Identifying Mozambique's most critical areas for plant conservation: An evaluation of protected areas and Important Plant Areas

• Successful protected area networks must represent biodiversity across taxonomic groups. However, too often plant species are overlooked in conservation planning, and the resulting protected areas may, as a result, fail to encompass the most important sites for plant diversity. The Mozambique Tropical Important Plant Areas project sought to promote the conservation of Mozambique's flora through the identification of Important Plant Areas (IPAs). Here, we use the Weighted Endemism including Global Endangerment (WEGE) index to identify the richest areas for rare and endemic plants in Mozambique and subsequently evaluate how well represented these hotspots are within the current protected area and IPA networks. We also examine the congruence between IPA and protected areas to identify opportunities for strengthening the conservation of plants in Mozambique. We found that high WEGE scores, representing areas rich in endemic/near-endemic and threatened species, predict the presence of IPAs in Mozambique, but do not predict the presence of protected areas. We also find that there is limited overlap between IPAs and protected areas in Mozambique. We demonstrate how IPAs could be an important tool for ensuring priority sites for plant diversity are included within protected area network expansions, particularly following the adoption of the "30 by 30" target agreed within the post-2020 Convention on Biological Diversity framework, with great potential for this method to be replicated elsewhere in the global tropics. As redes de areas protegidas bem-sucedidas devem representar a biodiversidade de diversos grupos taxonomicos. No entanto, frequentemente as especies de plantas sao negligenciadas no planeamento da conservacao, e como resultado, as areas protegidas podem nao abranger os locais mais importantes para a diversidade de plantas. O projeto "areas Importantes de Plantas Tropicais de Mocambique" procurou promover a conservacao da flora de Mocambique atraves da identificacao de areas Importantes de Plantas (IPAs). Aqui usamos o indice de Endemismo Ponderado incluindo Ameaca Global (WEGE) para identificar as areas mais ricas em plantas raras e endemicas em Mocambique e, subsequentemente, avaliar o quao bem representados estes hotspots estao dentro da actual rede de areas protegidas e IPAs. Tambem examinamos a congruencia entre IPAs e areas protegidas para identificar oportunidades de fortalecer a conservacao de plantas em Mocambique. Descobrimos que valores altos de WEGE, representando areas ricas em especies endemicas/quase-endemicas e ameacadas, preveem a presenca de IPAs em Mocambique, mas nao preveem a presenca de areas protegidas. Tambem descobrimos que ha uma limitada sobreposicao entre IPAs e areas protegidas em Mocambique. Demonstramos como as IPAs poderiam ser uma ferramenta importante para garantir que os locais prioritarios para a diversidade de plantas estejam incluidos na expansao da rede de areas protegidas, particularmente apos a adopcao das Metas do Quadro Global "30 por 30" da Convencao sobre Diversidade Biologica, com grande potencial para que este metodo seja replicado em outras areas dos tropicos globais. Plants are often overlooked in conservation planning. In Mozambique, we find that the richest areas for rare and threatened plant species are poorly represented within the protected area network. We use Important Plant Areas and the Weighted Endemism including Global Endangerment (WEGE) index to identify opportunities to better conserve Mozambique's flora.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Biologi -- Ekologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Biological Sciences -- Ecology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

biodiversity

botanical richness

conservation planning

convention on biological diversity

IPAs

IUCN red list

protected areas

WEGE

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)