Map a) Vascular plant species per ecoregion.
Map b) Ecoregions highest in species richness in each biome within each biogeographical realm. Realms: AA, Australasia; AN, Antarctic; AT, Afrotropics; IM, IndoMalay; NA, Nearctic; NT, Neotropics; OC, Oceania; PA, Palearctic. Biomes: 1 - tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests; 2 - tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests; 3 - tropical and subtropical coniferous forests; 4 - temperate broadleaf and mixed forests; 5 - temperate conifer forests; 6 - boreal forests/taiga; 7 - tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas and shrublands; 8 - temperate grasslands, savannas and shrublands; 9 - flooded grasslands and savannas; 10 - montane grasslands and shrublands; 11 - tundra; 12 - mediterranean forests, woodlands and scrub; 13 - deserts and xeric shrublands; 14 - mangroves.
Map c) Suitability and quality of underlying plant data at the scale of ecoregions.
Scientists map the world for nature conservation
Borneo - the most species-rich area in the world!
For years, experts have been calling for an improved database that would enable them to develop more effective global nature conservation strategies. Botanists at the University of Bonn have now taken a major step in this direction with the publication, in the Journal of Biogeography, of a world map of plant biodiversity.
The atlas is arranged in 867 zones, known as ecoregions. "This makes the data on the world's plant diversity accessible in accordance with a common geographical standard," explains Gerold Kier, head of the project at Bonn University's Nees Institute for Plant Biodiversity. This work, says Kier, represents a significant advance because the results are needed both for nature conservation planners and those engaged in basic research.
A central innovation here is the breakdown of data by vegetation zone. Tropical rainforests are, unsurprisingly, shown to be among the most species-rich areas on earth. Indeed, Borneo's lowland rainforest is the most diverse of all, with around 10,000 plant species. By comparison, the whole of the Federal Republic of Germany contains some 2,700 different native plants. "However, we have found out for the first time where, within each of the different vegetation zones, plant biodiversity is highest," says Professor Wilhelm Barthlott, founder of the working group and Director of the Nees Institute. It has emerged, for example, that the Sundarbans region (which spreads across Bangladesh and India), the world's most species-rich mangrove area, has not so far been included on many nature conservation priority lists.
An important "spin-off" from the project is a map showing how thoroughly the plant world has been studied in different regions. Among the "white patches" on the map, showing areas for which floristic knowledge is very poor, we find the southern Amazon basin and North Colombia, which are two of the world's most biodiverse areas. "There is also little known about the biodiversity that exists in large parts of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, the north of China and, surprisingly, even Japan," adds Kier. Of all the different types of vegetation zone, the flooded savannas and grasslands are the least explored by botanists. Greater efforts are needed in future to discover more about the plant life they contain. The project was conducted as a component of the large-scale BIOLOG-BIOTA programme, funded by German's Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and run with the cooperation of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
據(jù)Eurekalert網5月12日報道,,多年以來,專家一直呼吁建立一種更為完善的數(shù)據(jù)庫,,可以用來制定更多有效的全球自然保護策略,。針對這一呼聲,,德國波恩大學的植物學家們正在努力出版一本關于全球植物多樣性的地圖集。
這一地圖集包括867個生態(tài)區(qū),。項目負責人Gerold Kier指出,,這樣可以使全球植物多樣性的數(shù)據(jù)與普通地理學標準相一致,方便人們使用,。該地圖集對于自然保護計劃者和從事基礎研究的人們來說,,都具有重大意義。
這本地圖集的最大創(chuàng)新之處,,就是將數(shù)據(jù)按照植被帶進行分類,。毫無疑問,熱帶雨林是地球上物種最為豐富的區(qū)域。當然,,婆羅州是其中物種最豐富的,約有10,,000種植物,。比較起來,德國擁有2,,700種不同的本土植物,。波恩大學的威廉·巴夫洛特教授說:“我們第一次發(fā)現(xiàn)在每個不同的植被帶內,植物多樣性是最高的,。”比如,,孫德爾本斯地區(qū)(跨越孟加拉國和印度)擁有世界物種最豐富的紅樹林區(qū),到目前為止還沒有被收入優(yōu)先進行自然保護的名單內,。
整個項目中還有一個創(chuàng)新點就是,,通過一張地圖大致顯示出科學家已經研究過的區(qū)域。其中的白塊表示科學家對該地區(qū)花類的知識非常缺乏,,我們發(fā)現(xiàn)南部亞馬遜盆地和北哥倫布是世界上生物多樣性最豐富的兩個區(qū)域,。而對于巴基斯坦、阿富汗,、伊朗,、中國北部甚至日本的生物多樣性還是知之甚少。在所有的植被帶中,,受過洪災的熱帶稀樹大草原和牧草地是植物學家探險最少的,。今后,還需要更多的努力來獲得這些區(qū)域的植物知識,。