Tree community diversity in the largest and one of the world’s most threatened wetlands, the Pantanal

The Pantanal is the largest tropical wetland of the planet, one of the most diverse and most threatened. A combination of climate change effects and anthropogenic actions has been causing substantial damages to this unique and universal valued ecosystem. Despite being recognized as National Heritage by the Brazilian Federal Constitution, Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO, and as a Ramsar site, the Pantanal is one of the least protected Brazilian biomes. As considering multiple biodiversity metrics when defining conservation strategies areas can be a more effective way to protect both species and evolutionary lineages, in this study, we investigated the influence of climatic and edaphic factors on floristic composition and evolutionary diversity in the Pantanal. Furthermore, we assessed whether the current protected area network included sites with high evolutionary diversity. We found that areas with higher species richness also have higher lineage diversity rates and they are mostly unprotected by law. Seasonal Floodplain forests and savannas showed higher levels of lineage diversity and higher number of exclusive tree species compared to dry forests, with 169 (41%) and 99 (38%), respectively, while Dry forests have lower lineage diversity and also a small number of exclusive tree species with 80 (33%). Among the 48 sites used in our analyses, only 18% (nine sites) were found in protected areas. Increasing the number of protected areas is essential for conserving the Pantanal’s biodiversity, especially in woodlands. Savannas in the Pantanal are largely unprotected, despite harbouring a considerable number of exclusive species and higher levels of evolutionary diversity.