Research Participation in a Survey of the Natural Resources of the Venezuelan Guayana Region

这项发展中国家科学计划奖将在Brian Boom博士的指导下，为纽约植物园的七名科学家提供旅行支持，参加对委内瑞拉瓜亚纳地区自然资源的调查。这项为期十年的调查由威尼佐拉纳瓜亚纳公司(CVG)于1985年发起，目前正通过委内瑞拉的西部大草原国家实验大学(UNLLEZ)进行。纽约植物园的科学家将作为植物学顾问和收藏家与他们合作。调查行程大多由直升机提供支持，为在瓜亚纳偏远且基本上未被探索的森林地区收集植物标本提供了无与伦比的机会。经过一年和十次旅行的计划，应该收集1200-15400个标本。由于调查小组的多学科性质，这些标本将与卫星遥感和地面真实生态数据密切相关。这些藏品不仅将增加我们对瓜亚纳植物地理学的了解，还将有助于我们对区域生物多样性的了解。

This Science in Developing Countries Program award will provide travel support to seven New York Botanical Garden scientists under the direction of Dr. Brian Boom, to participate in a survey of the natural resources of the Venezuelan Guayana region. Initiated in 1985 by the Corporacion Venezolana de Guayana (CVG), this ten-year survey is being done through the Universidad Nacional Experimental de los Llanos Occidentales "Ezequiel Zamora" (UNELLEZ) in Venezuela. The New York Botanical Garden scientists will be cooperating with them as botanical consultants and collectors. The survey trips, most of them helicopter-supported, offer unparalleled opportunities to collect plant specimens in remote, and largely unexplored forest regions of the Guayana. After a year and a schedule of ten trips, 1,200 - 15,400 specimens should be collected. Due to the multi-disciplinary nature of the survey teams, these specimens will be well-correlated with satellite remote-sensing and ground-truth ecological data. The collections will not only add much to our knowledge of Guayana phytogeography, but will also contribute to our understanding of regional biodiversity.