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April 25- 26
P R O G R A M M E
DAY 1: Saturday, 25 April – Pat Brenan Suite, Herbarium
8.30 onwards Registration
9.00 Welcome. Introductory remarks.
Session 1 – Evolution (Chair: Bill Baker)
9.10 Couvreur, Thomas - Global Patterns of Palm Diversity.
9.30 Bacon, Christine - Phylogeny of the Trachycarpeae (Arecaceae:Palmae) as inferred from nuclear and plastid loci.
9.50 Roncal, Julissa - Advances towards a three-nuclear gene phylogeny of the Tribe Geonomateae.
10.10 Asmussen-Lange, Conny – Phylogeny of subtribe Archontophoenicinae Arecoideae: Areceae).
10.30 Savolainen, Vincent – Speciation genomics in Howea.
10.50-11.30 Coffee break
Session 2 – Biogeography (Chair: Julissa Roncal)
11.30 Blach Overgaard, Anne – Predicting palm species distributions in Africa using remote sensing data and spatial filters.
11.50 Eiserhardt, Wolf L. - Assembly and Phylogenetic Structure of Neotropical Palm Communities
12.10 Girod, Christophe - Astrocaryum sciophilum, a model for studying the existence of neotropical Quaternary refuges?
12.30 Waigand, Lisa - Molecular and ecological differences in Trachycarpus fortunei of different European provenances.
12.50-14.00 Lunch
Session 3 – Micromorphology and Mechanics (Chair: Alain Rival)
14.00 Bobrov, Alexey - Fruit anatomy of Eugeissona, the unique pericarp structure in Calamoideae (Arecaceae).
14.20 Romanov, Mikhail - Development of fruit in Nypa – a comparison with other palms.
14.40 – 15.40 Discussion: EDIT Palm Portal (www.palmweb.org) & IUCN Palm Specialist Group
15.40-16.10 Coffee break
Session 3 – (continued)
16.10 Romain, Thomas - Establishment of a descriptive knowledge base (Xper2) for the anatomical identification of palms.
16.30 Rueggeberg, Markus - Structure and mechanics of tissue interfaces in the palm Washingtonia robusta.
16.50 Aberlenc-Bertossi, Frederique - Mechanisms involved in transition from a potentially bisexual floral meristem to unisexual flowers in the dioecious date palm.
17.45 Travel by bus (No. 65) to Richmond (see map below).
19.00 Conference Dinner (Venue: Tangawizi, Richmond)
DAY 2: Sunday, 26 April – Pat Brenan Suite, Herbarium
9.00-11.00 Guided Tour of the Palm House and Temperate House (meet at Herbarium Reception for departure at 9am latest).
11.00-11:30 Coffee
Session 4 – Diversity and Ethnobotany (Chair: Fred Stauffer)
11.30 Henderson, Andrew - Recent research on the Palms of Vietnam.
11.50 Gauto, Irene - Conservation status assessment of Paraguayan palms (Arecaceae).
12.10 Sosnowska, Joanna - Ethnobotanical context of palm conservation of Southwestern Amazonia.
12.30 Hansen, Sandie Lykke - An ethnobotanical study of the effect of socioeconomic, environmental and spatial factors on local palm knowledge of rural Amazonia
12.50-14.00 Lunch
Session 5 – Utilisation and Sustainability (Chair: Finn Borchsenius)
14.00 Pedersen, Dennis - An update on the FP7-palms project.
14.20. Weigend, Maximilian & Brokamp, Grischa - Sustainability in the real world - wild harvest of palm products in the Neotropics
