http://hdl.handle.net/10316/15918 2020-03-07T13:40:10Z 2020-03-07T13:40:10Z Silva, Ana Margarida Dias da Cruz, Maria Teresa Girão da Oliveira, Joana Cabral Freitas, Helena Gouveia, António Carmo http://hdl.handle.net/10316/88156 2019-11-21T21:39:31Z 2019-06-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Plant Letters: A citizen science project uncovering historical biodiversity data Authors: Silva, Ana Margarida Dias da; Cruz, Maria Teresa Girão da; Oliveira, Joana Cabral; Freitas, Helena; Gouveia, António Carmo Abstract: The XIXth century saw an enormous accumulation of biological specimens coming to Europe from all over the world, which are now part of museums, herbaria and other natural history collections. For many centuries, the exchange of letters was the privileged means of circulating information and knowledge. At the University of Coimbra (UC), the Life Sciences Department safeguards almost 5000 letters and other documentation addressed to directors, gardeners and other collaborators of the Botanic Garden. These records of Portuguese botanical science and expeditions of plant discovery, collection and identification are held in thousands of handwritten letters, species lists and assorted notebooks, in more than five different languages. Historical repositories such as this archive, but also the biological and museum collections and objects that it documents, imply added responsibilities to the University of Coimbra, as the information contained within the documentation, pertains not only to a country (in this case Portugal), but also to its developing historical roles and actions. As a colonial power for many centuries, the records of Portuguese scientific activity and occupation strategies of overseas territories, in Africa, South America, Asia and the Pacific, are also documented, and its valuable data (e.g., historical biological records) is of crucial importance to these now independent countries. Received correspondence is a great resource for understanding the process of knowledge creation and circulation in the plant sciences, including botany and agriculture, as well as the scientific colonial practices and their implication for the amassing of biological collections at the UC. In order to uncover historical biodiversity data within this archival material, we have implemented Plant Letters (https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/catedraunesco/plant-letters), a citizen science transcription project that seeks to uncover the stories within these historical archives, the tales of travelers and scientists, on the quest of recording of the world’s diversity, mostly in the Portuguese ex-colonies in sub-Saharan Africa. Using the collaborative platform Zooniverse (https://www.zooniverse.org), users are requested to engage with the archive and transcribe mostly handwritten letters in several languages, giving dimension to our continuous efforts of promoting open and widespread access to information. The project invites everyone to transcribe handwritten or typed letters received by the Botanic Garden between about 1870 and 1928, from more than 1100 correspondents from around the world. The main purpose of this project is to track plant species, locations and scientists in the correspondence received in the 19th and 20th centuries at the Botanic Garden of the University of Coimbra. To do so, Plant Letters seeks in users, both experts or simply curious, a source of participation in the construction of knowledge, making use of collective intelligence, in a lively exchange of information, experiences and knowledge. In transcribing the letters, we want to retrieve information that can include: inquiries and doubts about plant classification and taxonomy; historical plant species locations, distribution records and abundance; biological material circulation (plant and seed exchanges); track the path of herbarium and museum specimens in our collections; unravel networks of botanical knowledge. Transcribing the information contained in these documents will allow us to: track plant specimens as they travelled from their native countries to the scientists who named them; to determine historical plant locations in parts of sub-Saharan Africa; to better understand the scientific processes of plant discovery, taxonomy and botany; and to collect information that gives context to biological specimens in museum objects and other natural history collections. All of these data, valuable to the present and future conservation of tropical flora, will be made available, bearing in mind the open science principles.

2019-06-01T00:00:00Z Vieira, Joana Moura, Mikael Alvites Nabais, Cristina Freitas, Helena Campelo, Filipe http://hdl.handle.net/10316/87340 2019-08-20T20:31:18Z 2019-09-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Seasonal adjustment of primary and secondary growth in maritime pine under simulated climatic changes Authors: Vieira, Joana; Moura, Mikael Alvites; Nabais, Cristina; Freitas, Helena; Campelo, Filipe Abstract: Key message Reducing irrigation by up to 75% in spring decreased primary and secondary growth in Pinus pinaster Aiton saplings, whereas an extra irrigation in September prompted secondary growth, confirming the high plasticity of xylogenesis in this species. Context Water availability is the main limiting factor for plant growth and forest productivity in drought-prone environments, such as the Mediterranean region. Future scenarios for this region predict an increase in spring drought and in autumn precipitation. Understanding how tree growth responds to these conditions is imperative to anticipate forest productivity shifts under future climate change scenarios. Aims We simulated the expected climatic conditions for the Mediterranean region in order to study the response of primary and secondary growth in maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Aiton) saplings. Methods In February 2017, 2-year-old maritime pine saplings (n = 512) were subjected to a water manipulation experiment in a tunnel greenhouse. Saplings were randomly divided into four groups: control, exclusion, irrigation and exclusion—irrigation. Between May and August, saplings in the exclusion and exclusion–irrigation groups received 50 to 75% less water than saplings in the control and irrigation groups. In September, saplings in the irrigation groups received an extra irrigation. From February 2017 to February 2018, primary (height) and secondary growth (diameter and wood formation) were monitored. Seasonal dynamics of cambial activity and wood formation were monitored monthly through destructive sampling. Results Primary and secondary growth were reduced in exclusion saplings. The extra irrigation in September triggered the production of tracheids with wider lumen diameter at the end of the tree ring. Conclusion Maritime pine saplings survived an intense spring drought, despite primary and secondary growth reduction. The extra irrigation in September triggered a rapid increase in cambial activity, demonstrating the high plasticity of xylogenesis in this species.

