17 - Documenting plant species in a changing climate: a case study from Arabia

Summary

Abstract

Plant taxonomy must re-evaluate its outputs in order to be part of an effective response to climate change. Traditional taxonomic works, such as floras and monographs, are not appropriate tools for plant conservation and monitoring programmes. Such outputs need to be more widely supplemented with practical, field-based publications (field guides), which are more suited to providing rapid species identifications in the field. This chapter argues that to be as effective and as inclusive as possible, plant field guides need to be based on images rather than text. Using recent case studies from the Arabian Peninsula, we present a series of practical methods for documenting plant species using digital photography and assess the advantages and disadvantages of digital image-based identification.

Introduction: current Arabian climate

The latest climate projections for the Arabian region predict significant change by the end of the twenty-first century. According to Dawson (2007), under a low-emissions scenario (B2a), across much of the region, the mean winter temperature is predicted to have increased by 3 °C and the mean summer temperature by up to 4 °C in 2070–99. In the same period, under a high-emissions scenario (A1f), predictions suggest that the mean winter temperature will have increased by 5 °C across much of the region. The mean summer temperature is likely to increase by up to 6 °C in the south and 7 °C in the north of Arabia.