14.40 Rival, Alain - The Oil Palm: Plant, People and Challenges.
15.00 Harries, Hugh - Coconut water: a drop in the ocean - nothing more important.
15.20 Discussion: 2010 Palm conference and EUNOPS prospects (Tregear, Romanov, Barfod).
16.00 – 16.30 Coffee & Meeting closes
A B S T R A C T S
Frederique Aberlenc-Bertossi and Daher Abdourahman
Mechanisms involved in transition from a potentially bisexual floral meristem to unisexual flowers in the dioecious date palm
Date palm, Phoenix dactylifera is a dioecious species as it produces staminate and pistillate flowers separately on different plants. Early development of flowers is similar in both sexes until carpel initiation at stage V. Male and female floral meristems initiate each of the four types of primordium, ie sepals, petals, stamens and carpels. At this point, the floral meristem is potentially bisexual as in other dioecious species such as Silene latifolia. The first sex-related differences are seen at stage VI when the androecium and gynoecium start to elongate. In pistillate flowers, the ovule differentiates within the enlarged carpel. The androecium of pistillate flowers develops into undifferentiated staminodes. Staminate flower development is characterized by the development of bilobed stamens. The gynoecium of staminate flowers forms a rudimentary carpel containing a meristematic structure located within an ovular locule. During later stages of flower development, rudimentary floral organs progressively degenerate. Observations of DAPI stained nuclei of residual sterile organs of both sexes at stages VI and VII revealed no degradation of DNA, suggesting the absence of degeneration through apoptosis. Furthermore, cell division activity was investigated by studying histone H4 gene expression using in situ hybridization. While dividing nuclei were identified in the gynoecium of the pistillate flower and in the androecium of the staminate flowers, no significant mitotic activity was observed in residual organs at this point. These results strongly suggest that in the early steps of developmental divergence between staminate and pistillate flowers, residual organs result from a cessation of cell division rather than by cell degeneration. These results are consistent with the modification of unisexuality in female and male young flowers under specific in vitro conditions, leading to the formation of flowers of hermaphrodite appearance.
Christine D. Bacon, William J. Baker and Mark P. Simmons
Phylogeny of the Trachycarpeae (Arecaceae:Palmae) as inferred from nuclear and plastid loci
Trachycarpeae are a monophyletic group comprised of 269 species in 18 genera. It is a pantropical group and encompasses 19 highly endangered taxa according to the IUCN Red List criteria. Poor resolution and support within this tribe is recognized as one of the three most significant phylogenetic ambiguities remaining in Arecaceae. For the first time subtribal affiliations of the group were densely sampled to resolve of seven genera that had previously been unplaced. We sampled representatives of the Trachycarpeae and seven outgroup genera for three low-copy nuclear (CISP 4, CISP 5, and RPB2) and three plastid (ndhF, matK, and trnD-T) genes. A correlation between the geography of the species sampled and their inferred relationships was found, as well as radiations in Southeast Asia (Licuala), in the Caribbean (Copernicia) and in the Hawaiian archipelago (Pritchardia). Differing gynoecium morphology amongst subtribes is present and its pattern of diversification is inferred through optimization.
Anne Blach Overgaard, Jens-Christian Svenning, John Dransfield and Henrik Balslev
Predicting Palm Species Distributions In Africa Using Remote Sensing Data And Spatial Filters
The resent study investigates what determines the distribution of African palm species using species distribution modelling (SDM). Specifically, we assess the relative importance of four classes of potential distribution-controlling factors, namely climate, habitat, human influence, and spatial constraints. In the modelling we tackle several challenges that face species distribution modelling (SDM): the reliance on spatially interpolated environmental data and the equilibrium postulate. Large-scale species distribution modelling has generally been based on more or less spatially interpolated data in particular climate. However, remotely sensed environmental data of fine spatial resolution is now increasingly available and has been shown to improve SDM predictive accuracy. In the present study we use both interpolated climate and other ground-based environmental data and fully or partially remotely sensed data on both habitat and human influence. In SDM it is assumed that species’ distributions are in equilibrium with the contemporary environment. However, this equilibrium postulate will not hold, when a species is dispersal limited and may lead to overpredictions and inaccurate models. Recently, it has been shown that using spatial filters as predictors in SDM may overcome this limitation. We therefore represent the potential broad-scale spatial constraints on palm distributions by spatial filters. The modelling was implemented using Maxent at 1-km resolution over the African continent for all African palm species with > 20 georeferenced observations.
Alexey V.F.Ch. Bobrov and Mikhail S. Romanov
Fruit anatomy of Eugeissona, the unique pericarp structure in Calamoideae (Arecaceae)
Mature fruit of Eugeissona is ellipsoidal, beaked, developing from the trimerous paracarpous gynoecium with three ovules (but only the single seed matures), with persisting corolla. Fruit is covered with small scales developing basipetally. Developmental study of Eugeissona utilis Becc. fruits allowed to follow morphogenesis of different zones of pericarp. Exocarp is represented by epidermis covering the scales from all the sides, sclerified at the distal surface. Mesocarp is multilayered (250-300 layers) and differentiated into four main zones. Outer is the interrupted one comprising the bodies of the scales and composed of thick-walled sclereids. Next zone consists of multilayered parenchyma with scattered tannin-containing cells in the outer part and numerous longitudinal vascular bundles, larger in the inner part. Third mesocarpal zone forms the stone, consisting of outer longitudinal and inner tangential fiber-like sclereids, and inner ridges. The innermost zone of mesocarp consists of large parenchymatous cells becoming compressed by maturity due to seed development. Endocarp consists of single layered epidermis partly obliterated by maturity. Mature seed fills the locule, compresses the inner mesocarpal parenchyma and become ruminated by tree v-shaped internal ridges (deriving from the stone) corresponding to doubled adaxial vascular bundles (with massive sheaths), and tree simple ridges (abaxial bundles). Thus, the fruit of Eugeissona is pyrenarium of Latania-type. The structure of pericarp dramatically differs from those in other Calamoideae species: seed is protected by the stone but not by the massive external scales. The mode of pericarp development (particularly stone) is similar with described for borassoid palms and Nypa.
