Ex situ conservation in the Brazilian semiarid: Cactaceae housed in the collection of the Guimarães Duque Cactarium / Conservação ex situ no Semiárido brasileiro: Cactaceae da coleção do Cactário Guimarães Duque

Abstract

Nearly 1/3 of all cacti species in the world are at risk of extinction because of human impacts. In Brazil, Cactaceae is among the 10 most endangered families of national flora, making conservation measures essential for this family. In this paper, we document the species preserved in the ex situ collection at the Guimarães Duque Cactarium (CAGD) located in the National Institute of Semiarid, Paraíba state, Brazil. The collection consists of 158 species and 1013 specimens, including mostly Cactaceae and succulent representatives of eight other botanical families. The cacti collection covers 952 specimens belonging to 123 species and 36 genera. Of this total, 104 species are native to Brazil and 19 are exotic species from nine countries. The CAGD collection includes representatives from several phytogeographic domains of the country, highlighting endemic and threatened cacti species occurring in the Caatinga. 70% (N = 83) of the cacti species recorded in the Brazilian Semiarid region are represented in the CAGD collection. Furthermore, in the collection, there are cacti species classified with different threat categories (Near threatened, Vulnerable, Endangered and Critically endangered), with 21 species classified according to MMA/2014 list and 35 species according to IUCN Red List. We also discuss the main challenges and perspectives of the cactarium supporting ex situ conservation actions for Cactaceae