Biogeographic and ecological diversification of trees across the Indonesian archipelago: developing indigenous leadership in biodiversity informatics

Harvard University, Cambridge MA

Investigators

Abstract

The Indonesian archipelago contains forests with some of the highest local plant diversity on Earth, resulting from a complex geological and environmental history. Timber harvesting and oil palm expansion have drastically reduced the area of lowland forests, threatening this diversity before it has been discovered and understood. This project will pioneer new methods for recording tree species composition and environmental variables on five islands (Borneo, Sulawesi, New Guinea, Seram, Sumbawa), using local students and park rangers and utilizing extensive digital photography, as well as genetic data, all integrated into a "live" biodiversity informatics platform. From these data, the historical processes by which the forests were assembled will be discovered, and this will lead to a greater understanding of how forests will respond to future environmental changes. Currently, most Indonesian biodiversity is managed by foreign institutions. In today's open source world, the megadiversity countries should lead the collection, digitization and networking of their own biodiversity information; this is the only realistic, sustainable solution to documenting biodiversity while it still exists. This project will develop capacity and leadership in biodiversity informatics in Indonesia, as well as in the US, via joint field expeditions, meetings, short courses and sustained interactions with local software developers. The informatics resources themselves will aid foresters and conservationists to better know and manage these forests. This project is part of a 10-year effort to digitize and mobilize the scientific information associated with biological specimens held in U.S. research collections. The images and digitized data from this project will be integrated into the online national resource as outlined in the community strategic plan available at http://digbiocol.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/digistratplanfinaldraft.pdf.