HEYWOOD, VERNON H. Centre for Plant Diversity & Systematics, School of Plant Sciences, The University of Reading, Reading RG6 6AS, UK. - Floristics and monography – an uncertain future?
Like much of the rest of taxonomy, both floristics and monography, two
of its principal outputs, are being subjected, albeit slowly, to the
dramatic changes in concepts and methodology that are affecting other
parts of these fields. After a number of false starts, electronic
web-based preparation and publication of floristic and taxonomic
projects, in the form of continually updated information systems and
databases, are beginning to replace conventional time- and
information-limited Floras and, to a lesser extent, monographs.
Coincidental with these developments, the value of floristics is being
questioned by some biologists on the grounds of its lack of scientific
objectivity and its weakening of systematics as a scientific
endeavour, while at the same time its fundamental importance, under
the guise of completing the inventory of biodiversity, is being
emphasized by other biologists and by the Convention on Biological
Diversity and the Global Taxonomic Initiative. Other important
developments that will affect the way in which floristics and
monography are pursued, is the questioning of the continuing relevance
of the Linnaean hierarchical structure of biological classification
and proposals to replace it with a phylogenetic structure, and
proposals to adopt phylogenetic species concepts. Both of these,
however scientifically justified, would drastically affect the
accessibility of the units of taxonomy to a large number of
non-specialist users. In contrast to this, we are beginning to see in
taxonomy policy-making, an increasing sensitivity to societal and
ethical concerns that characterize ‘post-normal science’, including
the recognition of the need to command strong public identification
such as response to user needs and concerns, and an acceptance that
floristic and taxonomic work cannot be pursued as open-ended,
long-term enterprises, because of the time limit imposed by human
activities in destroying the very resource base of biodiversity that
it is aimed at studying.
Key words: inventory, post-normal science, systematics, taxonomy