The Kew’s "World Checklist of Vascular Plants" and its relevance to the knowledge of the flora of Mexico

Background: The 8th version of the "World Checklist of Vascular Plants" (WCVP) was recently published under the coordination of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It consists of a list of taxonomic names of species, genera, and families of vascular plants representing the most comprehensive...

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Main Authors: Miguel Murguía-Romero, Enrique Ortiz, Bernardo Serrano-Estrada, José Luis Villaseñor
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Sociedad Botánica de México, A. C. 2023-02-01
Series:Botan‪ical Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://botanicalsciences.com.mx/index.php/botanicalSciences/article/view/3223
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author Miguel Murguía-Romero
Enrique Ortiz
Bernardo Serrano-Estrada
José Luis Villaseñor
author_facet Miguel Murguía-Romero
Enrique Ortiz
Bernardo Serrano-Estrada
José Luis Villaseñor
author_sort Miguel Murguía-Romero
collection DOAJ
description Background: The 8th version of the "World Checklist of Vascular Plants" (WCVP) was recently published under the coordination of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It consists of a list of taxonomic names of species, genera, and families of vascular plants representing the most comprehensive and integrated list available today. Questions: How many accepted species does the WCVP include? Is the quality of the included information acceptable? How has the publication of worldwide species names evolved over time? Does the checklist include the species recorded for Mexico? Studied species: Worldwide species of vascular plants included in the WCVP. Study site: Worldwide and Mexico. Methods: A database was created based on the WCVP to answer the research questions. The number of genera and species by taxonomic status (accepted and synonyms) was quantified, some information quality tests were carried out, and the potential number of undiscovered species in the world was estimated using non-parametric techniques. Results: The WCVP contains 1,233,172 names, of which 418,737 are accepted. It is estimated that around 25 % more unknown species remain to be discovered in the world. The quality of the information contained in the WCVP is quite reliable and complete; only 3 % of Mexican species are not included in the WCVP. Conclusions: The WCVP synthesizes current taxonomic knowledge in an integrated manner and is useful for systematic and automated analyses. At the country level, at least for Mexico, it stands as an important reference source when attempting to understand and evaluate floristic knowledge.
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spelling doaj.art-4df854304b8744a59ff6596aaef13b732023-02-22T02:36:06ZengSociedad Botánica de México, A. C.Botan‪ical Sciences2007-42982007-44762023-02-01100110.17129/botsci.3223The Kew’s "World Checklist of Vascular Plants" and its relevance to the knowledge of the flora of MexicoMiguel Murguía-Romero0Enrique Ortiz1Bernardo Serrano-Estrada2José Luis Villaseñor3Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Instituto de Biología, Unidad de Informática para la Biodiversidad, Ciudad de MéxicoUniversidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Instituto de Biología, Departamento de Botánica, Ciudad de MéxicoSERES Sistemas Especializados, Tecámac, Estado de MéxicoUniversidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Instituto de Biología, Departamento de Botánica, Ciudad de México Background: The 8th version of the "World Checklist of Vascular Plants" (WCVP) was recently published under the coordination of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It consists of a list of taxonomic names of species, genera, and families of vascular plants representing the most comprehensive and integrated list available today. Questions: How many accepted species does the WCVP include? Is the quality of the included information acceptable? How has the publication of worldwide species names evolved over time? Does the checklist include the species recorded for Mexico? Studied species: Worldwide species of vascular plants included in the WCVP. Study site: Worldwide and Mexico. Methods: A database was created based on the WCVP to answer the research questions. The number of genera and species by taxonomic status (accepted and synonyms) was quantified, some information quality tests were carried out, and the potential number of undiscovered species in the world was estimated using non-parametric techniques. Results: The WCVP contains 1,233,172 names, of which 418,737 are accepted. It is estimated that around 25 % more unknown species remain to be discovered in the world. The quality of the information contained in the WCVP is quite reliable and complete; only 3 % of Mexican species are not included in the WCVP. Conclusions: The WCVP synthesizes current taxonomic knowledge in an integrated manner and is useful for systematic and automated analyses. At the country level, at least for Mexico, it stands as an important reference source when attempting to understand and evaluate floristic knowledge. https://botanicalsciences.com.mx/index.php/botanicalSciences/article/view/3223Biodiversity informaticsbiological databasesdata quality controlfloristics
spellingShingle Miguel Murguía-Romero
Enrique Ortiz
Bernardo Serrano-Estrada
José Luis Villaseñor
The Kew’s "World Checklist of Vascular Plants" and its relevance to the knowledge of the flora of Mexico
Botan‪ical Sciences
Biodiversity informatics
biological databases
data quality control
floristics
title The Kew’s "World Checklist of Vascular Plants" and its relevance to the knowledge of the flora of Mexico
title_full The Kew’s "World Checklist of Vascular Plants" and its relevance to the knowledge of the flora of Mexico
title_fullStr The Kew’s "World Checklist of Vascular Plants" and its relevance to the knowledge of the flora of Mexico
title_full_unstemmed The Kew’s "World Checklist of Vascular Plants" and its relevance to the knowledge of the flora of Mexico
title_short The Kew’s "World Checklist of Vascular Plants" and its relevance to the knowledge of the flora of Mexico
title_sort kew s world checklist of vascular plants and its relevance to the knowledge of the flora of mexico
topic Biodiversity informatics
biological databases
data quality control
floristics
url https://botanicalsciences.com.mx/index.php/botanicalSciences/article/view/3223
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