Annual Report 2016

Botanic Garden Meise Annual report 2016

Botanic Garden Meise Annual report 2016

Content Discovering and recording biodiversity 6 – 12 Understanding ecosystems 13 – 16 Safeguarding plant life 17 – 21 Bringing our heritage to life 22 – 25 (Re-)connecting plants and people 26 – 29 Inspiring and informing 30 – 38 Realising state-of-the-art visitor and research infrastructure 39 – 49 Organisation 50 – 54 Facts and figures 55 – 77

Foreword

In response to an increasingly globalised and changing world, the roles of botanic gardens have diversified, this is especially true for Botanic Garden Meise. National and international cooperation is at the forefront of our Garden’s activities helping to address issues caused by human activities that place mounting pressures on plant life. Often, people are unaware of these threats because of the phenomenon ‘plant blindness’, a term first introduced in 1998 by Wandersee & Schussler who broadly defined it as: “the inability to see or notice the plants in one's own environment, leading to the inability to recognize the importance of plants in the biosphere and in human affairs”. Plant blindness also comprises an “inability to appreciate the aesthetic and unique biological features” of plants and “the misguided, anthropocentric ranking of plants as inferior to animals, leading to the erroneous conclusion that they are unworthy of human consideration”.

In industrialised nations, plants often tend to be lost in the background. Fortunately, nature conservationists, biologists and botanists have been aware, for many decades, of the threats posed to plants and their environments and have taken action. The Botanical Congress in St Louis, USA (1999) recognised plant conservation as an urgent international priority. This was followed by The Gran Canaria Declaration (2000) and recognition that a specific strategy for plant conservation was needed by the Convention on Biological Diversity via the Conference of the Parties (COP). Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) and its General Secretary at that time, Peter WyseJackson, were instrumental in forging the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC). Over many international congresses estimated outcomes were refined and 16 targets set. These were legally adopted in 2002 by Belgium and all other signatory nations to the CBD. Many international organisations took responsibility, these included: - International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and BGCI. These organisations now act as ‘lead’ partners for each of the adopted targets. ‘Target 8: 60% of threatened plant species in accessible ex situ collections, preferably in the country of origin, and 10% of them in recovery and restoration programmes’ is in part led by BGCI.

This Target has particular relevance to botanic gardens.

Consequently, an international stakeholder consultation meeting was hosted by Botanic Garden Meise at the Bouchout Castle in 2003. Its aim to evaluate the scope of activities and implications for achieving that target by applying the ecosystem approach. At the same meeting, sub-targets, milestones, baseline data and a series of indicators for monitoring progress towards achieving Target 8 were developed. The GSPC was evaluated and reviewed with updated targets for the period 2011-2020. The new aim for Target 8 now reads: ‘At least 75 per cent of threatened plant species in ex situ collections, preferably in the country of origin, and at least 20 per cent available for recovery and restoration programmes’.

Currently, 196 countries hold the GSPC as a legally binding document. Each country has a ‘clearinghouse’ mechanism to help it work towards the GSPC. For Belgium, Botanic Garden Meise is this entity, represented by its CEO, Dr Steven Dessein.

This Annual Report of Botanic Garden Meise has been structured alongside the 16 targets of the GSPC. This allows Belgian politicians and decision makers with an easy to follow document on annual progress and facilitates its use internationally. Within our Garden the Strategy has been influential in focusing and developing programmes and activities. Through direct adoption of the Strategy, work on education and with organisations with strong in situ conservation links have been pivotal.

As President of the Board of Directors, I express the positive feelings from the Board with respect to the Gardens activities and express the hope that the forthcoming major developments enable our Garden to tackle the current and future challenges that beset our planet.

Jan Rammeloo

President of Board of Directors

Introduction

Garden tourism is on the rise, with 250 million annual visitors to botanical gardens and arboreta worldwide. With a doubling of the number of ‘one-time’ visitors, Botanic Garden Meise has followed this trend over the past decade and has become a major Belgian tourist attraction. In 2016 we welcomed nearly 132,000 visitors, a new record. We believe this has been driven by holding numerous events, including activities to celebrate the different seasons. Compared to other European gardens, however, the number of visitors remains relatively low. Therefore, in 2016 an ambitious business plan 'Botanic Garden 2.0’ was drafted with the aim of doubling the number of visitors to 250,000 by 2024. Tourism Flanders will support the plan in the coming years with a grant of €2.9 million. Obtaining this grant was an important milestone for our Garden.

