XVI International Botanical Congess

Floristicians are empirical botanists scientists who document, catalogue, and decipher variation among organisms. Often, so much time is expended in these endeavors that field biologists lose sight of the importance of the basic biological information they provide. In this presentation, we show how geographic information systems can be used to 'unlock' the biodiversity data stored in natural history collections, using information so solve problems in conservation biology and formation of public policy. Specific studies show how data from biological inventories conducted on military reservations and in metropolitan districts within the United States have been interpreted in land use planning, ecosystem restoration projects, and efforts to conserve the habitats of endangered species. Floristic data has a demonstrated utility in predicting species habitats, effects of climatic change on plant distributions, and temporal trends in patterns of diversity. The taxon-specific information for projects discussed is drawn from authoritative sources, including the Flora of North America project and local floristics studies in Utah and New York City.