Dataset Information

A Preliminary Evaluation of The Karst Flora of Brazil Using Collections Data.

ABSTRACT: Karst is defined as landscapes that are underlain by soluble rock in which there is appreciable water movement arising from a combination of high rock solubility and well-developed secondary (fracture) porosity. Karsts occupy approximately 20% of the planet's dry ice-free land and are of great socioeconomic importance, as they supply water to up to 25% of the world's population and represent landscapes of cultural and touristic importance. In Southeast Asia karst is associated with high species-richness and endemism in plants and seen as priority areas for the conservation of biodiversity. There has been little research into the floras associated with karst in South America, most of which occurs in Brazil. We therefore sought to evaluate the importance of Brazilian karst with respect to its species-richness and endemism. We sought to do so using curated plant specimen data in the Botanical Information and Ecology Network (BIEN) dataset. We show that, except for Amazonia, the BIEN dataset is representative of the Brazilian flora with respect to the total number of species and overall patterns of species richness. We found that karst is under-sampled, as is the case for much of Brazil. We also found that whilst karst represent an important source of plant diversity for Brazil, including populations of approximately 1/3 of the Brazilian flora, it is not significantly more species-rich or richer in small-range and endemic species than surrounding landscapes. Similarly, whilst important for conservation, comprising populations of 26.5-37.4% of all Brazilian species evaluated as of conservation concern by International Union for Nature Conservation (IUCN), karst is no more so than the surrounding areas. Whilst experimental error, including map resolution and the precision and accuracy of point data may have under-estimated the species-richness of Brazilian karst, it likely represents an important biodiversity resource for Brazil and one that can play a valuable role in conservation. Our findings are in sharp contrast to those for Southeast Asia where karst represents a more important source of species-richness and endemism. We also show that although BIEN represents a comprehensive and curated source of point data, discrepancies in the application of names compared to current more comprehensive taxonomic backbones, can have profound impacts on estimates of species-richness, distribution ranges and estimates of endemism.

SUBMITTER: Bystriakova N

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6863846 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

A Preliminary Evaluation of The Karst Flora of Brazil Using Collections Data.

Bystriakova Nadia N Alves De Melo Pablo Hendrigo PH Moat Justin J Lughadha Eimear Nic EN Monro Alexandre K AK

Scientific reports 20191119 1

Karst is defined as landscapes that are underlain by soluble rock in which there is appreciable water movement arising from a combination of high rock solubility and well-developed secondary (fracture) porosity. Karsts occupy approximately 20% of the planet's dry ice-free land and are of great socioeconomic importance, as they supply water to up to 25% of the world's population and represent landscapes of cultural and touristic importance. In Southeast Asia karst is associated with high species- ...[more]

PMID: 31745111

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundAboriginal people are under-reported on administrative health data in Australia. Various approaches have been used or proposed to improve reporting of Aboriginal people using linked records. This cross-sectional study used self-reported Aboriginality from the NSW Patient Survey Program (PSP) as a reference standard to assess the accuracy of reporting of Aboriginal people on NSW Admitted Patient (APDC) and Emergency Department Data Collections (EDDC), and compare the accuracy of selected approaches to enhance reporting Aboriginality using linked data.MethodsTen PSP surveys were linked to five administrative health data collections, including APDC, EDDC, perinatal, and birth and death registration records. Accuracy of reporting of Aboriginality was assessed using sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values (PPVs and NPVs) and F score for the EDDC and APDC as baseline and four enhancement approaches using linked records: "Most recent linked record", "Ever reported as Aboriginal", and two approaches using a weight of evidence, "Enhanced Reporting of Aboriginality (ERA) algorithm" and "Multi-stage median (MSM)".ResultsThere was substantial under-reporting of Aboriginality on APDC and EDDC records (sensitivities 84 and 77% respectively) with PPVs of 95% on both data collections. Overall, specificities and NPVs were above 98%. Of people who were reported as Aboriginal on the PSP, 16% were not reported as Aboriginal on any of their linked records. Record linkage approaches generally increased sensitivity, accompanied by decrease in PPV with little change in overall F score for the APDC and an increase in F score for the EDDC. The "ERA algorithm" and "MSM" approaches provided the best overall accuracy.ConclusionsWeight of evidence approaches are preferred when record linkage is used to improve reporting of Aboriginality on administrative health data collections. However, as a substantial number of Aboriginal people are not reported as Aboriginal on any of their linked records, improvements in reporting are incomplete and should be taken into account when interpreting results of any analyses. Enhancement of reporting of Aboriginality using record linkage should not replace efforts to improve recording of Aboriginal people at the point of data collection and addressing barriers to self-identification for Aboriginal people.

Project description:BackgroundToday's species names are entry points into a web of publicly available knowledge and are integral parts of legislation concerning biological conservation and consumer safety. Species information usually is fragmented, can be misleading due to the existence of different names and might even be biased because of an identical name that is used for a different species. Safely navigating through the name space is one of the most challenging tasks when associating names with data and when decisions are made which name to include in legislation. Integrating publicly available dynamic data to characterise plant genetic resources of botanic gardens and other facilities will significantly increase the efficiency of recovering relevant information for research projects, identifying potentially invasive taxa, constructing priority lists and developing DNA-based specimen authentication.New informationTo demonstrate information availability and discuss integration into botanic collections, scientific names derived from botanic gardens were evaluated using the Encyclopedia of Life, The Catalogue of Life and The Plant List. 98.5% of the names could be verified by the combined use of these providers. Comparing taxonomic status information 13 % of the cases were in disagreement. About 7 % of the verified names were found to be included in the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List, including one extinct taxon and three taxa with the status "extinct in the wild". As second most important factor for biodiversity loss, potential invasiveness was determined. Approximately 4 % of the verified names were detected using the Global Invasive Species Information Network, including 208 invasive taxa. According to Delivering Alien Invasive Species Inventories for Europe around 20 % of the verified names are European alien taxa including 15 of the worst European invasive taxa. Considering alternative names in the data recovery process, success increased up to 18 %.

Dataset Information

A Preliminary Evaluation of The Karst Flora of Brazil Using Collections Data.

Publications

A Preliminary Evaluation of The Karst Flora of Brazil Using Collections Data.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets