Forest occurring species of conservation concern
Introduction
The objective of the Species Component of FRA 2000 was to provide an initial measure of the national importance of forests to the maintenance of biological diversity.
To achieve this, information on species was developed from sources at UNEP-WCMC and available to the project through expert networks. The objective was to collate information on:
Information is presented on the following taxonomic/habit groups: mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, trees, ferns and palms.
Please note: Table 10 of the UN-ECE/FAO Temperate and Boreal FRA 2000 Enquiry requested information on the groups: trees (coniferous and broadleaved species); other vascular plants; ferns; mosses; lichens; mammals; birds; other vertebrates (fish, amphibians, reptiles, snakes); butterflies. Due to the anticipated difficulty in obtaining data, UNEP-WCMC negotiated for the groups of trees, palms, ferns, mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians to be included in the contract with FAO. These groups were selected, as they included species for which data on threat status and single country endemism were to some extent already available at UNEP-WCMC. The main task therefore involved identifying species in each category that were forest occurring.
Methodology
Measures of threatened species were taken from the databases at UNEP-WCMC from which the published sources: Baillie and Groombridge. 1996. 1996 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals; Walter and Gillett. 1998. 1997 IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants (for ferns and palms) and Oldfield, Lusty and Mackinven. 1998. World List of Threatened Trees were produced. The categories and criteria for establishing threatened status for species are fully documented in the source publications.
Information on numbers of single country endemic species was completed where possible, if gaps existed in data held by UNEP-WCMC.
Total species numbers per country were assembled from published literature.
Most of the research for this contract focussed on identifying species that occur in forests. Issues that arose in this research are detailed in the section on each taxonomic/habit group. A total of just under 7,000 threatened single country endemic species were evaluated in order to classify them as forest or non-forest species. Most (81%) of the species investigated were considered to be forest occurring.
RESULTS
The figures obtained from the phase 1 study are included in the Excel table that accompanies the report. Samples of these data are illustrated in the figures at the end of this annex. These figures include illustrations of data sorted by country and by taxon/habit. The graphs illustrating data for each of the eight categories: total number; number threatened etc., ranked by country are limited to the top ranking countries for sake of clarity. Full details are included in the Excel table.
PLANTS
Palms
Data are provided for all eight categories of information requested.
Data for threatened palms were compiled from the UNEP-WCMC Threatened Plants Database/1997 IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants. Information on accepted palm genera and numbers of species in each genus was taken from Palms: Their Conservation and Sustained Utilization. Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. (Johnson, D. & IUCN/SSC Palm Specialist Group.1996). The data in the database were corrected where they appeared to deviate, largely by following the Field Guide to the Palms of the Americas (Henderson, A., G. Galeano & R. Bernal. 1995). There remain some genera where the number of species varies by one or two compared to the SSC Action Plan. The genus Hyphaene differs the most with 17 species listed in the database and 25 species listed in the SSC Action Plan. Information on species habitat was obtained from regional floras and publications but mainly from Henderson, A., G. Galeano & R. Bernal. 1995. Field Guide to the Palms of the Americas. and Jones, D.L. 1995. Palms throughout the World. Species listed as occurring in woodland, forest or mangrove were listed as forest species. Species listed as "rarely" in forest or in open places were considered to be non-forest species.
Trees
The data on tree species were taken from the World List of Threatened Trees, produced as part of a three-year project: Conservation and Sustainable Management of Trees completed at UNEP-WCMC in 1998. This is not a comprehensive dataset, with better data being available for the regions where project workshops were held: Zimbabwe, Costa Rica and Vietnam. Data for North Korea and South Korea and Uruguay are almost completely lacking due to various factors, notably lack of contact with relevant experts from the countries. The data come from many sources, particularly the completed data collection forms used during the project and stored at UNEP-WCMC. In addition, published floras, journal articles and other grey literature stored at UNEP-WCMC were used. The data collection form requested data providers to indicate the natural habitat of the species according to options provided on the form. Relevant habitat categories considered as forest for the preparation of this document comprise "open forest", "closed forest", "swamp forest", "mangrove", "sclerophyllous" and "cloud forest". Unfortunately the data sheets were not always completed. Where this information was missing, habitat data have been added where possible at UNEP-WCMC from the text given by data providers or published sources. Habitat data for species from French Polynesia and New Caledonia are notably poorly recorded.
Presentation of data on trees raises problems not experienced with the other groups, as this is a grouping based on habit rather than taxonomy. In general, species data are available by taxonomic group or for a geographical area. In particular, baseline data on the total number of tree species or endemic tree species for each country were not available prior to the project, and this has not been attempted as part of the project due to the complexity of the problem.
Ferns (Pteridophytes)
Information on ferns was compiled by Clive Jermy, Chair of the SSC Pteridophyte group. The list of threatened plant species published in the 1997 IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants (RLTP) (Walter & Gillett, 1997) was taken as a basis for information on threat status. New data were added and data were omitted if there was evidence that a species was not threatened at world level.
Many, if not most, accounts of pteridophyte floristics tend to treat areas/regions comprising more than one country and merge close, and usually topographically/ecologically similar, countries (e.g. Flora Malesiana area where five tropical countries are merged and terms like `Borneo' are used without qualification). This unfortunately makes country listing impossible unless a publication relating to a specific nation's inventory is available.
Forest habitat was interpreted in a very loose sense in these data sheets. The majority of pteridophytes require shade, but in mountainous areas this may be provided by the topography (e.g. deep ravines). Like many tropical forest species, ferns in primary rain forest show a higher diversity in areas where light penetrates riversides and plantation edges. It will be noticed that the proportion of pteridophyte species found in forests in tropical areas ranges from 75 to 85%. In temperate areas it may be as little as one third.
Habitat is, unfortunately, information that plant collectors have rarely recorded, making assessment of forest occurrence problematic. Whilst some major Floras such as Flora Malesiana do give habitat data (when it is available on herbarium sheets), other mid-twentieth century Floras (e.g. Tardieu-Blot, Flora Indo-China; Alston, Flora of Tropical West Africa; and Christensen, Flora Madagascar) do not provide this information. Those publishing Red Lists are usually more concerned with political boundaries and less with ecological data, although the now more standard and comprehensive Red Data Books do have ecological details, although few of these available for the tropical countries.
Counting endemics at a country level (which this study demanded) is often meaningless in scientific terms, as endemics may be related to other features, e.g. a mountain massif as the Pare Pare Mountains in Tanzania/Uganda. A term such as `Regional Endemic' may have been more appropriate. As more collecting/study is done the numbers of endemics of all kinds will decrease.
The taxonomic coverage of threatened pteridophytes on the RLTP is naturally biased towards groups that have been monographed (e.g. Cyatheaceae, Thelypteridaceae, Grammatidaceae) as here definitive statements can be made. There are, however, many smaller papers covering the detailed taxonomy/distribution of smaller groups/genera, some data from which have been entered in UNEP-WCMC's World Threatened Plants Database.
ANIMALS: Mammals, Amphibia, Reptiles, Fish
National information is presented for the total number of higher vertebrate species recorded; the number of these species that are considered to be globally threatened; the number of nationally endemic higher vertebrates; and the number of these endemics that are both globally threatened and forest-occurring species.
The number of higher vertebrate species for each class was based on Table 1: (Country species diversity) of the 1994 UNEP-WCMC publication Biodiversity Data Sourcebook; the national estimates of globally threatened higher vertebrates for each Class were based on Data Table 3: (Threatened Species: Country Totals by Taxonomic Group) of the 1996 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. Fishes and invertebrate species were excluded from the present study due to the general paucity of information on national species richness, national endemism, threat status, and most especially, habitat requirements.
National estimates of endemic species for each class were taken from the UNEP-WCMC Endemic Animals database. This database has mostly been compiled from standard world taxonomic checklists (Wilson and Reeder, 1993; Sibley and Monroe, 1990,1993; Frost, 1985, and supplement by Duellman, 1993); it is regularly updated with details of newly discovered species. The UNEP-WCMC Endemic Animals database contains records of nationally endemic species only; details for regionally endemic species, or those species with a notably limited geographic range (e.g. single mountain endemics) that are not restricted to a single country are not included within the analysis.
Research was prioritised towards identifying the habitat requirements of globally threatened national endemics (approximately 1,650 terrestrial species). Details of species habitat requirements were obtained from documents on file at UNEP-WCMC and relevant literature (field guides, species descriptions, national red data books, etc.). Approximately 935 of the 1,650 species examined were identified as forest occurring (57%), 420 were non-forest species (26%); there was insufficient information available to determine the habitat requirements of the remaining 300 species.
Selected Animal Bibliography:
General Texts:
Frost, D.R. 1985. Amphibian Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographical Reference. Allen Press Inc. and the Association of Systematics Collections, Lawrence, Kansas. I-V, 1-732.
Duellman, W.E. 1993. Amphibian Species of the World: additions and corrections. University of Kansas Museum of Natural History, Special Publication No. 21.
Sibley, C.G. and Monroe, B.L. 1990. Distribution and Taxonomy of Birds of the World. Yale University Press, New Haven.
Sibley, C.G. and Monroe, B.L. 1993. A Supplement to Distribution and Taxonomy of Birds of the World. Yale University Press, New Haven.
Collar, N.J., Crosby, M.J. and Stattersfield, A.J. 1994. Birds to Watch 2: The World Checklist of Threatened Birds. BirdLife International: Cambridge.
Wilson, D.E. and Reeder, D.M. (eds.) 1993. Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. Smithsonian Institution Press: Washington and London.
Nowak, R.M. 1991. Walker's Mammals of the World. Fifth Edition. Volumes I & II. The John Hopkins University Press: Baltimore and London.
Action Plans:
Cogger, H.G., Cameron, E.E., Sadlier, R.A. and Eggler, P. 1993. The Action Plan for Australian Reptiles. Australian Nature Conservation Agency: Canberra.
Nicoll, M.E. and Rathbun, G.B. 1990. African Insectivora and Elephant-Shrews: An Action Plan for their Conservation. IUCN: Gland.
Stone, R.D. 1995. Eurasian Insectivores and Tree Shrews: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. IUCN: Gland.
Mickleburgh, S.P., Hutson, A.M. and Racey, P.A. 1992. Old World Fruit Bats: An Action Plan for their Conservation.. IUCN: Gland
Schreiber, A., Wirth, R., Riffel, M. and Van Rompaey, H. 1989. Weasels, Civets, Mongooses, and their Relatives: An Action Plan for the Conservation of Mustelids and Viverrids. IUCN/SSC Mustelid and Viverrid Specialist Group. IUCN: Gland.
Lidicker Jr., W.Z. 1989. Rodents: A World Survey of Species of Conservation Concern. Occasional Papers of the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) No. 4. IUCN: Gland.
Chapman, J.A. and Flux, J.E.C. 1990. Rabbits, Hares and Pikas: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. IUCN: Gland.
Field Guides:
Reid, F.A. 1997. A Field Guide to the Mammals of Central America and Southeast Mexico. Oxford University Press: Oxford.
Eisenberg, J.F. 1989. Mammals of the Neotropics: The Northern Neotropics. Volume 1. Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana. The University of Chicago Press: Chicago and London.
Redford, K.H. and Eisenberg, J.F. 1992. Mammals of the Neotropics: The Southern Cone. Volume 2. Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay. The University of Chicago Press: Chicago and London.
Flannery, T. 1995. Mammals of New Guinea. (Revised edition). Australian Museum/Reed Books: NSW, Australia.
Flannery, T. 1995. Mammals of the South-West Pacific and Moluccan Islands. Australian Museum/Reed Books: NSW, Australia.
Strahan, R. (ed.) 1983. The Australian Museum Complete Book of Australian Mammals. Angus and Robertson Publishers: Sydney.
Medway, Lord. 1977. Mammals of Borneo: Field keys and an annotated Checklist. Monographs of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society No. 7. MBRAS, Kuala Lumpar
Glaw, F. and Vences, M. 1994. A Fieldguide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Madagascar. Second Edition. Zoologishches Forschungsinstitut und Museum Alexander Koenig, Bonn.
Schwartz, A. and Henderson, R.W. 1991. Amphibians and Reptiles of the West Indies: Descriptions, Distribution and Natural History. University of Florida Press: Florida.
Smithers, R.H.N. 1983. The Mammals of the Southern African Subregion. University of Pretoria: Republic of South Africa.
Duellman, W.E. (ed). 1979. The South American Herpetofauna: Its Origin, Evolution, and Dispersal. Museum of Natural History, The University of Kansas, Monograph No.7: Lawrence, Kansas
Cogger, H.G. 1992. Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia. Fifth Edition. Comstock-Cornell: New York.
Red Data Books:
Wildlife Conservation Society of the Philippines. 1997. Philippine Red Data Book. Bookmark Inc.: Makati City, Philippines.
Ergueta S., P. y de Morales, C. (eds.) 1996. Libro Rojo de los Vertebrados de Bolivia. Centro de Datos para la Conservacion: La Paz
Pulido, V. 1991. El Libro Rojo de la Fauna Silvestre del Peru. Maijosa: Lima.
Da Fonseca, G.A.B., Rylands, A.B., Costa, C.M.R., Machado, R.B. and Leite, Y.L.R. (eds.) 1994. Livro Vermelho dos Mamíferos Brasileiros Ameaçados de Extinção. Fundação Biodiversitas: Belo Horizonte, Brasil.
Rodríguez, J.P. and Rojas-Suárez, F. 1995. Libro Rojo de la Fauna Venezolana. PROVITA: Caracas.
Blanco, J.C. and González, J.L. (eds). 1992. Libro Rojo de los Vertebrados de España. ICONA: Madrid.
Lee, P.C., Thornback, J. and Bennett, E.L. 1988. Threatened Primates of Africa: The IUCN Red Data Book. IUCN: Gland.
Branch, W.R. (ed). 1988. South African Red Data Book - Reptiles and Amphibians. South African National Scientific Programmes Report No. 151.
Others:
Amori, G. and Zima, J. 1994. Threatened Rodents in Europe: species status and some suggestions for conservation strategies. Folia Zoologica 43(1): 1-9
Lay, D.M. 1983. Taxonomy of the genus Gerbillus (Rodentia: Gerbillinae) with comments on the applications of the generic and subgeneric names and an annotated list of species. Zeitschrift Säugetierkunde, 48:329-354
Carleton, M.D. and Schmidt, D.F. 1990. Systematic Studies of Madagascar's Endemic Rodents (Muroidea: Nesomyinae): an Annotated Gazetteer of Collecting Localities of Known Forms. American Museum Novitates 2987.
