Memorandum submitted by the Plant Diversity
Challenge Steering Group
At The Hague in April 2002, as part of the Convention
on Biological Diversity, the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation
(GSPC) was endorsed, the long-term objective being to halt the
continuing loss of plant diversity. Sixteen outcome-oriented targets
for plant conservation were set, to be completed by the global
community by 2010. The UK is committed to implementing the strategy
and Plant Diversity Challenge is its response—the
first by any nation.
Launched by the UK Government in 2004, Plant
Diversity Challenge (PDC) sets out the framework for plant
and fungus conservation throughout the UK. Like GSPC, it identifies
sixteen targets grouped under five objectives covering: understanding
and documenting plant diversity, conserving plant diversity, using
plant diversity sustainably, promoting education and awareness
about plant diversity and building capacity for the conservation
of plant diversity. The wording of the targets was adjusted to
take account of the UK situation.
We do not have a complete inventory of the plants
of the world, but it is estimated that the total number may be
in the order of 300,000 species. Of particular concern is the
fact that many are in danger of extinction, threatened by habitat
transformation, alien invasive species, pollution and climate
change. The disappearance of such vital biodiversity sets one
of the greatest challenges for the world community; to halt the
loss of the plant diversity that is so essential to meet the present
and future needs of humankind.
Of the sixteen targets in GSPC and PDC, several
are of explicit relevance to the matters being considered by the
House of Lords Science & Technology Committee in the inquiry
on systematics and taxonomy in the UK. Here we give the wording
from PDC, as we are addressing the questions from the UK (rather
than global) perspective. The main relevant targets are:
— Target 1 Developing a working
list of species—a widely accessible working list of known
plant species, as a step towards a complete world flora.
— Target 2 Assigning conservation
status to species—a preliminary assessment of the conservation
status of all known plant species at national, regional and international
levels.
— Target 14 Communicating and educating—the
importance of plant diversity and the need for its conservation
incorporated into communication, educational and public awareness
programmes.
— Target 15 Training in plant conservation—the
number of trained people working with appropriate facilities in
plant conservation increased, according to national needs, to
achieve the targets of this strategy.
In addition, several other targets require input
from skilled taxonomists as illustrated by this quote from PDC
(pp. 42-43):
"One of the main drivers for achieving this
target [target 15] will be providing the capacity required to
meet the other targets in the Strategy. For instance, target 1
will require taxonomists trained in plant, algal and fungal taxonomy;
targets 2, 5, 6 and 7 will require workers with field identification
skills to provide surveillance; and target 8 will require conservationists
based in botanic gardens. One of the key challenges will be promoting
the subject at all educational levels in order to ensure that
sufficient people are entering plant conservation careers. This
is particularly urgent as the need for field identification skills
increases in connection with the fields of environmental assessments
and enforcement of biodiversity legislation."
In 2007, the UK published Plant Diversity
Challenge: 3 Years—16 Targets—One Challenge, Progress
in the UK towards the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (PDC2).
This document, resulting from a one-day conference of stakeholders
in 2006, includes ten recommendations designed to focus attention
on the remaining challenges needing to be addressed if we are
to be successful.
The most relevant recommendations to this inquiry
are:
— RECOMMENDATION 1 Focus research
on improving the understanding of the importance of UK plant and
fungal species in a European context, specifically the development
of European Red Lists and European and UK fungal checklists.
— RECOMMENDATION 2 Increase support
for the capture and handling of data at a local, regional and
UK level, thereby improving the knowledge resource accessible
through the National Biodiversity Network (NBN).
— RECOMMENDATION 8 Ensure young
people experience plants and fungi in the field when they are
learning about the natural world, alongside education in a classroom
setting.
— RECOMMENDATION 9 Develop and
deliver an action plan to address the need for plant and fungal
skills and expertise in the UK.
In the light of the original targets and the
more recent recommendations, we make the following response to
the relevant questions set by the Committee as follows:
1. What is the state of systematics research
and taxonomy in the UK? What are the current research priorities?
What are the barriers, if any, to delivering these priorities?
