Biodiversity Hotspots of the World The term ‘biodiversity’ came into common usage after the 1986 National Forum on Biodiversity, held in Washington, DC, and the publication of selected papers from that event, titled Biodiversity, edited by Wilson (1988). Wilson credits Walter G. Rosen for coining the term. In 1988, British ecologist Norman Myers published a seminal paper identifying 10 tropical forest “hotspots.” Myers described ten tropical forest “hotspots” on the basis of extraordinary plant endemism and high levels of habitat loss, albeit without quantitative criteria for the designation of “hotspot” status. A subsequent analysis added eight additional hotspots, including four from Mediterranean-type ecosystems (Myers 1990).

A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region that is both a significant reservoir of biodiversity and is threatened with destruction. Conservation International introduced two strict quantitative criteria to qualify as a hotspot: a region had to contain at least 1,500 vascular plants as endemics (>0.5% of the world’s total), and it had to have 30% or less of its original vegetation (extent of historical habitat cover) remaining. These efforts culminated in an extensive global review (Mittermeier et al. 1999) and scientific publication (Myers et al. 2000) that introduced seven new hotspots on the basis of both the better-defined criteria and new data. In 2005, an additional analysis brought the total number of biodiversity hotspots to 34, based on the work of nearly 400 specialists. In 2011, the Forests of East Australia was identified as the 35th hotspot by a team of researchers from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) working with Conservation International. In February 2016, the North American Coastal Plain was recognized as meeting the criteria and became the Earth’s 36th hotspot.

Very few books have been written/edited to document the biodiversity of these hotspots. Hence, these new volumes which aim to be a reference source for all foresters, wildlife biologists, conservationists, botanists, zoologists, policymakers, and others concerned with the conservation of the biodiversity of our planet.

North and Central America

• California Floristic Province
• Madren Pine-Oak woodlands
• Mesoamerica
• North American Coastal Plain

• Caribbean Islands

• Atlantic Forest
• Cerrado
• Chilean Winter Rainfall-Valdivian Forests
• Tumbes-Choco-Magdalena
• Tropical Andes

• Mediterranean Basin

• Cape Floristic Region
• Coastal Forests of Eastern Africa
• Eastern Afromontane
• Guinean Forests of West Africa
• Horn of Africa
• Madagascar and Indian Ocean Islands
• Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany
• Succulent Kaoo

• Mountains of Central Asia

• Himalayas/Eastern Himalaya
• Indo-Burma
• Western Ghats – Sri Lanka

• East Melanesian Islands
• New Caledonia
• New Zealand
• Philippines
• Polynesia–Micronesia
• Eastern Australian Temperate Forests
• Southwest Australia
• Sundland and Nicobar Islands
• Wallacea

• Japan
• Mountains of Southwest China

• Caucasus
• Irano-Anatolian