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Copyright of Ecosistemas y Recursos Agropecuarios is the property of Universidad Juarez Autonoma de Tabasco and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background. Mexico is one of the most floristically rich countries in the world. Despite significant contributions made on the understanding of its unique flora, the knowledge on its diversity, geographic distribution and human uses, is still largely fragmented. Unfortunately, deforestation is heavily impacting this country and native tree species are under threat. The loss of trees has a direct impact on vital ecosystem services, affecting the natural capital of Mexico and people's livelihoods. Given the importance of trees in Mexico for many aspects of human well-being, it is critical to have a more complete understanding of their diversity, distribution, traditional uses and conservation status. We aimed to produce the most comprehensive database and catalogue on native trees of Mexico by filling those gaps, to support their in situ and ex situ conservation, promote their sustainable use, and inform reforestation and livelihoods programmes. Methods. A database with all the tree species reported for Mexico was prepared by compiling information from herbaria and reviewing the available floras. Species names were reconciled and various specialised sources were used to extract additional species information, i.e. endemic status, threat status, availability in seed collections, reports on plant uses and conservation actions currently in place. With this information, a comprehensive catalogue of native trees from Mexico was redacted. Available georeferenced records were used to map each species distribution and perform spatial analyses to identify gaps of information and priority areas for their conservation and exploration. Results. Mexico has at least 2,885 native tree species, belonging to 612 genera and 128 families. Fabaceae is the most represented family and Quercus the most represented genus. Approximately 44% of tree species are endemic to the country. The southern part of the country showed the highest values of species richness. Six hundred and seventy-four species have at least one documented human use. In terms of conservation assessment, ca. 33% of species have been assessed by either the IUCN Red List (919) or the National protection catalogue ''NORMA Oficial Mexicana NOM-059'' (29) or both (45). Additionally, 98 species have been included in the CITES listing for protection. In terms of existing conservation efforts, 19% of species have ex situ protection in seed banks, while protected areas overlap with all the identified peaks of species richness, except for those in the states of Veracruz and Chiapas. This work constitutes a key milestone for the knowledge, management, and conservation of the Mexican native trees. The two areas with high density of tree species identified in Veracruz and Chiapas represent two priority areas for tree conservation in Mexico, where integrated in situ and ex situ conservation efforts should be focused. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The diversity of the woody flora (trees and lianas) of the state of Colima was quantified and prioritized using principles of systematic conservation planning (gradsects, indicators groups and four heuristic algorithms for weighting the species richness, the rarity value, and besides the number and density of species endemic to Mexico). A total of 53 environmental units (EU) were defined with information of geomorphology, altitude and vegetation types. Four gradsects embraced most of the EU diversity (91.6%). Within gradsects 15 EU were chosen with the largest area and accessible roads to locate 24 sampling sites of 0.1 ha, where all trees and lianas ≥ 2.5 cm dap were identified. We counted 4419 individuals, including 417 species and 71 families. Species richness among sites contrasted markedly (between 82 and 5 species). Site species richness significantly correlated with the species endemic to Mexico (r = 0.85, P < 0.001). To preserve at least 75% of the species, five sites were always selected in the top six using the four iterative methods. When this analysis was repeated considering the species recorded in two reserves (Biosphere Reserve of Manantlán and Forest Protection and Wildlife Refuge Area El Jabalí), both areas played a key role, allowing the protection of 67.4% of the total species and 72.5% of the endemics. Four sites were the most complementary if compared with the flora of the reserves. Since the EU where these sites are located are not connected, we suggest that three nearby units be linked through a system of vegetation corridors, which could expand toward the southern portion of the Manantlán reserve. It is recommended that future conservation proposals consider types of vegetation that are valued for possesing other growth forms (e. g., the herbaceous understory of Pinus-Quercus forest) or for the ecosystematic functions they provide (e. g., mangroves). To reach the goal of a representative network of biodiversity areas in Colima, similar data for other groups of plants and animals must be generated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad is the property of Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Instituto de Biologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Universidad & Ciencia is the property of Universidad Juarez Autonoma de Tabasco and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)