People
Smith, Paul P.
| Job Title | Head of Seed Conservation Department |
|---|---|
| Department | Seed Conservation |
| Section | Head |
| Science Teams |
Large-Scale Syntheses Drylands: Africa Madagascar Millennium Seed Bank Project |
| Joined Kew | 1997 |
| Foreign Language(s) | French |
Qualifications & Appointments
BSc (Hons), Microbiology, Univ. Kent, 1986
PhD, Univ. Kent, 1991.
International Editor, Oryx
Board, Trapnell Fund for Environmental Research in Africa, University of Oxford.
Role
Plant ecology and seed conservation in southern, central and eastern Africa.
Management of MSBP; formerly engaged in botanical inventory (plant collection and naming), ecological survey (vegetation and soil ground studies), vegetation mapping (photo-interpretation from aerial photography, satellite imagery), environmental impact assessment (studies carried out in Tanzania, Zambia and Madagascar), vegetation monitoring (long term studies set up in mopane and miombo woodland in Zambia), park planning (co-author of management plan for Zambia’s North Luangwa National Park), ecotourism (involvement in the ecotourism industry for >10 years) and generalist plant identification (southern, central and east Africa). More recently (2000-2005) concentrating on seed-collecting in southern Africa, and co-ordination and participation in seed-collecting activities for the Millennium Seed Bank Project in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Malawi and Madagascar. Also published a field guide to the miombo woodlands of south-central Africa, and have carried out botanical survey work in Botswana, Madagascar and Zambia.
Projects
CEPF Madagascar Vegetation Mapping
Darwin Initiative Research Exercise on Community Tree Seeds (DIRECTS) in Africa
Darwin 15/036: Monitoring and Managing Biodiversity Loss in South-East Africa’s Montane Ecosystems
Field Guides: Published and Planned
Legume Seed Collection for the Millennium Seed Bank
Madagascar Threatened Plants Project
Millennium Seed Bank Project China Programme
MSB Enhancement Project Part 1A – Species Targeting
Collecting and Conserving Wild Species from Madagascar and Building Seed Conservation Capacity
Collecting and Conserving Wild Species from Malawi and Building Seed Conservation Capacity
Southern Madagascar Littoral Forest Tree Guide
Theme: Climate and Reproductive Biology
Selected Publications 2001-2005
Smith, P.P. (2001). Ecological Survey of Zambia: the traverse records of C.G. Trapnell 1932-1942. 2 vols + 2 maps & memoir. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Bingham, M.G. & Smith, P.P. (2002). Zambia – Red Data List. In Golding, J.S. (ed) Southern African Plant Red Data List. Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report Series No. 14. Pretoria, South Africa: National Botanical Institute. 135-156.
Smith, P.P. & Trapnell, C.G. (2002). Chipya in Zambia: a review. Kirkia 18: 16-34.
Lowry, P.P. II & Smith, P.P. (2003). Closing the gulf between botanists and conservationists. Conservation Biology 17(4): 1175-1176.
Smith, P.P. & Allen, Q. (2004). Field Guide to the Trees and Shrubs of the Miombo Woodlands. Kew: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 176 pp.
Selected Publications pre-2001
Smith, P.P. (1995). Common Trees, Shrubs and Grasses of the Luangwa Valley. (incl. 14 colour plates). Zennor, Cornwall: Trendrine Press. 46 pp.
Smith, P.P. (1995). A Report on the Vegetation Survey of the North Luangwa National Park 1993-1995. A study commissioned by NLCP for the Zambian National Parks & Wildlife Service (35,000 words; incl. map).
Smith, P.P. (1997). A preliminary checklist of the vascular flora of the North Luangwa National Park, Zambia. Kirkia 16: 205-245.
Smith, P.P. (1998). A reconnaissance survey of the vegetation of the North Luangwa National Park, Zambia. Bothalia 28: 197-211.
Smith, P.P. & Shah-Smith, D.A. (1999). An investigation into the relationship between physical damage and fungal infection in Colophospermum mopane. African Journal of Ecology 37: 27-37.