Avaliação das potencialidades de hotspots no Centro de Endemismo de Rovuma em Moçambique

Abstract

Biodiversity offers benefits to humanity by ensuring that ecological processes can occur persistently. To ensure that these benefits can continue, it is necessary to conserve this biodiversity. It is vast, and conserving it demands financial resources; in the current context of limited resources, it is important to channel them from a functional perspective. The creation of hotspots responds to this concern by establishing criteria for selecting areas important for conservation. These criteria involve identifying areas with a high number of endemic species threatened with extinction, such as the Rovuma Center of Endemism. A Center of Endemism located in the coastal region of northern Mozambique, it borders Tanzania and covers the coastal zone of the provinces of Cabo Delgado, Nampula, and Zambézia (Quilimane). An area with a high degree of plant endemism, it also experiences significant pressure, both climatic and anthropogenic. This study seeks to define important areas for conservation through the hotspot identification method, and also proposes the inclusion of species adjacent to the Center of Endemism, given the high species diversity and ecological importance.