Pearce, Laura
Job TitleHerbarium Assistant
DepartmentHerbarium. Library, Art & Archives
SectionRegional Teams
Science Teams:
Joined Kew: 2005
Foreign Language(s): Intermediate French and basic Spanish
Qualifications & Appointments
HND, Horticulture with Plantsmanship, RBG Edinburgh & Scottish Agricultural College, 2000
MSc, Plant Diversity (Taxonomy and Evolution Stream) Univ. Reading, 2003
Role
Curation of families assigned to Wet Tropics Africa team, IUCN Conservation Assessments, and Checklist production.
Herbarium curation duties. Producing conservation posters on endangered Cameroonian plants, presented to NGOs, government officials and educational bodies. Aid in the production of IUCN Red Data assessments for taxa occurring in Cameroon checklists.
Undertakes regular botanical inventories and environmental impact assessments in West and Central African countries including the Republic of Congo, Cameroon and Guinea (Conakry). Manages the preparation, recording and processing of botanical specimens and trains up Francophone students in collections management in the field. Has lead an ethnobotanical survey team and taught on the Herbarium Techniques Course in the Republic of Congo.
Is responsible for the identification of specimens from up to 20 families (with a focus on climbing plants).
Projects
- Congo (Brazzaville): Surveys and Capacity Building
- Dom, Bamenda Highlands Phase 2: reducing forest fragmentation and protecting what remains
- Guinea (Conakry): Developing botanical capacity, a National Herbarium and Red Data book
- The Plants of Mefou Proposed National Park, Yaoundé, Cameroon: A Conservation Checklist
Selected Recent Publications
Pearce, L. (2011). Author/co-author of numerous family accounts. In Cheek, M., Harvey, Y. & Onana, J.-M. The Plants of Mefou proposed National Park, Yaoundé, Cameroon: A Conservation Checklist. Pp. 252. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Pearce, L. (2010). Author/co-author of numerous family accounts. In Harvey, Y., Tchiengue, B. & Cheek, M. The plants of Lebialem Highlands, Cameroon: A Conservation Checklist. Pp 170. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Pearce, L. (2010). Author/co-author of numerous family accounts. In Cheek, M., Harvey, Y. & Onana, J.-M. The Plants of Dom, Bamenda Highlands, Cameroon: A Conservation Checklist. Pp 162. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
