Bioquality and the flora of Japan: an investigation into the factors that influence the distribution of rare endemic plant species of the Japanese flora
<p>With two in five plant species threatened with extinction, the identification, evaluation, and prioritisation of plant communities requiring intervention is of critical importance. Whilst Japan is one of 36 global biodiversity hotspots, this is a broad scale assessment, limiting its value a...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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2021
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| _version_ | 1797107307972132864 |
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| author | Jones, B |
| author2 | Hawthorne, W |
| author_facet | Hawthorne, W Jones, B |
| author_sort | Jones, B |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | <p>With two in five plant species threatened with extinction, the identification, evaluation, and prioritisation of plant communities requiring intervention is of critical importance. Whilst Japan is one of 36 global biodiversity hotspots, this is a broad scale assessment, limiting its value and application at finer scales or management levels. Bioquality is a term that applies to a (plant) community and emphasises the concentration of high conservation value elements of biodiversity within it, global rarity, and taxonomic distinctiveness, and does not encompass the separate issue of predicted threats to be treated in a separate analysis. Bioquality assessments can be applied meaningfully at various spatial resolutions.</p>
<p>Japan’s land has 70% “forest” cover, but 40% of this is single species plantations. According to the Red List of Japan, 25% of the flora is threatened with extinction. Japan is a good study area for investigating biodiversity hotspots and issues surrounding their conservation due to the high number of rare and of threatened species and the well-established taxonomic framework.</p>
<p>For this study, a database of 4.8 million plant distribution records has been compiled and cleaned for Japan, and the assembly of this database is described in chapter two. With 60% of records georeferenced, maps showing patterns in the floristic composition of Japan were generated from various perspectives, with the island of Shikoku being the principal focus. Working within the bioquality concept and using the database and maps, Genetic Heat Index (GHI) scores were calculated across Shikoku, revealing patterns in the bioquality at different scales. These, and models derived from them, were used to demonstrate how species occurrence data can be utilised to identify areas rich in globally rare species, the level of protection afforded them, and how these data can be utilised for conserving plant diversity. The outcomes of this research can be utilised as a Key Biodiversity Area (KBA) scoping tool to inform and assist those involved with the identification, evaluation, and prioritisation of plant communities requiring intervention for conservation management, across national, regional, and local scales.</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T07:12:42Z |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oxford-uuid:b1069311-5e5e-46ab-a53d-af69dfb4f9db |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T07:12:42Z |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:b1069311-5e5e-46ab-a53d-af69dfb4f9db2022-07-11T16:50:44ZBioquality and the flora of Japan: an investigation into the factors that influence the distribution of rare endemic plant species of the Japanese floraThesishttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_bdccuuid:b1069311-5e5e-46ab-a53d-af69dfb4f9dbbiodiversity hotspotsbioquality hotspotsJapanbiodiversity conservationbioqualityflora of Japanbiodiversityplant conservationEnglishHyrax Deposit2021Jones, BHawthorne, WHarris, S<p>With two in five plant species threatened with extinction, the identification, evaluation, and prioritisation of plant communities requiring intervention is of critical importance. Whilst Japan is one of 36 global biodiversity hotspots, this is a broad scale assessment, limiting its value and application at finer scales or management levels. Bioquality is a term that applies to a (plant) community and emphasises the concentration of high conservation value elements of biodiversity within it, global rarity, and taxonomic distinctiveness, and does not encompass the separate issue of predicted threats to be treated in a separate analysis. Bioquality assessments can be applied meaningfully at various spatial resolutions.</p> <p>Japan’s land has 70% “forest” cover, but 40% of this is single species plantations. According to the Red List of Japan, 25% of the flora is threatened with extinction. Japan is a good study area for investigating biodiversity hotspots and issues surrounding their conservation due to the high number of rare and of threatened species and the well-established taxonomic framework.</p> <p>For this study, a database of 4.8 million plant distribution records has been compiled and cleaned for Japan, and the assembly of this database is described in chapter two. With 60% of records georeferenced, maps showing patterns in the floristic composition of Japan were generated from various perspectives, with the island of Shikoku being the principal focus. Working within the bioquality concept and using the database and maps, Genetic Heat Index (GHI) scores were calculated across Shikoku, revealing patterns in the bioquality at different scales. These, and models derived from them, were used to demonstrate how species occurrence data can be utilised to identify areas rich in globally rare species, the level of protection afforded them, and how these data can be utilised for conserving plant diversity. The outcomes of this research can be utilised as a Key Biodiversity Area (KBA) scoping tool to inform and assist those involved with the identification, evaluation, and prioritisation of plant communities requiring intervention for conservation management, across national, regional, and local scales.</p> |
| spellingShingle | biodiversity hotspots bioquality hotspots Japan biodiversity conservation bioquality flora of Japan biodiversity plant conservation Jones, B Bioquality and the flora of Japan: an investigation into the factors that influence the distribution of rare endemic plant species of the Japanese flora |
| title | Bioquality and the flora of Japan: an investigation into the factors that influence the distribution of rare endemic plant species of the Japanese flora |
| title_full | Bioquality and the flora of Japan: an investigation into the factors that influence the distribution of rare endemic plant species of the Japanese flora |
| title_fullStr | Bioquality and the flora of Japan: an investigation into the factors that influence the distribution of rare endemic plant species of the Japanese flora |
| title_full_unstemmed | Bioquality and the flora of Japan: an investigation into the factors that influence the distribution of rare endemic plant species of the Japanese flora |
| title_short | Bioquality and the flora of Japan: an investigation into the factors that influence the distribution of rare endemic plant species of the Japanese flora |
| title_sort | bioquality and the flora of japan an investigation into the factors that influence the distribution of rare endemic plant species of the japanese flora |
| topic | biodiversity hotspots bioquality hotspots Japan biodiversity conservation bioquality flora of Japan biodiversity plant conservation |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jonesb bioqualityandthefloraofjapananinvestigationintothefactorsthatinfluencethedistributionofrareendemicplantspeciesofthejapaneseflora |