Mountains contribute disproportionately to the terrestrial biodiversity of Earth, especially in
the tropics, where they host hotspots of extraordinary and puzzling richness. With about 25 …

Tropical Africa is home to an astonishing biodiversity occurring in a variety of ecosystems.
Past climatic change and geological events have impacted the evolution and diversification …

Assessing the distribution of geographically restricted and evolutionarily unique species and
their underlying drivers is key to understanding biogeographical processes and critical for …

Despite the paramount role of plant diversity for ecosystem functioning, biogeochemical
cycles, and human welfare, knowledge of its global distribution is still incomplete, hampering …

Origins of an alpine flora The evolution of high mountain floras is strongly influenced by
tectonic and climatic history. Ding et al. document the timing, tempo, and mode by which the …

Mountains are pivotal to maintaining habitat heterogeneity, global biodiversity, ecosystem
functions and services to humans. They have provided classic model natural systems for …

Mountains are arguably Earth's most striking features. They play a major role in determining
global and regional climates, are the source of most rivers, act as cradles, barriers and …

Motivation More than half of Earth's species are contained in a mere 1.4% of its land area,
but the climates of many of these biodiversity hotspots are projected to disappear as a …

Far from a uniform band, the biodiversity found across Earth's tropical moist forests varies
widely between the high diversity of the Neotropics and Indomalaya and the relatively lower …

Summary The Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP) sensu lato (sl), comprising the platform, the
Himalaya and the Hengduan Mountains, is characterized by a large number of endemic …