Stuart Cable
Research Leader
I lead Kew’s science programme in Madagascar and direct the Kew Madagascar Conservation Centre (KMCC) in Antananarivo. The KMCC team consists of 12 Malagasy botanists who manage a portfolio of projects, aligned across Kew’s science strategy, that bridge the gap between academic research and action on the ground. Our vision is to build KMCC into a centre of excellence for conservation science and for providing technical training to students and professionals. Our goal is to help Madagascar to avert large-scale species extinctions and to restore biodiversity and natural capital on deforested land. My main interests are: 1) to enhance biodiversity research by using phylogenomics, niche modelling and statistical pattern recognition technologies to accelerate identification and massively increase available data; and 2) to remove the constraints to conservation through developing ecologically sustainable and economically viable production systems that can replace shifting cultivation and mobilize farmers to put trees back into the landscape.
- BSc (Hons), Tropical Environmental Science
- MSc, Machine-perception and neuro-computing
- Expertise on the flora of Africa and Madagascar
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Madagascar yam conservation for livelihoods
Conserving Madagascar’s edible wild yams through cultivation to enhance livelihoods and food security.
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Global Tree Seed Bank Programme
Conserving some of the world’s rarest, endangered and useful tree and shrub species as well as conducting vital tree conservation research in order to retain a significant resource for humanity.
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Accelerating regeneration and providing alternative livelihoods in Madagascar’s dry forests
Understanding the effects of dry forest degradation and fires on biodiversity to inform accelerated forest restoration by local communities in Ankarafantsika National Park.
Hawthorne, W.D., Cable, S. & Marshall, C.A.M. (2014).
Empirical Trials of Plant Field Guides.
Conservation Biology 28: 654-662.
Randriamboavonji T., Wilkin P., Rajaovelona L. & Cable S. (2013).
Utilisation et conservation durable des ignames du corridor forestier Ambositra-Vondrozo, Madagascar.
Scripta Botanica Belgica 50: 241-348.
Snow, N., Rabenantoandro, J., Randriatafika, F., Rabehevitra, D., Razafimamonjy, N.D. & Cable S. (2012).
Studies of Malagasy Eugenia (Myrtaceae)-III: Seven new species of high conservation concern from the eastern littoral forests.
Phytotaxa 48: 39-60.
Muthama Muasya A., Larridon, I., Reynders, M., Huygh, W., Goetghebeur, P., Cable S., Simpson, D.A. & Gehrke B. (2011).
The Cyperaceae in Madagascar show increased species richness in upland forest and wetland habitats.
Plant Ecology and Evolution 144: 357-362
Cable, S. (2010)
New directions and challenges for the conservation of the flora of Madagascar. In: Bramwell, D. & Caujapé-Castells, J. (eds).
The Biology of Island Floras. Cambridge University Press, UK.