Although the geographical mapping of our planet is complete, the same cannot be said of our living world, as specialists are constantly discovering new species. Recognizing them is key to being able to conserve them, so their scientific description is an important task, and on the basis of them, for example, an animal or plant can be declared protected. the University of Leipzig I reported on new research in which, in the case of Nigeria, as yet undiscovered plant species were examined. search is Annals of Botany Published by a trade journal.
Africa is an extremely rich continent containing a quarter of our planet’s biodiversity, with many endemic and endangered species. One of the biodiversity hotspots here, i.e. one of the major areas in the region with the richest biodiversity in Nigeria, is the mangrove swamp in the Niger Delta. To date, we know of more than 4,700 vascular plants in the country (3,385 of them are found in our country), but many more await scientific description. Speeding up the latter process is a critical task precisely because of nature conservation.
the Mitragyna Inermis Tree flower called
Source: Natural World
The researchers have now performed a model calculation of plant species finds found so far in Nigeria, from the period 1753-2020. Based on the data received, projections have also been made about the number of potted plants that may be present in the country that we can identify over the next five decades.
They found that by 2070, we will know about 1,140 more species of Nigerian plants than today, which is why it is essential that each of the specialists currently working on describing the country’s flora be able to enrich the country with two species annually.
However, a big problem is that these specialists are not local, but most of them come from distant countries for short term individual survey projects. Only a tenth of the researchers are Nigerians, who are too few to do this massive work. This is why prompt and effective intervention is required, for example through the training of local specialists, the collection of indigenous knowledge and, of course, the financing of surveys.
