| NSF Org: |
DEB Division Of Environmental Biology |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | April 27, 2015 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | April 22, 2021 |
| Award Number: | 1457702 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Daniel J. Thornhill
DEB Division Of Environmental Biology BIO Directorate for Biological Sciences |
| Start Date: | May 1, 2015 |
| End Date: | September 30, 2021 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $675,000.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $675,000.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
2900 SOUTHERN BLVD BRONX NY US 10458-5126 (718)817-8840 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
2900 Southern Blvd Bronx NY US 10458-5126 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | Biodiversity: Discov &Analysis |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.074 |
ABSTRACT
Myanmar's Northern Forest complex hosts the largest remaining tracts of primary forest in mainland Southeast Asia. The area is recognized as a biodiversity hotspot with an estimated 6,000 species of which 1,500 species are estimated to exist nowhere else. However, this poorly known and botanically important region has been largely closed off to researchers for the past 75 years so the true extent of plant diversity has yet to be established. This project will conduct the first intensive botanical inventory of the Hkakaborazi-Hponganrazi region since the early 20th century and fill a major gap in the understanding of Southeast Asian plant diversity. Researchers from New York Botanical Garden, Wildlife Conservation Society, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, and the Myanmar Forest Department will sample broadly throughout the Hkakaborazi-Hponganrazi region at different times of the year to maximize chances of collecting rare or narrowly endemic species. Resulting collection and distribution data will be provided directly to the Myanmar Forest Department for use in planning decisions within the region. The project will also improve international scientific infrastructure and collaboration by training botanists and foresters in field and herbarium techniques and by improving research capacity in Myanmar's Forest Research Institute herbarium.
All collected specimens will be digitized, databased, georeferenced and their data will be made available on the internet through an open-access Myanmar flora web portal. A taxonomic checklist of the vascular plant species of Hkakaborazi-Hponganrazi will also be produced. Collections made as a part of this project will stimulate taxonomic research on the Myanmar flora by research specialists and support molecular phylogenetic and ecological studies. Specimen data will also provide the baseline information required to make planning decisions affecting the Northern Forest Complex ecosystem, and facilitate broad scale analyses of plant diversity patterns within Southeast Asia.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
The contiguous Hkakaborazi National Park and Hponganrazi Wildlife Sanctuary are located in Myanmar's Northern Forest Complex, which forms a Key Biodiversity Area of the Indo-Burma Hotspot. Despite its exceptionally rich botanical diversity, the region's flora has remained poorly documented. Through a combination of targeted collecting and digitization of historical specimens, this project has aimed to change that situation. From 2015-2018, the project team carried out four extensive field trips in Hponganrazi Wildlife Sanctuary and the buffer zone of Hkakaborazi National Park. More than 3,217 collections were made in sets of up to six duplicates (19,000+ specimens), as well as 15,969+ photos of specimens in the field. Duplicate herbarium specimens are housed at the New York Botanical Garden (NY), Myanmar's Forest Research Institute (RAF) and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (E); in total 15,200+ duplicates have been distributed to 22 herbaria in 12 countries and to 60 taxonomic specialists. Additionally, 1,300+ leaf samples preserved in silica gel were requested by and sent to researchers at more than 14 institutions. Thus far, 203 families, 709 genera, and more than 3,160 species have been identified from this project's collections. Approximately 85% of the collections made during project fieldwork represent unique species, demonstrating that the collections were highly targeted and that relatively few species were repeatedly re-collected. Study of project specimens has resulted in numerous new country records and the discovery of new taxa, five of which have been published to date (Agapetes oligodonta, Perrotettia taronensis, Begonia rheophytica, Hoya kachinensis and Hoya pandurata subsp. angustifolia). Specimens continue to be identified at the New York Botanical Garden as well as by taxonomic specialists worldwide and the number of new species is expected to increase.
The digitization, databasing and georeferencing of historical Myanmar specimens (dating from 1795 through the 1970's) held at the New York Botanical Garden and Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh has been an important aspect of the project -- particularly in making specimen data widely accessible and in the development of a regional vascular plant checklist. More than 21,949 historical Myanmar specimens were mobilized on-line from the two institutions. In total c. 25,166 Myanmar specimens (3,217 newly collected and 21,949 historical) and their associated data have been made widely available through NYBG's CV Starr Virtual herbarium (http://sweetgum.nybg.org/science/vh/) and RBGE's Herbarium Catalogue (https://data.rbge.org.uk/search/herbarium/), which are both fed to biodiversity data aggregators, including GBIF and iDigBio. These specimen data have already proven to be an invaluable on-line resource throughout the pandemic, particularly in the development of updated species checklists for selected genera. All of these cumulative specimen data will form the basis of the regional specimen-based species checklist. This work is on-going.
Over the course of the project, a cohort of 97 Myanmar botanists and foresters received training: 87 Botany students and assistant professors attended taxonomic workshops (20 days), 8 Forest Research Institute staff received intensive field training (266 days), and 2 taxonomists visited NYBG for research (133 days). Hkakaborazi-Hponganrazi and their intervening buffer zones were nominated for UNESCO World Heritage status, which would afford the region even more conservation protection than it currently enjoys. Botanical data contributed by this project filled an important knowledge gap, and thus played a key role in developing the World Heritage nomination dossier. Project specimen data also underpin the circumscription of 10 Northern Forest Complex ecosystems in the recently published Threatened ecosystems of Myanmar: An IUCN Red List of Ecosystems (DOI: 10.19121/2019.Report.37457) and a paper describing Myanmar's ecosystems, threats, status and conservation opportunities (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108834). These data further provide the basis for informed conservation management.
Last Modified: 03/09/2022
Modified by: Kate Armstrong
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