The South African National Plant Checklist: Maintaining the taxonomic backbone for a megadiverse country

• Published in: Biodiversity Information Science and Standards 2021-09, Vol.5
• Main Authors: Klopper, Ronell, Winter, Pieter, Le Roux, Marianne
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Algae; Biodiversity; Bryophyta; Check lists; Classification; Conifers; Ferns; Flowering; Flowers & plants; Genera; Information systems; Magnoliophyta; Marchantiophyta; Mosses; Taxonomy
• ISSN: 2535-0897; 2535-0897
• DOI: 10.3897/biss.5.73899

Updated country and regional plant checklists for southern Africa have been available for several decades. These form the backbone of foundational and applied biodiversity-related processes, e.g., herbarium specimen curation, conservation assessments, and biodiversity policy and planning activities. A plant taxonomic backbone for South Africa has been maintained electronically since the 1970s; originally in the custom-built National Herbarium, Pretoria Computerised Information System (PRECIS) database; and currently in the Botanical Database of Southern Africa (BODATSA), using Botanical Research & Herbarium Management System (BRAHMS) software. The BODATSA species table contains ca. 129,000 names of fungi, algae, mosses, lycophytes and ferns, conifers, and flowering plants. Taxonomic backbone data is continuously expanded, updated, and improved following strict policies and standards in an attempt to keep it up-to-date and current. The South African National Plant Checklist (SANPC) Policy stipulates that a single classification is followed for taxonomic groups at the family level and above. Thus a classification system was chosen for each plant group represented in the backbone. For genera and below, the latest published evidence-based classification is followed. Where there are opposing classifications for a group based on similar data, the SANPC Committee decides which classification is most suitable from a southern African perspective. Researchers can also make an appeal to the Committee not to follow the latest publication, if it is controversial. Updating primarily involves keeping track of literature references and the taxon additions, synonymies, and other taxonomic and nomenclatural changes they represent. Attributes affected by such changes are adjusted in the taxon module of BODATSA. Currently the taxonomic backbone for indigenous and naturalised mosses, liverworts, hornworts, ferns and lycophytes, conifers, and flowering plants is actively maintained and updated. Fungal names are not curated in BODATSA, as the Mycology Unit of the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) of South Africa maintains a taxonomic backbone for fungi. In future, all fungal names will be migrated to a separate instance of BRAHMS, and links to the ARC database will be established to update the fungal backbone. Previously algae were not included in BODATSA or the SANPC, but algal names are now being added to the backbone. Only names of green and red algae will be added initiall