Plants provide fundamental support systems for life on Earth and are the basis for all terrestrial ecosystems; a decline in plant diversity will be detrimental to all other groups of organisms including humans. Decline in plant diversity has been hard to quantify, due to the huge numbers of known and yet to be discovered species and the lack of an adequate baseline assessment of extinction risk against which to track changes. The biodiversity of many remote parts of the world remains poorly known, and the rate of new assessments of extinction risk for individual plant species approximates the rate at which new plant species are described. Thus the question ‘How threatened are plants?’ is still very difficult to answer accurately. While completing assessments for each species of plant remains a distant prospect, by assessing a randomly selected sample of species the Sampled Red List Index for Plants gives, for the first time, an accurate view of how threatened plants are across the world. It represents the first key phase of ongoing efforts to monitor the status of the world’s plants. More than 20% of plant species assessed are threatened with extinction, and the habitat with the most threatened species is overwhelmingly tropical rain forest, where the greatest threat to plants is anthropogenic habitat conversion, for arable and livestock agriculture, and harvesting of natural resources. Gymnosperms (e.g. conifers and cycads) are the most threatened group, while a third of plant species included in this study have yet to receive an assessment or are so poorly known that we cannot yet ascertain whether they are threatened or not. This study provides a baseline assessment from which trends in the status of plant biodiversity can be measured and periodically reassessed.
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We present revised estimates of the numbers of accepted species of flowering plants (369,434), seed plants (370,492), vascular plants (383,671) and land plants (403,911) based on a recently de-duplicated version of the International Plant Names Index and rates of synonymy calculated from the seed plant families published in the World checklist of selected plant families. Alternative approaches to estimating or calculating the number of accepted plant species are discussed and differences between results are highlighted and interpreted.
How has women's contribution to science developed over multiple generations? We present the first quantitative analysis of the role played by women in publishing botanical species names, and the first complete analysis of women's contribution to a field of science with a timeframe of more than 260 years. The International Plant Names Index and The Plant List were used to analyse the contribution of female authors to the publication of land plant species names. Authors of land plant species were automatically assigned as male or female using Wikipedia articles and manual research. Female authors make up 12.20% of the total number of authors, and they published 2.82% of names. Half of the female authors published 1.5 or more names, while half the male authors published 3 or more names. Female contribution has accounted for more than 1% of new species names since 1900, and now stands at 11.97%. The difference in productivity between male and female authors has declined over time, and female authors are now 80% as productive as their male counterparts. In spite of botany's traditional image as a feminine pursuit, women's contribution was not significantly reflected in species authorship until the twentieth century, around the same time as in other branches of science.
Since its launch in 2009 Phytotaxa has grown to be the leading journal in taxonomic botany, publishing the greatest number of articles, pages, and new names. It has replaced Taxon as the top journal by volume and total citation to current papers but not impact factor. More than just a journal, Phytotaxa has made it easier for authors to publish in botanical taxonomy and has improved access to publication for disadvantaged authors. This is reflected in it gaining ‘market share’ from biodiversity-rich BRIC countries, which have invested in their taxonomic capacity. It could also reflect a shift away from Europe & US as main descriptors of plant diversity. We believe that Phytotaxa has been well accepted by the taxonomic community because it is free at point of publication (barrier-free to authors of all income brackets), flexible (unlimited issues and pages) and rapidly indexed with an impact factor that is relatively high for a taxonomic journal. Phytotaxa thus meets the needs of the broadest group of taxonomists who survive based on publication number and impact factor, and who do not have access to funds to support open-access publication. We suggest that it is eminently feasible to fully describe and typify all plant diversity using the Linnean system, but that do so in a timely manner and so meet Society’s needs in the face of the mass-extinction of biodiversity and climate change. Phytotaxa will work with all taxonomists to continue to promote taxonomy as a scientific discipline.
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