Global Biodiversity patterns:
Implications for nature conservation
at regional to global scales
Jens Mutke
1st International BION-Conference: Biodiversity Today for Tomorrow
Wednesday, September 17th 2014
http://www.nees.uni-bonn.de/staff/pages/jens-mutke
Detailed analyses for most vertebrates
available since 2004
Complete species level datasets at
iucnredlist.org
Species level data only for subgroups & regions
global: only species numbers
Detailed plant diversity maps since 1996
Detailed analyses for most vertebrates
available since 2004
26,000 sp.
of vertebrates
≤1% of all animals?
Detailed plant diversity maps since 1996
320,000 sp.
90% of land plants
… and the other 10%:
A short history of
global biodiversity maps
„Die Verbreitung der Gewächse“ (1838)
Based on Alexander von Humboldt‘s
„Statistik der vornehmsten Pflanzenfamilien und Pflanzengruppen“
[Dr. Heinrich Berghaus Physikalischer Atlas]
Tropical America
3880 spp.
(c. 3.5%)
North America
2890 spp.
(c.15%)
Central Europe
3413 spp.
(almost 100% of the flora)
New Zealand
380 spp.
(c. 16%)
Tropical Africa
573 spp.
(c. 1.5%)
Barthlott et al. 2005
Mutke & Barthlott 2005
Kier et al. 2005
Wulff 1935
A short history of
global biodiversity maps
Humboldt 1838 Malyshev 1975 Barthlott et al. 1996, 1999
Mutke et al. 2001
Sommer et al. 2010
Kreft & Jetz 2007
Kreft et al. 2008
Island Diversity
http://www.researchgate.net/publication/215672852_Global_centers_of_vascular_plant_diversity
http://www.researchgate.net/publication/215672861_Patterns_of_vascular_plant_diversity_at_continental_to_global_scales
http://www.researchgate.net/publication/230814249_Global_patterns_of_plant_diversity_and_floristic_knowledge
http://www.researchgate.net/publication/215672863_Patterns_of_African_vascular_plant_diversity__a_GIS_based_analysis
http://www.researchgate.net/publication/42541409_Projected_impacts_of_climate_change_on_regional_capacities_for_global_plant_species_richness
http://www.researchgate.net/publication/5811867_Global_diversity_of_island_floras_from_a_macroecological_perspective
2009
http://www.researchgate.net/publication/26242092_A_global_assessment_of_endemism_and_species_richness_across_island_and_mainland_regions
Mesoamerica
E-Brazil
Carribean
SW-Australia
Costa Rica-Chocó
Guayana
Capensis
China-
Indochina
Caucasus
Papua
Indomalayan
Himalaya
W-Ghats
Madagascar
E-Africa
Mediterranean
NE-Australia
Cameroon-
Guinea
Maputaland-
Pondoland
Andes-
Amazonia
Barthlott, Kier, Kreft, Küper, Rafiqpoor & Mutke 2005, 2007
Biodiversity:
Centers of Plant Species Richness
http://www.researchgate.net/publication/215672852_Global_centers_of_vascular_plant_diversity
http://www.researchgate.net/publication/215672847_Geographic_patterns_of_vascular_plant_diversity_at_continental_to_global_scales
Protected Areas and Human Population in
the Centers of Plant Species Richness
Capensis
Indo-Malaya
Mesoamerica
Costa Rica-Chocó
Andes-
Amazonia
E-Brazil
Maputaland-
Pondoland
Madagascar
Cameroon-
Guinea
Albertine
Rift
SW-Australia
Papua
W-Ghats
Caucasus
Mediterranean Himalaya
Indochina-China
Guayana
Caribbean
NE-Australia
Centre in
Area
(x1000 km
2
)
Human
Population
2014
Human
Population
1990
population growth
Percent
protected
2014
Percent
protected
1990
1 Africa 463
39.95 Mio
27.7 Mio 12.3 Mio / 44% 16.0% 5.7%
2 Americas 4,970
251.7 Mio
185.9 Mio 65.9 Mio / 35% 32.4% 11.2%
3 S & E Asia 4,450
698.8 Mio
542.8 Mio 155.9 Mio / 29% 13.6% 4.6%
4 W Eurasia 48
21.2 Mio
19.2 Mio 2 Mio / 11% 20.2% 9.3%
5 Australia 266
0.3 Mio
0.2 Mio 0.1 Mio / 44% 32.7% 11.7%
total 10,193 1,011.9 Mio 775.7 Mio 236.2 Mio / 30% 23.2% 8.0%
% of world’s total
5.2%
13.9%
12.9% 18.2%
[updaten from Barthlott et al. 2005 &
Mutke et al. 2011]
All 20 global centres of plant diversity > 3,000 spp. / 10,000 km²
http://www.researchgate.net/publication/215672852_Global_centers_of_vascular_plant_diversity
http://www.researchgate.net/publication/216188848_Vascular_plant_diversity_in_a_changing_world_global_centres_and_biome-specific_patterns
Liverworth
c. 6,500 sp.
