodiversity places a premium on the task of recognizing and formulating proposals on potential areas for biological conservation based on scientific criteria; among these tasks, identification of hotspots has a relevant role on conservation of biodiversity. Among the approaches used in their recognition, biogeographic methods have a relevant role. In this study, we discuss the application of different biogeographic methods to identify plant biodiversity hotspots, based on the congruence among areas of endemism, panbiogeographic nodes, and Pleistocene refugia. Land plants are one of the best known biological groups that can be used as a test model for studies in biological diversity. Our study is based on previous biogeographic analyses of mosses, gymnosperms and angiosperms carried out in different places around the world, where panbiogeographic nodes and areas of endemism have been proposed for these plants, also including refugia proposed worldwide based on different biological groups. A remarkable congruence among these areas recognized by the application of different biogeographic methods for these plant groups is noted in western North America, Appalachian, Mesoamerica, southern Chile, southeastern Brazil, central Africa, Japan, southeastern China, Tasmania, New Caledonia, northeastern Australia, New Guinea, and New Zealand; this congruence indicates that these areas deserve special status in plant biodiversity and conservation. We propose that these areas identified by different biogeographic methods are important biodiversity areas and can be recognized as hotspots; these areas have a relevant role in plant biodiversity and are important in conservation due to their climatic conditions (refugia), the historical factors that have been involved in their evolution (nodes), and the restricted distribution of some plant taxa that inhabit them (areas of endemism). © 2010 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.


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