Maximum levels of global phylogenetic diversity efficiently capture plant services for humankind

Rafael Molina-Venegas*, Miguel Rodríguez, Manuel Pardo-de-Santayana, Cristina Ronquillo, David J. Mabberley

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    46 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    The divergent nature of evolution suggests that securing the human benefits that are directly provided by biodiversity may require counting on disparate lineages of the Tree of Life. However, quantitative evidence supporting this claim is still tenuous. Here, we draw on a global review of plant-use records demonstrating that maximum levels of phylogenetic diversity capture significantly greater numbers of plant-use records than random selection of taxa. Our study establishes an empirical foundation that links evolutionary history to human wellbeing, and it will serve as a discussion baseline to promote better-grounded accounts of the services that are directly provided by biodiversity.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)583-588
    Number of pages7
    JournalNature Ecology and Evolution
    Volume5
    Issue number5
    Early online date29 Mar 2021
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - May 2021

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