Global terrestrial species richness and rarity patterns (0.25 degree)

Global patterns of richness for terrestrial species (0.25 degree resolution) derived from habitat suitability indices from probabilistic downscaling of species range map intersections.

Overview

This layer shows global species richness and rarity patterns for select terrestrial vertebrate and plant groups, based on data availability. Species richness is the number of species ranges estimated to occur in each grid cell. Here richness is expressed as percentile rank values from 1 (low) to 100 (high). Species rarity is the average range-restrictedness of all species expected to occur in each cell. Here rarity is expressed as percentile rank values from 1 (low) to 100 (high). These values are derived from quantile binning as shown on the Half-Earth Map website.

Species range maps were used for six terrestrial species groups: amphibians, birds, cacti, conifers, mammals, and reptiles (Wilson et al 2009, Jetz et al 2012, Leslie 2014, Barthlott et al 2015, IUCN 2017, Roll et al 2017). The 'all' taxa attributes gives the richness and rarity patterns of these six species groups combined. The species groups that are included in this layer were determined based on data available based on complete spatial and taxonomic coverage. Vertebrate patterns (amphibians, birds, mammals, and reptiles) are derived from range maps refined by known habitat associations and preferences; cacti and conifers are based on unrefined range maps.

The global grid used in this dataset has a grid cell area of ~777 km^2 (approximately 27.75km x 27.75km or 0.25˚ x 0.25˚ at 30˚ latitudes). The grid cells have been clipped to GADM 3.6 political boundaries (Hijmans et al 2018).

Biodiversity is critical for maintaining the function of ecosystems and their services to humans. Using different biodiversity measures can shed light on which areas should be prioritized for biodiversity conservation. Beyond the number of species occurring in an area, rare species that have small range extents should be prioritized in conservation planning, as the conservation opportunities are limited for these range-restricted species especially when comparing them to wide-ranging species. Patterns of species richness and range rarity provide insights about the biogeography of taxa and offer an initial basis for global biodiversity conservation efforts.

Citation

When citing this dataset, please use: Jetz, W., McPherson, J. M., and Guralnick, R. P. (2012). Integrating biodiversity distribution knowledge: toward a global map of life. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 27:151-159. DOI:10.1016/j.tree.2011.09.007.

References

Barthlott, W., Burstedde, K., Geffert, J.L., Ibisch, P.I., Korotkoba, N., Miebach, A., Rafiqpoor, M.D., Stein, A., & J. Mutke (2015). Biogeography and biodiversity of cacti. Schumannia, 7.

Hijmans, R., Garcia, N., & J. Wieczorek (2018). Global Administrative Areas Database (GADM) Version 3.6. UN: New York, NY, USA.

Hurlbert, A.H. & W. Jetz (2007). Species richness, hotspots, and the scale dependence of range maps in ecology and conservation. PNAS, 104(33), 13384-13389.

IUCN (2017). International Union for Conservation of Nature - Red List of Threatened Species. Accessed January 2017.

Jetz, W., Thomas, G.H., Joy, J.B., Hartmann, K., & A.O. Mooers (2012). The global diversity of birds in space and time. Nature, 491, 444-448.

Leslie, A. (2014). Conifers of the World. Unpublished MS.

Powers, R.P. & W. Jetz (2019). Global habitat loss and extinction risk of terrestrial vertebrates under future land-use-change scenarios. Nature Climate Change, 9(4), 323-329.

Roll, U., Feldman, A., Novosolov, M., Allison, A., Bauer, A.M., Bernard, R., Bohm, M., Castro-Herrera, F., Chirio, L., Collen, B., & G.R. Colli (2017). The global distribution of tetrapods reveals a need for targeted reptile conservation. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 1(11), 1677-1682.

Wilson, D.E., Lacher Jr, T.E., & R.A. Mittermeier eds (2009). Handbook of the mammals of the world, Vols. 1-9. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions.

