The Reflora Project has profoundly impacted the scientific practice of Brazilian botany. Many scientists consider the initiative a watershed moment, marking an evolution from a time when research occurred much more slowly and at a higher cost, as it largely depended on visits to numerous European and American herbaria, where samples of our flora, dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries, are stored. Today, thanks to the Reflora virtual herbarium, these samples can be accessed online, with a simple click, in high resolution. In total, there are over 3 million photographic records obtained through partnerships with 70 herbaria spread across the world.
However, the full extent of the benefits of Reflora, an initiative of CNPq (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development) in partnership with the Botanical Garden of Rio de Janeiro and supported by members of the private sector, such as Natura, is still being measured and evaluated by researchers.
According to data from the Flora do Brasil 2020 project, today 46,491 species of Brazilian flora are known, including 4,754 Algae, 33,094 Angiosperms, 1,564 Bryophytes, 5,718 Fungi, 30 Gymnosperms, and 1,331 Ferns and Lycophytes.
"Considering that Brazil is at the same average as the Americas, between 10-20% of the vascular plant species in Brazil remain to be described by science," says Rafaela Forzza, a researcher at the Botanical Garden and coordinator of Reflora. "This would be something between 3,500 to 7,000 species still to be described in our flora."
These figures are part of a larger study that provided a mapping of the flora of the Americas and was published in the prestigious scientific journal Science. Rafaela, from the Botanical Garden, was one of the researchers involved in the study.
And the Reflora Project is essential in mapping these Brazilian species. "In 2008, if you had asked me how many species we have in the Brazilian Amazon, for example, it would have been impossible to answer succinctly," says Rafaela. "Today, we have that answer, of course based on the knowledge accumulated to date, which is still being built."
To ensure that the analysis work continues in 2018, Natura provided new support that enables two more postdoctoral fellowships. In this new phase, the investment will focus on a more thorough evaluation of results.
"We still have a relatively small analysis of the impact that the project has had on Brazilian botany," says Rafaela. "Our access numbers are enormous, but this detailed analysis is complex. Therefore, these postdoctoral fellowships will be important for evaluating the impact of the repatriated samples."
The researcher also mentions another important role that Reflora plays not only for the scientific community but for society as a whole: the battle for environmental conservation.
The National Center for Flora Conservation, from the Botanical Garden of Rio de Janeiro, aims to classify all species of its cataloged flora by threat categories by 2020. To make this assessment, the agency currently uses information from Reflora.
"Geographical references of each species and their respective risk are used. Each sample is a point on the map, and the more points you have, the better to establish a complete overview," says Rafaela. "Reflora is now a primary source for this risk assessment."
These are some of the factors that make Reflora an extremely relevant project in Brazilian botany, which will continue to have an impact in the years to come as more science is developed from the data cataloged so far. Natura supports Reflora and research around national biodiversity, so that even more fruits come from this work.
