FLORA OF BALI: A PROVISIONAL CHECKLIST

Compared to Java the flora of Bali is poorly known. A checklist has been prepared based on literature and collections. The focus is on indigenous species, but the distinction between indigenous and naturalized species is not always clear. This checklist is therefore very provisional. The flora of the much smaller island state Singapore is much richer, probably mainly due to undercollecting of Bali

Plant collecting spread and densities: their potential impact on biogeographical studies in Thailand

Aims: To produce representative aggregate maps of plant collection locations in Thailand and discuss their impact on biogeographical studies in Thailand and the surrounding region. Location Thailand. Methods: A representative data set comprising 6593 plant specimen records for Thailand has been assembled. The data set contains ± all known collections for fifteen representative plant families and further records for another 104. All records are localized to Changwat (province), 6441 to at least quarter degree square. Results: Analysis shows that the spread of collecting activity in Thailand is markedly uneven; 20% of collections come from a single Changwat (Chiang Mai) and 53% of Changwat have fifty or fewer collections. The distribution of collections by Changwat and by quarter degree square is erratic with most squares and Changwat having few collections, both in proportionate and absolute terms. Some of the most densely forested Changwats and squares appear undercollected. Distribution maps for common, easily recognized tree species in the genus Syzygium show distributional gaps. Conclusions: Thailand is defined as an undercollected country. Even within the few well-collected quarter degree squares the spread of collecting is still poor; almost all collections being localized to one of three mountain ranges or their foothills. There are many gaps in collecting activity which make impossible a straightforward interpretation of biogeographical pattern. It is argued that targeted collecting activity is needed, that assembly of this type of data set is therefore essential and that our data set and its interpretation is a model for all countries in the region

Panbiogeography of Nothofagus (Nothofagaceae): analysis of the main species massings

Aim  The aim of this paper is to analyse the biogeography of Nothofagus and its subgenera in the light of molecular phylogenies and revisions of fossil taxa. Location  Cooler parts of the South Pacific: Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, montane New Guinea and New Caledonia, and southern South America. Methods  Panbiogeographical analysis is used. This involves comparative study of the geographic distributions of the Nothofagus taxa and other organisms in the region, and correlation of the main patterns with historical geology. Results  The four subgenera of Nothofagus have their main massings of extant species in the same localities as the main massings of all (fossil plus extant) species. These main massings are vicariant, with subgen. Lophozonia most diverse in southern South America (north of Chiloé I.), subgen. Fuscospora in New Zealand, subgen. Nothofagus in southern South America (south of Valdivia), and subgen. Brassospora in New Guinea and New Caledonia. The main massings of subgen. Brassospora and of the clade subgen. Brassospora/subgen. Nothofagus (New Guinea–New Caledonia–southern South America) conform to standard biogeographical patterns. Main conclusions  The vicariant main massings of the four subgenera are compatible with largely allopatric differentiation and no substantial dispersal since at least the Upper Cretaceous (Upper Campanian), by which time the fossil record shows that the four subgenera had evolved. The New Guinea–New Caledonia distribution of subgenus Brassospora is equivalent to its total main massing through geological time and is explained by different respective relationships of different component terranes of the two countries. Global vicariance at family level suggests that Nothofagaceae/Nothofagus evolved largely as the South Pacific/Antarctic vicariant in the breakup of a world-wide Fagales ancestor