Ex situ Conservation of Mexican Flora from Arid Regions: How Well is it Represented in the FESIUNAM Seed Bank?

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The flora of the arid zones of Mexico is characterized by the high degree of diversity and endemism. Unfortunately, because it faces many threats, its study and conservation should be prioritized. One of the most efficient ex-situ conservation alternatives is the storage of germplasm in seed banks. The FESI-UNAM Seed Bank (SB) has the most extensive and diverse collection of species from the arid regions of Mexico, with more than 5,200 accessions of approximately 2,500 species. The objective of this chapter is to report the number of accessions and the floristic diversity for the five groups or 15 climatic domains into which the arid regions of Mexico are classified. Moreover, this chapter aims to identify regions with low representation in the SB and propose potential collection areas for future projects. The SB stores 2,135 accessions from arid zones, comprising 1,182 species from 547 genera and 108 families. Regions such as the center of the country and the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Valley have the highest number of accessions, and families such as Asteraceae, Fabaceae, and Cactaceae account for approximately 45% of the collection. The need to strengthen the collection of seeds in arid zones is evident, and future projects should focus on the protection of endemic species and species under categories of risk, especially in regions not yet represented in the SB, whose role is essential for the conservation of the arid flora of Mexico.