Abstract

AGUIRRE-MORALES, Adriana Carolina; BONILLA-MORALES, Miguel Macgayver  and  CAETANO, Creucí Maria. Evaluation of diversity and distribution patterns of Passiflora subgenus Astrophea (Passifloraceae) in Colombia. A challenge for taxonomic, floristic and conservation research of the species. Acta Agron. [online]. 2016, vol.65, n.4, pp.422-430. ISSN 0120-2812.  https://doi.org/10.15446/acag.v65n4.51444.

Passiflora with approx. 575 species is the most diverse genus in Passifloraceae, with Colombia and Ecuador holding the largest number of taxa. It is divided into five subgenera, one of them being Astrophea, a group of arborescent and woody species. The aim of this research, was to assess the diversity and conservation status of the species in the subgenus Astrophea native to Colombia, and investigate their current and potential distribution. Subsequently, national and international herbarium collections and scientific literature were reviewed. This research was further supplemented by recent field collections. The results were analyzed with Excel © and maps obtained by Diva-GIS © to which the IUCN criteria were applied for each species. 24 species were identified, distributed within 28 departments, by assessing 375 records. The potential distribution ranges of the species, suggests niches associated to the Amazonía and Orinoquía, bioregions with large gaps in collection, provided they are in the species preferred altitudinal ranges (0-500 m). The most diverse parts of the country are the center west and northeast, with more than 7 taxa per area. 46% of species have some degree of threat and 37.5% are endemic. Despite this, 80% of species occur outside protected areas, which further complicate its conservation status according to the IUCN criteria. Eleven species are newly reported for the 14 departments. Collection efforts should be focused on areas with optimal bioclimatic conditions for the growth of species as regions for potential distribution.

Keywords : Biodiversity; endemics; biogeography; in situ and ex situ conservation.

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