HOW TO PROTECT CAUCASIAN PLANT LIFE? EXPERTS TO MEET IN U.S.
2009/08/21 | 13:16
ecology
For the first time, American scientists and researchers from the
former Soviet Union will gather in the United States to discuss a
mutual concern: how to protect Caucasian plant life. Oct. 2 through
8, botanists from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia and Turkey
will meet at the International Caucasian Symposium at the Missouri
Botanical Garden to discuss the creation of a Caucasian Plant Red List,
a list of the most endangered plants in the Caucasus Mountains. The
Symposium will eventually result in The Plant Red Book, the first
publication by the six countries covering the Caucasus.
The Caucasus Mountains are situated between the Black Sea (Europe) and
the Caspian Sea (Asia), and span six countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan,
Georgia, Iran, Russia and Turkey. The vegetation in the Caucasus is
remarkably diverse, ranging from alpine meadows and mountain conifer
forest to arid shrub lands and semi-deserts. Of the 6,300 species of
vascular plants, about 2,500 are endemic to the region.
Despite the botanical richness of the region, political unrest has
prevented botanists and conservationists outside the former Soviet
Union from working with the region’s rare and endangered plants. Most
information on the flora has been published only in Russian, of
little help to scientists in countries outside the former Soviet
Union. Further, with political tensions high, no country in the region
was able to initiate a collaborative work covering the complete flora
of the region. Without a list of endangered plant species, there is
no scientific basis for conservation.
"This Symposium is significant because it will give American
specialists an opportunity to sit down, face-to-face, with Caucasian
specialists and learn about the unique flora and vegetation of
the region," said Dr. Tatyana Shulkina, Missouri Botanical Garden
associate curator, former Soviet Union (the Caucasus) projects and
a native of Russia. "This will hopefully lead to the establishment
of personal relationships and collaboration on future works of this
biodiversity hot spot."
Since 2003, the Missouri Botanical Garden has played a role in
bringing scientists from the region together to discuss Caucasian plant
life. With financial support diminishing, the Garden held a botanical
conference in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. It was the first time
since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 that botanists from
Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia gathered to discuss ways to
protect Caucasian plant life. Scientists have met twice since then.
During the meeting, a committee was formed to complete a Caucasian
Plant Red List a list of the most endangered plants with the Garden’s
Curator of the Herbarium, Dr. James Solomon as the editor. The
Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) and the International
Union for Conservation.