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Abstract Detail



Floristics & Taxonomy

Bonifacino, Mauricio [1], Marchesi, Eduardo [2], Valtierra, Victoria [3], Perez, Camilo [4], Trujillo, Cristina [4], Gadea, Federico [4], Mailhos, Ary [4], Rossado, Andres [4], Haretche, Federico [4], Pedrero, Eugenia [4].

Next generation floristics: Compositae of Uruguay.

Uruguay, one of the smallest countries in South America, occupies a transition zone were many species meet their distribution limits and therefore are from a conservation perspective of the uttermost importance. The country has ca. 2500 native and almost 500 adventitious species.
Uruguay’s longstanding tradition as a rangeland country is witnessing an important shift in land usage that is having a significant impact on the flora and by extension its biodiversity. Tree plantations and extensive agriculture with new technologies are claiming areas that had remained till not so long ago somewhat protected by extensive cattle grazing. In addition, several invasive shrub and tree species are gaining momentum and local species are being pushed even harder to the limits of their survival. In this scenario, a thorough understanding of the flora is needed to make better and informed decisions on the use of the land.
The Compositae with ca. 450 species ranks as the most diverse family in Uruguay and except for the grasses it is also, ecologically the most predominant. An ongoing project to produce the floristic treatment for the family involves a thorough analysis of the taxa. A team of collaborators is building descriptions from scratch, precisely defining the usage of ambiguous morphological terms, and illustrating the taxa with high definition images, for the most part, taken on the field. The information will be presented online using the Scratchpads platform (compositaeuy.myspecies.info) and electronic keys build using Lucid. Further, usage of apps like iNaturalist inviting a general audience to observe nature is adding a dynamic extra layer to understand distribution that fills the gaps of standard collection-based methods.
The Compositae are present in all habitats, but it is throughout its extensive hill range system that the group is more diverse and ecologically conspicuous. From a phylogenetic perspective, the family is represented by a total of 23 occurring in the country. Most diverse groups are Astereae (76 spp.), Eupatorieae (54 spp.), Heliantheae (33 spp.), Senecioneae (28 spp.), Gnaphalieae (25 spp.), Vernonieae (19 spp.), Nassauvieae (18 spp.) and Mutisieae (15 spp.). Largest genera are Baccharis (ca. 50 spp,), Senecio (ca. 30 spp.) and Chromolaena (13 spp). There are ca. 70 endemic species, ten Uruguayan and ca. 60 endemics of the Uruguayan region. Over 1000 names were analyzed, ca. 30 species are reported as n


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1 - Universidad de la Republica, Facultade de Agronomia y Facultad de Ciencias, Uruguay
2 - Universidad de la República, Biología vegetal, Herbario MVFA, Av. Garzon 780, Montevideo, Uruguay
3 - Universidad de la República, Biología vegetal, MVFA herbarium, Av Garzon 780, Montevideo, Uruguay
4 - MVFA Herbarium

Keywords:
flora
Asteraceae
Scratchpads.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: FT, Floristics & Taxonomy
Location: Tucson J/Starr Pass
Date: Tuesday, July 30th, 2019
Time: 2:30 PM
Number: FT005
Abstract ID:733
Candidate for Awards:None


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