Our Garden’s success as a tourist attraction in 2016 was complemented by important work from our scientists. In total they described 68 new species. These included tiny diatoms from Antarctic islands, edible Katangese mushrooms and endangered tree species from Gabon. In addition, the number of scientific contributions increased further and the Garden was nationally and internationally visible through participation in symposia, conferences and expeditions.

May 31 was a highlight for the Garden - in the presence of Minister Muyters the first herbarium specimen was digitised as part of the project ‘Unlocking Digital Heritage Collections’. At the end of the year, nearly 700,000 images had been made; they will shortly appear on our new website. Meanwhile, our gardeners made the necessary preparations to start planting the renovated glasshouses of the Plant Palace in 2017.

The importance of our educational mission, our research and scientific collections was also reflected in the number of successful projects achieved in 2016. Apart from

the grant for the previously mentioned tourism business plan, we acquired ten external projects. These were collaborative initiatives with Flemish, national and international institutes. There is increasing awareness of our scientists’ expertise and as a consequence we are undertaking more consultancies.

The strategic direction for the investments in our Garden is outlined in the ‘2015-2026 Master Plan’. This includes new visitor centres at both entrances and a new greenhouse complex. In addition to new builds, there are some aging utilities (over 60 years) that have reached the end of their usefulness. It will take several years before the entire infrastructure of the Garden is fit-for-purpose. In 2016, the sanitation network and electricity supply were the first major areas to be partly renovated and renewed.

The success of 2016 is the result of the entire Botanic Garden Meise team. I therefore wish to thank all the staff, guides, volunteers and members of the Scientific Council and Executive Board for their enthusiasm, ideas and continued commitment.

I trust as a reader of this report you will appreciate our many achievements of 2016 and I hope to welcome you soon in our Garden, as a researcher, participant of a MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferencing, and Exhibitions) activity or visitor.

Steven Dessein CEO

Discovering and recording biodiversity At present the total number of plant species on our planet remains unknown. Many are yet to be discovered, especially in the tropics and in certain groups like fungi and algae, this represents a serious scientific deficit. Since species are the fundamental building blocks of ecosystems, knowing them is essential to our understanding of how our living planet works.

Discovering, describing, naming and classifying species is at the core of our scientific research. Our taxonomists combine classic methods, such as morphology, histology and anatomy with modern techniques including scanning electron microscopy, digital imaging and DNA barcoding. The result aims to be a globally accepted, stable and scientific ordering of all life forms in a system that reflects their evolutionary origin. The taxonomic data and identification tools, such as floras, developed by our specialists are crucial for many other fields of research and for commercial purposes.

Photo Damien Ertz.

Ochrolechia kerguelensis Ertz & Kukwa, a new sub-Antarctic lichen species. <

New to science The diversity of plants, algae and fungi on earth is tremendous.

Despite the flora of some countries being well known many have species that still await discovery by scientists. Describing and naming new species is a core business of the taxonomists at Botanic Garden Meise.

Our Garden’s researchers are specialists in the floras of parts of Africa, South-East Asia and Antarctic islands, among other places. In these areas they conduct in-depth studies in search of taxonomic novelties. In 2016, staff from our Garden published a total of 68 species that were new to science.

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In the era of DNA analyses, generic limits are a major issue for many plant and fungal groups. Combining molecular evidence with detailed morphological data leads to a better understand of evolutionary relationship within plant families. For example, the Poaceae or grass family, necessitated the transfer of ten species from the genus Brachiaria to Urochloa as a result of this process.

Among them was the newly named Urochloa turbinata (Van der Veken) Sosef and U. wittei (Robyns) Sosef, both endemic of Katanga Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Photo Olivier Lachenaud.

Englerophytum gigantifolium O. Lachenaud & L. Gaut., a new species of Sapotaceae from Gabon.

The African genus Englerophytum (Sapotaceae) received five new species from studies in Central Africa. One of them, Englerophytum gigantifolium O. Lachenaud & L. Gaut., is known from a single locality in Gabon, where its habitat is threatened by mining. A decline in the extent and quality of its forest habitat, the number of sub-populations and mature individuals is therefore expected. As a result, E. gigantifolium’s preliminarily assessment using the categories and criteria of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is Critically Endangered. To determine if this is a true reflection of this species further field work is necessary to see if this species also occurs in other localities.

