Flowering plants at Sino-Himalaya and the Tibetan Plateau face increased extinction risk

doi:10.1111/jse.13160

J Syst Evol ›› 2025, Vol. 63 ›› Issue (1): 148-159.DOI: 10.1111/jse.13160

Special Issue: Virtual Focus on Systematics and Biodiversity Conservation

• Research Article • Previous Articles Next Articles

Flowering plants at Sino-Himalaya and the Tibetan Plateau face increased extinction risk

Li‐Na Zhao^1,2,3†, Yun Liu^4†, Jian‐Fei Ye^5,6, Bing Liu^1,2, Hai‐Hua Hu^1,2, Li‐Min Lu^1,2, Jiang Chang⁷, Robert P. Guralnick⁸, Miao Sun^9,10*, and Zhi‐Duan Chen^1,2,11*

¹State Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops & Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
²China National Botanical Garden, Beijing 100093, China
³University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
⁴College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100048, China
⁵State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Ecology, Sun Yat‐sen University, Shenzhen 518107, China
⁶Shenzhen Campus, Sun Yat‐sen University, Shenzhen 518107, China
⁷State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China
⁸Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville 32611, FL, USA
⁹National Key Laboratory for Germplasm Innovation & Utilization of Horticultural Crops, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
¹⁰Department of Biology‐Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Aarhus University, Aarhus C 8000, Denmark
¹¹Sino‐Africa Joint Research Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, China

^†These authors contributed equally to this work.
^*Authors for correspondence. Zhi‐Duan Chen. E‐mail: zhiduan@ibcas.ac.cn; Miao Sun. E‐mail: miaosun@mail.hzau.edu.cn

Received:2024-04-11 Accepted:2024-10-11 Online:2025-01-22 Published:2025-01-01
Supported by:
This work was supported by the National Key Research Development Program of China (2023YFF0805800, 2022YFF0802300, 2022YFC2601200), the International Partnership Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (151853KYSB20190027), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31900191), the Sino‐Africa Joint Research Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, the International Research and Education Development Program (SAJC201613), and the Biodiversity Survey and Assessment Project of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (2019HJ2096001006).

Abstract

Abstract: The loss of biodiversity is one of the most serious environmental issues in the Anthropocene. Understanding the extinction risk of species is essential for preemptive conservation measures, but is hampered by gaps in geographical and evolutionary knowledge, especially in areas/regions that are highly diverse in species. Combined with a 21 109-taxon angiosperm mega-phylogeny and comprehensive species distribution database, we evaluated the characteristics of angiosperm extinction risk at the Sino-Himalaya and the Tibetan Plateau (SHTP). Overall, our results show that there is a strong interaction between evolutionary and environmental factors on extinction risk, and both contribute spatially to threat processing in the SHTP. The extinction risk of angiosperms in this region is spatially and phylogenetically clustered; the clades with low species richness are significantly more vulnerable to extinction than species-rich ones; the regions with the highest extinction risk are concentrated in the mountainous areas of southwest China. Integrated with the existing Red List, we further delineated more than 3000 potentially threatened species and proposed practical conservation priorities for four types of species in the SHTP. The extinction risk of angiosperms showed both phylogenetically and spatially aggregate characteristics, serving as an important reference for predicting extinction trends and the formulation of targeted conservation strategies.

Key words: biodiversity conservation, evolutionary driver, extinction risk, IUCN Red List, phylogenetic signal, Sino‐Himalaya and the Tibetan Plateau.

Li‐Na Zhao, Yun Liu, Jian‐Fei Ye, Bing Liu, Hai‐Hua Hu, Li‐Min Lu, Jiang Chang, Robert P. Guralnick, Miao Sun, Zhi‐Duan Chen. Flowering plants at Sino-Himalaya and the Tibetan Plateau face increased extinction risk[J]. J Syst Evol, 2025, 63(1): 148-159.

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Flowering plants at Sino-Himalaya and the Tibetan Plateau face increased extinction risk

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