The Plant Press

ForestGEO hosts 2023 annual analytical workshop in Panama

From Plant Press, Vol. 26, No. 4, October 2023.

After a three-year hiatus due to Covid-19, ForestGEO hosted an Annual Analytical Workshop this July in Gamboa, Panama. Participants from all over the globe came together to share their expertise and develop their research. Read on for a look inside 2023’s workshop.

ForestGEO director, Stuart Davies, gives a welcome presentation at the 2023 workshop. (photo by Lauren Krizel)

This summer, 48 forest scientists from 24 countries gathered in Gamboa, Panama, to embark on a two-week-long workshop geared towards data analysis, training, and collaboration. The workshop was an opportunity for students and early-career scientists to learn from established leaders in the forest science field with the goal of fostering the next generation of outstanding forest dynamics researchers. Each participant submitted a research proposal during the application process, and the 14 days were spent intensively working on data analysis strategies and brainstorming research collaborations. Participants split into breakout groups based on their research topics: demography, ecosystems and biomass, mortality, and spatial ecology. Each group was led by two to four mentors, experienced scientists who volunteered their time to foster the growth of early-career researchers. 

Top left: the spatial ecology group hard at work. Bottom left: the demography group. Right side: the mortality group. (photos by Lauren Krizel, Daniel Zuleta, and Dinh Phuc Nguyen)

Days were dedicated to working within the breakout groups, followed by participant or mentor seminars in the evenings. On the last day of the workshop, each participant presented their project and summarized the progress they made over the course of the two weeks.

Jose Medina-Vega, a mentor of the spatial ecology group, and ForestGEO postdoc, shared more about his working group:

Throughout the workshop, we engaged in an extensive exploration of thought-provoking inquiries, aiming to elucidate relationships. Our approach involved lively discussions on how to tackle various spatial ecological problems. Participants began by constructing maps and examining patterns, which greatly clarified a direction for their research.

By the end of the workshop, participants had made substantial progress in their projects. The collaborative approach in our breakout group proved to be a rewarding experience, advancing the research endeavors of all involved.

Vickianthus, a new genus of the Vernonieae (Compositae), chosen to honor Vicki Funk

From Plant Press, Vol. 26, No. 4, October 2023.

Herbarium sheet showing Vernonia alamanii DC. (Mexico, Valle de Cenancingo, Lyonnet 552, January 1931) designated as the type species Vickianthus alamanii (DC.) H. Rob. for the new genus Vickianthus H. Rob.

The sunflower family (Compositae) has the largest number of accepted species of any plant family, estimated to be between 25,000 to 30,000 in ca. 1,700 genera. Because of the size of the family and its complexity of flower structures, Compositae is divided into 45 tribes to reflect evolutionary relationships and shared characteristics. Harold Robinson and Sterling Keeley worked on one of the larger tribes in this family, Vernonieae. Morphologically diverse and globally distributed, this tribe comprises over 1,500 species with extensive distributions in both the Old and New Worlds. Coined as the “evil tribe” by Vicki Funk, this tribe has a continuum of overlapping morphological characters/states which makes it very difficult to resolve many of its systematic relationships.

Morphological work by Robinson and phylogenomic studies of Keeley in the past 40 years are only now beginning to tease apart this complicated “evil tribe” and provide a better understanding of the underlying morphological relationships within. With strong support from a recent molecular phylogenetic study of the Vernonieae across its entire geographical range by Keeley and the work by Robinson, ten Mexican species of Vernonia and Vernonanthura were transferred to the new genus, Vickianthus in the newly released paper, “Vickianthus, a new genus of the Vernonieae (Compositae) from Mexico” by Harold Robinson†, Vicki A. Funk†, Carol L. Kelloff, and Raymund Chan, and is published in Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas (https://doi.org/10.17348/jbrit.v17.i1.1291).

As Robinson states in the paper, “The name of the genus is chosen to honor the late Dr. Vicki Ann Funk (not Victoria), who was (and remains) a coauthor on the paper in spite of the present decision to name the genus for her”. Unfortunately, Robinson also passed away before the paper was finished, so to honor Robinson, the paper was completed in this present version by his co-authors.

Vicki Funk collecting plants on Volcano Tacna, Chile in 2014. (photo by Mauricio Diazgranados)

Colonization influences worldwide distribution of plant specimens

From Plant Press, Vol. 26, No. 4, October 2023.

-Adapted from Florida State University News.

A recent study that was published in Nature Human Behavior (https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-023-01616-7) shows how colonization has contributed to the distribution of plants specimens stored in herbaria collections around the world.

Theobroma cacao, a tropical plant collected from Brazil in 1979, preserved in the collection of the U.S. National Herbarium in Washington, DC.

Plant diversity in nature is generally highest in tropical regions around the equator, with decreasing diversity closer to the poles. Xiao Feng (Florida State University), Daniel Park (Purdue University), and a team of more than 50 authors from 39 countries (including Sylvia Orli from Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History) showed that the plant specimens housed in herbaria in Europe and North America are more comprehensive and diverse than the collections housed in the countries with more natural plant diversity.

By comparing modern finds with collection specimens, researchers can examine how a species has changed over time.

“People can’t travel back in time to observe what plants look like 100 years ago, but herbaria collections give us a way to examine the past,” Feng said. “If you’re a researcher from Brazil, for example, and you want to study what native plants were like a century ago, you may have to travel to another country to examine certain species.”

A guide to collecting plant specimens for the US National Herbarium

From Plant Press, Vol. 26, No. 4, October 2023.

By Jillian Vallance

A specimen is a single plant that can be used as an example of a particular species to be examined by scientists, historians, and artists. Botanists collect specimens to assist in current research, aid in future research, or fill in a botanical blackhole. A botanical blackhole is when there is a location that is largely undocumented or unstudied.

Scientists are not the only ones who can collect specimens. Citizen scientists describe anyone collecting specimens in a non-professional capacity. They may collect to fill a gap in the botanic record, aid in research that is being conducted by a scientist, or for their own personal collection!

Citizen science is a great way to increase scientific knowledge and engage more of the public in the scientific community. If a citizen scientist has a collection of flora and they have received approval from the Department of Botany’s collection manager, they are welcome to send their specimens to the Smithsonian to be mounted and added in the US National Herbarium. For the specimens to be accepted by the museum, the collector must have permission from the landowner to collect, must supply copies of permits, and must provide a formal signed and dated Deed of Gift. The plant should not be on any threatened, endangered, or rare list. Plant apps, such as SEEK and iNaturalist, can be used to obtain an identification in the field.

Please keep in mind the Smithsonian’s botanical collection is exceptionally large and sending in a specimen does not guarantee it will be used for research immediately.

Specimen collection: good practices

Materials needed (Fig. 1):

• Pen
• Field notebook or paper
• Hand pruners or clippers
• Newspaper
• Plant press. Learn how to make your own: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IJZAalKfL4>

Fig. 1: Materials needed for plant collection.