Global change impacts on cacti (Cactaceae): current threats, challenges and conservation solutions.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The plant family Cactaceae provides some of the most striking examples of adaptive evolution, expressing undeniably the most spectacular New World radiation of succulent plants distributed across arid and semi-arid regions of the Americas. Cacti are widely regarded for their cultural, economic and ecological value, yet they are also recognized as one of the most threatened and endangered taxonomic groups on the planet.

Scope

This paper reviews current threats to species of cacti that have distributions in arid to semi-arid subtropical regions. Our review focuses primarily on four global change forces: (1) increases in atmospheric CO2 concentrations; (2) increases in mean annual temperatures and heat waves; (3) increases in the duration, frequency and intensity of

SUBMITTER: Hultine KR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10799997 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature