Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40098641›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in plant science2025

Spatial diversity and distribution of fern and lycophyte species in karst and non-karst landscapes towards conservation needs.

Marjorie D Delos Angeles, Sirilak Radbouchoom, Boniface K Ngarega, R Sedricke Lapuz, Harald Schneider

Abstract read
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Article in Frontiers in plant science, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Marjorie D Delos AngelesCenter for Integrative Conservation and Yunnan Key Laboratory for Conservation of Tropical Rainforests and Asian Elephants, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, Menglun, Yunnan, China.
Sirilak RadbouchoomCenter for Integrative Conservation and Yunnan Key Laboratory for Conservation of Tropical Rainforests and Asian Elephants, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, Menglun, Yunnan, China.
Boniface K NgaregaDepartment of Botany, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Nairobi, Kenya.
R Sedricke LapuzSchool of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Harald SchneiderCenter for Integrative Conservation and Yunnan Key Laboratory for Conservation of Tropical Rainforests and Asian Elephants, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, Menglun, Yunnan, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Karst formations are distinguished by their high levels of species diversity and endemism, including ferns and lycophytes. However, the existing data on plant community composition in karst formations remains deficient. Addressing these knowledge gaps is imperative, given the current accelerated rates of species loss, to enhance efforts to conserve biodiversity in these habitats. This study documents and explains patterns of fern and lycophyte species diversity within karst landscapes (KL) and non-karst landscapes (NKL) in the Philippines. Our comprehensive analysis involved aggregating 19,529 occurrence points encompassing 1,024 fern and lycophyte species sourced from field expeditions, voucher records from local herbaria, and online databases. Indices for species richness, weighted endemism, and corrected weighted endemism were then computed across KL and NKL areas to describe spatial diversity and identify fern and lycophyte hotspot areas. Gap analyses were also performed to determine if established protected areas (PAs) were sufficient to cover the identified fern and lycophyte diversity hotspots. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was conducted to determine potential ecological drivers of distribution between KL and NKL areas. The findings reveal that most fern and lycophyte species were recorded to occur in NKL areas, with 995 (97.16%) species identified, while 676 (66.02%) species were documented to occur in KLs, including 29 (2.83%) exclusive to karsts. Identified hotspots for NKL are within mountain ecosystems, which are already under existing legal protection. In contrast, KLs have five areas identified as congruent hotspots but considered gap areas due to their exclusion from current PA boundaries. Existing PAs thus provide less protection to karst habitats and their associated floras. PCA did not reveal any significant environmental predictors, suggesting separation of KL and NKL species distributions, possibly due to lack of high-resolution environment data available for karsts. To facilitate the conservation of fern and lycophyte species in karsts, we propose installing and expanding existing PA boundaries, along with conducting more focused surveys in karst regions to better understand their ecological dynamics.

Indexed as

diversity hotspotsgap analysismultisource dataPhilippinespteridophytes

Identifiers

PMID40098641
PMCPMC11912880

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.