Phylogenetic studies conducted at Botanic Garden Meise allowed the description of four new African chanterelles (Cantharellus guineensis De Kesel & Yorou, C. mikemboensis De Kesel & Degreef, C. pseudomiomboensis De Kesel & Kasongo and C. stramineus De Kesel). It is amazing that edible species of fungi gathered by locals from woodlands and rain forests and sold in markets have, until now, lacked a scientific description and name!

In 2016, the rivers and streams of Central Africa revealed six new diatoms. One, Eunotia leonardii J.C.Taylor & Cocquyt, was named in honour of former staff member Jean Léonard who collected algal material in the vicinity of Kisangani (DRC) and which are deposited in our herbarium and available for further study.

The discovery of diatoms has helped swell the number of new species described in 2016. This was especially the case from samples gathered in the lakes and wet seepage areas of Antarctic islands where 29 diatoms were described and named. The Antarctic and sub-Antarctic regions remain an unknown and very exciting area for study. In addition to the haul of new diatoms, the new lichen, Ochrolechia kerguelensis Ertz & Kukwa, was described from the Kerguelen Islands. This taxon is now part of a worldwide phylogenetic revision of the genus undertaken by an international team including Botanic Garden Meise. The Garden is proud to have many international specialists on its staff who extend our knowledge of life on earth.

Relevant publications: 2, 10, 11, 15, 18, 19, 21, 30, 31, 32, 33, 44, 47, 51, 53, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60,61, 62, 63, 69, 74, 98

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Botanical inventories help Lomami achieve National Park status Botanic Garden Meise has a wealth of knowledge and experience in the collaboration of projects in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). One of these has been with the Lukuru Foundation, an organisation that supports great ape conservation field projects. The aim of this collaboration was to secure National Park status for a vast area (8,874 km2) of pristine forest in the largest, un-researched wooded area in the DRC. The considerable efforts of our Garden’s staff helped achieve this during 2016 when the DRC’s Prime Minister, Augustin Matata Ponyo, officially established the Parc National de la Lomami / Lomami National Park. It became the first National Park to be created in the country since 1970 and only the eighth granted with the highest level of protection.

We are proud to have played a role in this achievement.

The first expedition launched in 2015, when three botanical teams set out to Katopa. Two performed general inventories of the different forest and savanna types, while the third team conducted detailed inventories in one hectare forest plots. The teams included 10 trainee Congolese students and several pygmies who demonstrated their agility by climbing high trees to collect fruit and flowering material from the canopy.

To dry the collected plant material, primitive stoves were constructed above a bush fire. In this way, the first 500 dried plant specimens to be recorded from the area were dried and transported to Meise and St. Louis for identification by specialists.

These specimens revealed several species new to science. A small cabin was erected at the Katopa base camp to house a duplicate set of herbarium specimens to serve as a local reference assisting the identification of new material, such as those gathered by the trained students who continue to collect in the area.

Marc Sosef and programme leader Terese Hart crossing a savanna on their way back from Katopa base camp.

Photo Corneille Ewango.

Botanic Garden Meise became involved in the project after the Lukuru Foundation identified this important site in 2007. The area is located between the rivers Tsuapa, Lomami and Lualaba that flow through the Congo Basin landscape. After an initial period of installing a base camp at Katopa, recruiting guards and studying animal diversity, the Lukuru Foundation asked Botanic Garden Meise and Missouri Botanic Garden (St. Louis, USA) to assist in developing a botanical inventory of the area.

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Flowers of a new species of Psydrax (Rubiaceae) in the Lomami forests.

Photo Marc Sosef.

In May 2016, we were all shocked to receive news that the Katopa camp had been attacked by rebel soldiers and burned to the ground. Luckily, nobody was hurt, but the loss of material, including the reference herbarium, has proved a serious set-back for the program and demonstrated the importance of duplicating herbarium material off-site.

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Inside the highly diverse lowland rain forest, Mabounié, Gabon.

Photo Ehoarn Bidault.

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Exceptional progress towards completion of the Flora of Gabon The central African country of Gabon has an exceptional biodiversity. Its lowland rain forests cover 80% of the landmass and are considered the most species-rich in Africa. In recognition of this, in 2002, the former President of Gabon, Omar Bongo, created 13 new National Parks, covering 10% of the territory’s land surface. Our knowledge of the botanical diversity of Gabon, and notably within these parks is still limited. To date, around 5,500 species are known to occur in the country, but based on the frequency of recent discoveries the true number is thought to be over 7,000 species.

Millettia mannii, a small tree sometimes planted as an ornamental, Mabounié, Gabon.

