Centers of richness and endemism of Lauraceae in the Espinhaco Range, Brazil

Our study is the most comprehensive checklist of the species of Lauraceae in the Espinhaco Range, including 99 species that belong to 13 genera. This number of species represents about 22% of the total estimated in Brazil and the endemism 8%. Thirty-four endemic species are identified, of which 15 are potential new taxa to be yet described, and 15 are categorized as micro-endemic. The Espinhaco Range presents four centers of richness and endemism of Lauraceae: (i) Serra do Cip ' o, (ii) South Espinhaco Range in Minas Gerais (Quadril ' atero Ferrifero), (iii) Chapada Diamantina, and (iv) the Diamantina Plateau. There is a high sharing of species between South Espinhaco Range in Minas Gerais and Serra do Cip ' o, and South Espinhaco Range in Minas Gerais, Serra do Cip ' o, and the Diamantina Plateau. A geographical congruence between the centers of species richness and species endemism is found, and both Serra do Cip ' o and Chapada Diamantina present the highest levels of endemism. The predominant vegetation type associated with the centers of species richness and endemism is the seasonal semideciduous forest, except in the Diamantina Plateau region that is mostly associated with the cerrado. In the Espinhaco Range, the seasonal semideciduous forest is the richest vegetation type throughout the latitudinal variation of the range. The high number of species widely distributed in different vegetation types highlights the association among the cerrado, campo rupestre, and seasonal semideciduous forest.