Vascular plant species recorded in protected areas and the implications for São Paulo State's Red List of Threatened Plants

Abstract

Information regarding the occurrence of threatened species is essential when developing plans for the conservation of biodiversity. In this study, we gathered updated information regarding two out of 11 criteria of the plant species red list in São Paulo state, related to: i) unknown occurrence and ii) exclusive occurrence of the species in protected areas (PA). We carried out a survey on the occurrence of vascular plant species in protected areas by consulting online herbarium records and reviewed the necessity to change the category of threat or to exclude the species from the current list. We recorded 4846 species in 59 protected areas. Our results showed that 148 species should be excluded from the list, 82 of which no longer meet the criterion for unknown occurrence and 66 that no longer meet the criterion of exclusive occurrence in PAs. Additionally, the threat category should be altered for 55 species and 39 must remain unchanged. Although around 60% of the plant species found in São Paulo state are already currently in PAs, it is urgent to establish strategies to protect the remaining 40% by creating new protected areas or expanding the existing ones.

Key words:
protected areas; biodiversity conservation; threatened species; São Paulo State flora; red list