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Journal article
Land‐use intensity and relatedness to native plants promote exotic plant invasion in a tropical biodiversity hotspot.
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Journal article
Phylogenomics and taxonomy of Lecomtelleae (Poaceae), an isolated panicoid lineage from Madagascar.
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Journal article
Phylogenomic analysis reveals five independently evolved African forage grass clades in the genus Urochloa.
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Journal article
The bii4africa dataset of faunal and floral population intactness estimates across Africa’s major land uses.
Sub-Saharan Africa is under-represented in global biodiversity datasets, particularly regarding the impact of land use on species’ population abundances. Drawing on recent advances in expert elicitation to ensure data consistency, 200 experts were convened using a modified-Delphi process to estimate ‘intactness scores’: the remaining proportion of an ‘intact’ reference population... -
Journal article
Landrace diversity and heritage of the indigenous millet crop fonio (Digitaria exilis): Socio‐cultural and climatic drivers of change in the Fouta Djallon region of Guinea.
Le fonio blanc ( [Kippist] Stapf) est une culture de mil peu étudiée, indigène d'Afrique de l'Ouest et cultivée dans la région en grande partie selon des pratiques traditionnelles. Cette espèce est résiliente au climat, à croissance rapide, riche sur le plan nutritionnel et assure des moyens de subsistance... -
Journal article
Implications of a local flora survey for pre‐human grass flora in north‐western Madagascar.
On apprend aux enfants de Madagascar que leurs ancêtres ont détruit la vaste forêt ancienne donnant naissance aux prairies modernes, un mythe trompeur qui continue à saper la relation des gens avec la nature. Remplacer ce mythe par un récit plus nuancé et précis sur les écosystèmes herbeux est... -
Journal article
Global analysis of Poales diversification – parallel evolution in space and time into open and closed habitats.
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Journal article
Reinstatement and expansion of the genus Anatherum (Andropogoneae, Panicoideae, Poaceae).
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Journal article
Genetic variation in Loudetia simplex supports the presence of ancient grasslands in Madagascar.
Reconnaître que les prairies dominées par Loudetia étaient répandues avant la colonisation humaine souligne que les écosystèmes ouverts étaient et continuent d'être un composant important de la biodiversité de Madagascar. Il est urgent de réaliser des inventaires de la biodiversité et une taxonomie intégrée pour le traitement de la... -
Journal article
Revision of Andropogon and Diectomis (Poaceae: Sacchareae) in Madagascar and the new Andropogon itremoensis from the Itremo Massif.
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Journal article
Making the taxonomic effort: acknowledging female role models in botanical and mycological taxonomy.
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Journal article
Carbon isotope values for grasses in Madagascar's Central Highlands establish baselines for historical and paleoecological research.
Crowley, Brooke E. ; Schmidt, Heidi H. ; Vorontsova, Maria S.
Weight %C:N, Central Highlands (Madagascar), Fire, Grazing, Evolutionary history, Subfamily tribe, Madagascar, and Endemism
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Journal article
Madagascar’s extraordinary biodiversity: Threats and opportunities.
Madagascar’s unique biota is heavily affected by human activity and is under intense threat. Here, we review the current state of knowledge on the conservation status of Madagascar’s terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity by presenting data and analyses on documented and predicted species-level conservation statuses, the most prevalent and relevant threats,... -
Journal article
Madagascar’s extraordinary biodiversity: Evolution, distribution, and use.
Madagascar’s biota is hyperdiverse and includes exceptional levels of endemicity. We review the current state of knowledge on Madagascar’s past and current terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity by compiling and presenting comprehensive data on species diversity, endemism, and rates of species description and human uses, in addition to presenting an updated... -
Journal article
A Taxonomic Revision of Styppeiochloa (Arundinoideae: Poaceae) in Madagascar.
The grass genus Styppeiochloa De Winter (Arundinoideae: Poaceae) as it occurs in Madagascar is reviewed, two new species are described, and two subspecific taxa are elevated to species status. These new species, as well as the additional collections made since the latest treatment of the genus for Madagascar in 1954,... -
Journal article
“Manisa bozaka” or “Counting grass”: Global Grassy Group guide to understanding and measuring the functional and taxonomic composition of ground layer plants.
Grassy biomes span more than 40% of the global land surface and are central to people, biodiversity and Earth System functioning. There is however limited standardised measurement of herbaceous taxonomic and functional composition in grassy biomes that inhibits the development of a comparative understanding of grassy biomes among geographic regions.... -
Journal article
New insights into intergeneric relationships of Hickeliinae (Poaceae: Bambusoideae) revealed by complete plastid genomes.
Rakotonasolo, Rivontsoa A. ; Dransfield, Soejatmi ; Haevermans, Thomas ; Ralimanana, Helene ; Vorontsova, Maria S. …
Plastome, Hickeliinae, Bamboo, Madagascar, Phylogenomics, and Paleotropical
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Journal article
Grass Functional Traits Differentiate Forest and Savanna in the Madagascar Central Highlands.
