Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2024 Aug 20;121(34):e2319989121. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2319989121. Epub 2024 Aug 12.
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.
维管植物种类多样，是陆地生态系统的主要组成部分，但它们的地理分布仍不完整。在这里，我通过整合物种分布模型来构建一个全球维管植物分布数据库，该模型根据物种的扩散能力和自然栖息地进行校准，以预测 201681 种维管植物在未调查地区的原生范围图。利用这些地图，我揭示了独特的原生维管植物多样性、特有性和系统发育多样性模式，揭示了未充分记录的生物多样性丰富地区的热点。这些热点基于详细的物种级地图，显示出明显的纬度梯度，强烈支持了向赤道增加多样性的理论。我训练了随机森林模型来推断无偏全球采样下的多样性模式，并识别与模型估计的重叠，但揭示了未被模型估计捕捉到的隐藏热点。只有 29%到 36%的外推植物热点位于保护区内，超过 60%的热点位于保护区外，容易受到影响。然而，这些未受保护的热点拥有具有独特属性的物种，使它们成为保护优先级制定的良好候选者。