Photo Olivier Lachenaud.

Botanic Garden Meise coordinates the production of the multivolume Flore du Gabon. In 2016, this series received an exceptional boost with the production of two volumes incorporating over 350 species. More than three quarters were within the papilionoid subfamily of the legumes. This great effort was co-authored by eight specialists, two of which work at Botanic Garden Meise.

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A Flora is an essential tool for conservation and therefore vital for the preservation and wise management of this botanically rich area. A park manager, for example, needs to know which species occur within their park, which are rare, those that only occur within Gabon, or are otherwise important for animals or mankind.

It is vital to be able to discriminate a rare species from a common relative and to glean knowledge of their ecology. This type of information is provided from a Flora through identification keys, correct scientific names, morphological descriptions highlighting diagnostic features, vernacular names, information on rarity, ecology, etc.

Preparing the family treatments is very time-consuming and can only be done by experts. The Flora of Gabon series started in the early 1960s by the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle in Paris.

By 2005, 60% of species had been treated in 37 volumes, but progress had slowed down. Then, our sister institute at Wageningen (Dept. of Biosystematics, Wageningen University, the Netherlands, now part of the Naturalis Biodiversity Centre at Leiden) took over the responsibility. Between 2009 and 2013, they published eight volumes covering 450 species. In 2014, Botanic Garden Meise and Naturalis agreed to jointly produce this Flora and our Garden coordinates all efforts. Botanical exploration continues in Gabon, increasing our knowledge of its botanical diversity and supporting the completion of Flore du Gabon.

Relevant publications: 129, 132, 133, 134, 138

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4x4 with collected banana suckers on top of the roof.

Photo Gabriel Sachter-Smith.

With an annual yield of over 140 million tons and an economic value of nearly 45 billion dollars, bananas are the fourth most important food crop on the planet after maize, wheat and rice. Of these enormous quantities, only 15% of the world’s banana production is exported to Europe and the US, 85% is consumed by local people in Asia, Africa and South America. For Africa alone, 90 million people are dependent on bananas for their daily nutrition.

Despite its high economic value and its large importance in food production, very little is known about the taxonomy, ecology and evolution of bananas. As a result, a three-week expedition was undertaken to one of the regions where the initial cultivation of bananas is thought to have occurred, Papua New Guinea. On Papua New Guinea (PNG), a team of five scientists from the National Agricultural Research Institute (Laloki, PNG), Bioversity International (Montpellier, France) and Botanic Garden Meise visited the remote island of Bougainville situated at ca. 800km from mainland PNG. The expedition aimed to find new cultivars of edible bananas that were not collected before as well as to investigate the different populations of wild bananas that occur on the island. In total 24 populations of two different wild bananas were collected (Musa bukensis and Musa maclayi ssp. maclayi) as well as ca. 50 new edible cultivars not found elsewhere and that are useful for further cultivation. The new banana cultivars were transported as living suckers to mainland PNG where they are currently grown in the Laloki banana field station. For each collection, detailed descriptions were made of habitat, overall morphology and associated animals and plant species. In the next phase, the wild populations of Musa bukensis and Musa maclayi ssp. maclayi and the newly collected banana cultivars will be examined using molecular methods in order to find out how quickly bananas reproduce in the wild and determine how many different origins of edible bananas exist.

Rare Musa Fe’i cultivar found on Buka Island.

Photo Gabriel Sachter-Smith.

Bananas from Bougainville Island (Papua New Guinea)

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Tropical Southeast Asia is one of the most species-rich regions in the world. Its high degree of species-richness is shaped by the areas’ geological and climatic history, which resulted in large differences between Indo-Burma (Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, southwestern China, Vietnam and Cambodia) and the Malayan Archipelago (Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines). Besides the presence of several different plant families in tropical Southeast Asia, this region also contains most of the species of the banana family. During a recent study on the evolution of bananas, we found a link between the origin and diversification of Musaceae (banana family), and the geological history of the Southeast Asian subcontinent. For this, we used molecular techniques, which helped us to construct a tree-of-life for the bananas. The Musaceae family was dated using known fossils, and evolutionary patterns were inferred using ancestral area reconstruction and diversification rate analyses. Our results showed that all main banana groups originated in northern Indo-Burma during the early Eocene (56 million years ago) when most of the Southeast Asian islands known today like Java and Borneo did not exist. Only when those islands emerged from the sea millions of years later and their climate was suitable for large tropical herbs to grow could banana species colonised this new land.

