natural history of tropical plants j.e....
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Natural History of Tropical Plants
J.E. Richardson
Universidad del Rosario
Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Matematicas
Historia Natural de Plantas Tropicales
Describing plant diversity
Determine why Colombia is so diverse
Historical reconstructions in each of Colombia’s biomes
How have groups of species adapted to historical changes in geology and climate?
How might they adapt to future change?
Conservation
Herrania kanukuensisGlossostemon bruguieriGuazuma ulmifolia
Theobroma grandiflorum
Theobroma cacaoTheobroma cacao
Theobroma simiarum
Herrania purpureaTheobroma bicolor
Guazuma ulmifolia
Tribe Theobromeae - Malvaceae
Theobroma – 22 species, neotropics
Herrania – 20 species, neotropics
Guazuma – 2-5 species, neotropics
Glossostemon – one species, Saudi Arabia, Oman
The Age of Chocolate – a diversification history of Theobroma and Malvaceae
Richardson, Whitlock, Meerow & Madriñán
Chocolate is c. 10 million years old
Fedecacao identify major problems
Advanced age of plantations
Lack of variety of cultivated material (low resistance to pests and diseases)
Low density of trees per hectare
Poor comprehensive crop management strategy
Witches Broom (Moniliophthora perniciosa) and frosty pod rot or moniliasis disease
(Moniliophthora rorei)
A need to ensure long term sustainability from the risks posed by climate change
Excessive cadmium accumulation
Possible projects
1. Evolution of Theobroma and Herrania
• Phylogeny of all species• Determine optimal areas for plantations based on existing distributions and climatic
envelopes that could be applied to future climate change scenarios
2. Develop molecular markers to screen for disease resistance and novel flavour profiles in existing and potentially new cultivars
• Search for markers in varieties that are resistant• Screen native populations for resistance
• Screen for cadmium accumulation
3. The genetic architecture of drought resistance
• Compare expression of genes in Guazuma, Glossostemon, Herrania and Theobroma under natural conditions
• Compare expression of genes under water stress conditions
4. Cacao economics
Photos: Santiago Madriñán
Páramo has fastest diversification rate
Climate change and spatial distribution of vegetation in Colombia
Juan Carlos Alarcón Hincapié & José Daniel Pabón Caicedo, Colombia Forestal 2013
Worst case scenario
Páramo gone by mid-century
Water Towers of South America
Most Recent Projects
Agrodiversity project advisor on a 6.5 million pound GCRF funded international
consortium led by the Earlham Institute
Project partner (University of Exeter) - “BioResilience: Biodiversity resilience and
ecosystem services in post-conflict socio-ecological systems in Colombia”
• evaluate drivers and factors affecting forest dynamics and resilience
• deliver estimates of C fluxes associated with forest degradation and recovery
• manage and improve the provision of ecosystem services
• plan REDD+ activities and inform climate and conservation policy
Project partner (University of York) - “Integrating ecological and cultural histories to
inform sustainable and equitable futures for the Colombian páramos”
• examine the socio-ecological system of páramo habitat
• determine the value of biodiversity in this system
• predict response of páramo ecosystems to environmental change and anthropogenic
pressures to inform the development of a sustainable and equitable future for the
páramos, and for the communities dependent on these ecosystems
Principal Investigator on a British Council project to monitor and recensus an
ecological plot network throughout Colombia – includes DNA barcoding component
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