A taxonomic backbone for the global synthesis of species diversity in the angiosperm order caryophyllales

The Caryophyllales constitute a major lineage of flowering plants with approximately 12?500 species in 39 families. A taxonomic backbone at the genus level is provided that reflects the current state of knowledge and accepts 749 genera for the order. A detailed review of the literature of the past two decades shows that enormous progress has been made in understanding overall phylogenetic relationships in Caryophyllales. The process of re-circumscribing families in order to be monophyletic appears to be largely complete and has led to the recognition of eight new families (Anacampserotaceae, Kewaceae, Limeaceae, Lophiocarpaceae, Macarthuriaceae, Microteaceae, Montiaceae and Talinaceae), while the phylogenetic evaluation of generic concepts is still well underway. As a result of this, the number of genera has increased by more than ten percent in comparison to the last complete treatments in the “Families and genera of vascular plants” series. A checklist with all currently accepted genus names in Caryophyllales, as well as nomenclatural references, type names and synonymy is presented. Notes indicate how extensively the respective genera have been studied in a phylogenetic context. The most diverse families at the generic level are Cactaceae and Aizoaceae, but 28 families comprise only one to six genera. This synopsis represents a first step towards the aim of creating a global synthesis of the species diversity in the angiosperm order Caryophyllales integrating the work of numerous specialists around the world. © 2015 BGBM Berlin

Selecting the best candidates for resurrecting extinct-in-the-wild plants from herbaria

Resurrecting extinct species is a fascinating and challenging idea for scientists and the general public. Whereas some theoretical progress has been made for animals, the resurrection of extinct plants (de-extinction sensu lato) is a relatively recently discussed topic. In this context, the term ‘de-extinction’ is used sensu lato to refer to the resurrection of ‘extinct in the wild’ species from seeds or tissues preserved in herbaria, as we acknowledge the current impossibility of knowing a priori whether a herbarium seed is alive and can germinate. In plants, this could be achieved by germinating or in vitro tissue-culturing old diaspores such as seeds or spores available in herbarium specimens. This paper reports the first list of plant de-extinction candidates based on the actual availability of seeds in herbarium specimens of globally extinct plants. We reviewed globally extinct seed plants using online resources and additional literature on national red lists, resulting in a list of 361 extinct taxa. We then proposed a method of prioritizing candidates for seed-plant de-extinction from diaspores found in herbarium specimens and complemented this with a phylogenetic approach to identify species that may maximize evolutionarily distinct features. Finally, combining data on seed storage behaviour and longevity, as well as specimen age in the novel ‘best de-extinction candidate’ score (DEXSCO), we identified 556 herbarium specimens belonging to 161 extinct species with available seeds. We expect that this list of de-extinction candidates and the novel approach to rank them will boost research efforts towards the first-ever plant de-extinction

A taxonomic backbone for the global synthesis of species diversity in the angiosperm order Caryophyllales

The Caryophyllales constitute a major lineage of flowering plants with approximately 12500 species in 39 families. A taxonomic backbone at the genus level is provided that reflects the current state of knowledge and accepts 749 genera for the order. A detailed review of the literature of the past two decades shows that enormous progress has been made in understanding overall phylogenetic relationships in Caryophyllales. The process of re-circumscribing families in order to be monophyletic appears to be largely complete and has led to the recognition of eight new families (Anacampserotaceae, Kewaceae, Limeaceae, Lophiocarpaceae, Macarthuriaceae, Microteaceae, Montiaceae and Talinaceae), while the phylogenetic evaluation of generic concepts is still well underway. As a result of this, the number of genera has increased by more than ten percent in comparison to the last complete treatments in the Families and genera of vascular plants” series. A checklist with all currently accepted genus names in Caryophyllales, as well as nomenclatural references, type names and synonymy is presented. Notes indicate how extensively the respective genera have been studied in a phylogenetic context. The most diverse families at the generic level are Cactaceae and Aizoaceae, but 28 families comprise only one to six genera. This synopsis represents a first step towards the aim of creating a global synthesis of the species diversity in the angiosperm order Caryophyllales integrating the work of numerous specialists around the world

Multidimensionality in state policy and programs: a critique of pluralist state theory

In public policy analysis the state is often presented as primarily technocratic and virtually separate from society. It freely chooses its own goals, but falls short primarily because of shortcomings in policy planning techniques. This view, however, conflates policy and investment programs, while neglecting state-society relations, multipurpose policies, and the legitimation of spatial policy. State theory must be able to interpret these dimensions of the state and its limited autonomy, as this critique of Lim's theory of state policies suggests.

