Paraná state’s strategic areas for biodiversity conservation and restoration include the majority of threatened plant species in the most degraded phytogeographic units

Abstract Designing strategic areas for biodiversity protection should help prevent species extinction. However, these delimitations are rarely evaluated for their effectiveness. To determine whether the original design of the Strategic Areas for the Conservation and Restoration of Biodiversity in Paraná (AECR) adequately protected the species and identify the species most likely to become extinct in the region, we analyzed occurrence records for threatened flora in the state’s most degraded phytogeographic regions (Araucaria Forest, Cerrado, and grassland). We developed a list of threatened species for Paraná using herbarium records. We also compiled a threatened species occurrence list for the region by filtering through the herbarium records. Based on the main concepts defining threat status and gap species, we identified the species at an elevated risk of extinction in the study region. A total of 644 threatened species were detected in the regions studied, 86% of which have been recorded within the AECR, and 30% can be characterized as gap species. The species distribution polygons accounted for 98% of species within the AECR and 4% as gap species. A total of 54 species (8.38% of the total) are at a higher risk of extinction.