Abstract

Setting conservation priorities for plant genetic resources requires botanical knowledge as well as an assessment of what is under protection to date. In this work we assessed the representation of both plant species richness (SR) and phylogenetic diversity (PD) in the Chilean conservation network, both in-situ and ex-situ. To this end we compiled vascular plant species lists of both Chilean protected wilderness areas (in-situ conservation units) from the literature and from Chilean seed banks, botanical gardens and arboreta (ex-situ conservation units) as a collective effort by their curators. We compiled information for 50 in-situ and 23 ex-situ conservation units (CUs). As a whole, the Chilean conservation network (in-situ + ex-situ CUs) protects 63% and 73% of the Chilean SR and PD, respectively. In-situ CUs alone protect 52% and 67% of SR and PD, while ex-situ CUs alone account for 36% and 47% of SR and PD, respectively. Marginal contribution to SR and PD of most CUs is less than 1%, indicating that the Chilean conservation network is resilient in conserving SR and PD. On the other hand, the great majority of the protected species are conserved in only one CU. If these CUs are lost, there will be a loss of conservation for species/lineages with no backup in other CUs. There is a notable gap in the botanical knowledge of the Chilean in-situ conservation network. Future efforts to assess the effectiveness of the Chilean conservation network should be aimed at cataloging vascular plants inside in-situ CUs.