Thomas. L.P. Couvreur, V. Savolainen, F. Forest and W.J. Baker
Global Patterns of Palm Diversity
Palms are among the most charismatic plants associated with tropical and subtropical ecosystems. Their diversity in terms of species in certain parts of the globe is astonishing. In contrast, other tropical regions of the planet are relatively poor in palm diversity, such as Africa. Understanding how these patterns of diversity arose can provide important insights into the evolutionary history of the family and of the ecosystems they grow in.
In order to unravel the diversification history of the palm family, we used a supermatrix approach in which DNA sequence data for all recognized palm genera were concatenated into a single matrix. This dataset was used to date the tree under a relaxed molecular clock assumption with several carefully chosen fossil calibration points. A lineage through time (LTT) plot was generated. Different models of diversification, e.g. constant rate or variable rate, were fitted to the LTT plot. Finally, diversification rates of various clades within the family were calculated and compared.
A scenario of diversification within the palm family is proposed based on the results. In addition, this pattern of diversification is contrasted with that of another similarly diversified pantropical plant family, namely Annonaceae. Similarities and differences are discussed.
Wolf Eiserhardt, Jens-Christian Svenning and Henrik Balslev
Assembly and Phylogenetic Structure of Neotropical Palm Communities
Diversity, composition and dynamics of Neotropical palm communities are receiving an increasing amount of attention due to their economic importance, but also because their high species richness and functional diversity render them valuable model systems for overall forest biodiversity. However, to better understand these palm communities, it is crucial to gain insight into the mechanisms responsible for their assembly. These can be dispersal limitation, environmental filtering, or biotic interactions. If the degree of niche conservatism is known for a group of organisms, patterns of community phylogenetic structure can be directly traced back to mechanisms of community assembly. We aim to examine this for Neotropical palm communities. Phylogenetic structure will be inferred on different spatial scales and for different community definitions (plot-based and environment-based). To overcome an unspecific assumption of “general niche conservatism”, phylogenetic signal will be analysed for Neotropical palms. Moreover, as an example for evolutionary mechanisms disrupting phylogenetic signal, speciation modes will be examined in selected genera. With the combined results we aim to show the relative importance of the above-mentioned mechanisms of community assembly, and how they replace each other along spatial scales. This could have important implications for species distribution models, which commonly assume a superior importance of environmental filtering.
Irene Gauto, Fred Stauffer and Rodolphe Spichiger
Conservation status assessment of Paraguayan palms (Arecaceae)
Twenty-three palm species, three of them endemics, are known to be present in the Paraguayan flora. The tribe Cocoseae, subtribe Attaleinae is largely dominant, being Butia (6 spp.) and Syagrus (5 spp.) the most diversified genera. The country occupies a surface of 406.752 km2 and is divided by the Paraguay River in two main ecological regions with highly adapted palm floras. The western Paraguay or Chaco region is more arid, whereas the eastern Paraguay or Parana region is remarkably more humid.
Like in other plant families, palms have to face the imminent threat of habitat loss, mainly due to the transformation of natural landscapes into pasture and agricultural lands. In order to tackle this problematic our project has aimed to: 1) assess the conservation status for individual palm taxa applying the IUCN Red List categories, 2) establish potential sites for palm conservation, and 3) propose conservation plans for critically endangered species.
During a field trip to Paraguay between August and November 2008 we have georeferenced palm populations, described their habitats and collected herbarium specimens for an accurate taxonomical identification. A Geographic Information System model, based on annual mean temperature, humidity, soil types and georeferenced specimens will be used to estimate the current and potential distribution of all native palms. Data on threats, uses, suitable habitat status, and distribution pattern of each palm species will be used in order to assign the IUCN Red List categories. Preliminary results show that at least thirteen species have a restricted distribution and most of their habitats have been already intensively modified.