Dispersal pathway of the genus Musa in Southeast Asia the last 30 million years.

Photo Steven Janssens.

Evolutionary dynamics and biogeography of Musaceae

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The Field Guide to the wild plants of Benelux, a brand new, richly illustrated flora What blooms there? That is a question often asked by nature lovers. It is often not easy to give the scientifically correct answer. For wild plants in the Benelux a scientific Flora exists, but is intended for professional scientists, informed amateurs and botany students. With the present Field Guide, we want to make it possible for everyone who is interested to recognize wild plants.

This unique Field Guide illustrates more than 1,300 species of wild plants that can be observed in Belgium, the Netherlands and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and also in the border regions of northern France. Only grasses, sedges and rushes have not been included. The Guide uses the latest methodology regarding the classification of flowering plants and the delimitation of species. This rigorous scientific basis is supplemented by more than 5,000 pin-sharp images, which illustrate both the growth habit of the plant down to the smallest details of the flowers. Some flowers have been photographed in such detail for the first time. The final images are the result of focus stacking photography on fresh plant material. The easy-to-use identification keys, the clear and concise descriptions, the colour pictures and the distribution maps allow the easy identification of different species.

This publication is the result of a successful collaboration between Ruud van der Meijden and Fabienne Van Rossum, two botanists who share the same passion: the study of the flora of our region. Their scientific work is illustrated by the talented photographer Maarten Strack van Schijndel. The book is also a happy example of botanical cooperation at European level. Not only are authors from different countries, but compiling distributional data and photo images has involved the collaboration of specialists from the leading institutes and societies of Belgium, the Netherlands, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and France.

This book, also existing in French and in Dutch, is the perfect companion for novice botanists and lovers of country walks to discover the surprisingly rich flora of our region.

In search of lost plants…

Photo Francine Bailly.

Relevant publications: 139, 140, 141

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Maarten Strack van Schijndel taking pictures of living plants in the field.

Photo Fabienne Van Rossum.

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Progress towards a flora for Katanga Upper Katanga, in the south of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), has a very rich and phyto-geographically diverse flora. The natural woody vegetation comprises miombo woodlands dominated by Zambezian species, evergreen dense forests (muhulu) and riparian forests (mushitu) both with an important contribution of Guineo-Congolian elements.

Katanga is subjected to dramatic deforestation, mostly due to mining industry and charcoal production, threatening its status as a hotspot for biodiversity. The knowledge about the flora of Katanga remains insufficient. The last comprehensive catalogue dates back to 1921 and is badly outdated. This gap of knowledge seriously hampers any attempt to prioritise conservation efforts and to design conservation policies.

In collaboration with the Université Libre de Bruxelles and the Congolese not-for-profit organisation ‘Biodiversité au KatangaBAK asbl’, Botanic Garden Meise has prepared an illustrated book on the trees and shrubs of Upper Katanga. During the preparation of the book, a checklist was assembled and updated. It now comprises some 700 taxa (lianas excluded). The following figures highlight how far we are from a comprehensive knowledge of the flora:

• 22 taxa were not recorded in the published volumes of the Flora of Central Africa; 39 taxa previously reported for Upper Katanga require confirmation • 33 taxa were reported in error. Twenty taxa are strictly endemic of Upper Katanga, but most of these need taxonomic revision.

In preparing the book, 500 individual trees were tagged and geo-referenced in situ. These were monitored for three consecutive years to obtain photographs of all phenological states. Some 800 herbarium specimens have been collected and deposited in Botanic Garden Meise’s herbarium (BR).

For the first time, the book proposes a general overview of the woody flora of Upper Katanga, including identification keys for 700 species, and illustrated descriptions of 214 species.

Cover of the book Arbres et arbustes du Haut-Katanga.

• 29 taxa in the checklist are new records for Upper Katanga, of which 11 are new to the DRC

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Developing local expertise in plant taxonomy at the University of Lubumbashi is the priority over the next few years.

Meerts, P. & Hasson, M. (2016). Arbres et arbustes du HautKatanga. Jardin botanique Meise. 386 p. ISBN: 978-9082451191

Exerpt from the new flora.

Photo Sven Bellanger.

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Understanding ecosystems In a world increasingly under environmental pressure, plants, ecosystems and the services they provide need to be maintained to keep our planet healthy. Amongst other things they mitigate the effects of greenhouse gasses, play an important role in the global water cycle, and help combat desertification.

