Plant Diversity in the World linked with language diversity

Plant diversity and distribution are affected by latitudinal differences and climatic environmental conditions such as precipitation and the temperature of the surrounding environment.

From: Stepp, J.R. et al. 2004. Development of a GIS for Global Biocultural Diversity. Policy Matters 13, pp. 267-270.

The map that we have here shows the distribution of plant diversity reaching its highest peak around tropical regions of the globe as a result of stable warm temperatures year round, high humidity and rainfall which are all conducive for luxuriant plant growth. Competition is high and therefore plants will evolve into more specialised niches and this would also increase the complexity in which plants would adapt to their environment.

What is also interesting is that the number of different languages and dialects also reaches maximum diversity around tropical regions (represented by the black dots). Linguistic diversity is shown to be an indicator of cultural diversity. The areas with the highest concentration of black dots are around tropical rainforests (which have high biodiversity); areas around South-east Asia, Central-South America and Western Africa. Areas that are less hospitable are shown here to have less plant diversity and a lesser diversity of language dialects; the cold harsh environment in the Northern tundra/ Arctic, dry deserts (Sahara, Argentitian and Namib) and high altitudes with a low oxygen environment such as the Tibetan Plateau/ Mount Everest. Surprisingly enough, the Australian arid inner desert regions have a higher diversity in plant life and also language dialects as opposed to other similar regions as mentioned above.

 Is there a correlation between the two? This could be a potential research paper!