Ashton, Peter S.
Job Title
Taxonomist (Honorary Research Associate)
Department
Herbarium
Section
Honorary Research Associate
Science Teams:
Foreign Language(s):
Malay, Iban, French (spoken only)Qualifications & Appointments
BA Univ. Cambridge, 1956
MA, Univ. Cambridge, 1960
PhD, Cambridge University, 1962
Hon. MA, Harvard University, 1979
Hon. DSc, Univ. Peradeniya, 2002
Trustee, Massachusetts Horticultural Society (1980-86)
Corporation Member, Boston Museum of Science (1980-86)
Trustee, New England Wildflower Society (1983-86)
Board, Coolidge Center for Environmental Leadership (Trustee 1983-94, Chair 1983-85)
Trustee, Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Mass. (1987-2001)
President, Int. Assoc. of Botanic Gardens & Arboreta (1987-93)
Trustee, Fauna and Flora Preservation Society, USA (1987-89)
Founding President, Center for Plant Conservation, Inc. (1988-93)
Board of Governors, U.S. Nature Conservancy (1989-96)
Advisory Board, Center for Tropical Forest Science, Smithsonian Trop. Res. Inst.
Tropics Committee, Royal Society of London.
Role
Monographic, field and evolutionary studies of Dipterocarpaceae, the species-rich family that dominates the canopy of lowland forests in Asia; ecology of tree communities and forests of the Asian tropics; origin and maintenance of tree species diversity. Current projects include a revision of Myrtaceae for the ‘Tree Flora of Sabah and Sarawak' (submitted) and a book on the forests of tropical Asia, in part to set the context for the design of the STRI/CTFS network of 10 long term forest research sites, and collaborations, throughout tropical Asia.
Selected Recent Publications
- Potts, M.D., Ashton, P.S., Kaufman, L.S., & Plotkin, J.B. (2002). Habitat patterns in tropical rain forests: a comparison of 105 plots in northwest Borneo. Ecology 83(10): 2782–2797.
- Ashton, P.S. (2002). Dipterocarpaceae. In Kubitzki, K. (ed) The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants, IV. Flowering Plants. Dicotyledons: Malvales, Capparales and Non-betalain Caryophyllales. Berlin: Springer Verlag. 182-197.
- Ashton, P.S., Kamariah, A.S. & Said, I.M. (2003). A Field guide to the Forest Trees of Brunei Darussalam. Darussalam: Universiti Brunei. Pp 281.
- Ashton, P.S. & Appanah, S. (2004). Revision of C.F. Symington's Forester’s Manual of Dipterocarps. Malaysia: Malayan Nature Society and Forest Research Institute.
- Ashton, P.S. (2005). Dipterocarpaceae. In Soepadmo, E., Saw, L.G. & Chung, R.C.K. (eds) Tree Flora of Sabah and Sarawak. Malaysia: FRIM. 63-388, 485-486, 495-498.
Selected Earlier Publications
- Ashton, P.S. (1964). Ecological studies in the mixed Dipterocarp forests of Brunei State. Oxford Forestry Memoirs, 25. Pp 197.
- Ashton, P.S. (1969). Speciation among tropical forest trees: Some deductions in the light of recent evidence. In Lowe-McConnell, R.H. (ed) Speciation in tropical environments. London: Academic Press. 155-196.
- Ashton, P.S. (1982). Dipterocarpaceae. Flora Malesiana 1(9): 237-552.
- Ashton, P.S. (1986). La regénération dans les forêts de plaine de l’interieur du Sud Vietnam, 10 ans suive pulverization aerienne de l’agent Orange comme défoliant. Bois et Forêt des Tropiques 211: 3-34.
- Panayotou, T. & Ashton, P.S. (1992). Not by Timber Alone: Economics and Ecology for Sustaining Tropical Forests. Washington, DC: Island Press. Pp 280.
