Program for the Human Environment

“The Encylopedia of Life has issued its 2nd Annual Report as well as a newsy press release which received coverage in at least 24 nations and 12 languages, including a lively article by the Spanish wire service EFE.

Resources for the Future publishes an important discussion paper by Paul Waggoner on “Forest Inventories: Discrepancies and Uncertainties.“  The paper organizes and documents the poor, confusing state of measurement and monitoring of forest area, growing stock, biomass, and carbon.

Jesse’s commentary, “A Botanical Macroscope“, about the DNA plant barcode and its implications for the Encyclopedia of Life and related e-Biosphere initiatives, appeared in the 4 August issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (vol. 106, no. 31 12569b)

A global survey of avian tissue resources, co-authored by Mark Stoeckle, appears in the July 2009 issue of The Auk. The survey identifies over 317,000 specimens in 29 collections representing 7,226 species (73% of world birds). This is an outgrowth of work he began in 2005 as part of All Birds Barcoding Initiative and is the first compilation of genetic resources for any large group of organisms.

"A Global Snapshot of Avian Tiss ue Collections: State of the Enterprise" (PDF)

Award-winning journalist Bob Drogin publishes an excellent feature article about the Census of Marine Life in the Los Angeles Times.