Girod Christophe, Riera B.and Freville H.
Astrocaryum sciophilum, a model for studying the existence of neotropical Quaternary refuges?
The high specific diversity of the Neotropics has long fascinated scientists. Several theories have been developped to explain this diversity and its distribution. Among these theories, the Quaternary refuge theory developed by Haffer (1969) suggests that tropical forests were fragmented into small patches or ‘refuges’ during Quaternary dry climate periods, leading to species diversification by allopatric speciation. However, recent works have shown that diversification and speciation took place, except for some minor groups, much earlier than Haffer's theory states. Alternative theories stipulate that Quaternary climate variations did not induce forest fragmentation, although forest composition was affected. The existence of changes in forest cover is thus still largely debated
The recent development of molecular tools and genetic methods offers the opportunity to get new insights into this question. The aim of our project is to test the Quaternary refuge theory by inferring species’ past demographic history from population genetic methods and phylogeography. Our project focuses on Astrocaryum sciophilum (Miq.) Pulle, an understorey palm endemic to the rainforests of the Guianan Shield. Its growth characteristics, ecological preferences and geographic distribution make it an ideal model to test for demographic scenarios in the Quaternary.
Sandie Lykke Hansen, Thea Kristiansen, Cesar Grandes, Jens-Christian Svenning and Henrik Balslev
An ethnobotanical study of the effect of socioeconomic, environmental and spatial factors on local palm knowledge of rural Amazon
From an ethnobotanical perspective we attempt to clarify to which degree local knowledge of palms is determined by socioeconomic, environmental and spatial factors. We made 128 structured interviews with mostly mestizo residents in 23 villages near Iquitos, Peru. By means of photographs of 80 palm species people were asked about their knowledge and use of the palms. These data are compared to abundance data for the same palm species collected in 58 transects (5x500m) located on terra firme and floodplains near the same villages where we conducted ethno-botanical interviews. Different mechanisms seem to work on different scales, but pairwise correlations indicated that the most important socioeconomic factors were gender, civil state and number of different crops cultivated by the informant. Also the river of residence, i.e. the local area, influences knowledge levels.
Hugh Harries
Coconut water: a drop in the ocean - nothing more important
Coconut oil, as a renewable source of fuel for Virgin Atlantic jumbo jets, or virgin coconut oil, as a health food supplement, catch momentary media attention that may turn out to be ephemeral. More likely to endure and eminently sustainable, are land stabilisation with geotextiles made from coir fibre and plant propagation with cocopeat instead of peatmoss from irreplaceable wetland habitats. Commercial success is possible - like the distiller of coconut brandy who put a million dollar price tag on a single bottle or the coconut water vendor whose business acumen made him a millionaire. Successful subsistence is also possible - millions of small farmers, with over-aged, under-productive coconut palms, plagued by pests and lethal diseases, threatened by hurricanes and tsunamis, experience poverty (even before the present global recession) but are provided with fuel, shelter, food and water. Although there is lack of adequate support for coconut R&D, particularly since in vitro biotechnology has not (yet) met expected targets, the internet, carefully searched, can quickly provide helpful answers. But there remain some long-standing imponderables concerning the origin and pan-tropical distribution of Cocos nucifera. To these questions the following response is now offered: it was the often forgotten or ignored cavity in the kernel of the nut, the "nothing" in the title above, that was the most important factor for long-distance dissemination, when mature fruit "drop in the ocean". Serendipitously, this also applies to the pan-tropical travels of Homo sapiens, when coconut water became "the bottled water on the supermarket shelf of life".
Andrew Henderson and Ninh Khac Ban
Recent research on the Palms of Vietnam
A brief summary of the Palmae of Vietnam is given. Recent discoveries in the genera Calamus, Licuala, and Pinanga are discussed and illustrated. A discussion is given on the significance of these discoveries and on the Vietnamese palm flora in general.
POSTER - Nesly Ortega Chávez, Rodolphe Spichiger and Fred W. Stauffer
Floral structure and systematics in the palm tribe Chamaedoreeae Durges (Arecoideae, Arecaceae)
Recent molecular studies on the palm family have proposed new arrangements at the level of major groups. One of most striking taxonomic changes based on these results was the inclusion of tribe Hyophorbeae within subfamily Arecoideae. The tribe was renamed as Chamaedoreeae and clearly identified as a monophyletic group. It consists of 4 neotropical genera (Chamaedorea, Gaussia, Synechanthus and Wendlandiella) and Hyophorbe, endemic from the Mascarene Islands.