2019-09-01T00:00:00Z Adams, Henry D Zeppel, Melanie J B Anderegg, William R L Hartmann, Henrik Landhäusser, Simon M Tissue, David T Huxman, Travis E Hudson, Patrick J Franz, Trenton E Allen, Craig D Anderegg, Leander D L Barron-Gafford, Greg A Beerling, David J Breshears, David D Brodribb, Timothy J Bugmann, Harald Cobb, Richard C Collins, Adam D Dickman, L Turin Duan, Honglang Ewers, Brent E Galiano, Lucía Galvez, David A Forner, Nuria Garcia Gaylord, Monica L Germino, Matthew J Gessler, Arthur Hacke, Uwe G Hakamada, Rodrigo Hector, Andy Jenkins, Michael W Kane, Jeffrey M Kolb, Thomas E Law, Darin J Lewis, James D Limousin, Jean-Marc Love, David M Macalady, Alison K Martínez-Vilalta, Jordi Mencuccini, Maurizio Mitchell, Patrick J Muss, Jordan D O'Brien, Michael J O'Grady, Anthony P Pangle, Robert E Pinkard, Elizabeth A Piper, Frida I Plaut, Jennifer A Pockman, William T Quirk, Joe Reinhardt, Keith Ripullone, Francesco Ryan, Michael G Sala, Anna Sevanto, Sanna Sperry, John S Vargas, Rodrigo Vennetier, Michel Way, Danielle A Xu, Chonggang Yepez, Enrico A McDowell, Nate G http://hdl.handle.net/10316/87201 2019-06-17T20:40:03Z 2017-09-01T00:00:00Z

Title: A multi-species synthesis of physiological mechanisms in drought-induced tree mortality Authors: Adams, Henry D; Zeppel, Melanie J B; Anderegg, William R L; Hartmann, Henrik; Landhäusser, Simon M; Tissue, David T; Huxman, Travis E; Hudson, Patrick J; Franz, Trenton E; Allen, Craig D; Anderegg, Leander D L; Barron-Gafford, Greg A; Beerling, David J; Breshears, David D; Brodribb, Timothy J; Bugmann, Harald; Cobb, Richard C; Collins, Adam D; Dickman, L Turin; Duan, Honglang; Ewers, Brent E; Galiano, Lucía; Galvez, David A; Forner, Nuria Garcia; Gaylord, Monica L; Germino, Matthew J; Gessler, Arthur; Hacke, Uwe G; Hakamada, Rodrigo; Hector, Andy; Jenkins, Michael W; Kane, Jeffrey M; Kolb, Thomas E; Law, Darin J; Lewis, James D; Limousin, Jean-Marc; Love, David M; Macalady, Alison K; Martínez-Vilalta, Jordi; Mencuccini, Maurizio; Mitchell, Patrick J; Muss, Jordan D; O'Brien, Michael J; O'Grady, Anthony P; Pangle, Robert E; Pinkard, Elizabeth A; Piper, Frida I; Plaut, Jennifer A; Pockman, William T; Quirk, Joe; Reinhardt, Keith; Ripullone, Francesco; Ryan, Michael G; Sala, Anna; Sevanto, Sanna; Sperry, John S; Vargas, Rodrigo; Vennetier, Michel; Way, Danielle A; Xu, Chonggang; Yepez, Enrico A; McDowell, Nate G Abstract: Widespread tree mortality associated with drought has been observed on all forested continents and global change is expected to exacerbate vegetation vulnerability. Forest mortality has implications for future biosphere-atmosphere interactions of carbon, water and energy balance, and is poorly represented in dynamic vegetation models. Reducing uncertainty requires improved mortality projections founded on robust physiological processes. However, the proposed mechanisms of drought-induced mortality, including hydraulic failure and carbon starvation, are unresolved. A growing number of empirical studies have investigated these mechanisms, but data have not been consistently analysed across species and biomes using a standardized physiological framework. Here, we show that xylem hydraulic failure was ubiquitous across multiple tree taxa at drought-induced mortality. All species assessed had 60% or higher loss of xylem hydraulic conductivity, consistent with proposed theoretical and modelled survival thresholds. We found diverse responses in non-structural carbohydrate reserves at mortality, indicating that evidence supporting carbon starvation was not universal. Reduced non-structural carbohydrates were more common for gymnosperms than angiosperms, associated with xylem hydraulic vulnerability, and may have a role in reducing hydraulic function. Our finding that hydraulic failure at drought-induced mortality was persistent across species indicates that substantial improvement in vegetation modelling can be achieved using thresholds in hydraulic function.

2017-09-01T00:00:00Z Silva, Ana Margarida Dias da Marques, Maria Beatriz Gonçalves, M. Teresa Gouveia, António Carmo http://hdl.handle.net/10316/84989 2020-02-25T17:27:15Z 2019-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The Botanic Garden of the University of Coimbra as a Complex Information System Authors: Silva, Ana Margarida Dias da; Marques, Maria Beatriz; Gonçalves, M. Teresa; Gouveia, António Carmo Abstract: General Theory of Systems, sensu strictu, aims to derive the general definition of “system” as a complex of components in mutual interaction with each other and with the surrounding environment. A theory to be applied to the Botanic Garden of the University of Coimbra, understood as a Complex Information System: a whole with several types of units or information systems, such as a living plant collection, library, museum, archive and herbarium. Júlio Henriques (director between 1873-1918) participated in networks of scientific knowledge and his role is crucial to understand the growth and complexification of the Information System Botanic Garden UC. An example on a new species discovery – Pandanus thomensis Henriq. – illustrates how a systemic and holistic perspective of the information allows a comprehensive knowledge of the information in several supports and locations.

2019-01-01T00:00:00Z