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Plant Taxonomic Research in Bangladesh (1972-2012): a Critical Review

Haseeb Md. Irfanullah
Practical Action, Bangladesh Country Office, House 12/B, Road 4, Dhanmondi R/A, Dhaka 1205, Bangladesh

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

Amid serious concerns over declining taxonomic research world-wide, Bangladesh showed positive trends over 1972-2002. Some important developments in the global arena over the last decade give a mixed view on the growth of taxonomic research. This demands revisiting Bangladesh’s plant taxonomic research to identify major factors guiding its courses. Taxonomic papers published in three Bangladeshi journals and the Flora of Bangladesh (1972-2012) were analyzed using a scoring system. The present study reveals a four-fold increase in annual average of integrated taxonomic studies (those use knowledge of other branches of biology) over the last decade compared with the preceding decade. Conventional, inventory type taxonomic studies, on the other hand, has reduced by 15%. Studies on algae showed 42% increase in annual average, while studies on angiosperms remained unchanged. Although unpublished researches like Master’s theses increased significantly in recent years, the number of published work has decreased. The possible reasons for such decline are no net increase in plant taxonomists over the last decade, taxonomists struggling to transform researches into publishable manuscripts, and enhanced reputation of Bangladeshi journals increasing the proportion of foreign papers (a situation termed as ‘reputational backlash’). The paper envisages that classical taxonomic studies will dominate in Bangladesh in the coming decades given the enormous exploratory task awaiting the taxonomists. It concludes that to put taxonomy in the sustainable development discourse, taxonomists must change their perception towards their role in the society and proactively share their work with wider audience.

Keywords: Taxonomists; Taxonomy; Perception; Sustainable development, Bangladesh.

Location: Bangladesh

Start Date: 00-00-1972

End Date: 00-00-2012

Program Area: Conservation and Biodiversity

Commodity: Plant

Objectives:

Against this backdrop, the present study first looks into the trends of plant taxonomic research in Bangladesh during 1972-2012. Based upon the findings, the study further explores i) what important factors are guiding plant taxonomic research in Bangladesh; ii) where the current trends are likely to go; and iii) what key issues need to be focused on by the plant taxonomists, especially after the era of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) ends in 2015.

Methodology:

Methodology To reveal the trends of plant taxonomic research in Bangladesh, both published and unpublished research works were considered. To qualify as a study of Bangladesh, the study material(s) (plant or place) must be from Bangladesh and should be carried out by one or more Bangladeshi scientists inside or outside Bangladesh. Details of the methodology are given below. Published research For published works, the methodology of Irfanullah (2003) was followed. Taxonomic papers published in three journals during the period of 1972-2012 were considered, with special focus on 2003-2012. These journals are Bangladesh Journal of Botany (BJB, published by Bangladesh Botanical Society since 1972), Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, Science (JASBS, published by the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh since 1975) and Bangladesh Journal of Plant Taxonomy (BJPT). BJPT is an exclusively plant taxonomy journal, BJB is a plant sciences journal publishing taxonomy papers, while JASBS is used to be an important science journal for plant taxonomy, especially prior to BJPT. In addition, volumes of Flora of Bangladesh published by Bangladesh National Herbarium were included as revisions of angiosperm families (see below). Data on foreign papers published in Bangladeshi journals (2003-2012) were also analyzed to understand wider issues associated with taxonomic research. In the present study, unpublished raw data of Irfanullah (2003) were used for some analyses. Categories: All taxonomic papers recorded were categorized under two separate schemes. In the first scheme, all papers were classified into two broad categories based upon the nature of the studies. 1. Inventory studies: The common feature of these studies is conventional morphological taxonomic approaches (include both morphology and anatomy) were taken to conduct them. This category includes papers on floristic studies (including checklists); new records for Bangladesh (or other countries); revisions of taxonomic groups; nomenclature (e.g. new to science and new combinations); micormorphology (using light or electron microscopes); and ethnobotany. The present analysis is different from Irfanullah (2003) as the latter considered floristic studies and checklists separately. 2. Integrated studies: In these studies knowledge of different branches of biology other than morphology and anatomy were used to elucidate taxonomic problems or to facilitate taxonomic understanding, or showed significant dependency on taxonomy to improve understanding of those branches. These branches are, for example chemistry, cytogenetics (including cytology), ecology (including limnology), and reproductive biology (including a very few papers on vegetative biology and seedling growth). Numerical taxonomy was also included in this category. The present category is different from Irfanullah (2003) because of extending the definition of cytogenetics and reproductive biology papers.

Source of Information: Bangladesh J. Plant Taxon. 20(2): 267-279, 2013 (December)

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Achievement/Findings:

It concludes that to put taxonomy in the sustainable development discourse, taxonomists must change their perception towards their role in the society and proactively share their work with wider audience.

Knowledge Management: Journal