López-Tobar Rolando, Herrera-Feijoo Robinson J, Mateo Rubén G, García-Robredo Fernando, Torres Bolier
Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales, Universidad Técnica Estatal de Quevedo (UTEQ), Quevedo Av. Quito km, 1 1/2 Vía a Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, Quevedo 120550, Ecuador.
Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería de Montes, Forestal y del Medio Natural, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
Plants (Basel). 2023 Sep 20;12(18):3327. doi: 10.3390/plants12183327.
The Ecuadorian Amazon is home to a rich biodiversity of woody plant species. Nonetheless, their conservation remains difficult, as some areas remain poorly explored and lack georeferenced records. Therefore, the current study aims predominantly to analyze the collection patterns of timber species in the Amazon lowlands of Ecuador and to evaluate the conservation coverage of these species in protected areas. Furthermore, we try to determine the conservation category of the species according to the criteria of the IUCN Red List. We identified that one third of the timber species in the study area was concentrated in three provinces due to historical botanical expeditions. However, a worrying 22.0% of the species had less than five records of presence, and 29.9% had less than ten records, indicating a possible underestimation of their presence. In addition, almost half of the species evaluated were unprotected, exposing them to deforestation risks and threats. To improve knowledge and conservation of forest biodiversity in the Ecuadorian Amazon, it is recommended to perform new botanical samplings in little-explored areas and digitize data in national herbaria. It is critical to implement automated assessments of the conservation status of species with insufficient data. In addition, it is suggested to use species distribution models to identify optimal areas for forest restoration initiatives. Effective communication of results and collaboration between scientists, governments, and local communities are key to the protection and sustainable management of forest biodiversity in the Amazon region.
厄瓜多尔亚马逊地区是多种木本植物物种丰富生物多样性的家园。尽管如此，它们的保护仍然困难重重，因为一些地区仍未得到充分勘探，且缺乏地理参考记录。因此，当前的研究主要旨在分析厄瓜多尔亚马逊低地木材物种的采集模式，并评估这些物种在保护区的保护覆盖范围。此外，我们试图根据世界自然保护联盟红色名录的标准确定这些物种的保护类别。我们发现，由于历史上的植物考察，研究区域内三分之一的木材物种集中在三个省份。然而，令人担忧的是，22.0%的物种存在记录不足五条，29.9%的物种存在记录不足十条，这表明它们的存在可能被低估。此外，几乎一半被评估的物种未受到保护，这使它们面临森林砍伐的风险和威胁。为了增进对厄瓜多尔亚马逊地区森林生物多样性的了解和保护，建议在勘探不足的地区进行新的植物采样，并将国家标本馆的数据数字化。对数据不足的物种进行保护状况的自动评估至关重要。此外，建议使用物种分布模型来确定森林恢复计划的最佳区域。有效传播研究结果以及科学家、政府和当地社区之间的合作是亚马逊地区森林生物多样性保护和可持续管理的关键。
