Brazilian Flora 2020: Leveraging the power of a collaborative scientific network
The Brazil Flora Group, Janaína Gomes‐da‐Silva, Fabiana Ranzato Filardi, Maria Regina de Vasconcellos Barbosa, José Fernando A. Baumgratz, Carlos Eduardo de Mattos Bicudo, Taciana Barbosa Cavalcanti, Marcus A. Nadruz Coelho, Andréa Ferreira da Costa, Denise Pinheiro da Costa, Eduardo Dalcin, Paulo H. Labiak, Haroldo Cavalcante de Lima, Lúcia G. Lohmann, Leonor Costa Maia, Vidal de Freitas Mansano, Mariângela Menezes, Marli Pires Morim, Carlos Wallace N. Moura, Eimear Nic Lughadha, Denílson Fernandes Peralta, Jefferson Prado, Nádia Roque, João Renato Stehmann, Lana da Silva Sylvestre, Larissa Trierveiler‐Pereira, Bruno Machado Teles Walter, Geraldo Zimbrão, Rafaela Campostrini Forzza, Fernanda Pessi de Abreu, Maria Carolina de Abreu, Vanessa Holanda Righetti de Abreu, Rafael Acuña Castillo, Edgar Augusto Lobato Afonso, Leandro de Almeida Neves Nepomuceno Agra, María F. Agra, Daniel P. P. de Aguiar, Elisa Teixeira Aires, Frank Almeda, Gracineide S. S. Almeida, Mariana Macedo de Almeida, Nicolli Bruna Cabello de Almeida, Rafael Felipe de Almeida, Roberto B.P. Almeida, Thaís Elias Almeida, Eduardo Bezerra de Almeida, Daniela Alves, Flávio Macêdo Alves, Karina N.L. Alves, Maria B.B. Alves, Rodolfo F. Alves, Maria Clara Estanislau do Amaral, André L.S. Amaral, Leandro de Almeida Amélio, André M. Amorim, Bruno S. Amorim, Eduardo Toledo de Amorim, Vívian Oliveira Amorim, Ivanilza Moreira de Andrade, Ray S. Andrade, Thiago André, Regina Helena Potsch Andreata, Caroline Oliveira Andrino, María Betiana Ângulo, Cassiane Barroso dos Anjos, Guilherme Medeiros Antar, Mirian C.A. Antonicelli, Lorena Lana Camelo Antunes, Lidyanne Yuriko Saleme Aona, Marcelo D. Arana, João L.M. Aranha, Anderson G.A. Araújo, Andréa Onofre de Araújo, Camila C. Araújo, Cíntia Aparecida Teixeira Araújo, Flávia M. Araujo, Mário H.T. Araújo, María Mercedes Arbo, Emily S. Arnou, Renata Asprino, Francine C. Assis, Leandro C. S. Assis, Marta Camargo de Assis, Francisco Athayde Filho, Sarah Maria Athiê‐Souza, Igor Henrique Freitas Azevedo, Lucas F. Bacci, Camilo Barbosa, Juliana Ferreira Barbosa, Rafael Gomes Barbosa‐Silva, Ian C. Barcellos, Gloria E. Barboza, Flávia Regina Baptista Barcelos, Laísa Barcelos, Kamilla L. Barreto, Fábio de Barros, Thamires L.A. Barros, Maria Beatriz Barbosa de Barros Barreto, Cid José Passos Bastos, Cláudia Araújo Bastos
Abstract
Abstract The shortage of reliable primary taxonomic data limits the description of biological taxa and the understanding of biodiversity patterns and processes, complicating biogeographical, ecological, and evolutionary studies. This deficit creates a significant taxonomic impediment to biodiversity research and conservation planning. The taxonomic impediment and the biodiversity crisis are widely recognized, highlighting the urgent need for reliable taxonomic data. Over the past decade, numerous countries worldwide have devoted considerable effort to Target 1 of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC), which called for the preparation of a working list of all known plant species by 2010 and an online world Flora by 2020. Brazil is a megadiverse country, home to more of the world's known plant species than any other country. Despite that, Flora Brasiliensis , concluded in 1906, was the last comprehensive treatment of the Brazilian flora. The lack of accurate estimates of the number of species of algae, fungi, and plants occurring in Brazil contributes to the prevailing taxonomic impediment and delays progress towards the GSPC targets. Over the past 12 years, a legion of taxonomists motivated to meet Target 1 of the GSPC, worked together to gather and integrate knowledge on the algal, plant, and fungal diversity of Brazil. Overall, a team of about 980 taxonomists joined efforts in a highly collaborative project that used cybertaxonomy to prepare an updated Flora of Brazil, showing the power of scientific collaboration to reach ambitious goals. This paper presents an overview of the Brazilian Flora 2020 and provides taxonomic and spatial updates on the algae, fungi, and plants found in one of the world's most biodiverse countries. We further identify collection gaps and summarize future goals that extend beyond 2020. Our results show that Brazil is home to 46,975 native species of algae, fungi, and plants, of which 19,669 are endemic to the country. The data compiled to date suggests that the Atlantic Rainforest might be the most diverse Brazilian domain for all plant groups except gymnosperms, which are most diverse in the Amazon. However, scientific knowledge of Brazilian diversity is still unequally distributed, with the Atlantic Rainforest and the Cerrado being the most intensively sampled and studied biomes in the country. In times of “scientific reductionism”, with botanical and mycological sciences suffering pervasive depreciation in recent decades, the first online Flora of Brazil 2020 significantly enhanced the quality and quantity of taxonomic data available for algae, fungi, and plants from Brazil. This project also made all the information freely available online, providing a firm foundation for future research and for the management, conservation, and sustainable use of the Brazilian funga and flora.