Áreas de endemismos, vieses de amostragem e status de conservação de Cordia L. (Cordiaceae) na América do Sul

Abstract

Cordia L. (Cordiaceae) is a pantropical genus comprising 250 species, with approximately 100 species in South America. Several of its representatives exhibit pharmacological, medicinal, and culinary properties. This dissertation presents the initial study focusing on the genus, emphasizing its areas of endemism, sampling biases, and conservation statuses of its species, aiming to address the following questions: What are the areas of endemism? What are the sampling biases, richness, and collection centers for the genus? What are the conservation statuses of its species, and are they located within any protected areas? To address these questions, we compiled a database of approximately 18,000 records treated through automated and manually verified methods. Subsequently, we adopted various methodologies and found that the majority of endemism areas are concentrated in the Guiana Shield (Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, and Venezuela), northern Colombia, and western Ecuador. Regarding sampling biases, collection centers, and richness, our findings indicate that the Brazil is the most taxonomically diverse and well-collected while Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay are the least sampled countries, with sampling bias for the genus concentrated along roads. The conservation status of Cordia species falls under Criterion B, with 49 species classified as near threatened (NT), 16 as least concern (LC), 15 as endangered, 6 as vulnerable (VU), and 1 as critically endangered (CR). In contrast to these results, 87% of the species are found within some type of protected area. Based on our findings, we recommend that studies like this be applied to other genera within the Boraginales order.