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Morales M, Oakley L, Sartori ALB, Mogni VY, Atahuachi M, Vanni RO, Fortunato RH, Prado DE. Diversity and conservation of legumes in the Gran Chaco and biogeograpical inferences. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0220151. [PMID: 31412055 PMCID: PMC6693842 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0220151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2019] [Accepted: 07/09/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The Gran Chaco is a wide ecologic-geographic region comprising northern Argentina, western Paraguay, southern Bolivia and the southwestern extreme of Brazil. This region exhibits extreme temperatures, annually regular frosts, and sedimentary soils; it has been dramatically threatened by agriculture expansion in recent decades. Therefore, increasing knowledge of plant diversity is critical for conservation purposes. We present a Legume checklist of the Gran Chaco ecoregion including conservation status of its endemic species. Leguminosae is the third most diverse plant family in the Neotropics. Assuming a rigorous spatial definition of the Gran Chaco, we recorded 98 genera, 362 species, and 404 specific and infraspecific taxa. Endemic/typical taxa were 17%, comparable to adjacent tropical plant formations, and they were found in higher percentages in Caesalpinioideae (24%) and Cercidoideae (33%) than Papilionoideae (11%) subfamily. We also analyzed the plant diversity comparing lineages and subregions. The Gran Chaco Legumes are predominantly widespread generalists, or they belong to either Chaco sensu stricto or Neotropical Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest (SDTF) lineages. Though the Humid Chaco registered the highest species richness, Dry Chaco and Sierra Chaco, the most threatrened subregions, exhibited the highest percentages of exclusive and proper Chaco-lineage species. These results suggest that diversification of Legumes has been most relevant in Dry Chaco and Sierra Chaco, probably by their more demanding and harsh environmental conditions limiting the dispersion of generalists or intrusive-invading species. This study is paramount to reach an improved delimitation of the Gran Chaco ecoregion in transitional areas with the SDTF and Cerrado formations. Conservation status is critical in genera of high economic interest, such as Arachis, Mimosa and Prosopis. At least one third of endemic taxa exhibit a critical status of conservation or are endangered, many of them being relevant to inbreeding program or exhibiting multiple economic uses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matías Morales
- Instituto de Recursos Biológicos (CIRN–CNIA, INTA). Las Cabañas y Los Reseros s.n. Hurlingham (1686), Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET). Buenos Aires. Argentina
- Facultad de Agronomía y Cs. Agroalimentarias, Universidad de Morón, Cabildo, Morón, Argentina
- * E-mail: ,
| | - Luis Oakley
- Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Campo Experimental Villarino, CC Nº 14, S2125ZAA, Zavalla, Santa Fe, Argentina
- Red List Authority Coordinator for the Temperate South American Plant Specialist Groups -International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Angela L. B. Sartori
- Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, Instituto de Biociências, Laboratório de Sistemática Vegetal, Cidade Universitária, s/n, C.P. 549, CEP, Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil
| | - Virginia Y. Mogni
- Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Campo Experimental Villarino, CC Nº 14, S2125ZAA, Zavalla, Santa Fe, Argentina
| | - Margoth Atahuachi
- Herbario Forestal Nacional M. Cárdenas, Centro de Biodiversidad y Genética, Universidad Mayor de San Simón, Final Jordan este, Casilla, Cochabamba, Bolivia
| | - Ricardo O. Vanni
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET). Buenos Aires. Argentina
- Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste (IBONE), Casilla de Correo, Corrientes, Argentina
| | - Renée H. Fortunato
- Instituto de Recursos Biológicos (CIRN–CNIA, INTA). Las Cabañas y Los Reseros s.n. Hurlingham (1686), Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET). Buenos Aires. Argentina
- Facultad de Agronomía y Cs. Agroalimentarias, Universidad de Morón, Cabildo, Morón, Argentina
| | - Darién E. Prado
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET). Buenos Aires. Argentina
- Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Campo Experimental Villarino, CC Nº 14, S2125ZAA, Zavalla, Santa Fe, Argentina
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias Agrarias IICAR (UNR-CONICET), Zavalla, Santa Fe, Argentina
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