Traditional classifications of subfamily Arecoideae have proposed the presence of triads (i.e. a central pistillate and two lateral staminate flowers) as synapomorphic for the entire group. The inclusion of the mostly entirely acervulate (i.e a linear succession of two or more unisexual flowers) tribe Chamaedoreeae within Arecoideae largely contradicts our current knowledge on the floral arrangement characterizing this subfamily. Our project aims to: 1) explore in detail the origins of the acervulus, through a floral ontogenetic study in the genus Hyophorbe, and 2) infer the relationships between tribe Chamaedoreeae and the rest of the tribes of subfamily Arecoideae, as well as to explore the relationships among the genera within the tribe, through a comparative structural study of the flowers. Preliminary results of our investigation will be presented in our poster.
Dennis Pedersen
FP 7 PALMS - Data and fieldwork for workpackage 1
A talk about the data gathered so far in workpackage 1 of the EU-Project FP-7 PALMS, and a presentation of our plans for future expeditions.
Alain Rival, Estelle Jaligot, Thierry Beule and James Tregear
The Oil Palm: Plant, People and Challenges
With more than 8 millions hectares cultivated in the intertropical belt and oil yield exceeding 6 tonnes/year/ha, the oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq) is now the first world source of vegetable oil. During the past 10 years, the global demand for oil and fat has shown a significant increase (+ 50 %) concomitant with a twofold increase in the production of oil palm and palm kernel, which now account for one third of total vegetable fat production.
This trend is likely to continue over the next few years: Indeed, in addition to traditional uses for vegetable fat, there is a increase interest and forecasted demand for bio-fuels. Meeting these demands will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, unless a considerable increase in oil palm production is achieved. The sustainability of oil palm plantations has attracted much attention recently. Our talk will address some of the major challenges facing research and development for the improvement and sustainability of this strategic crop.
Mikhail S. Romanov and Alexey V.F.Ch. Bobrov
Development of fruit in Nypa – a comparison with other palms.
Fruits of Nypa fruticans Wurmb are mono-trimerous, developing from apocarpous gynoecium, forming tight capitate infrutescence. Fruitlets are obovate, flattened, irregularly ribbed. Pericarp development was studied at six stages with particular attention to the morphogenesis of its histogenetic zones. Mature pericarp is of varying thickness – 200–300 cell layers. Exocarp consist of single layer of sclerenchymatous cells. Mesocarp is differentiated into four histological zones. Outer zone is composed by 2-3 layers of thin-walled sclereids. Second zone is made of parenchyma with scattered numerous vascular bundles with massive sheaths. Next zone, the stone, consists of fiber-like sclereids, united into clusters interlaced with one another and interspaced with parenchymatous cells. The outer and inner clusters are longitudinally oriented, and middle ones are tangentially elongated. Longitudinal vascular bundles are participating in the stone formation. Innermost zone of mesocarp consists of large parenchymatous cells with scattered vascular bundles lacking the sheaths; the zone is sufficiently compressed in the mature fruitlet due to growth of the seed. Endocarp consists of single layer of partly obliterated parenchymatous cells. So, the fruit of Nypa is mono-trimerous drupe or Rhapis-type. The structure and development of pericarp is similar with Borasseae by the mode of stone development and structure, and to Lataniinae by the presence of numerous vascular bundles in the innermost zone of mesocarp and outer mesocarpal zone (excepting Latania). Fruits of Nypa and Eugeissona share important similarities in pericarp structure and mode of its development. Carpological data support origin of Nypa, Eugeissona and Borasseae from one basal taxon.
Julissa Roncal, Finn Borchsenius, Conny B. Asmussen-Lange, Andrew Henderson and Henrik Balslev
Advances towards a three-nuclear gene phylogeny of Tribe Geonomateae
The last published molecular phylogeny of tribe Geonomateae was based on two nuclear DNA regions (phosphoribulokinase and RNA polymerase II) and included 34 taxa in all six genera corresponding to 26% of the total number of species in the tribe. Through recent fieldwork and the availability of herbarium specimens we have increased the taxonomic sampling of this phylogeny by 150% corresponding to ca. 56% of species in the tribe and added information from one nuclear intron in the Serine/Threonine protein kinase (RLCKVII). We thus present a phylogeny based on three low-copy nuclear regions and discuss the relative utility of each region in terms of parsimony informative characters and numbers of clades recovered. Information from the RLCKVII region revealed the placement of Pholidostachys as sister to the rest of the genera, and the relationship of Asterogyne as sister to a clade of Calyptronoma and Calyptrogyne. Monophyly of Geonoma and the whole tribe is maintained as well as the monophyly of a group of high-elevation Geonoma species.
