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 Tribe Theobromeae - Malvaceae Theobroma cacao Theobroma cacao Theobroma simiarum Theobroma grandiflorum Theobroma bicolor Herrania purpurea Herrania kanukuensis Glossostemon bruguieri Guazuma ulmifolia Guazuma ulmifolia 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 .