WPC 2 M B P V ` Courier 10cpi | x ? x x x , k x 6 X @ 8 ; X @ Leonard Krishtalka ' 2 3 ' 3 ' 3 ' 3 ' 4 < D L ! 3 ' 3 ' 3 ' 3 ' 3 ' 3 ' 3 ' 3 ' 3 ' 3 ' 3 ' 3 ' " 4 < D L ! ` h p x (# # x P C X P# 9300787 Daly This four year biodiversity project will survey and document the plants of the Amazonian state of Acre, Brazil. Acre, on the border with Peru and Bolivia, is being subjected to uncontrolled deforestation and immigration from neighboring areas. A million hectares in Acre have been survey geographical transects and establish permanent study sites, which will be monitored by local groups after the project is ended. The survey will concentrate on gathering systematic, geographic, ecological, economic and ethnobotanical data. Trees will be mapped to relocate populations for study of morphological variation, population structure and management of forest products. Representative botanical collections will remain in local and national herbaria for scientific reference and study, and for student training. One product of the survey will be a database signed to serve as a checklist of plants, a tool for mapping species distributions, a resource for medicinal plant use in the reserves, and a tool for studies of economic botany. The database will be linked to other databases of Amazonian economic plants. The project has strong in country collaboration with the Acre state agency (FUNTAC), which is interested in identification of the plants collected by the rubber tappers, and with ongoing ethnobotanical studies of the Kaxinawa Indians. U.S. collaborators include the Smithsonian's Tropical Research Institute, which is involved in reconstructing past climates of the area. %%% The Amazonian state of Acre, Brazil, on the border with Peru and Bolivia, is being subjected to uncontrolled deforestation. A million hectares in Acre have been set aside as extractive reserves to foster sustainable economic development and use of the forest products, such as rubber and Brazil nuts. To that end, this four year biodiversity project will survey and document the plants of Acre for biotic research and economic development of sustainable resources. The project has strong collaboration with Brazilian scientists and students, with special emphasis on the ethnobotanical knowledge of the Kaxinawa Indians. Also, the Smithsonian's Tropical Research Institute is involved in reconstructing past climates of the area. The futu re of extractive reserves in Acre and their economic and sustainable use hinges on documenting its plants before the habitats are lost. ` h p x (# ` h p x (# ***