The work of our researchers helps us understand how ecosystems function, and how they can be described and monitored. They also investigate invasive species that influence native species. Throughout the world, in Africa as in Belgium, humankind is fully dependent on healthy ecosystems.

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Exploration and conservation of Coffea canephora diversity in the Congo basin

Robusta coffee nursery of INERA,Yangambi.

Photo Filip Vandelook.

Accounting for about 16% of total coffee production worldwide, robusta coffee (Coffea canephora) is the second most important commercial coffee species. Although robusta has a bitterer flavour than arabica coffee, its market share is increasing due to arabica coffee being detrimentally affected by climate change and disease.

C. canephora is native to the tropical forests of Central and West Africa where it typically grows in small, isolated populations in primary rainforests. A comprehensive conservation strategy for safeguarding genetic variation in wild populations is of great importance because they are under threat due to degeneration of habitat.

The region of Yangambi and Kisangani in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is of particular interest because wild populations of C. canephora still grow wild in the forests. The first successful crop of robusta coffee was cultivated in the area (Lula, early 20th century). Yangambi is also the home of a research station for tropical agriculture (INERA, formally INEAC). INERA was an important coffee research station from the 1930’s where an extensive robusta collection was gathered. The crop was so popular that even today almost every village has robusta coffee plants in back gardens, where locals collect the beans and use the plants for medicinal purposes.

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Robusta coffee (right) and plantain (banana) grown in a backyard garden in Yangambi.

Photo Filip Vandelook.

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Coffea canephora growing in the rainforest understory in Yangambi Biosphere Reserve.

Photo Filip Vandelook.

The genetic diversity in wild (in situ) and cultivated (ex situ) C. canephora is unknown. To address this, Botanic Garden Meise organised an expedition to Yangambi in collaboration with local students and local guides. Effort targeted mapping the location of plants and populations so diversity could be sampled. This visit included assessing the status of the INERA coffee research program at Yangambi. During several field trips to the region, leaf samples from ten wild C. canephora trees were gathered. These leaves, together with those of the most important trees in the INERA coffee collection, will be analysed to determine genetic diversity as well as gene flow between cultivated and wild populations in the Yangambi region. Several fruits and cuttings of wild coffee trees sampled during field trips were introduced in the INERA coffee collection for ex situ conservation and to enrich the genetic resources of the collection. The once rich collection of genetic lines of robusta coffee at INERA have been drastically reduced and now number only six elite lines. These, along with a few seldom used lines from Lula, L’équateur (Libenge) and Bas-Congo (Petit Kwilu), are the only plants used for propagation and breeding.

The Yangambi research station has suffered from a severe lack of investment over past few decades. However, plans to re-establish the station’s prominence are underway, allowing it to become an important ex situ resource for coffee genetic diversity collected throughout the DRC.

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Changes in lichen flora and polypores in Belgium

In the field.

Photo Micheline Wegh.

In 2011, 20 plots of 50 x 50 m in 10 forest reserves in Wallonia were examined for the presence of epiphytic (growing on trees) lichens and polypores. In 2016, the same 20 plots were re-examined.

Between 2011 and 2016 the epiphytic lichen flora has changed. In all the three phytogeographic districts visited (Ardennes, Meuse and Lorraine district), species richness has declined. Continental, species that prefer cool conditions and a more acidic, nutrientpoor bark are most declined. Areas where such species are predominant, particularly the Ardennes district, are the most threatened. Newly found species prefer warm conditions, have a higher nutrient demand and a preference for nutrient-enriched bark. In the last decade, a shift of species preferring cold conditions and a more acidic bark to species preferring the opposite has repeatedly been observed in Belgium, both in more urban areas of the Brussels Capital Region as well as in more rural areas of Flemish Brabant and Limburg. Since most of the decreased acidophilous species have a clear preference for cold conditions, and the values of pH and temperature are strongly correlated (r=0.90, p<0.001), increasing temperature caused by global warming is probably the main factor responsible for the observed changes.

Making an inventory of lichen species.

Photo Micheline Wegh.

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The lists of polypore species observed in 2016 are significantly shorter than the lists obtained in 2011 in the same plots. However, it is well known that fruitbody production can vary greatly from year to year and besides, despite the relatively poor season, several new species have been found in most of the plots. Results also show that the mycological richness is significantly higher in the forest reserves than in the stands used for wood production, especially with regard to rare species and to indicator species for forests of great biological interest. The research also confirms the interest of the Ellenberg coefficients applied to the higher plant vegetation (phytosociological relevés) for the evaluation of the physicochemical characteristics of the different plots.

