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Continent

Glenda Mendieta-Leiva

The current global loss of biodiversity due to human-induced ecosystem change threatens human well-being. The Neotropics, one of the most biodiverse regions in the world, is at the forefront of biodiversity conservation, particularly due to accelerating intensive land use and predicted severe impacts of climate change. However, as highlighted in the recent IPBES report, effective conservation in the region is often hindered by a lack of standardized biodiversity data and a lack of studies that translate local results to the biome level. 

With CONTINENT (CONservaTion IN thE NeoTropics), we are addressing these challenges by using vascular epiphytes-plants that grow on trees-as a model group to identify conservation priorities in the Neotropics. Due to their structural dependence on trees, their role as ecosystem engineers in the water and nutrient balance of forests, and their role as habitat for animals, vascular epiphytes make an important contribution to the species richness of the Neotropics, but at the same time have a manageable number of species and more data than other groups. CONTINENT takes advantage of recent advances in epiphyte research to provide a platform for the study and conservation of epiphytes in the Neotropics. 

Using a novel combination of local herbarium data mobilization, field observations, and artificial intelligence methods, we will

  1. integrate diverse data on geographic distribution, functional traits, community composition, and population trends of Neotropical epiphytes;
  2. identify continental centers of epiphyte diversity and endemism and test their vulnerability to future scenarios of land use and climate change; and
  3. produce automated extinction risk assessments of more than 11,000 vascular epiphyte species and translate them into IUCN Red List assessments with the help of the CONTINENT network of experts.
  4. based on the resulting findings, we will use epiphytes as a model to identify overall conservation priorities for the Neotropics. 

CONTINENT will establish vascular epiphytes as an exciting model for Neotropical diversity and identify areas that can serve as focal areas for overall conservation of Neotropical forests. In this way, CONTINENT will facilitate much-needed conservation not only of a diverse, functionally important group of plants, but also of forest ecosystems in one of the most biodiverse and endangered regions of the world.

PI: Glenda Mendieta-Leiva

Team: Alexander Zizka, Borja Jiménez-Alfaro, Helge Bruelheide, Gerhard Zotz, Ana Maria Benavides, María Judith Carmona, Thorsten Krömer, Flavio Nunes Ramos, Derio Antonio Jiménez López, Gabriela García Reynaga, Gianella Curasco Huamán, Angela Melgar Vilchez.

Project funding: DFG