Authoritative checklists of UK algal, fungal
and plant species are essential to conservation programmes and
will provide a major contribution to a complete world flora and
mycota. Without such fundamental checklists, which tell us which
species occur in the UK, it is clearly impossible to create meaningful
Red Data Lists, Biodiversity Action Plans, and protected species
lists. When additionally integrated with other, often scattered
information, concerning taxonomy, systematics, nomenclature, distribution,
frequency, habitat details and ecosystem function, such checklists
become very powerful tools for setting priorities for conservation
action and ecological research. Much progress has been made towards
production of such checklists for several major groups, notably
most plants and basidiomycete fungi. Further work is required
as a high priority on several groups of fungi (notably Ascomycota,
Chytridiomycota, Glomeromycota and Zygomycota) if we are to achieve
Target 1 for these groups. As identified in other submissions,
the number of trained mycologists available to work on these groups
is woefully inadequate, especially when aquatic (marine and fresh
water fungi) are taken into consideration.
Many Species Action Plans (SAPs) for vascular
plants (http://www.ukbap.org.uk/) and other groups include calls
for further research into taxonomy of problematic species or groups.
Even out of the first three in the alphabetical list (Alchemilla
minima, Alisma gramineum and Apium repens) the
SAPs for the first and third identify clarification of the taxonomy
of these species as a priority for further research. Understanding
the UK taxa in their European context (as stated in Recommendation
1 in PDC2) is a major way forward to addressing these taxonomic
issues, but this area is still under resourced.
2. What is the role of systematics and taxonomy
and, in particular, in what way do they contribute to research
areas such as biodiversity conservation, ecosystem services and
climate change? How important is this contribution and how is
it recognised in the funding process? How is systematics integrated
in other areas of research?
Our response to this overlaps with that to Q.
1. If the UK is to achieve the goals of GSPC and PDC, in biodiversity
conservation, full checklists and a better understanding of UK
taxa in their continental context are essential. Systematics needs
to be integrated with population genetics to establish the correct
context for plants in the UK. For example, a preliminary study
of the Welsh endemic Scleranthus perennis subsp. prostratus
is in fact closer to English S. perennis subsp. perennis
than the English populations are to continental populations of
subsp. perennis, thus calling into question the significance
of the Welsh endemic. However the low level of funding available
for such studies means that this and many other similar questions
cannot be adequately addressed.
3. Does the way in which systematics research
is organised and co-ordinated best meet the needs of the user
community? What progress has been made in setting up a body to
lead on this? What contribution do the leading systematics research
institutions make both nationally and internationally?
In relation to plant conservation, systematics
research in the UK is covered by the Interagency Plant Conservation
Working Group which includes a subgroup specifically addressing
genetics and the interface between systematics and population
genetics. This coordinated effort is appropriate to the needs
of the community, but again the amount of work that is possible
is limited by the funds available. Much of the work that is currently
carried out on vascular plants is done by the major institutions,
notably the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew and Edinburgh. With current
resources little work on fungi has been possible.
4. What level of funding would be needed to
meet the need for taxonomic information now and in the future?
Who should be providing this funding?
Clearly there is a need for an increase in funding
if we are to meet the targets already agreed. The source of these
funds, we believe needs to be largely from government directly
or through the Statutory Agencies or the Research Councils. We
note that the financial situation in the Agencies is currently
difficult and that baseline taxonomic research is unlikely to
be funded through the Research Councils as it is not regarded
as "cutting edge" research. To overcome this latter
problem will require a change in the attitude to descriptive systematic
research.
5. How does funding in other countries compare?
Could there be more international collaboration? If so, what form
should this collaboration take and how might it be achieved?
Given the UK focus of PDC, we are not in a position
to give a detailed answer to the first part of this question.
We are in favour of international collaboration and numerous projects
have gained benefit from this. It is an obvious way by which Recommendation
1 of PDC2 could be met. The will is there, but sourcing appropriate
funding is difficult.
6. What impact have developments in DNA sequencing,
genomics and other new technologies had on systematics research?