Relevant publication: 168

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Over the past few years, the biodiversity of the French sub-Antarctic islands has been intensively studied, particularly with regard to terrestrial invertebrates, angiosperms, diatoms and, more recently, mosses, ferns and lichens. However, for the two most northerly positioned islands in this area, Amsterdam and Saint Paul Islands, detailed studies on their terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity is scant.

An initial collecting trip in 2007 highlighted a species richness hitherto practically unknown. Consequently, fieldwork aimed at sampling the terrestrial and freshwater biota took place on the islands in 2016. The new expedition was a joint effort between French Polar Research Institute (IPEV), Botanic Garden Meise, Museum d’Histoire Naturelle de Paris and Université de Rennes.

This trip was designed to be an intensive study by combining morphological and molecular studies.

Orthoseira verleyenii, an endemic diatom typically found in the lava tubes on Amsterdam Island.

Photo Bart Van de Vijver.

The terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity of Amsterdam and Saint Paul Islands

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The Amsterdam and Saint Paul Islands are very small, young volcanic islands situated halfway between Africa and Australia in the southern part of the Indian Ocean. They are amongst the most remote islands in the world and their extreme isolation has led to a high level of endemism amongst the native flora and fauna. A characteristic feature of the vegetation of Amsterdam Island is its distinct altitudinal zonation with a clear gradient from a temperate climate at lower altitudes to a cold, near sub-Antarctic climate at the top of the Caldera (881m).

During the fieldwork, all typical habitats on Amsterdam and Saint-Paul Islands were explored such as the native Phylica arboreaforest, the peat bogs of the Caldera region and the rocky slopes and volcanic outcrops of the lowland areas. The distribution and ecology of several endemic species, described by our team were studied in detail. These included the lichen Caloplaca amsterdamensis, the fern Megalastrum taafense and the diatom Orthoseira verleyenii. Special attention was given to the unique flora and fauna of lava tubes that characterise the island. This biodiversity assessment is of prime importance to improve the current efforts in restoring the islands in their original pristine state and to create a valid reference point to evaluate future Global Change impacts. The results will also lead to publication of a field guide illustrating the fauna and flora of the two islands.

View on the Caldera of Amsterdam Island showing its craters and lakes.

Photo Bart Van de Vijver.

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Caloplaca amsterdamensis, a lichen endemic to Amsterdam and Saint Paul Islands.

Photo Damien Ertz.

Because of their unique geographic position, remoteness and climate, these islands are key elements to address issues of biogeography, long-distance dispersal and colonisation on a large scale across the Southern Hemisphere.

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Safeguarding plant life It is estimated that up to one third of plant species are currently threatened or face extinction in the wild, mainly due to habitat fragmentation and destruction, combined with climate change. Every plant has a crucial role in a healthy functioning ecosystem. Some may hold unknown treasures such as molecules with helpful medicinal properties. Therefore, the safeguarding of plant species is essential.

Our research contributes to the development of tools for in situ conservation in valuable natural sites both nationally and internationally. Off-site or ex situ conservation is equally important. We collect plant material from the wild for preservation in the herbarium and propagation in our living collections, and in the collections of partner botanic gardens. Our seed bank holds the seeds of many rare and endangered species, thus safeguarding critical genetic variation. In combining our expertise and collections we are able to assist with the reintroduction of species in natural habitats both now and into the future.

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Seed bank receives six threatened taxa from metal-enriched Belgian soils to aid ex situ conservation efforts Viola calaminaria is endemic to zinc, cadmium and lead outcrops in Eastern Belgium and Western Germany. Five accessions of this narrowly distributed species have been recently collected (10,000 seeds each) by the Seed Bank staff of Botanic Garden Meise.

Photo Maarten Strack van Schijndel.

In Europe, metal-enriched soils are quite rare and form residual sanctuaries for metallophyte communities. The number of metallophytes present in Western Europe is extremely small. Among the vascular plants, only seven taxa are present in Belgium where there has been so far little effort to conserve metallophyte germplasm. These seven species are also the only ones that are characteristics of a habitat that is recognised as valuable by the European Commission, i.e. the 'Calaminarian grasslands'. The conservation status of this habitat in Europe is generally unfavourable. In Belgium, the total area of these grasslands does not exceed 70ha.

Botanic Garden Meise has recently banked seeds from populations of six of the seven metallophytes. Up to five samples (containing several thousand seeds) were collected per species in order to maximize sampling of their genetic variation. For Cochlearia pyrenaica however, only a single population survives in Belgium.

