Floristic survey of vascular plants of the Pantanal Park Road in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

The Pantanal is one of the largest floodplains on Earth and the world's most extensive tropical wetland, covering approximately 139,000 km². Situated in central South America, it spans Bolivia, Paraguay, and Brazil, encompassing the states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul. Flora inventories in the Pantanal yield varying estimates of species richness, ranging from 1,872 to 2,567 species. The Pantanal Park Road (PPR), designated as a Special Area of Tourist Interest, is located within the Pantanal of Mato Grosso do Sul and spans 6,700 km², passing through the municipalities of Corumbá and Ladário. Recognizing the value of floristic surveys for understanding regional biodiversity and informing conservation efforts, this data paper plays a critical role in organizing and disseminating essential information on local flora. Our objective is to provide information that can inform public policies aimed at preserving local biodiversity. The survey was generated by combining data from field expeditions with botanical databases such as JABOT and SpeciesLink. Additional information, including life form, substrate type, conservation status, and the distribution of species across Brazilian biomes and states, was obtained from Flora e Funga do Brasil 2020 using the flora package. Data from Flora e Funga do Brasil 2020 were also used to identify new occurrences among the listed species. The vascular plant list for the Pantanal Park Road includes 765 species. Most species along the PPR are classified as herbs, followed by shrubs or subshrubs, climbers, and trees. Of the total, 720 species are native to Brazil, with 8 species endemics to Mato Grosso do Sul, 10 to the Pantanal, and 4 specifically to the South Mato Grosso Pantanal. According to the Red List from Brazil's National Center for Plant Conservation, the PPR contains 2 species classified as Data Deficient (DD), 70 as Least Concern (LC), 3 as Near Threatened (NT), 4 as Vulnerable (VU), 4 as Endangered (EN), and 1 as Critically Endangered (CR).