New Eco-map

Botanists have drawn up new map of world plant biodiversity, and they hope it will help them develop better nature conservation plans.

The map splits the globe up into 867 zones called ecoregions. "This makes the data on the world's plant diversity accessible in accordance with a common geographical standard," explains Gerold Kier, head of the project at Bonn University's Nees Institute for Plant Biodiversity. This map will be extremely useful not only for nature conservation efforts, but also for basic research says Kier.

On the map, tropical rainforests are shown to be among the most species-rich areas on Earth. Borneo's lowland rainforest holds the crown for diversity, with around 10,000 plant species. By comparison, the whole of the Federal Republic of Germany contains some 2,700 different native plants.

"We have found out for the first time where, within each of the different vegetation zones, plant biodiversity is highest," says Professor Wilhelm Barthlott, Director of the Nees Institute. This can help conservationists determine where to direct their efforts.

For example, the Sundarbans region - which spreads across Bangladesh and India - turns out to be the world's most species-rich mangrove area, but has not so far been included on many nature conservation priority lists.

Researchers have found another handy use for this map - it helps them keep track of what areas need to be studied more. For instance, very little is known about the flora in two of the world's most bio-diverse areas, the southern Amazon basin and North Colombia.

The new map was published in a recent issue of the Journal of Biogeography.