The Plant Press

New spatial mechanism for the coexistence of tree species

From Plant Press, Vol. 28, No. 2, April 2025.

Hidden patterns in tree distribution stabilize biodiversity in forests

 -Adapted from Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ

 The reason why so many tree species can coexist in species-rich forests has long been a subject of debate in ecology. This question is key to understanding the mechanisms governing the dynamics and stability of forests. An international team of scientists, including W. John Kress of the Smithsonian’s Department of Botany and Stuart Davies of Smithsonian’s Forest Global Earth Observatory (ForestGEO), has now discovered unexpected patterns in the spatial distribution of tree species, as reported in the scientific journal Nature (https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-08604-z). Their results suggest that tree species in tropical and temperate forests manifest contrasting coexistence strategies as a result of differences in the patterns of tree clustering and the abundances of tree species.

The highly complex spatial distribution of tree species in species-rich tropical forests. Shown is the spatial position, species identity (color), and size of individual trees in a 500 m × 1000 m study plot on Barro Colorado Island, Panama, which was analyzed in the study. (photo courtesy of UFZ)

The data sets are very large with more than 75 permanent forest dynamics plots in 29 countries worldwide. The ForestGEO network of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) provides excellent forest inventories for investigating the dynamics of forest ecosystems and better understanding the processes that drive the structure and function of forests. On these 20-to-50-hectare plots, every single tree with a diameter not much larger than a pencil has been identified, measured and mapped every five years, often totaling more than 200,000 trees.

The international team took a closer look at 21 of these forest megaplots, which cover a gradient from the tropical to the subtropical and temperate zones. The team then used the ForestGEO data to analyze the distribution of tree species in the forests and which processes are responsible for their spatial patterns. "The search for simple principles underlying the spatial structure and dynamics of plant communities is a long-standing challenge in theoretical ecology," says first author Thorsten Wiegand of the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, describing their research question.

Climate change is altering plant and pollinator relationships

From Plant Press, Vol. 28, No. 2, April 2025.

-Adapted from Pollinator Partnership

An international team of scientists from Mexico, the United States, and Costa Rica recently published a literature review that compiles the research from 340 scientific articles on how climate change is disrupting plant reproduction. The paper titled, “Untangling the complexity of climate change effects on plant reproductive traits and pollinators: a systematic global synthesis,” was published in the journal Global Change Biology (31: e70081, https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.70081).

The basic findings of this study show that climate change is reshaping how plants and animals interact. Disruptions in these relationships may occur when plants and pollinators no longer co-exist in space or time, or when floral characteristics no longer match the needs and behaviors of their animal pollinators. Climate variations may impact floral attraction and reward traits, affecting the health, reproduction, and survival of plants and pollinators.

Summary of climate change effects on plant (green) and animal (blue) phenologies, plant reproductive traits, and pollinator traits documented in the literature review across the most studied world biomes. Main trends in response direction (> 50% of responses in one category) are indicated with arrows. (image from Global Change Biology, https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.70081)

The study, led by Silvana Martén Rodríguez of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), included a team from UNAM, as well as authors affiliated with Instituto de Ecología, A.C., Universidad Autónoma de Guerrero, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Universidad de Costa Rica, Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, and University of Kansas.

Co-author Gary Krupnick of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History points out that “This paper shows how climate change is increasing the risk of temporal mismatches between plants and pollinators worldwide, which can have serious negative impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem health.”

Staff Activities

From Plant Press, Vol. 28, No. 1, January 2025.

On November 25, Erika Gardner gave a presentation titled, “What is a Type Specimen,” to the Riderwood Senior Living Community Garden Club in Silver Spring, Maryland. The presentation included historical collecting accounts and the continued preservation of specimens, the use of DNA analysis of herbarium specimens to uncover new species to solve cryptic speciation issues, and how botanical illustrators use their skills to highlight characteristics of a plant to distinguish it from other similar species. 

