Abstract
Evolutionary and genetic knowledge is increasingly being valued in conservation theory, but is rarely considered in conservation planning and policy. Here, we integrate phylogenetic diversity (PD) with spatial reserve prioritization to evaluate how well the existing reserve system in Victoria, Australia captures the evolutionary lineages of eucalypts, which dominate forest canopies across the state. Forty-three per cent of remaining native woody vegetation in Victoria is located in protected areas (mostly national parks) representing 48% of the extant PD found in the state. A modest expansion in protected areas of 5% (less than 1% of the state area) would increase protected PD by 33% over current levels. In a recent policy change, portions of the national parks were opened for development. These tourism development zones hold over half the PD found in national parks with some species and clades falling entirely outside of protected zones within the national parks. This approach of using PD in spatial prioritization could be extended to any clade or area that has spatial and phylogenetic data. Our results demonstrate the relevance of PD to regional conservation policy by highlighting that small but strategically located areas disproportionally impact the preservation of evolutionary lineages.
Highlights
The value of including evolutionary information in conservation has been well established, but evolutionary diversity is rarely considered in policy and management [1,2]
Forty-three per cent of remaining native woody vegetation in Victoria is located in protected areas representing 48% of the extant phylogenetic diversity (PD) found in the state
Our results demonstrate the relevance of PD to regional conservation policy by highlighting that small but strategically located areas disproportionally impact the preservation of evolutionary lineages
Summary
The value of including evolutionary information in conservation has been well established, but evolutionary diversity is rarely considered in policy and management [1,2]. In eucalypts, a diversity of potentially useful chemistry exists beyond the small subset of species and compounds currently used in products ranging from cough suppressants to insecticides [14]. Even in this relatively well-studied and commercially important plant group, new classes of chemicals with potential for therapeutics, including cancer treatment, are actively being discovered [15]. Priorities based on PD differ from priorities based on the species conservation when species richness and PD hotspots do not have spatial overlap [12,21,22] This difference is more pronounced if phylogenies have deep radiation events [23]. The tools necessary for using PD in conservation are available or becoming available, but a simple framework for integrating PD into a spatial prioritization and a demonstration of how PD might be useful for policy is needed
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