The Philippines archipelago contains unique floral and faunal diversity that is critically threatened by habitat loss, with only 3-7% of original habitat remaining. To address the urgent need for further documenting this diversity in the face of impending large-scale species extinction, the five year NSF-funded project “Plant Discovery in the Southern Philippines” will document the land plants and lichens of the southern Philippines (Visayas and Mindanao) through a series of large field expeditions and subsequent taxonomic study.
Expedition 2, led by Peter Fritsch of BRIT, will include 20 Filipino and international participants (botanists and lichenologists) who will survey Negros Island and the Marilog Forest on the island of Mindanao over the month of December 2019. The expedition will begin this week and include BRIT participants Peter Fritsch, Manuela Dal Forno, and Brandy Watts.