Staff scientists and postdoctoral fellows from ForestGEO, including Stuart Davies, Eugenie Mas, Jose Medina, Krishna Anujan, Helene Muller-Landau, Luca Morreale, and Kelvin Acebron, attended the annual AGU (American Geophysical Union) conference in Washington, DC, on December 9-13. The conference is the “largest gathering of Earth and space scientists,” where individuals connect and share their research. The goal of the conference is to better understand the planet, environment, and how to address climate change. This year’s theme was “What’s Next for Science,” and it was attended by approximately 27,000 registered guests. ForesGEO post-doc Krishna Anujan presented a poster, “Sensitivity of tree growth to precipitation in seasonally dry tropical forests using long-term dendrometer band measurements”.

By the Numbers: Collections Edition

From Plant Press, Vol. 27, No. 4, October 2024.

U.S. National Herbarium
By the Numbers
* Collections Edition *

A volunteer in the Department of Botany carefully mount plant specimens to herbarium sheets. (photographer unknown)

16,042

Specimens digitized/imaged in FY24

 

6,109

New specimens accessioned into the collection in FY24

 

6,027

Specimens mounted in FY24

 

1,140

Specimens loaned out in FY24

 

A volunteer in the Department of Botany carefully mount plant specimens to herbarium sheets. (photo by Erika Gardner)

Museum specialists meet in Okinawa at the 39th annual meeting and SPNHC-TDWG joint conference

From Plant Press, Vol. 27, No. 4, October 2024.

By Carol Kelloff, Meghann Toner, and Erika Gardner

This year the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC) and Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG) held a joint conference in Okinawa, Japan, from September 2-6, 2024. The theme was “Enhancing Local Capacity, Elevating Global Standards.” Conducted as a hybrid meeting, the SPNHC-TDWG 2024 included papers and symposia on topics of “Back to Basics” sharing peer-to-peer experiences of the day-to-day curatorial work methodologies often learned through practical experiences. Other presentations focused on how we can elevate the global standards of collections care best practices and how digital technology and standards are becoming an increasingly critical component of natural history collections. Lightning talks, limited to 5 minutes, focused on one specimen in the collection that has a fascinating story to tell. Posters, workshops and demonstrations also occurred throughout the week.

NMNH staff participate in an herbarium discussion group workshop hosted by Kew at the SPNHC meeting in Okinawa, Japan. (photo by Erika Gardner)

Keynote speakers at the conference were Sara Beery, Assistant Professor of AI and Decision Making, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Tom Strang, Conservationist. Beery talked about the challenges and opportunities at the intersection of AI and biodiversity. Strang told how a chance meeting began a 23-year collaboration with Japanese colleagues to transition away from methyl bromide (MeBr) fumigation and the applicability of alternatives to the protection of cultural property.

Botanists meet in Madrid at the XX International Botanical Congress

From Plant Press, Vol. 27, No. 4, October 2024.

By Gary A. Krupnick

Department of Botany staff members and affiliates joined colleagues from near and far at the XX International Botanical Congress (IBC) in Madrid, Spain, from July 21-27, 2024.

Botanists participate in the Nomenclature Section of the XX International Botanical Congress where they deliberated on proposals to amend the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants. (photo by Eric Schuettpelz)

Immediately preceding the main program of the XX IBC, the Nomenclature Section of the Congress took place at the central campus of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) in Madrid from July 15-19. This Section was presented by the Congress’s Bureau of Nomenclature as prescribed by the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN). Sandra Knapp (Natural History Museum, London), president of the Bureau of Nomenclature, chaired the session, with expertise and guidance given by the Rapporteur-général, Nicholas Turland (Botanischer Garten und Botanisches Museum Berlin), and the Vice-rapporteur, John Wiersema (Smithsonian Research Associate). The Nomenclature Section deliberated 433 proposals to amend the ICN. Others attending from the Botany Department were Laurence Dorr, Rose Gulledge, Paul Peterson, Eric Schuettpelz, Robert Soreng, Kenneth Wurdack, and Smithsonian Research Associate Morgan Gostel. Important topics that were discussed included proposals on culturally sensitive issues as well as the removal of a significant set of names based on racially offensive terms, and a clear mechanism for the voluntary registration of names and types of algae and plants.

Staff Activities [video]

From Plant Press, Vol. 27, No. 3, July 2024.