Markus Rueggeberg, Thomas Speck and Ingo Burgert
Structure and mechanics of tissue interfaces in the palm Washingtonia robusta
In palms, the fibre caps of the vascular bundles are the main stiffening elements of the trunk. They are embedded in relatively soft parenchymatous tissue. Differences in stiffness of more than one order of magnitude exist between the mechanically supporting tissues and the surrounding parenchyma. This puts some constraints on the design of the interfaces, as in case of mechanical loading, high stresses are generated in the stiff fibres, whereas the stresses in the relatively soft parenchyma cells stay rather low. Stress discontinuities are likely to occur at the interfaces under these conditions making such structures prone to failure. Hence, the structural and mechanical design of the interfaces in plants exhibiting such an inhomogeneous stiffness distribution is of particular interest from a biomechanics as well as biomimetics perspective.
So far little attention has been put on the mechanical and structural characteristics of these tissue transitions. We have now investigated the fibre caps of the palm Washingtonia robusta mechanically and structurally at the micro- and nanoscale. We performed microtensile tests with series of consecutive fibre strips across the fibre cap. The ultrastructure of the cell walls was investigated with synchrotron microbeam X-ray scattering and the amount of lignification was measured by means of an UV-microspectrophotometer. The aim was to eventually elucidate new ways of how mechanical properties are adjusted in plants and to gain insight into possible mechanisms of lowering stress discontinuities at plant tissue interfaces.
Joanna Sosnowska
Ethnobotanical context of palm conservation of Southwestern Amazonia
Main aim of the project is ethnobotanical study of palms used by Ashaninka indigenous people in comparison with other selected Southwestern Amazonian indigenous groups. The project includes gathering information among Ashaninka people of Perené and Tambo rivers region of Peru. Thanks to standardization of methods, own results will be compared with previous studies of other authors about Machiguenga neighbouring indigenous group, Tacana from Bolivia, Yawanawá and Kaxinawá from Brazil.
The project has started in 2008 and presentation will focus on results from last year field work. During visiting 7 villages 32 informants were interviewed. Preliminary list of palms native to the region, its Ashaninka names and uses were obtained.
Romain Thomas
Establishment of a descriptive knowledge base (Xper2) for the anatomical identification of palms
Many remains of palms are known on various Cenozoic fossil sites in Europe, Africa and also in Asia. Despite the work of reviewing the anatomy of species of this family, the identification of fossil at the level of genera (or tribe) remains difficult. Palms have a very strong local importance in these studied regions, so many archaeological remains are found in significant quantities in many sites that either in the form of tissue or burned. In those regions where several kinds of Arecaceae co-exist, or have co-existed, identification of the part used and the precise taxonomic identification is also lacking. The objective of this work is to create a descriptive system allowing for the identification of the palaeobotanic and archaeobotanic remains.
Based on current material, this study of comparative anatomy allows highlighting the anatomical features at the generic or tribe level. The execution of a knowledge base (Computer Aided Identification by Xper2) is performed, allowing the identification of the potentially different genera encountered.
The base Xper2 has already had many applications in archaeobotanic whatsoever for discrimination between the stem and petiole in ovens from archaeological sites in the Arabian Peninsula or for identification of a net dated from the first half of fourth millennium BC. Paleobotany studies are interested in the paleo-phytogeography of the family and in the paleo-environmental reconstructions. Indeed, the palms are considered as good markers of warm (palm limit line: average yearly temperature ≥ 10 C) and some genera are characteristic of specific environments such as mangroves (Nypa).
Lisa Waigand and Walther Gian-Reto
Molecular and ecological differences in Trachycarpus fortunei of different European provenances.
Trachycarpus fortunei is probably the most frequently cultivated palm species at the cold margins of global palm distribution. In order to test the genetic similarity between different European provenances and the first introduced specimen of Trachycarpus fortunei planted in Kew Gardens we tested 12 markers using ISSR analyses. The cluster-analysis clearly separated the Kew specimen from the other samples, and the samples from the southern English coast from provenances of the European mainland.
