If key regions that cover only 17 percent of the Earth's surface were better protected it could save over 60 percent of the world's plant species.
Scientists used a computer algorithm and analyzed over 100,000 species of plants to determine the least amount of land that would need to be saved in order to protect the largest amount of species, and targeted the areas with the most diversity, a Duke University press release reported.
"To achieve these goals, we need to protect more land, on average, than we currently do, and much more in key places such as Madagascar, New Guinea and Ecuador," Stuart L. Pimm, Doris Duke Professor of Conservation Ecology at Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment, said. "Our study identifies regions of importance. The logical -- and very challenging -- next step will be to make tactical local decisions within those regions to secure the most critical land for conservation."
Areas such as "Central America, the Caribbean, the Northern Andes and regions in Africa and Asia," have a high concentration of endemic plant species (those that can't be found anywhere else in the world).
"Species endemic to small geographical ranges are at a much higher risk of being threatened or endangered than those with large ranges," Lucas N. Joppa, a conservation scientist at Microsoft Research's Computational Science Laboratory, said. "We combined regions to maximize the numbers of species in the minimal area. With that information, we can more accurately evaluate each region's relative importance for conservation, and assess international priorities accordingly."
The scientists also looked at the distribution of short-ranged animals, and found they generally live in the same areas. Preserving these vital lands would not only make a big difference for plant life, but for birds, mammals, and amphibians as well.
Pimm believes the effort is well on its way, with the help of his conservation nonprofit Saving Species. The organization works to purchase threatened land that is critical to the world's species.
"The fraction of land being protected in high-priority regions increases each year as new national parks are established and greater autonomy is given back to indigenous peoples to allow them to manage their traditional lands," Pimm said.
"But the last few steps remaining are huge ones," he said.
