New UKRI-funded research project will explore little-known biodiversity in the Amazon basin
The Natural History Museum announces a new research project to tackle major environmental challenges.
The Tsiino Hiiwiida: unveiling multiple dimensions of plant and fungal biodiversity of the Upper Rio Negro project will accelerate the discovery of plants and fungi in one of the least explored regions of the Amazon basin, filling in critical knowledge gaps in a region which is under threat from mining and deforestation.
This three-year project, ‘Tsiino Hiiwiida: unveiling multiple dimensions of plant and fungal biodiversity of the Upper Rio Negro’, will be co-led by Dr Sandra Knapp, Interim Director of Research Themes at the Natural History Museum, acting as the sole international partner. The Cabeça de Cachorro (Tsiino Hiiwiida in the indigenous language of the Baniwa people) is a biologically and culturally unique region in the Amazon, in the remote region of the upper Rio Negro. It has been an epicentre for discovering new and endemic species, though until now, much of its botanical diversity has been less well-documented than other areas in northern South America, not only for flowering plants but also for important forest components such as mosses and fungi. This three-year project is supported by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) as part of UKRI’s investment in the Brazilian led Amazonia+10 Initiative.
Through the collection of samples, this project intends to accelerate the discovery of plants and fungi in one of the least explored regions of the Amazon basin, filling in critical knowledge gaps across evolution, taxonomy and biogeography. Mining and deforestation in the area are increasingly creating environmental change and disrupting the integrity of the ecosystem, impeding conservation efforts.
The project will provide new insights into the evolution of Amazonian biodiversity that will directly aid conservation, as well as describing previously undocumented plant and fungal diversity in a global hotspot. Project workers will collaborate with and empower local indigenous communities, providing training and locally relevant tools for the ongoing monitoring of diversity. This project will offer a novel glimpse into the diversity of this extraordinarily rich region and coupled with historical items held in the Museum’s collections, provide a unique perspective on the colonial and cultural importance of this region.
Dr Sandra Knapp, Interim Director of Research Themes at the Natural History Museum and co-lead of the Tsiino Hiiwiida project says: “I am thrilled to be part of this project led by my Brazilian colleagues to explore lesser-known elements of botanical diversity such as mosses and fungi in order to really get a real picture of Amazonian plant diversity. Working in an area that was visited by the naturalists Alfred Russel Wallace and Richard Spruce in the 19th century is also a fantastic opportunity to share archival materials with local people and begin important dialogue about the future of these precious forests.”
This project is part of the Natural History Museum’s research into understanding why biodiversity is changing to inform conservation efforts and policies that can halt and reverse its decline. Tsiino Hiiwiida contributes to our Evolution of Life thematic area.
ENDS
Notes to editors
Tsiino Hiiwiida: unveiling multiple dimensions of plant and fungal biodiversity of the Upper Rio Negro’. Part of a Brazilian-led ‘Amazon+10 Initiative’ which aims to support research and technological development in Brazilian Legal Amazonia. The Natural History Museum are the only international partner on this project, aligning with a Brazilian partnership led by Charles Eugene Zartmann of Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA). This project is funded by NERC and AHRC as part of UKRI.
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