Mosses
c. 15,000 sp.
Hornworth
Lycopods
Ferns
Seed plants
Vascular Plants
Land Plants
Flowering Plants
c. 320,000 sp.
Gymnosperms
c. 1,000 sp.
Global diversity patterns of all major
groups of land plants available
von Konrat et al 2008 Mutke & Geffert 2010,
Geffert et al. 2013
Kreft et al 2010
Mutke & Barthlott 2005, Barthlott et al. 2007
c. 13,000 sp.
http://www.researchgate.net/publication/250199526_Chapter_Nine_Early_Land_Plants_Today_Liverwort_Species_Diversity_and_the_Relationship_with_Higher_Taxonomy_and_Higher_Plants
http://www.researchgate.net/publication/215672862_Keep_on_working_the_uneven_documentation_of_regional_moss_floras
http://www.researchgate.net/publication/235945458_Global_moss_diversity_spatial_and_taxonomic_patterns_of_species_richness
http://www.researchgate.net/publication/230814229_Contrasting_environmental_and_regional_effects_on_global_pteridophyte_and_seed_plant_diversity
http://www.researchgate.net/publication/215672861_Patterns_of_vascular_plant_diversity_at_continental_to_global_scales
http://www.researchgate.net/publication/215672847_Geographic_patterns_of_vascular_plant_diversity_at_continental_to_global_scales
Global Priority Setting for
Gymnosperm Conservation
• Species level data for all c. 1000 species
(conifers, cycads, etc)
• Largest conifer forests: Boreal region –
Highest diversity: Tropics and Subtropics
• Dataset currently in the process of
revision and update in collaboration with
colleagues in Denmark
Mutke & Barthlott 2005, Barthlott et al. 2007
http://www.researchgate.net/publication/215672861_Patterns_of_vascular_plant_diversity_at_continental_to_global_scales
http://www.researchgate.net/publication/215672847_Geographic_patterns_of_vascular_plant_diversity_at_continental_to_global_scales
• Student Lab Courses at University Bonn:
GIS, Biogeography, Conservation Planing in
BSc Biology, MSc Plant Science, MSc
Organismic Biology (OEP)
• International Summer Schools
(e.g. in BIOTA Africa Network, iCUBE)
• PhD Students from Burkina Faso, Colombia,
Iran, …
Teaching and capacity building
Another (new) information source at the global scale
Published by Kew Botanic Gardens, UK since the late 1990ies,
currently includes 173 of c. 450 Seed Plant families and
c. 106,000 out of an estimated 350,000 species
Distribution mostly on country level (“TDWG level 3”)
We cross-checked with our data: for most regions between 9-30% of the genera covered, but
some taxonomic (and ecological) bias:
e.g., +/- all plants with bulbs are included, but only a minor fraction of tropical tree families.
Bulbs: 100% covered:True pattern! Trees: True pattern???
Brazilian Amazon:
1317 of c. 15,000
tree species covered
Examples for regional Analyses
Biogeography and Biodiversity of Cacti Conservation Biogeography of the
Carnivorous Plant Genus
Nepenthes
Biogeography of Neotropical Forests Latitudinal and Altitudinal Diversity Patterns of
selected Andean Plant Genera
Baltes, Mutke, Rembold & Barthlott, in prep.
Mutke 2001 & in prep.
Barthlott et al. 2015
in Schumannia 7
Mutke, Weigend et al. 2014Frontiers in Genetics 5
http://www.researchgate.net/publication/215672830_Forest_structure_and_tree_species_composition_of_the_submontane_rainforest_at_Ro_Guajalito
http://www.researchgate.net/publication/270476747_Biogeography_and_Biodiversity_of_Cacti
http://www.researchgate.net/publication/270476747_Biogeography_and_Biodiversity_of_Cacti
http://www.researchgate.net/publication/270476747_Biogeography_and_Biodiversity_of_Cacti
http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fgene.2014.00351/abstract
Biogeographic patterns of
Cactus distribution
(Barthlott et al. 2015. Biogeography and
Biodiversity of Cacti. – Schumannia 7)
c.50% of the species
Countries
Gap species
Protected Areas (Cat I to IV)
Protected Areas (all)
Conservation Assessm
