THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, JAN. 8 . What do prehistoric fossils have to do with global climate change? A lot, according to Cheng-Sen Li, president of the Palaeobotanical Association of China.Mr. Sen Li, who was in the capital recently, said that palaeobotany had opened up a new research frontier based on the study of fossil plants which might yield clues to the evolution of plant biodiversity and global climate changes. He is trying to work out collaboration between the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the Indian National Science Academy (INSA) for research on plant fossils.
Mr. Sen Li, who heads a research group at the Institute of Botany under the CAS, said that the collaborative programme would focus on the biodiversity hotspots in Kerala and Assam where the likelihood of coming across fossils was higher. He said it would be interesting to study the difference in the evolution of plants in India and China.
"Plant evolution and climate change are closely linked. Plants are good indicators of the environment and hence evolutionary changes in the plant kingdom are bound to reflect on the quality of the environment. Palaeobotanical studies will also provide vital clues to global climate changes," he said.
The joint project will involve a geological mapping of the study sites and a field survey for fossil fragments which will later be subjected to a battery of analytical tests. CAS has active bilateral exchange programmes with 10 countries for palaeobotanical research.
Mr. Sen Li said the availability of modern equipment and advanced techniques like the electron microscope and carbon dating had revolutionised palaeobotanical research in the recent period.
He said that the Chinese Government had recognised the need to encourage the development of this science. "Thanks to the grants released through the National Science Foundation, research projects have taken off and young students are attracted to this sector," he said. Mr. Sen Li was here as a delegate to the national seminar on ``Plant Taxonomy and Biodiversity Conservation'' organised by the Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute.
Another delegate who attended the seminar, R. Geeta from the USA, called for more international collaborative programmes on biodiversity conservation.An Associate Professor at the Department of Ecology and Evolution, State University of New York, Ms. Geeta highlighted the need to ensure equal sharing of resources while working out partnership projects.
"Heightened awareness about biological wealth should not lead to paranoia. Every country will have to share its expertise in research with the necessary checks and balances. Botanical diversity has to be viewed not merely as a resource, but as a component of the ecology. Conservation policies should not be based on a Green Gold concept, they should be centred on an ecosystem view," she said.
Ms. Geeta fears that traditional biology had taken a back seat to technology — driven inputs like molecular genetics. "Biotechnology without biology is useless. Unfortunately, high-technology inputs like molecular analysis techniques are gaining popularity at the expense of traditional biological research methods like morphology (the science of the structure of animals and plants) and taxonomy (science dealing with the identification, naming and classification of plants and animals)''.
She sees the need for basic studies focussing on the historical view of biodiversity. "We need more training in phylogenetic studies which help to unravel the evolutionary relationship between organisms. Understanding this relationship is crucial to the preparation of a biodiversity conservation strategy."Ms. Geeta's research focuses on understanding the history of biological diversification. Her work involves the marriage of traditional botany with modern molecular genetics and phylogenetics. She is at present working on the evolution of dioscorea, a type of yam and of reproductive development in flowering plants.