In what way has systematics embraced new technologies, and how
can these research areas interact successfully and efficiently?
Molecular techniques have dramatically changed
the way in which systematics research is done, and the techniques
now available provide the possibility to address many of the remaining
questions relating to UK biodiversity. The teams at the two Royal
Botanic Gardens and the Natural History Museum currently use these
techniques to address such questions to the extent that funding
allows, again largely on vascular plants. The techniques are applicable
to fungi, but to our knowledge little work has been done.
7. Does the way in which taxonomic data is
collected, managed and maintained best meet the needs of the user
community? What is the state of local and national recording schemes?
Recommendation 2 seeks increased support for
the capture and handling of data at local, regional and UK levels,
thereby improving the knowledge resource accessible through the
National Biodiversity Network. Whilst good progress has been made
with various aspects in the UK, for instance through the development
of Threatened Species Databases and the National Biodiversity
Network (NBN), further effort is needed to ensure there is consistent
data collection and that up-to-date data are made available through
the NBN at a variety of scales. This will require considerable
support and resourcing.
8. What is the role of the major regional
museums and collections? How are taxonomic collections curated
and funded?
This question falls outside our remit.
9. What progress has been made in developing
a web-based taxonomy? How do such initiatives fit in with meeting
demand for systematics and taxonomy information? How do UK-led
initiatives fit in with international initiatives, and is there
sufficient collaboration?
We are not in a position to answer this question,
but believe that the submissions from the major institutions will
address this.
10. What needs to be done to ensure that web-based
taxonomy information is of high quality, reliable and user-friendly?
We are not in a position to answer this question,
but believe that the submissions from the major institutions will
address this.
11. How does the taxonomic community engage
with the non-taxonomic community? What role do field studies play?
One of the major success stories relating to
PDC is the role of voluntary/non-professional surveyors of diversity
in the UK. Products such as the New Atlas of the British and
Irish Flora and the Checklist of British & Irish Basidiomycota
would not have been possible without this input. Tracking changes
in distributions of species in response to climate change and
other threats will mean that field studies providing ever more
accurate pictures of species diversity changes in space and time
will remain a high priority. Recommendation 10 of PDC2 (Ensure
the resources available for plant conservation activities in the
volunteer and charitable sector are sufficient to cover the expectation
of work to be carried out by this sector) recognises the role
of the non-professional in this area and identifies the need for
adequate resourcing.
12. What are the numbers and ages of trained
taxonomists working in UK universities and other organisations?
We are not in a position to answer this question
in detail. However the 2007 report recognises that across the
UK there is a continuing loss of botanical and mycological expertise
from government organisations and this has coincided with a significant
increase in the requirements for reporting on Biodiversity Action
Plans and targets.
The UK has a history of learned societies and
committed individuals who give their time and expertise. There
are few young enthusiasts, and hence there is a danger that skills
and expertise will not be passed from generation to generation.
This trend is compounded by the loss of specialists in institutions
and statutory organisations available to train and transfer skills.
The Government needs to provide leadership in this area through
the implementation of an action plan following a needs assessment.
13. What is the state of training and education
in systematics and taxonomy? Are there any gaps in capacity? Is
the number of taxonomists in post, and those that are being trained,
sufficient to meet current and future needs across all taxonomic
subject areas?
We are not in a position to answer this question
in detail, but believe that the state of training needs to be
dramatically improved if we are to meet the needs of UK biodiversity
and its conservation. The situation is not good for vascular plants;
it is worse for macro-fungi, and poor for micro-fungi.
Sources
Global Strategy for Plant Conservation:
— http://www.plantlife.org.uk/international/assets/policies/global-stategy-for-plant-conservation/Global_Strategy_for_Plant_Conservation.pdf
Plant Diversity Challenge:
— http://www.jncc.gov.uk/pdf/plantdiversitychallenge.pdf
Plant Diversity Challenge: 3 Years—16
Targets—One Challenge, Progress in the UK towards the Global
Strategy for Plant Conservation:
— http://www.plantlife.org.uk/portal/assets/News%20Sue%20Nottingham/PDC.pdf
| 
