| dc.description.abstract | We are currently facing a rapid decline in biodiversity. More than 20% of all plants are threatened by extinction. Loss of plants may have drastic effects on our lives as they represent a fundamental part of the biodiversity providing food, timber, medicine, and other ecosystem services. To conserve biodiversity, we must first understand what it consists of as well as the processes shaping it.
The purpose of this study was to contribute toward a greater understanding of plant diversity and distribution in Norway in order to guide conservation of threatened plants. We combined different types of data (morphological, genetic, geographical) and methods (population genetics, phylogenetics, ecological niche modeling) to study taxonomic, ecological, evolutionary and conservation aspects of two red-listed plants. The value of natural history collection in biodiversity studies was evaluated through the use of herbarium material within two of the included articles.
A kinship hypothesis, also called a phylogenetic tree, can be used for a variety of downstream analyses. Integrated, these analyses may contribute towards holistic biodiversity knowledge. In this study we developed and tested a set of Hyb-Seq probes for the Carex genus (Cyperaceae), with the ultimate goal of unraveling its internal relationships. We further performed a literature search to study the use of phylogenies within different biological disciplines during the last 50 years, and the relevance of resolved phylogenies for biodiversity conservation practices. | en_US |
