Recovering Plant Data for Guinea-Bissau: Implications for Biodiversity Knowledge of West Africa

Romeiras, Maria M.; Duarte, Maria Cristina; Francisco‐Ortega, Javier; Catarino, L.; Havik, Philip J.

doi:10.3390/d10040109

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Some of the reported Poaceae species are used since the colonization of Cabo Verde ( Barbosa, 1961 ; Romeiras et al, 2011 ). Since the mid-1500s, Cabo Verde has become the subject of numerous travel descriptions reporting on the local flora and on the introduction of new crops such as sugarcane, maize and cotton ( Romeiras et al, 2018 ). Other reports, by the chronicler Valentim Fernandes, confirmed the large production and abundance of sorghum and pearl millet in the West African region, from where they were imported at very early stages of the colonization of this archipelago ( Romeiras et al, 2014 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cabo Verde’s Poaceae Flora: A Reservoir of Crop Wild Relatives Diversity for Crop Improvement

et al. 2021

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Africa is home to important centers of origin and diversity of crop wild relatives (CWR), including many species adapted to adverse agroecological conditions, namely drought and poor soils. Plant genetic resources from Cabo Verde Islands have been poorly explored for their potential to supplement the genetic pool of cultivated species. In this paper we identify Cabo Verde’s CWR from the Poaceae family and provide a checklist of priority CWR taxa, highlighting those of particular conservation concern and the areas which should be the focus of the most intensive conservation efforts in these islands. Our results revealed that Cabo Verde archipelago is an important center of CWR diversity of West African crop millets, namely fonio (e.g., white fonio, Digitaria exilis, and black fonio, Digitaria iburua) and other African millets [e.g., pearl millet (Cenchrus americanus = Pennisetum glaucum), teff millet (Eragrostis tef), finger millet (Eleusine coracana), barnyard millet (Echinochloa colona), proso millet (Panicum miliaceum), and foxtail millet (Setaria italica)], which represent a diverse group of cereal crops, and important components in agriculture and food security of this country. Also, hotspot areas of diversity for in situ conservation were identified in Cabo Verde, as well as several populations occurring under extreme habitats conditions that are well adapted to drylands and poor soils. The evaluation of their potential for new ecologically important adaptive characteristics associated with tolerance to abiotic stresses is discussed. The survey of international Germplasm Banks revealed that very few accessions from Cabo Verde are conserved, contributing to the loss of genetic diversity of plant genetic resources in this archipelago. Particularly, the diversity of millets and the associated indigenous knowledge are critical for the food security and cultural identity of many poor farmers in Cabo Verde.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cabo Verde’s Poaceae Flora: A Reservoir of Crop Wild Relatives Diversity for Crop Improvement

et al. 2021

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“…The model could also be used to investigate the discovery process in non-archipelago systems. For example, in West Africa, botanical collecting until the mid-18th century was restricted to the vicinity of trading posts located in coastal areas, where some form of colonial control and settlement was established (Romeiras et al, 2018). The discovery of the flora in this region could be modeled through substituting the "presence of a major harbor" with one relating to proximity to the trading posts; depending on data availability this variable could be continuous or categorical.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bayesian Methods to Analyze Historical Collections in Time and Space: A Case Study Using Cabo Verde Endemic Flora

et al. 2020

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Biological collections, including herbarium specimens, are unique sources of biodiversity data presenting a window on the history of the development and accumulation of knowledge of a specific geographical region. Understanding how the process of discovery impacts that knowledge is particularly important for oceanic islands which are often characterized by both high levels of endemic diversity and high proportions of threatened taxa. The archipelagos of the Macaronesian region (i.e. Azores, Canaries, Savages, Madeira, and Cabo Verde) have been the focus of attention for scientific expeditions since the end of the 17th century. However, there is no integrated study describing the historical process of collecting, discovery and description of its flora. Using as a case study the Cabo Verde endemic angiosperm flora, we review the history of collecting in the flora and apply a Bayesian approach to assess the accumulation of species discovery, through time and space across the nine islands of the archipelago. Our results highlight the central role not only of natural characteristics (e.g. area, age, maximum altitude and average value of the terrain ruggedness index) but also historical factors (i.e. the location of major harbors) for the development of knowledge of the flora. The main factors that have determined the process of species description in the archipelago and how this impact our understanding of diversity patterns across archipelagos are discussed.

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“…renowned naturalists, such as John Gossweiler and Luís augusto Grandvaux Barbosa (1914Barbosa ( -1983, who published the Phytogeographical map of Angola, are still the baseline for more recent studies, namely the study of the biogeography of forest timber species [24] and mammals in angola [25]. other recent examples of studies using the biological collections of iiCt include the study of the botanical explorations of Cabo verde [26] and Guinea-Bissau [27] and the conservation status assessment of the Cabo verde native flora [28].…”

Section: Scientific and Historical Collections Management Strategy (2mentioning

confidence: 99%

Legacy of the scientific collections of the Instituto de Investigação Científica Tropical, University of Lisbon: a critical review and outlook

Casanova¹,

Romeiras²

2020

Cons. Património

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The Instituto de Investigação Científica Tropical/University of Lisbon (IICT/UL), Portugal, holds the most important scientific collections from Portuguese-speaking African countries, which include anthropological, archaeological, ethnographic, mineralogical, botanical and zoological collections, as well as libraries and historical archives. The aim of this paper is to document the advances in conservation and management of IICT collections between 2005 and 2015, namely how the implementation of institutional initiatives created new challenges for the scientific community. After an overview of the IICT's scientific heritage since the creation of the Cartography Commission in 1883, we characterise several recent actions aimed at preserving and providing access to the collections. Considerations on the current preservation of the IICT collections are presented. It is argued that these collections are unique for tropical science and of critical importance for scientific cooperation with Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa.

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Recovering Plant Data for Guinea-Bissau: Implications for Biodiversity Knowledge of West Africa

Cited by 5 publications

References 21 publications

Cabo Verde’s Poaceae Flora: A Reservoir of Crop Wild Relatives Diversity for Crop Improvement

Cabo Verde’s Poaceae Flora: A Reservoir of Crop Wild Relatives Diversity for Crop Improvement

Bayesian Methods to Analyze Historical Collections in Time and Space: A Case Study Using Cabo Verde Endemic Flora

Legacy of the scientific collections of the Instituto de Investigação Científica Tropical, University of Lisbon: a critical review and outlook

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