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
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
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
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 km2)
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
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.
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
• 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
Biogeographic patterns of Cactus distribution
(Barthlott et al. 2015. Biogeography and
Biodiversity of Cacti. – Schumannia 7)
c.50% of the species
<10,000 km² distribution range,
33% not covered by existing
protected areas
Countries
Gap species
Protected Areas (Cat I to IV)
Protected Areas (all)
Conservation Assessment (GAP Analysis)
Biogeography and Biodiversity of Cacti
Biogeographic Regionalisation
. . .
Species richness patterns (& the top 5 Centres) Phylogeography
(Barthlott et al. 2015 Schumannia 7, Mutke et al. in prep)
Latitudinal diversity gradient of the genus Nasa (Loasaceae)
[Mutke, Weigend et al 2014. Frontiers in Genetics 5]
+ similar Analyses for Ribes, Urtica, Caiophora and other genera
of tropical Andean plants
Large database and analyses regarding biogeographical patterns and gradients in Neotropical Forests
Forest Inventories
included in this
study
Biogeographic
Regions as defined
in Kier et al. 2009
> 400 forest inventories taken from the literature
> 10,000 species / 1,490 genera / 223 families
of Woody Plants
Mutke 2001 &
in prep.
Summary
• Diversity patterns of all major groups of land plants documented & analysed
• Centers of plant diversity overlap to a high degree with well known priority
areas (Biodiversity hotspots, centers of vertebrates diversity etc)
• Most diversity centres are centres of high human cultural diversity but as well
high human population pressure
• More detailed analyses (combined with own field experience) mainly in Latin
America (Cacti, Tropical Andes, Neotropical Forests…)
& Sub-Saharan Africa (BIOTA Africa project)
• Possible networking (BION and beyond…):
• Methods and approaches transferable to other regions, scales, and groups
(crops and medicinal plants, animal-plant interactions,ecosystem
services…)
• Comparative analysis of diversity patterns of different groups of
organisms/ecosystems
• Teaching & capacity building
Conclusions
Thank you for your
attention!
www.nees.uni-bonn.de
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