Does high technology polarize the work force?

The well-known argument that high-technology industry polarizes the work force appears to be an extrapolation primarily from two patterns: the occupational characteristics of the semiconductor industry, and the seeming occupational polarization of the US economy as a whole. The proposition that high-technology industry is responsible for the polarization of work forces is operationalized and statistically assessed in this paper. Operating from a definition of 'high technology' used by government agencies, a county-level analysis of the relation between employment in high-technology firms and in various higher-skill and lower-skill occupations reveals only limited empirical support for the 'high-technology work force polarization' (hereafter HTWFP) argument. This suggests that generalizations about the occupational impacts of high technology have been overdrawn, and that further research should focus less on extrapolating to the general case and more on examining and comparing a variety of high-technology industries and their relationships to local labor-markets.

An argument for critical and comparative research on the urban economic geography of the Americas

The authors identify problems associated with the treatment of Latin American topics in the Anglo-American social science literature, particularly in geography. Latin American research has been peripheralized and the flow of concepts and learning between Latin and Anglo America has been almost entirely from North to South. To explain why research by Latin Americans, and by Latin Americanists, has had relatively limited influence on recent geographic debates over theory and method, the authors employ contemporary discourse analysis. This method assists us in (1) deciphering how development geography presents Latin America, (2) in posing questions about the character and origins of the concepts that shape writing and, indeed, thinking, and (3) in identifying the perspective biases that must be confronted for interregional dialogue to occur. This critical commentary on Latin and Anglo-American research is highly relevant to reconstructed regional geography. It, too, is confronting issues such as the role of theory in contextually grounded research, and how to operationalize research that spans several geographical scales of analysis.

Wpływ cięcia i formowania młodych drzew moreli (Armeniaca vulgaris Lam.) na ich wzrost i plonowanie

The cultivation of apricot (Armeniaca vulgaris Lam.) is possible only in some regions of Poland, but there is still not too much information about trees pruning and forming in our climatic conditions. Studies were carried out in the years 2004–2006 in Przybroda near Poznań. Studies concerned effect of different tree pruning methods on growth and yielding of 3 apricot cultivars: ‘Goldrich’, ‘Hargrand’ and ‘Sirena’. During the first 3 years, tree crowns were shaped in a ‘vase’ form and pruning was carried out on three levels of intensity: intensive pruning, medium-intensive pruning and slight pruning. During the first 3 years after plantation, the effects exerted by the three pruning intensities were studied in reference to the growth, morphology of tree crown, flower buds setting and fruit yield. Obtained results showed that the most intensive pruning system increased width and projection of crowns. It also resulted in beneficial changes in fruiting zone of crowns by increasing number of branched longshoots and shortshoots, and higher length of not branched longshoots and sylleptic shoots. There was also better flower buds setting and yielding of trees pruned intensively. The highest yield was obtained from trees intensively pruned, the best yielded were trees cultivars: ‘Hargrand’ and ‘Sirena’ but the lowest yield was obtained from trees of ‘Goldrich’ cultivar.Uprawa moreli (Armeniaca vulgaris Lam.) jest możliwa jedynie w niektórych rejonach Polski, jednak wciąż jest mało informacji na temat cięcia i formowania drzew w naszych warunkach klimatycznych. Badania prowadzono w latach 2004–2006 w Przybrodzie koło Poznania. Dotyczyły one wpływu różnych sposobów cięcia drzew na wzrost i plonowanie 3 odmian moreli: ‘Goldrich’, ‘Hargrand’ i ‘Sirena’. W okresie formowania korony kotłowej młodych drzew cięto je w pierwszym roku w sadzie: silnie, średnio silnie i słabo. W pierwszych 3 latach po posadzeniu oceniano wpływ intensywności cięcia drzew na wzrost, morfologię koron drzew, zawiązywanie pąków kwiatowych i plonowanie. Badania wykazały, że intensywne cięcie drzew spowodowało zwiększenie szerokości i projekcji koron. Wywołało ono również korzystne zmiany w strefie owoconośnej koron drzew poprzez zwiększenie ilości rozgałęzionych długopędów oraz krótkopędów, a także zwiększenie długości nierozgałęzionych długopędów oraz pędów syleptycznych. Stwierdzono także lepsze zawiązywanie pąków kwiatowych oraz plonowanie drzew ciętych intensywnie. Najwięcej owoców zebrano z drzew ciętych silnie, najlepiej plonowały drzewa odmian: ‘Hargrand’ i ‘Sirena’, a najsłabiej drzewa odmiany ‘Goldrich’