Biodiversity Hotspot

A biodiversity hotspot is a region with a significant reservoir of biodiversity that is under threat from humans.

The concept of biodiversity hotspots was originated by Norman Myers in two articles in “The Environmentalist” (1988), & 1990 revised after thorough analysis by Myers and others in “Hotspots: Earth’s Biologically Richest and Most Endangered Terrestrial Ecoregions”.

To qualify as a biodiversity hotspot on Myers 2000 edition of the hotspot-map, a region must meet two strict criteria: it must contain at least 0.5% or 1,500 species of vascular plants as endemics, and it has to have lost at least 70% of its primary vegetation. Around the world, 25 areas qualify under this definition, with nine others possible candidates. These sites support nearly 60% of the world's plant, bird, mammal, reptile, and amphibian species, with a very high share of endemic species.

Read more about Biodiversity HotspotHotspot Conservation Initiatives, Distribution By Region, Critiques of Hotspots

Other articles related to "biodiversity hotspot, biodiversity hotspots, hotspots, hotspot":

Biodiversity Hotspot - Critiques of Hotspots
... The high profile of the biodiversity hotspots approach has resulted in considerable criticism ... such as Kareiva Marvier (2003) have argued that the biodiversity hotspots Do not adequately represent other forms of species richness (e.g ... Do not protect smaller scale richness hotspots ...
California Floristic Province
... This hotspot is most known for being the home of the giant sequoia tree and its relative the redwood ... In 1996, the Province was designated as a hotspot allowing it to join to ranks among 33 other regions in the world ... In order to become a biodiversity hotspot, the province in question must contain species and plant life that cannot be found anywhere else in the world ...