BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOTS
Biodiversity hotspots are biologically rich and threatened.
To be a biodiversity hotspot, an area must meet two criteria:
· It must have at least 1,500 vascular plants as endemics - It cannot be replaced. Endemic means that it must have a high percentage of plant or animal life found nowhere else on the planet
· It must have 30% or less of its original natural vegetation - It must be threatened.
There are 35 areas in the world which qualify as hotspots. They represent 2.3% of Earth’s land surface,but they support more than half of the world’s plant species as endemics —and nearly 43% of bird, mammal, reptile and amphibian species as endemics.
This website will look at Madagascar and Lake Baikal as two biodiverse hotspots.
To be a biodiversity hotspot, an area must meet two criteria:
· It must have at least 1,500 vascular plants as endemics - It cannot be replaced. Endemic means that it must have a high percentage of plant or animal life found nowhere else on the planet
· It must have 30% or less of its original natural vegetation - It must be threatened.
There are 35 areas in the world which qualify as hotspots. They represent 2.3% of Earth’s land surface,but they support more than half of the world’s plant species as endemics —and nearly 43% of bird, mammal, reptile and amphibian species as endemics.
This website will look at Madagascar and Lake Baikal as two biodiverse hotspots.