1. Plant diversity patterns in neotropical dry forests and their conservation implications.
- Author
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Banda-R K, Delgado-Salinas A, Dexter KG, Linares-Palomino R, Oliveira-Filho A, Prado D, Pullan M, Quintana C, Riina R, Rodríguez M GM, Weintritt J, Acevedo-Rodríguez P, Adarve J, Álvarez E, Aranguren B A, Arteaga JC, Aymard G, Castaño A, Ceballos-Mago N, Cogollo Á, Cuadros H, Delgado F, Devia W, Dueñas H, Fajardo L, Fernández Á, Fernández MÁ, Franklin J, Freid EH, Galetti LA, Gonto R, González-M R, Graveson R, Helmer EH, Idárraga Á, López R, Marcano-Vega H, Martínez OG, Maturo HM, McDonald M, McLaren K, Melo O, Mijares F, Mogni V, Molina D, Moreno ND, Nassar JM, Neves DM, Oakley LJ, Oatham M, Olvera-Luna AR, Pezzini FF, Dominguez OJ, Ríos ME, Rivera O, Rodríguez N, Rojas A, Särkinen T, Sánchez R, Smith M, Vargas C, Villanueva B, and Pennington RT
- Subjects
- Caribbean Region, Decision Making, Grassland, Latin America, Seasons, Tropical Climate, Wood, Biodiversity, Conservation of Natural Resources methods, Forests, Trees
- Abstract
Seasonally dry tropical forests are distributed across Latin America and the Caribbean and are highly threatened, with less than 10% of their original extent remaining in many countries. Using 835 inventories covering 4660 species of woody plants, we show marked floristic turnover among inventories and regions, which may be higher than in other neotropical biomes, such as savanna. Such high floristic turnover indicates that numerous conservation areas across many countries will be needed to protect the full diversity of tropical dry forests. Our results provide a scientific framework within which national decision-makers can contextualize the floristic significance of their dry forest at a regional and continental scale., (Copyright © 2016, American Association for the Advancement of Science.)
- Published
- 2016
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