Volume 2.

Volume 1 - Europe, Africa, South West Asia and the Middle East. Volume 2 - Asia, Australasia and the Pacific. Volume 3 - The Americas.

The Asia-pacific region holds rich biodiversity in underutilized plant species. It is a centre of diversification and domestication of crop plants. Being culturally, ethnically and ecologically very diverse, several underutilized species are grown here and maintained by native farmers under subsistence agriculture. Four regions of diversity, namely, Chinese-Japanese, Indochinese-Indonesian, Australian/Pacific and Indian region are located in this region. Also, eight out of the 17 mega-biodiversity countries namely Indonesia, Australia, China, India, Malaysia, PNG, the Philippines and Thailandd are in this region.

Biological diversity is important for ecosystem function and services, which in turn is essential for human well-being. Under the Convention on Biological Diversity, international efforts have been made to achieve a significant reduction in the current rate of biodiversity loss. The loss continues, however. The Asia-Pacific region includes both developing countries with high biodiversity and developed countries with sophisticated data collection and analyses, but only limited information about the status quo of biodiversity in this region has been available. Many Asia-Pacific countries have rapidly grown their economies and social infrastructures, causing a loss of biodiversity and requiring an urgent mandate to achieve a balance between development and conservation in the region. In December 2009, scientists successfully organized the Asia-Pacific Biodiversity Observation Network in the region, to establish a network for research and monitoring of ecosystems and biodiversity and to build a cooperative framework. The present volume is the first collection of information on biodiversity in the Asia-Pacific and represents a quantum step forward in science that optimizes the synergy between development and biodiversity conservation.

With contributions by numerous experts

The book is the first comprehensive analysis of the macroecology and geobotany of endemic vascular plants with case-studies and analyses from different regions in the world. Endemism is a pre-extinction phenomenon. Endemics are threatened with extinction. Due to international nature conservation policies and due to the perception of the public the concept’s importance is increasing. Endemism can result from different biological and environmental processes. Depending on the process conservation measures should be adapted. Endemic vascular plant taxa, in the setting of their species composition and vegetation types are important features of landscapes and indicators of the quality of relating habitats. The book is an important basis for biologists, ecologists, geographers, planners and managers of nature reserves and national parks, and people generally interested in nature conservation and biogeography of vascular plants.