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Journal article
The genus Tristachya (Poaceae: Panicoideae) in Madagascar.
We present a revision of the three species of in Madagascar. The tussock-forming is a rare endemic of the quartz outcrops in the Itremo Protected Area. The rhizomatous and are common components of the sandstone outcrop vegetation in the Isalo National Park. A new combination is made. Descriptions, conservation assessments,...Vorontsova, Maria S. ; Rakotomalala, Nantenaina H.
Poaceae, Identification key , Grass , Tristachya, New combination , Madagascar, Conservation , Tristachyideae, Savanna , and Africa
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Journal article
Seed germination of Leersia perrieri (Poaceae), a rare crop wild relative from Madagascar
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Journal article
Pollen of Malagasy grasses as a potential tool for interpreting grassland palaeohistory.
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Journal article
Shade alters the growth and architecture of tropical grasses by reducing root biomass.
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Journal article
Complex evolutionary history of two ecologically significant grass genera, Themeda and Heteropogon (Poaceae: Panicoideae: Andropogoneae).
Arthan, Watchara ; Dunning, Luke T. ; Besnard, Guillaume ; Manzi, Sophie ; Kellogg, Elizabeth A. …
Pleistocene, C4 grassland expansion, Phylogenomics, Plastomes, Anthistiriinae, and Dating
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Journal article
Endemic non-bambusoid genera of grasses (Poaceae) in Madagascar: Review of current knowledge.
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Journal article
Land‐use intensification increases richness of native and exotic herbaceous plants, but not endemics, in Malagasy vanilla landscapes
Abstract Aim North‐eastern Madagascar is a hotspot of plant diversity, but vanilla and rice farming are driving land‐use change, including slash‐and‐burn management. It still remains unknown how land‐use change and land‐use history affect richness and composition of endemic, native and exotic herbaceous plant species. Location North‐eastern Madagascar. Methods We assessed... -
Journal article
Botanical Monography in the Anthropocene
Botanical monographs have been the gold standard for communicating comprehensive systematic information about plants for over 300 years. Monographs catalyse species discovery, biodiversity documentation and conservation, and facilitate downstream research on wild and cultivated plant species. Increased availability of DNA sequence data and digitised resources now provide powerful resources for...Grace, Olwen M. ; Pérez-Escobar, Oscar A. ; Lucas, Eve J. ; Vorontsova, Maria S. ; Lewis, Gwilym P. …
conservation, Tree of Life, taxonomy , plants systematics , and biodiversity
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Journal article
Contrasted histories of organelle and nuclear genomes underlying physiological diversification in a grass species
C4 photosynthesis evolved multiple times independently in angiosperms, but most origins are relatively old so that the early events linked to photosynthetic diversification are blurred. The grass Alloteropsis semialata is an exception, as this species encompasses C4 and non-C4 populations. Using phylogenomics and population genomics, we infer the history of...Bianconi, Matheus E. ; Dunning, Luke T. ; Curran, Emma V. ; Hidalgo, Oriane ; Powell, Robyn F. …
polyploidy, miombo woodlands, admixture, C₄ photosynthesis, phylogeography, and phylogenomics
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Journal article
Contrasted histories of organelle and nuclear genomes underlying physiological diversification in a grass species
C4 photosynthesis evolved multiple times independently in angiosperms, but most origins are relatively old so that the early events linked to photosynthetic diversification are blurred. The grass Alloteropsis semialata is an exception, as this species encompasses C4 and non-C4 populations. Using phylogenomics and population genomics, we infer the history of...Bianconi, Matheus E. ; Dunning, Luke T. ; Curran, Emma V. ; Hidalgo, Oriane ; Powell, Robyn F. …
polyploidy, miombo woodlands, phylogenomics, C4 photosynthesis, phylogeography, and admixture
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Journal article
Fire and grazing determined grasslands of central Madagascar represent ancient assemblages.
