Agricultural Research Management Information System

Home
Research Summary
Search
About Us
- ARMIS
- Brochure
Contact Us
Report
User Request
Data Input
Help
- Operation Manual
  - PDF
  - Video
- Program Area & Commodity
We have reached 37600 number of research entries at this moment.

- Logout

Research Detail

Home
Research
Detail

Present Trends in Plant Taxonomy in Bangladesh and Its Future

Haseeb Md. Irfanullah
School of Biological Sciences. Jones Building, University of Liverpool Liverpool L69 3GS, UK

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

The trend in plant taxonomic research in Bangladesh between 1972 and 2002 has been investigated by using a broad categorization scheme and a scoring system. Inventory taxonomic studies (morphological taxonomic studies involving plant resources cataloging) were bund to be significantly higher than the integrated studies (studies using the knowledge o1' different disciplines of biology). Studies on angiosperms were bund to be significantly more than any other groups and followed by that on algae. while gymnosperms received significantly least attention. Despite the world-wide decline in taxonomic research, taxonomy can make significant contributions in Bangladesh if initiatives are taken to complete the inventory of plant resources through a country-wide campaign, to incorporate integrated approaches in traditional taxonomy and to stress on the conservation issues in taxonomic studies. Such efforts could be more effective if cooperation among institutions concerned with plant taxonomy could be increased through efficient networking.

Keywords: Plant taxonomy, Plant systematics, Bangladesh

Location:

Start Date:

End Date:

Program Area: Conservation and Biodiversity

Commodity: Plant

Objectives:

The aim of this paper is to show the trends in plant taxonomic research in Bangladesh over the last three decades (1912-2002). A categorisation system and a scoring system are proposed to demonstrate the magnitude and the direction of such trends. Scopes and opportunities of plant taxonomic research in Bangladesh are also discussed

Methodology:

Approaches undertaken Three journals, publishing plant taxonomic research papers, namely, Bangladesh Journal of Botany (BJB by Bangladesh Botanical Society, 1972-2002), Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, Science (JASBS by Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, 1975-June 2002) and Bangladesh Journal of Plant Taxonomy (BJPT by Bangladesh Association of Plant Taxonomists. 1994-2002) were consulted to identify, record and classify published plant taxonomic papers under a suggested categorysystem as described below. These three journals were selected because of their different magnitudes in publishing plant taxonomic papers: BJPT, exclusive for plant taxonomic papers; BJB, exclusive for botanical research papers including taxonomy and JASBS, all kinds of scientific papers including botanicals ones. All these journals are being published on a two-issue-per-year basis. Here algae, including blue-green algae (cyanobacteria), bryophytes, pteridophytes, gymnosperms and angiosperms were considered as plants. To be qualified as a study of Bangladesh the worked out material(s) (plant or place) must be from Bangladesh and should be carried out by one or more Bangladeshi scientists inside or outside Bangladesh. In addition, volumes of the FLora of Bangladesh (Khan et al. 1972-1996) were also included as revisions of angiospermic families. Categories All the taxonomic research papers recorded were classified using two separate categortsation scheme. In the first scheme, all the papers were classified into two broad categories on the basis of the nature of the studies: | ' Inventoryt studies: This mostly includes area based floristic studies, checklists of certain areas or of certain taxonomic groups, new records of taxa, and revisions on genera. families and orders. Papers in relation to nomenclature like describing new taxa. proposing new combinations and changing names were mostly done in the papers of floristic studies. Micromorphological studies using light or electron microscopes and ethnobotanical studies with taxonomic perspective were also included in this category. The common feature of all these studies is traditional morphological taxonomic approaches (include both morphology and anatomy) were taken to carry out them. 2' Interacted studies: Studies, where knowledge of different branches of biology other than morphology, like chemistry, cytology, cytogenerics, ecology and reproductive biology were used with a definite aim to elucidate taxonomic problems or to facilitate taxonomic understanding were included in this category. Use of numerical methods in taxonomy was also incorporated in this group. The second categorisation was done on the basis of the broad taxonomic group that a paper dealt with and the proposed six categories are: 1 . Angiospermic studies: exclusively on angiospermic plants; 2. Gymnospernic studies: exclusively on gymnospermic species; 3. Pteridopltytic studies: exclusively on fem and fern allies; 4.Bryophytic' studies: exclusively on mosses and liverworts; 5. Algal studies: includes freshwater, brackish water and marine algal taxa; and 6. Mixecl studies: any two or more of the above-mentioned categories.

Source of Information: Bangladesh J. Plant Taxon. 10(l): 99-111, 2003 (June)

Article Link (Online Journal):

Funding Source:

1.

Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

Through the above discussion one thing I was trying to illuminate is that taxonomy needs a change in the attitude of the taxonomists. Despite the present decline, traditional taxonomy has been proven to be useful and will be needed for continuous inventorying, including bioprospecting, conservation biology as well as for evolutionary and phylogenic studies (Cotterill and Dangerfield, 1991, Baker et al" 1998, Jaspars 1998, Lee 2000). Besides other factors, taxonomists themselves are also responsible for the current decline in the taxonomic studies by not coming up with realistic and clearly achievable goals (Godfray 2002). Taxonomists should come our from their unappealing, non-creative image and should uplift their uniqueness, irreplaceability, importance and necessity in this degrading world. Taxonomy should adopt knowledge from the other disciplines of science, thus reinvent itself to overcome the present crisis. and to cope with the demand of the 21st century (Godfray 7002). Finally, concentration should also be given on the development of young botanists, which would involve improving the taxonomy syllabi and teaching techniques in colleges and universities. and also involving them in different programmes on taxonomy, biodiversity and conservation to build up generations that appreciate and care the plant resources. Job opportunities for the taxonomists, which is the main concern of botany students to come into taxonomic research, are there in Bangladesh, especially in this age of ecological sustainability, but we need to upgrade our students' know-how and their outlook to meet the requirements demanded by these professions.

Knowledge Management: Journal