Planet of the Plants scim.ag/ 15NtUId Can international commitments of protecting one-sixth of the earth’s surface area and nearly two-thirds of all plant species be attained by 2020? A new study says yes—but only if more is done to preserve biodiversity hot spots. Using data from “The Plant List” ( theplantlis t.org), Lucas Joppa et al. created a computer algorithm to pinpoint the smallest set of regions that have the largest number of plant species. They discovered that 67% of the world’s plants are unique to just 17% of the globe. They cross-referenced those hot spot regions with safeguarded zones and found that less than one-sixth of them are currently protected. The regions identified as particularly species-rich include many tropical and subtropical islands, as well as the northern Andes, the Caribbean, Central America, and stretches of Africa and Asia. To learn more, read the Report here: scim.ag/ 15NtUId
Posted on: Thu, 12 Sep 2013 19:17:12 +0000
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