Datasets available for download

• GlobalTerrRaR_025degFeature Layer

  Layer 0 via ArcGIS REST API

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• Half-Earth
• Map of Life
• amphibians
• biodiversity
• birds
• cacti
• conifers
• conservation
• mammals
• rarity
• reptiles
• richness

Additional Info

• Maturity Level 1 (54%)
• Maturity Level 2 (46%)
• Maturity Level 3 (44%)
• Maturity Level 4 (0%)
• Maturity Level 5 (0%)
• Maturity Level 6 (38%)

Field	Value
Last Updated	August 28, 2026, 07:10 (UTC)
Created	March 24, 2026, 21:06 (UTC)
Domain / Topic Domain or topic of the dataset being cataloged.
Title Title for the Dataset.	Global terrestrial species richness and rarity patterns (0.25 degree)
Description A description of the dataset.	Global patterns of richness for terrestrial species (0.25 degree resolution) derived from habitat suitability indices from probabilistic downscaling of species range map intersections. Overview This layer shows global species richness and rarity patterns for select terrestrial vertebrate and plant groups, based on data availability. Species richness is the number of species ranges estimated to occur in each grid cell. Here richness is expressed as percentile rank values from 1 (low) to 100 (high). Species rarity is the average range-restrictedness of all species expected to occur in each cell. Here rarity is expressed as percentile rank values from 1 (low) to 100 (high). These values are derived from quantile binning as shown on the Half-Earth Map website. Species range maps were used for six terrestrial species groups: amphibians, birds, cacti, conifers, mammals, and reptiles (Wilson et al 2009, Jetz et al 2012, Leslie 2014, Barthlott et al 2015, IUCN 2017, Roll et al 2017). The 'all' taxa attributes gives the richness and rarity patterns of these six species groups combined. The species groups that are included in this layer were determined based on data available based on complete spatial and taxonomic coverage. Vertebrate patterns (amphibians, birds, mammals, and reptiles) are derived from range maps refined by known habitat associations and preferences; cacti and conifers are based on unrefined range maps. The global grid used in this dataset has a grid cell area of ~777 km^2 (approximately 27.75km x 27.75km or 0.25˚ x 0.25˚ at 30˚ latitudes). The grid cells have been clipped to GADM 3.6 political boundaries (Hijmans et al 2018). Biodiversity is critical for maintaining the function of ecosystems and their services to humans. Using different biodiversity measures can shed light on which areas should be prioritized for biodiversity conservation. Beyond the number of species occurring in an area, rare species that have small range extents should be prioritized in conservation planning, as the conservation opportunities are limited for these range-restricted species especially when comparing them to wide-ranging species. Patterns of species richness and range rarity provide insights about the biogeography of taxa and offer an initial basis for global biodiversity conservation efforts. Citation When citing this dataset, please use: Jetz, W., McPherson, J. M., and Guralnick, R. P. (2012). Integrating biodiversity distribution knowledge: toward a global map of life. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 27:151-159. DOI:10.1016/j.tree.2011.09.007. References Barthlott, W., Burstedde, K., Geffert, J.L., Ibisch, P.I., Korotkoba, N., Miebach, A., Rafiqpoor, M.D., Stein, A., & J. Mutke (2015). Biogeography and biodiversity of cacti. Schumannia, 7. Hijmans, R., Garcia, N., & J. Wieczorek (2018). Global Administrative Areas Database (GADM) Version 3.6. UN: New York, NY, USA. Hurlbert, A.H. & W. Jetz (2007). Species richness, hotspots, and the scale dependence of range maps in ecology and conservation. PNAS, 104(33), 13384-13389. IUCN (2017). International Union for Conservation of Nature - Red List of Threatened Species. Accessed January 2017. Jetz, W., Thomas, G.H., Joy, J.B., Hartmann, K., & A.O. Mooers (2012). The global diversity of birds in space and time. Nature, 491, 444-448. Leslie, A. (2014). Conifers of the World. Unpublished MS. Powers, R.P. & W. Jetz (2019). Global habitat loss and extinction risk of terrestrial vertebrates under future land-use-change scenarios. Nature Climate Change, 9(4), 323-329. Roll, U., Feldman, A., Novosolov, M., Allison, A., Bauer, A.M., Bernard, R., Bohm, M., Castro-Herrera, F., Chirio, L., Collen, B., & G.R. Colli (2017). The global distribution of tetrapods reveals a need for targeted reptile conservation. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 1(11), 1677-1682. Wilson, D.E., Lacher Jr, T.E., & R.A. Mittermeier eds (2009). Handbook of the mammals of the world, Vols. 1-9. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions.
Tags / Keywords Keywords/tags categorizing the dataset.	Half-Earth Map of Life amphibians biodiversity birds cacti conifers conservation mammals rarity reptiles richness
Format (CSV, XLS, TXT, PDF, etc) File format of the dataset.
Dataset Size Dataset size in megabytes.	678984.0
Metadata Identifier Metadata identifier – can be used as the unique identifier for catalogue entry
Published Date Published date of the dataset.	2021-09-22
Time Period Data Span (start date) Start date of the data in the dataset.
Time Period Data Span (end date) End date of time data in the dataset.
GeoSpatial Area Data Span A spatial region or named place the dataset covers.

