Global patterns and ecological drivers of taxonomic and phylogenetic endemism in angiosperm genera

Endemism of lineages lies at the core of understanding variation in community composition among geographic regions because it reflects how speciation,extinction,and dispersal have influenced current distributions.Here,we investigated geographic patterns and ecological drivers of taxonomic and phylogenetic endemism of angiosperm genera across the world.We identify centers of paleo-endemism and neo-endemism of angiosperm genera,and show that they are mostly located in the Southern Hemisphere in tropical and subtropical regions,particularly in Asia and Australia.Different categories of phylogenetic endemism centers can be differentiated using current climate conditions.Current climate,historical climate change,and geographic variables together explained~80%of global variation in taxonomic and phylogenetic endemism,while 42-46%,1%,and 15%were independently explained by these three types of variables,respectively.Thus our findings show that past climate change,current climate,and geography act together in shaping endemism,which are consistent with the findings of previous studies that higher temperature and topographic heterogeneity promote endemism.Our study showed that many centers of phylogenetic endemism of angiosperms,including regions in Amazonia,Venezuela,and west-central tropical Africa that have not previously been identified as biodiversity hotspots,are missed by taxon-based measures of endemism,indicating the importance of including evolutionary history in biodiversity assessment.

Spatial phylogenetics of the Chinese angiosperm flora provides insights into endemism and conservation

The flora of China is well known for its high diversity and endemism. Identifying centers of endemism and designating conservation priorities are essential goals for biodiversity studies.However, there is no comprehensive study from a rigorous phylogenetic perspective to understand patterns of diversity and endemism and to guide biodiversity conservation in China. We conducted a spatial phylogenetic analysis of the Chinese angiosperm flora at the generic level to identify centers of neo-and paleoendemism. Our results indicate that:(i) themajority of grid cells in China with significantly high phylogenetic endemism(PE) were located in the mountainous regions;(ii) four of the nine centers of endemism recognized, located in northern and western China, were recognized for the first time;(iii) arid and semiarid regions in Northwest China were commonly linked to significant PE, consistent with other spatial phylogenetic studies worldwide;and(iv) six highpriority conservation gaps were detected by overlaying the boundaries of China’s nature reserves on all significant PE cells. Overall, we conclude that the mountains of southern and northern China contain both paleo-endemics(ancient relictual lineages) and neo-endemics(recently diverged lineages). The areas we highlight as conservation priorities are important for broad-scale planning, especially in the context of evolutionary history preservation.