The ecology of Madagascar's grasslands is under-investigated and the dearth of ecological understanding of how disturbance by fire and grazing shapes these grasslands stems from a perception that disturbance shaped Malagasy grasslands only after human arrival. However, worldwide, fire and grazing shape tropical grasslands over ecological and evolutionary timescales, and... -
Journal article
Inequality in plant diversity knowledge and unrecorded plant extinctions: An example from the grasses of Madagascar
Societal impact statement Plants are essential for all life, providing the infrastructure and energy for our ecosystems. A recent report indicates that more than 500 plant species are already presumed extinct and many more could have been lost without anyone being aware, especially in species‐rich areas with high levels of... -
Journal article
Historical legacies and ecological determinants of grass naturalizations worldwide
The global distribution of exotic species is the result of abiotic, biotic and dispersal filtering processes that shape the movement and success of species outside their native range. In this study we aim to understand how these filtering processes drive the fluxes of grass species among regions, the factors that... -
Journal article
ddRAD analyses reveal a credible phylogenetic relationship of the four main genera of Bambusa-Dendrocalamus-Gigantochloa complex (Poaceae: Bambusoideae)
The Bambusa-Dendrocalamus-Gigantochloa complex (BDG complex) is the most diversified and phylogenetically recalcitrant group of the paleotropical woody bamboos. Species of this complex occur in tropical and subtropical Asia and most of them are of great economic, cultural and ecological value. The lack of resolution achieved through the analyses of previous...Liu, Jing-Xia ; Zhou, Meng-Yuan ; Yang, Guo-Qian ; Zhang, Yu-Xiao ; Ma, Peng-Fei …
ancient introgression, nDNA-plastid DNA associations, morphological evidence, genome-wide SNPs, and BDG complex
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Journal article
Late Miocene origin and recent population collapse of the Malagasy savanna olive tree (Noronhia lowryi)
Debates regarding the origin of tropical savannas have attempted to disentangle the role of human, biotic and abiotic factors. Understanding the origins of savanna remains essential to identifying processes that gave rise to habitat mosaics, particularly those found in the Central Plateau of Madagascar. Documenting the evolutionary history and demography... -
Journal article
The endemic ‘sugar canes’ of Madagascar (Poaceae, Saccharinae: Lasiorhachis) are close relatives of sorghum
Crop wild relatives are important but often poorly known. This is the case for subtribe Saccharinae (Poaceae: Andropogoneae), which includes sugarcane (Saccharum) and sorghum (Sorghum). We present a phylogenetic and taxonomic account of the Malagasy endemic genus Lasiorhachis, previously included in Saccharum. New plastome and nuclear sequences were assembled from...Vorontsova, Maria S. ; Besnard, Guillaume ; Razanatsoa, Jacqueline ; Hackel, Jan
Plant Science and Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
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Journal article
Continued Adaptation of C4 Photosynthesis After an Initial Burst of Changes in the Andropogoneae Grasses
Abstract C4 photosynthesis is a complex trait that sustains fast growth and high productivity in tropical and subtropical conditions and evolved repeatedly in flowering plants. One of the major C4 lineages is Andropogoneae, a group of ∼ 1,200 grass species that includes some of the world's most important crops and...Bianconi, Matheus E ; Hackel, Jan ; Vorontsova, Maria S. ; Alberti, Adriana ; Arthan, Watchara …
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Journal article
Plastome phylogenomics of sugarcane and relatives confirms the segregation of the genus Tripidium (Poaceae: Andropogoneae)
Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) is one of the most important crops in the world and a major source of sugar for human consumption. Despite this immense value, the circumscription of the genus Saccharum is complex, contentious, and largely unresolved. Saccharum is accepted in a broad sense by some authors or split...Welker, Cassiano ; McKain, Michael ; Vorontsova, Maria S. ; Peichoto, Myriam ; Kellogg, Elizabeth
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Journal article
Global dataset shows geography and life form predict modern plant extinction and rediscovery
Most people can name a mammal or bird that has become extinct in recent centuries, but few can name a recently extinct plant. We present a comprehensive, global analysis of modern extinction in plants. Almost 600 species have become extinct, at a higher rate than background extinction, but almost as many...Humphreys, Aelys ; Govaerts, Rafaël ; Ficinski, Sarah ; Nic Lughadha, Eimear ; Vorontsova, Maria S.
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Journal article
C4 anatomy can evolve via a single developmental change
C4 photosynthesis is a complex trait that boosts productivity in warm environments. Paradoxically, it evolved independently in numerous plant lineages, despite requiring specialised leaf anatomy. The anatomical modifications underlying C4 evolution have previously been evaluated through interspecific comparisons, which capture numerous changes besides those needed for C4 functionality. Here, we...Lundgren, Marjorie ; Dunning, Luke ; Olofsson, Jill ; Moreno-Villena, Jose ; Bouvier, Jacques …
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Journal article
Dichotomous keys to the species of Solanum L. (Solanaceae) in continental Africa, Madagascar (incl. the Indian Ocean islands), Macaronesia and the Cape Verde Islands
Solanum L. (Solanaceae) is one of the largest genera of angiosperms and presents difficulties in identification due to lack of regional keys to all groups. Here we provide keys to all 135 species of Solanum native and naturalised in Africa (as defined by World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions):...Knapp, Sandra ; Vorontsova, Maria S. ; Särkinen, Tiina
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Research report
Madagascar Grass Atlas
Madagascar has a unique heritage in terms of biodiversity. Its separation from Africa set the backdrop for the unique evolution of its flora and fauna. Its isolated island nature gave rise to high endemism and explosive speciation. Of its estimated 12,000 vascular plant species, 83% are unique to Madagascar (Madagascar...