How global biodiversity hotspots may go unrecognized: lessons from the North American Coastal Plain

Abstract Biodiversity hotspots are conservation priorities. We identify the North American Coastal Plain ( NACP ) as a global hotspot based on the classic definition, a region with > 1500 endemic plant species and > 70% habitat loss. This region has been bypassed in prior designations due to misconceptions and myths about its ecology and history. These fallacies include: (1) young age of the NACP , climatic instability over time and submergence during high sea‐level stands; (2) climatic and environmental homogeneity; (3) closed forest as the climax vegetation; and (4) fire regimes that are mostly anthropogenic. We show that the NACP is older and more climatically stable than usually assumed, spatially…

• AS
  American Society of Plant Taxonomists
• BS
  Botanical Society of America
• NC
  Nature Conservancy