Moss Flora of Central America

克罗斯比和艾伦博士将在哥斯达黎加和巴拿马同事的帮助下，研究中美洲的苔藓，以便编制一份图文并茂的鉴定指南，说明这一热带地区估计有1100种苔藓。苔藓植物区系将包括所有已知物种的描述、识别它们的可靠检索表、诊断形态特征的图解以及它们的地理范围和栖息地的注释。这项研究的材料包括过去收集的标本标本，以及在其他资金来源的支持下从中美洲采样较少地区收集的新标本。计算机设施将用于制作所产生的手册的所有方面。尽管苔藓个体很小，看起来微不足道，但它们在减缓土壤侵蚀、为土壤无脊椎动物提供苗床和栖息地以及在材料的生态系统处理的其他方面都很重要。它们也是研究抗旱机制和污染影响的对象。提供可靠的中美洲苔藓鉴定手册将有助于对世界热带地区进行这类研究。此外，这样的手册将有助于稳定这些植物的科学命名，并为评估它们的历史生物地理提供数据。

Drs. Crosby and Allen, with help from colleagues in Costa Rica and Panama, will study the mosses of Central America in order to compile an illustrated identification guide to the estimated 1100 species of mosses in this tropical region. The moss flora will include descriptions of all known species, reliable keys for their identification, illustrations of diagnostic morphological features, and notes on their geographical ranges and habitats. The materials for this study comprise herbarium specimens collected in the past as well as new collections from poorly sampled areas in Central America, collected with the support of other funding sources. Computer facilities will be used in all aspects of the production of the resulting manual. Although individually, mosses are small, seemingly insignificant plants, they are important in retarding soil erosion, in providing seed-beds and habitats for soil invertebrates, and in other aspects of ecosystem processing of materials. They also are subjects of study into mechanisms of drought resistance and of pollution effects. Provision of a reliable manual for the identification of Central American mosses will facilitate such studies for tropical regions of the world. As well, such a manual will help stabilize the scientific nomenclature of these plants and provide data for assessing their historical biogeography.