Field	Value
Access category Type of access granted for the dataset (open, closed, service, etc).	public
License License used to access the dataset.	You may not distribute, modify, transmit, reuse, repost, copy, or use this content, whether in whole or in part, for commercial purposes or for personal gain, without express advance written permission from Map of Life . The data are and will remain the exclusive property of Map of Life, Yale University, and its licensors. These data are protected by copyright, trademark, and other laws of both the United States and foreign countries. Map of Life trademarks and trade dress may not be used in connection with any product or service without the prior written consent of Map of Life , Yale University.By downloading this data, you agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless Map of Life , Yale University and its licensee and licensors, and their employees, contractors, agents, officers and directors, from and against any and all claims, damages, obligations, losses, liabilities, costs or debt, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney's fees), resulting from or arising out of a) your use and access of the data, by you or any person using your account and password; b) a breach of these terms; or c) content posted on the platform.Your use of the data is at your sole risk. The data are provided on an "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE" basis. The data are provided without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including, but not limited to, implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement or course of performance.In no event shall Map of Life , Yale University, nor its directors, employees, partners, agents, suppliers, or affiliates, be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, including without limitation, loss of profits, data, use, goodwill, or other intangible losses, resulting from (i) your access to or use of or inability to access or use the data; (ii) any conduct or content of any third party on the data; and (iii) unauthorized access, use or alteration of your transmissions or content, whether based on warranty, contract, tort (including negligence) or any other legal theory, whether or not we have been informed of the possibility of such damage, and even if a remedy set forth herein is found to have failed of its essential purpose.For more information, refer to the Map of Life Terms of Service .
Limits on use Limits on use of data.
Location Location of the dataset.	https://climate.esri.ca/datasets/08fbd2c0db94442db4e4835092dcc01b
Data Service Data service for accessing a dataset.
Owner Owner of the dataset.	MOL_LivingAtlasPublisher
Contact Point Who to contact regarding access?
Contact Point Email The email to contact regarding access?
Publisher Publisher of the dataset.
Publisher Email Email of the publisher.
Author Author of the dataset.	MOL_LivingAtlasPublisher
Author Email Email of the author.
Accessed At Date the data and metadata was accessed.	2021-10-19

Field	Value
Identifier Unique identifier for the dataset.	08fbd2c0db94442db4e4835092dcc01b
Language Language(s) of the dataset	English
Link to dataset description A URL to an external document describing the dataset.	https://climate.esri.ca/datasets/08fbd2c0db94442db4e4835092dcc01b
Persistent Identifier Data is identified by a persistent identifier.
Globally Unique Identifier Data is identified by a persistent and globally unique identifier.
Contains data about individuals Does the data hold data about individuals?
Contains data about identifiable individuals Does the data hold identifiable data about individual?
Contains Indigenous Data Does the data hold data about Indigenous communities?
Portal Type Platform type of the source portal.

Field	Value
Version Version of the datatset	None
Source Source of the dataset.	None
Version notes Version notes about the dataset.
Is version of another dataset Link to dataset that it is a version of.
Other versions Link to datasets that are versions of it.
Provenance Text Provenance Text of the data.
Provenance URL Provenance URL of the data.
Temporal resolution Describes how granular the date/time data in the dataset is.
GeoSpatial resolution in meters Describes how granular (in meters) geospatial data is in the dataset.
GeoSpatial resolution (in regions) Describes how granular (in regions) geospatial data is in the dataset.

Field	Value
Indigenous Community Permission Who holds the Indigenous Community Permission. Who to contact regarding access to a dataset that has data about Indigenous communities.
Community Permission Community permission (who gave permission).
The Indigenous communities the dataset is about Indigenous communities from which data is derived.

Field	Value
Number of data rows If tabular dataset, total number of rows.	206651
Number of data columns If tabular dataset, total number of unique columns.	36
Number of data cells If tabular dataset, total number of cells with data.	7439436
Number of data relations If RDF dataset, total number of triples.
Number of entities If RDF dataset, total number of entities.
Number of data properties If RDF dataset, total number of unique properties used by the triples.
Data quality Describes the quality of the data in the dataset.
Metric for data quality A metric used to measure the quality of the data, such as missing values or invalid formats.

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