Data from: Reducing the Wallacean shortfall: Six decades of change in the vouchered vascular plant flora of Crawford County (Kansas, USA)

A comparison of vouchered vascular plant taxa from Crawford County,
Kansas, from 1963 and 2022. We analyze knowledge of vascular plant
diversity in Crawford County, Kansas, over a 60-year interval (1963–2022)
by reporting changes in absolute numbers and percentages. Comparative data
were organized in an Excel spreadsheet and a README file. After adjusting
for taxonomic and nomenclatural changes and requiring vouchers for all
taxa to be included, the number of accepted vascular plant taxa documented
for Crawford County increased by 464 unique taxa (+67.0%), or
approximately 7.7 per year across 60 years. Detailed familial and generic
comparisons are presented for two monocot families (Cyperaceae, Poaceae)
and eight relatively species-rich eudicot families (Apiaceae, Asteraceae,
Brassicaceae, Caryophyllaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Fabaceae, Lamiaceae,
Rosaceae), which show pronounced differences in percentages of taxonomic
changes and in native versus non-native status. We also compare our
results broadly with those documented in the flora of the Pacific
Northwest (PNW) over a 45-year period. These comparisons illustrate
significant reductions in the Wallacean Shortfall at relatively local
(Crawford County) and regional (PNW) scales. We conclude that the
Wallacean Shortfall of vascular plants is more pronounced in some areas of
North America than generally realized and that additional collecting is
not only justified in many US counties, but necessary to continuously
monitor the distribution and status of plant species.