John Kress presented a lecture, "Art meets Science: How artists and botanists capture the essence of Nature through color, composition, and classification," at the Cosmos Club in Washington, DC, on June 26, 2024. In his talk, he described how artists and botanists have made unanticipated contributions to both our understanding and appreciation of the natural world for hundreds of years and how it continues today. His talk showed several artworks in the Department of Botany’s art collection, including Bryan Poole’s Heliconia caribaea, and Alice Tangerini’s gingers, including Globba sherwoodiana. Tangerini and her intern, Michelle-Marie Nelson were in attendance, and then following the lecture, Tangerini spoke to several of the attendees about her work at the museum.

In April 2024, Alice Tangerini spent time in Springfield, Massachusetts, at the Springfield Museums as an invited guest through Smithsonian Affiliates to present a lecture on “Botanical Illustration Then and Now” and to teach a class in botanical illustration. From April 4-7, Springfield Museums held a Festival of Flowers at their five museums all centered around a green quadrangle which featured sculptures of characters in the Dr. Seuss stories. Three of the museums displayed amazing flower arrangements in front of art pieces that were the inspiration for the designs. Other museums displayed floral arrangements in front of dioramas of animals and prehistoric life. One museum held activities for children and flower arranging for adults. Tangerini worked with Clarissa Leverich, the Museum School and Lecture Coordinator, to organize the class. Participants created layered graphite and watercolor flower portraits using prints and live flowers for subjects. It was a unique method for students to learn and each student came away with a finished piece.

On April 18, in celebration of Earth Day 2024, alumni of the National Museum of Natural History’s Peter Buck Postdoctoral Fellowship program presented short talks related to their own science journeys in the symposium, “Life on a Sustainable Planet: Exploring and Understanding Our Natural World”. The symposium offered an opportunity for the Smithsonian science community and the public to hear from science leaders of the future on how their work is contributing to exploring and understanding our natural world. Among the speakers, Richie Hodel presented, “Machine learning applications with digitized herbarium specimens reveal the hybrid origin of the cherry/plum genus,” and Manuela Dal Forno presented, “Preserving the past, exploring the future: Insights from historical lichen collections.” All of the talks were recorded and are available for viewing on the museum's YouTube channel.

Richie Hodel presents, “Machine learning applications with digitized herbarium specimens reveal the hybrid origin of the cherry/plum genus”:

 

Manuela Dal Forno presents, “Preserving the past, exploring the future: Insights from historical lichen collections”:

Outside of the cabinet and into the garden: Vicki Funk’s extraordinary legacy in botanic gardens

From Plant Press, Vol. 27, No. 3, July 2024.

By Morgan Gostel

When most of us in the Natural History community think of botanical collections, our first thought is of herbaria and the critical role they play in documenting and preserving the rich diversity of plants and lichens on Earth. Indeed, herbaria play an increasingly important role in advancing botanical science and are arguably the single most important scientific resource available to confront and overcome the biodiversity crisis for plants and lichens. However, another resource plays a key role in advancing plant science, conservation, and education – the diverse collections stored in botanic gardens worldwide. The history of botanic gardens and herbaria is inextricably linked. Despite the parallel role of these institutions, their connections faded throughout the 20^th century. According to Index Herbariorum, there are currently 3,567 herbaria worldwide, and Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) estimates there are more than 3,000 botanic gardens and arboreta. Although the aim and scope of herbarium is often distinguished from botanic gardens, a significant historical component of these institutions is linked through their role in facilitating research, notably taxonomy and systematics (see Dosmann 2006). One individual who saw enormous potential for herbarium and botanic garden collections to grow together was Vicki Funk. Funk’s impact and legacy in phylogenetic theory, biogeography, and plant systematics and evolution – particularly in the daisy family, Compositae – are enormous and widely recognized. Perhaps less well-known, however, is the great collections-based legacy she left for botanic gardens.

Vick Funk (second from left) collecting with interns Sara Gabler, Asia Hill, and Kristen van Neste (left to right) at the U.S. Botanic Garden. (photo courtesy U.S. Botanic Garden)

Ten years ago, in 2014, Funk was motivated to explore the role that botanic gardens might play in advancing collections-based research, particularly in the genomic era. To Funk, the crux of this motivation was a fervent belief that botanic gardens are in a unique position to facilitate plant collections-based research, yet surprisingly the living collections that gardens maintain and the dedicated staff who grow them were increasingly disconnected from herbaria and the broader research community. According to Funk, botanic gardens held vast collections of diverse living plants that were underutilized for research. Throughout her career, Funk was an ardent advocate for the importance of scientific vouchers and the critical role of natural history collections as foundational institutions for biological science. Encouraging botanic gardens to rediscover their historical connections to herbaria and more actively collect scientific vouchers could lead to an untapped wellspring of botanical knowledge.

News from the Botany Research Greenhouse

From Plant Press, Vol. 27, No. 2, April 2024.

Research botanists at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) occasionally come across plants in the field that they cannot identify, and so they bring the living plant back to Washington, DC, for further study. The living collections are then cared for in the Botany Research Greenhouses, located in Suitland, Maryland, at the Smithsonian’s Museum Support Center (MSC), where the plant may one day reach flowering stage for easier identification.

A living collection of Polyscias diversifolia from Singapore growing in the Botany Research Greenhouses. (photo by Carl Johnson)

Such is the case of an unidentified plant specimen collected by Jun Wen a few years ago in Singapore. While Wen could identify it to Araliaceae, the plant needed to grow to flowering size to get a positive species identification. There are two specimens of this plant growing in the greenhouses, and with the horticultural expertise of Carl Johnson, both specimens began flowering in January 2024. With flowers at hand, the plants have now been identified as Polyscias diversifolia, a species that grows in wet tropical forests from Indo-China to west and central Malesia. In addition to the positive identification, Wen was able to take cuttings of the mature plants, which will be used to make herbarium vouchers.

This contribution of plant material from the greenhouse to the herbarium is a great example of the Department of Botany's greenhouse facility and the U.S. National Herbarium working in tandem with Smithsonian Gardens to facilitate research goals. As a collaboration between Smithsonian Gardens and NMNH, the goal of the greenhouses is to bring together shared botanical and horticultural resources, passions, and missions.

While the well-known herbarium has a collection of over 5 million dried, pressed plant specimens, the greenhouses maintain an impressive collection of just under 2,000 living plants. The new greenhouse facility, recently on the move from one location at MSC to another, is expected to open in its new location in June 2024.

On closer inspection: APHIS team joins Botany

From Plant Press, Vol. 27, No. 2, April 2024.

By Gary Krupnick.

The Department of Botany is pleased to welcome three new members to the department. In December 2023, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) and the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s (APHIS) Plant Protection and Quarantine division (PPQ). The three new scientists (two botanists and one technician) joining the department hail from National Identification Services (NIS) within PPQ. The focus of NIS is to provide rapid identification of plants and plant pests in support of the USDA’s regulatory programs. NIS includes specialists in the fields of botany, entomology, malacology, and mycology, and they serve as the final taxonomic authorities for PPQ’s identification programs. While the missions of PPQ and NMNH are separate and distinct, both provide information and scientific services to a wide array of researchers, customers, and stakeholders in the public and private sectors.

The Plant Protection and Quarantine Botany Lab, now in the NMNH Botany Department, includes a a fruit and seed collection of over 6,000 accessions. (photo by Gary Krupnick)

According to the MOU, NMNH will provide space to PPQ/NIS scientists, technicians, and affiliated individuals (e.g., visitors, fellows, interns, contractors) in return for PPQ's performance of collection curation activities. This arrangement will allow PPQ, in conjunction with NMNH and other USDA employee scientists, to effectively perform pest identifications in support of agricultural quarantine inspection, pest detection, emergency and other PPQ programs. PPQ scientists have now joined the NMNH’s Department of Botany and Department of Entomology curating specific taxa within the NMNH botanical and entomological collections. In Botany, they are focused on Asteraceae, Fabaceae, and other plant families with large numbers of federal noxious weeds or other taxa encountered in trade, while in Entomology, the focus is on Coleoptera, Diptera, Lepidoptera, and Hemiptera. The NMNH collections will also grow with the addition of officially identified PPQ botanical and arthropod specimens obtained from port-of-entry interceptions and from other PPQ programs, with specimens originating from locations throughout the world. The PPQ Botany Lab, now fully moved to the NMNH Botany Department, also includes a small reference library as well as a fruit and seed collection including over 6,000 accessions.