key: cord-0955204-zlg6orvf
authors: Hongwen, Huang; Hang, Sun; Zhekun, Zhou
title: Sharing earth with all life
date: 2020-08-22
journal: Plant Divers
DOI: 10.1016/j.pld.2020.08.002
sha: f046befa9ba3c677768087ea52f54798db63c176
doc_id: 955204
cord_uid: zlg6orvf

nan

fits within the means of what Earth's ecosystems can renew. Without meeting this quantitative goal, efforts of preserve biodiversity cannot be scaled. Second, until human demand is curbed, we must focus on those locations and areas where most biodiversity is concentrated ('hotspots'). Such a focus will help safeguard the largest portion of biodiversity with the least effort. Third, to direct biodiversity preservation strategies, we need to much better document the existence and distribution of biodiversity around the globe.

Biodiversity itself is a difficult concept. For example, land plants dominate the global biomass, while, in terms of numbers of species, terrestrial arthropods probably dominate. Furthermore, the use of remote sensing has encouraged a simplified view of the values of nature's contributions to people that is inconsistent with the way most people value nature. To safeguard our future effectively, Corlett (2020) suggests that researchers improve the inventory, with surveys focused on geographical areas and taxonomic groups which are under-collected; expand the protected area system and its representativeness; control overexploitation; manage invasive species; conserve threatened species ex situ; restore degraded ecosystems; and control climate change.

Our understanding of the evolutionary history of Asian biodiversity is still far from adequate to fully explain how this biodiversity came about. To understand the origins of this biotic richness, and its conservation value, Spicer and colleagues examined recent fossil finds and reviewed progress in understanding the orogeny of the Tibetan region. It is clear that the origins of modern biodiversity were established in the 

Plant conservation must focus on the long-term future of rare species, especially Plant Species with Extremely Small Populations (PSESP). In the last article of this special issue, Crane (2020) comments on the PSESP program, encouraging that the goal should be to save these species wherever and whenever possible in the wild, and thereby preserve the full range of ecosystem services provided by the communities of which they are part, but that ex situ conservation also provides some form of insurance.

We organized this special issue to commemorate the COP15 that was originally scheduled to take place in Kunming this year. Although the conference has been postponed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we decided to honor the work of our colleagues, done under difficult circumstances, by publishing the special issue without delay. We greatly appreciate their contributions and believe their work contains important knowledge that may encourage similar multifaceted research.

Ethiopian vegetation types, climate and topography. Plant Divers

The tropical-subtropical evergreen forest transition in East Asia: An exploration. Plant Divers

Safeguarding our future by protecting biodiversity. Plant Divers

Commentarial conserving our global botanical heritage: The PSESP plant conservation program. Plant Divers

Plant diversity of Yunnan: Current situation and future. Plant Divers