Background Mexico is one of the most floristically rich countries in the world. Despite significant contributions made on the understanding of its unique flora, the knowledge on its diversity, geographic distribution and human uses, is still largely fragmented. Unfortunately, deforestation is heavily impacting this country and native tree species are under threat. The loss of trees has a direct impact on vital ecosystem services, affecting the natural capital of Mexico and people’s livelihoods. Given the importance of trees in Mexico for many aspects of human well-being, it is critical to have a more complete understanding of their diversity, distribution, traditional uses and conservation status. We aimed to produce the most comprehensive database and catalogue on native trees of Mexico by filling those gaps, to support their in situ and ex situ conservation, promote their sustainable use, and inform reforestation and livelihoods programmes. Methods A database with all the tree species reported for Mexico was prepared by compiling information from herbaria and reviewing the available floras. Species names were reconciled and various specialised sources were used to extract additional species information, i.e. endemic status, threat status, availability in seed collections, reports on plant uses and conservation actions currently in place. With this information, a comprehensive catalogue of native trees from Mexico was redacted. Available georeferenced records were used to map each species distribution and perform spatial analyses to identify gaps of information and priority areas for their conservation and exploration. Results Mexico has at least 2,885 native tree species, belonging to 612 genera and 128 families. Fabaceae is the most represented family and Quercus the most represented genus. Approximately 44% of tree species are endemic to the country. The southern part of the country showed the highest values of species richness. Six hundred and seventy-four species have at least one documented human use. In terms of conservation assessment, ca. 33% of species have been assessed by either the IUCN Red List (919) or the National protection catalogue “NORMA Oficial Mexicana NOM-059” (29) or both (45). Additionally, 98 species have been included in the CITES listing for protection. In terms of existing conservation efforts, 19% of species have ex situ protection in seed banks, while protected areas overlap with all the identified peaks of species richness, except for those in the states of Veracruz and Chiapas. This work constitutes a key milestone for the knowledge, management, and conservation of the Mexican native trees. The two areas with high density of tree species identified in Veracruz and Chiapas represent two priority areas for tree conservation in Mexico, where integrated in situ and ex situ conservation efforts should be focused.

中文翻译：

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墨西哥本土树木：多样性、分布、用途和保护

背景 墨西哥是世界上植物最丰富的国家之一。尽管对其独特植物群的理解做出了重大贡献，但关于其多样性、地理分布和人类用途的知识仍然很大程度上是零散的。不幸的是，森林砍伐正在严重影响这个国家，本土树种正受到威胁。树木的流失直接影响到重要的生态系统服务，影响到墨西哥的自然资本和人们的生计。鉴于墨西哥树木对人类福祉的许多方面的重要性，更全面地了解它们的多样性、分布、传统用途和保护状况至关重要。我们的目标是通过填补这些空白，制作关于墨西哥本土树木的最全面的数据库和目录，支持其就地和异地保护，促进其可持续利用，并为重新造林和生计计划提供信息。方法 通过从植物标本馆收集信息并审查可用的植物区系，建立了一个包含墨西哥报告的所有树种的数据库。协调了物种名称，并使用了各种专门的资源来提取额外的物种信息，即地方性状况、威胁状况、种子收集的可用性、植物使用报告和目前的保护行动。有了这些信息，墨西哥本土树木的综合目录就被编辑了。可用的地理参考记录用于绘制每个物种的分布图并进行空间分析，以确定信息差距和优先保护和探索区域。结果 墨西哥至少有 2 个，乡土树种885种，隶属于128科612属。豆科是代表最多的科，栎属是代表最多的属。大约 44% 的树种是该国特有的。该国南部地区的物种丰富度最高。六百七十四种物种至少有一种被记录在案的人类用途。在保护评估方面，约。33% 的物种已通过 IUCN 红色名录 (919) 或国家保护目录“NORMA Oficial Mexicana NOM-059” (29) 或两者 (45) 进行了评估。此外，还有 98 个物种被列入 CITES 保护名录。就现有的保护工作而言，19% 的物种在种子库中有异地保护，而保护区与所有已确定的物种丰富度高峰重叠，韦拉克鲁斯州和恰帕斯州除外。这项工作是墨西哥本土树木知识、管理和保护的重要里程碑。在韦拉克鲁斯州和恰帕斯州确定的两个树种密度高的地区是墨西哥树木保护的两个优先领域，应重点关注就地和异地保护工作。