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   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Colonization influences worldwide distribution of plant specimens    
      
     Date:   
         July 14, 2023   
     Source:   
         Florida State University   
     Summary:   
         Plant diversity in nature is generally highest in tropical   
         regions around the equator, with decreasing diversity closer to   
         the poles. Researchers now show 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.   
      
      
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   A study led by a Florida State University researcher that was published   
   in Nature Human Behavior shows how colonization has contributed to the   
   distribution of plants specimens stored in herbaria collections around   
   the world.   
      
   Plant diversity in nature is generally highest in tropical regions around   
   the equator, with decreasing diversity closer to the poles. FSU Department   
   of Geography Assistant Professor Xiao Feng and Purdue University Assistant   
   Professor Daniel Park 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."  The researchers analyzed   
   more than 85 million records from the Global Biodiversity Information   
   Facility (GBIF) and surveyed herbaria collections from around the world   
   to document the origins and destinations of specimens collected between   
   1600 and 2021.   
      
   Their data suggest that between 1600 to 1945, Europe and North America   
   were responsible for the majority of intercontinental collecting   
   activities, amassing large amounts of specimens from Africa, Asia and   
   South America.   
      
   The trend mostly persisted in the era after World War II, when   
   decolonization efforts increased and more countries in Africa and Asia   
   gained autonomy.   
      
   Despite the growth of collections in South America, Oceania and Asia,   
   the discrepancy of biodiversity collections persists. The international   
   collections by Europe and North America continued to expand, and today   
   they remain larger than those on other continents.   
      
   The discrepancy between where plant diversity exists in nature and where   
   it is preserved and catalogued by scientists is a legacy of colonialism,   
   the researchers said. The movement of plant specimens from the biodiverse   
   tropics to temperate regions runs counter to the natural gradient of   
   biodiversity, in which biodiversity increases as we move from polar to   
   equatorial regions.   
      
   "Biodiversity is probably best studied where it occurs, and that's   
   not what has happened historically," Park said. "A lot of the science   
   that happens with these specimens is very globally relevant; however,   
   as we note in our paper, the means of contributing to this science is   
   not distributed globally, at least not yet."  Some efforts are underway   
   to address the disparities in access. One way collections have become   
   more accessible is through digitization -- gathering data and images   
   from specimens for storage and sharing in a digital format.   
      
   Regional, national and international groups are improving databases and   
   increasing the amount of digitized specimens shared online. One example   
   is iDigBio, a project organized by FSU, University of Florida and other   
   institutions.   
      
   But digitization is still in its infancy, and there are many cases where   
   access to physical specimens is necessary for the work researchers want   
   to complete.   
      
   Investments in infrastructure and training in previously colonized   
   countries would also help to address disparities.   
      
   Park said acknowledging the role Indigenous people played in the   
   collection and study of specimens and improving the information herbaria   
   have about their plants is a good starting place. In many cases, herbaria   
   don't have a full accounting of their collections. Understanding exactly   
   how many items exist and their origin is key, he said.   
      
   This paper was an effort to better understand the scope of the issue   
   and to involve researchers from places where herbaria collections   
   are lacking. Feng and Park led a team of more than 50 authors from 39   
   countries for this work.   
      
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   Story Source: Materials provided by Florida_State_University. Original   
   written by Bill Wellock. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
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   Journal Reference:   
      1. Daniel S. Park, Xiao Feng, Shinobu Akiyama, Marlina Ardiyani, Neida   
         Avendan~o, Zoltan Barina, Blandine Ba"rtschi, Manuel Belgrano,   
         Julio Betancur, Roxali Bijmoer, Ann Bogaerts, Asuncio'n Cano,   
         Jiři' Danihelka, Arti Garg, David E. Giblin, Rajib Gogoi,   
         Alessia Guggisberg, Marko Hyva"rinen, Shelley A. James, Ramagwai   
         J. Sebola, Tomoyuki Katagiri, Jonathan A. Kennedy, Tojibaev   
         Sh. Komil, Byoungyoon Lee, Serena M. L. Lee, Donatella Magri,   
         Rossella Marcucci, Siro Masinde, Denis Melnikov, Patrik Mra'z,   
         Wieslaw Mulenko, Paul Musili, Geoffrey Mwachala, Burrell E. Nelson,   
         Christine Niezgoda, Carla Novoa Sepu'lveda, Sylvia Orli, Alan   
         Paton, Serge Payette, Kent D. Perkins, Maria Jimena Ponce,   
         Heimo Rainer, L. Rasingam, Himmah Rustiami, Natalia M. Shiyan,   
         Charlotte Sletten Bjoraa, James Solomon, Fred Stauffer, Alex   
         Sumadijaya, Me'lanie Thie'baut, Barbara M. Thiers, Hiromi   
         Tsubota, Alison Vaughan, Risto Virtanen, Timothy J. S. Whitfeld,   
         Dianxiang Zhang, Fernando O. Zuloaga, Charles C. Davis. The   
         colonial legacy of herbaria. Nature Human Behaviour, 2023; DOI:   
         10.1038/s41562-023-01616-7   
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   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230714131131.htm   
      
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