In addition, we tested the cold tolerance of seedlings of four different origins (two localities in southern Switzerland (Solduno, Caslano), Köln/Germany, and Plovdiv/Bulgaria. Previous transplanting experiments along elevational gradients revealed that the seedling stage was particularly sensitive to low winter temperatures. In order to test the hypothesis of the seedling stage being a bottle neck for species establishment, an outdoor experiment with seedlings exposed to sub-lethal temperatures was established in Winter 2007/08 in Bayreuth, well outside the range of subspontaneous palm distribution. The climatic conditions of this particular winter, were also simulated in the climate chamber in order to compare the findings from the field with those under controlled environment in the chamber. Although minimum temperatures outdoor were above the known lethal temperature, all the seedlings died during winter. Hence, we suggest that not only minimum temperatures, but also the length of frozen soil periods are important for the survival of seedlings with shallow roots. Differences in freezing hardiness (50%-lethal leave damages) was within the range of 2 C for the different provenances tested in the climate chamber experiment and had no effect on survival rates in the field experiment.
Maximilian Weigend and Grischa Brokamp
Sustainability in the real world - wild harvest of palm products in the Neotropics
Countless products of a range of palm species are utilized in the Neotropics. Some products are used and traded only locally or regionally, others are also objects of interregional, national or international trade. There has been increasing concern about the sustainability of wild harvest. Several scientific studies have been conducted to investigate sustainable harvest levels for some important taxa, such as Euterpe, Phytelephas and Mauritia. However, these studies have in general not been funded by the stakeholders in palm utilization or trade. Moreover, for the majority of palm species in commercial use such studies have not been provided. On the basis of scientific data some complex management plans have been compiled, which are supposed to regulate wild palm harvest at sustainable levels. Sustainability studies are expensive and we want to approximate the cost of sustainability studies relative to the commercial value of the resource under study. Our own commercial experiences with the wild harvest of another NTFP harvested in Peru (Krameria) are used to illustrate the cost of scientific rigour and concomitant problems. Moreover, policing remains a largely unresolved problem. We conclude that: 1. Scientifically sound sustainability studies can likely not be carried out in a commercial context for species of moderate or low economic importance. 2. Base line data for sustainable wild collection have to be either sponsored by NGOs or government agencies. 3. Even for economically important species the compilation of valid data sets remains a challenge. 4. Policing of the wild harvest is an entirely unresolved problem. 5. Domestication and cultivation will therefore likely be more important than wild collection in the mid-term.
Frederique Aberlenc-Bertossi
IRD
911, avenue Agropolis
BP 64501, 34394 Montpellier cedex 5
France
Conny Asmussen Lange
Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University Herbarium
Denmark 90 000
Christine Bacon
Colorado State University,Dept. of Biology
Campus Delivery 1878, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1878
USA
Bill Baker
Herbarium, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew
Richmond, Surrey, TW9 3AE
UK
Anders Barfod
Department of Biological Sciences, Aarhus University
Ny Munkegade 114, DK-8000 Aarhus C
Denmark
Tamara Belousova
Main Botanical Garden nm. Tcitcin N. V. RAS
Department of Tropical and Subtropical Plants
Botanical st., 4, Moscow, 127276
Russian Federation
Anne Blach Overgaard
Department of Biological Sciences, Aarhus University
Ny Munkegade, building 1540, 8000 Aarhus C
Denmark
Alexey Bobrov
Recent Deposits and Pleistocene Palaeogeography Laboratory, Geographical Faculty
M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University
Moscow, 119992
Russian Federation
