Conservation Gap Analysis of Mesoamerican Oaks: Establishing Conservation Priorities

Kate Good, Allen J. Coombes, Susana Valencia-A., Maricela Rodríguez Acosta, Emily Beckman Bruns, and Silvia Alvarez-Clare

Published May 2026 in International Oaks No. 37: 49–58

Abstract

Mesoamerica (defined here as Mexico and Central America) is a global center of oak (Quercus) diversity, with approximately 179 species in Mexico alone.1 Despite this richness, for many species we lack information on population size, distribution, trends, and threats. To inform and prioritize both in-situ and ex-situ conservation efforts, we conducted a conservation gap analysis of 59 Threatened and Data Deficient Mesoamerican oak species to assess their geographic and ecological representation in ex-situ collections. Between 2017 and 2022, we distributed surveys to institutions around the world, requesting data on their Quercus accessions. A total of 197 institutions reported holding at least one Mesoamerican oak species, primarily in the United States (49%) and Europe (32%), with only 5% of the species having at least one collection in Mesoamerica. Twenty-two of our target species are not held in any ex-situ collections anywhere in the world. Of the 59 species in our analysis, only three are in ex-situ collections that cover more than 50% of their geographic range, and only 19 have an ecological coverage above 50%. Furthermore, about one-quarter (16 species) have less than 10% of their native range within protected areas. Climate change poses a threat to all 59 species, while agriculture and residential or commercial development affect 72% and 69% of species, respectively.

Keywords

ex-situ conservation, in-situ conservation, conservation action score

References

Beckman, E., A. Meyer, A. Denvir, D. Gill, G. Man, D. Pivorunas, …and M. Westwood. 2019. Conservation Gap Analysis of Native U.S. Oaks. Lisle: The Morton Arboretum.

Beckman Bruns, E., S.M. Still, K. Good, K., and S. Hoban. 2023. Conservation-gap-analysis (Version 1.0.0) [Computer software]. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8356094

Beech, E., M. Rivers, S. Oldfield, and P.P. Smith. 2017. GlobalTreeSearch: The first complete global database of tree species and country distributions. Journal of Sustainable Forestry 36(5): 454-489. DOI: 10.1080/10549811.2017.1310049

Carrero, C., D. Jerome, E. Beckman, A. Byrne, A.J. Coombes, M. Deng, …and M. Westwood. 2020. The Red List of Oaks 2020. Lisle: The Morton Arboretum.

Conservation Measures Partnership. 2016. Classification of conservation actions and threats (Version 2.0). Available at https:// conservationstandards.org/library-item/threats-and-actions-taxonomies

Convention on Biological Diversity. 2011. Global Strategy for Plant Conservation. Available at https://www.cbd.int/gspc/targets.shtml.

Di Santo, L.N., and J.A. Hamilton. 2020. Using environmental and geographic data to optimize ex situ collections and preserve evolutionary potential. Conservation Biology 35(2): 733-744. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13568

Graul, C. 2016. LeafletR: Interactive Web-Maps Based on the Leaflet JavaScript Library. R package version 0.4-0.

Hoban, S., S. Kallow, S., and C. Trivedi. 2018. Implementing a new approach to effective conservation of genetic diversity, with ash (Fraxinus excelsior) in the UK as a case study. Biological Conservation 225:10-21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2018.06.017

Hu, X., B. Huang, F. Verones, O. Cavalett, and F. Cherubini. 2021. Overview of recent land-cover changes in biodiversity hotspots. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 19(2): 91-97. https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.2276

IUCN. 2023. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2023-1. Available at https://www.iucnredlist.org.

Khoury, C.K., D. Carver, S.L. Greene, and A. Frances. 2020. Crop wild relatives of the United States require urgent conservation action. PNAS 117(52): 33351-33357. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2007029117

Morrone, J.J., T. Escalante, and G. Rodríguez-Tapia. 2017. Mexican biogeographic provinces: Map and Shapefiles. Zootaxa 4277(2): 277-279. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4277.2.8

R Core Team. 2022. R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. Available at https://www.R-project.org/

Suzart de Albuquerque, F., B. Benito, P. Beier, M.J. Assunção-Albuquerque, and L. Cayuela. 2015. Supporting underrepresented forests in Mesoamerica. Natureza & Conservação 13(2): 152-158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ncon.2015.02.001

Tellez, O., E. Mattana, M. Diazgranados, N. Kühn, E. Castillo-Lorenzo, R. Lira, …and T. Ulian. 2020. Native trees of Mexico: diversity, distribution, uses and conservation. PeerJ: e9898. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.9898

UNEP-WCMC and IUCN. 2023. Protected Planet: The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) [Online], October 2023, Cambridge, UK: UNEP-WCMC and IUCN. Available at www.protectedplanet.net.

Valencia Avalos, S. 2010. Notes on the Genus Quercus in Mexico. International Oaks 21: 100-120.

Villaseñor, J.L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of México. Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad 87(3): 559-902. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rmb.2016.06.017

Westwood, M., N. Cavender, A. Meyer, and P. Smith. 2021. Botanic garden solutions to the plant extinction crisis. Plants People Planet 3(1): 22-32. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.10134