Diversity and Conservation Gap Analysis of the Solanaceae of Southern South America

PALCHETTI, M.V.

Frontiers in Plant Science

Frontiers Media S.A.

Año: 2022 vol. 13

here is a need to make substantial advances in the taxonomic, systematic, and distribution knowledge of plants, and find better ways of transmission of this information to society to surpass the general pattern described as ?plant blindness.? The diversity of the plant family Solanaceae reaches its peak in South America; however, many of its species are threatened due to the expansion of the human footprint. Here, we examine the diversity patterns of the family in southern South America (Argentina and Chile) by means of species richness (SR), weighted endemism (WE), and corrected weighted endemism (CWE). We also evaluated conservation gaps in relation to protected areas and the human footprint as a proxy for potential impacts on this biodiversity. Results show two richness centers in NW and NE Argentina, with a high degree of overlap with protected areas, which, on the other side, show a relative high index of human footprint. Comparatively, coastal Atacama (Chile) shows lower richnes