Finn Borchsenius
Department of Biological Sciences, Aarhus University
Building 1540, Ny Munkegade, DK-8000 Aarhus C
Denmark
Matthieu Boulesteix
Imperial College London
Silwood Park Campus
Buckhurst Road, Ascot, Berkshire, SL5 7PY
UK
Grischa Brokamp
Freie Universitat Berlin
Altensteinstr. 6, 14195 Berlin
Germany
Thomas Couvreur
The New York Botanical Garden
200th St. and Kazimiroff Blvd
Bronx, NY 10458-5126
USA
Gilles Deparis
Unité Ecologie, Systématique et Evolution
Université Paris-Sud, Bâtiment 360
91405 Orsay cedex
France
John Dransfield
Herbarium, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew
Richmond, Surrey, TW9 3AE
UK
Wolf L. Eiserhardt
Department of Biological Sciences, Aarhus University
Ny Munkegade 1540, DK-8000 Aarhus C
Denmark
Irene Gauto
University of Geneva
Chemin Taverney 3, 1218 Grand-Saconnex
Switzerland
Christophe Girod
UMR 7179 CNRS/MNHN
4 avenue du Petit Château, 91800 BRUNOY
France
Russell Hall
Herbarium, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew
Richmond, Surrey, TW9 3AE
UK
Sandie Lykke Hansen
Aarhus University
Ny Munkegade 1540, DK-8000 Aarhus C
Denmark
Hugh Harries
Coconut Time Line
2 Beech Road
Broadwey, Weymouth, Dorset, DT3 5NP
UK
Andrew Henderson
New York Botanical Garden
Bronx, NY 10458
USA
Helen Hipperson
Imperial College London, Silwood Park
Buckhurst Road, Ascot, Berkshire, SL5 7PY
UK
h.hipperson@imperial.ac.uk
Marc Jeanson
The New York Botanical Garden
Bronx, New York 10458-5126
USA
Jury Karpun
Subtropical Botanical Garden of Kuban
Sochi-214, 354214
Russia
Phil Markey
Trebrown Palm Nurseries
Horningtops, Liskeard, Cornwall. PL14 3PU
UK
Sophie Nadot
Unité Ecologie, Systématique et Evolution
Université Paris-Sud, Bâtiment 360
91405 Orsay cedex
France
Claire Newton
Department of Archaeology, University of Nottingham
University Park, NG7 2RD Nottingham
U.K.
claire.newton@nottingham.ac.uk
Nesly Ortega Chávez
Conservatoire et Jardin Botanique de Genève
Chemin de l'Impératrice 1, 1292 Genève
Switzerland
Dennis Pedersen
Department of Biological Sciences, Aarhus University
Building 1540, Ny Munkegade, DK 8000 Aarhus C
Denmark
Jean-Christophe Pintaud
IRD
911, Avenue Agropolis, BP 65501
34394 Montpellier Cedex 5
France
Olga Rakitchenkova
Botanical Garden of the Center for Ecological Education
Moscow Palace for Children Creativity
Kosygina st., 17 (4), Moscow, 119334
Russia
Alain Rival
CIRAD-IRD Palm Development Group
UMR DIAPC. Centre IRD BP 64501, F-34394 MONTPELLIER Cedex 5
France
Raul Rivarola
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Calle Eduard Marquina, 46, 1ero. 7. 28019. Madrid
Spain
Mikhail Romanov
Main Botanical Garden nm. Tcitcin N. V. RAS
Department of Dendrology
Botanical st., 4, Moscow, 127276
Russian Federation
Julissa Roncal
Department of Biological Sciences, Aarhus University
Ny Munkegade 1540, Aarhus C, DK-8000
Denmark
Markus Rueggeberg
Max-Planck-Institute of Colloids and Interfaces
Am Mühlenberg 1, D-14476 Potsdam
Germany
Vincent Savolainen
Imperial College London / RBG Kew
Silwood Park SL5 7PY Ascot,
UK
Isaev Sergej
Main Botanical Garden nm. Tcitcin N. V. RAS
Department of Tropical and Subtropical Plants
Botanical st., 4, Moscow, 127276
Russian Federation
Joanna Sosnowska
W. Szafer Institute of Botany, Polish Academy of Sciences
ul. Lubicz 46, 31-512 Cracow
Poland
Fred Stauffer
Conservatory and Botanic Gardens of Geneva
CP 60, CH-1292 Chambésy / GE
Switzerland
Anders Stie Tommerup
Institute of Biology, Aarhus University
Mindegade 3, 2 tv. 8000 Aarhus C
Denmark
Romain Thomas
Département Histoire de la Terre
CP 38 (Laboratoire de Paléobotanique)
Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle de Paris
57, rue Cuvier, 75231 Paris Cedex 05
France
Jantrararuk Tovaranonte
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Aarhus
Ny Mundegade, Building 1540, DK-8000 Aarhus C
Denmark
James Tregear
IRD/CIRAD Palm Group
UMR DIAPC, IRD Centre Montpellier
911 avenue Agropolis
34394 Montpellier Cedex 5, France
Soraya Villalba
Herbarium, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew
Richmond, Surrey, TW9 3AE
UK
Lisa Waigand
Department of Plant Ecology, University Bayreuth
95440 Bayreuth
Germany
Maximilian Weigend
Freie Universität Berlin
Altensteinstr. 6, D-14195 Berlin
Germany