The number of accessions of these metallophytes found in botanic gardens worldwide is surprisingly low, confirming that the collection campaign conducted by Botanic Garden Meise is timely and relevant. The 19 newly harvested populations will thus contribute to the global ex situ conservation of these threatened taxa (which, currently include only 35 known accessions in the world).

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Seed-borne pathogens are a daily issue for ex situ collection managers who try to solve it by using various chemicals more or less harmful to staff and the plant material stored. The most common physical method for seed sterilisation is heat treatment, usually combined with moisture (hot water, hot steam). The method is based on the assumption that pathogens have a lower tolerance to elevated temperatures than the seeds. The behaviour of seeds to dry heat is poorly known. With a few exceptions, dry heat treatments have been tested on food plants. Botanic Garden Meise undertook an experiment to provide new data on the effectiveness of dry heat as a seed sterilisation technique. To do so, the Seed Bank team conducted germination tests on 13,200 seeds from 66 wild species of temperate regions belonging to 22 families. Results indicated that dry seeds exposed to 60°C for an hour were less infected by seed-borne pathogens compared to the untreated samples in 14% of the species, whereas no change was registered for the remaining taxa. To our knowledge, this is the first attempt to test this technique on a wide range of wild species from temperate regions. The fact that the results are consistent (reduced infection or, at worst, no effect) is an encouraging outcome compared to chemical methods which too often give incoherent results. Furthermore, for all 66 studied species, no decrease in germination percentage was detected after the dry heat treatment. Given its positive effect on infection control without affecting seed viability, dry heat treatment as proposed here opens opportunities for seed bank managers, but potentially also for disinfecting herbarium collections.

Controlling seed germination at Botanic Garden Meise.

Photo Sandrine Godefroid.

Dry heat as seed sterilisation method successfully tested on wild species

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Additional shading installed in a tropical collection house for species that thrive under low light conditions on the floor of rainforests.

Photo Marc Reynders.

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Labels showing ecological codes to inform gardeners on cultivation methods.

Photo Marc Reynders.

On the road for ecology basedcultivation in the glasshouse collections

Rhipsalis collection in the glasshouses before analysis of their specific environmental needs. Note the species in the middle with dark leaves is more resistant to bright light compared with the surrounding species.

Photo Marc Reynders.

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In 2016, the plants in four mixed tropical glasshouses were reorganised to provide each species with conditions that most closely matched their natural growing environments. Historically, the large ex situ plant collections such as the tropical plant collection of Botanic Garden Meise were largely grouped in different greenhouses based on taxonomy (e.g. Aroids, Begonias, ferns) or by geographical region (e.g. tropical Africa). Each gardener was responsible for several of these glasshouses and had between 500-1000 different plant species to care for, all with specific needs. However, for practical reasons, uniform cultivation methods had been applied within each greenhouse. While many species tolerate these conditions some do not. This was because some species have specific ecological requirements, as a result we found that some rare endangered species had declined or died in collection.

In a project spanning multiple years, collection managers, gardeners, scientists, internship students and volunteers have been involved in reorganising the collections based on their ecological need rather than taxonomic- or provenance-based affinities.

Initially, basic ecological data for each species was gathered and placed into the living collection database, LIVCOL. This is information included different parameters from their natural habitat, such as temperature, humidity, light intensity and soil type. This data made it possible to analyse the species present and reorganise the collections so that each species received (as far as possible) their optimal climate. Further, we were able to revise the soils used make changes where necessary. While this information is useful in the database it needed to be available to the Garden staff. Therefore, we adopted the method that has been used in the outdoor collections for many years. It comprises a short-hand version of the information incorporated onto printed plant labels.

Over the past three years improving a taxon’s ecological data has targeted some of our most important collections, such as Pteridophyta, Orchidaceae, Araceae, Rubiaceae, epiphytic Cactaceae Impatiens and Costus. Some of the plants in these collections were rehoused to receive better growing conditions. This was especially true for our mixed tropical houses where species from different layers of the rainforests were grown alongside savanna plants.

Species were consequently placed in the following ‘cultivation’ groups: epiphytes, herbaceous plants (forest understory), herbaceous plants and giant herbs (secondary forests), woody plants and climbers (rainforests) and woody plants (savanna). Within these groups it proved possible to cultivate a diverse range of species efficiently. This project has several interesting application for the Garden. Firstly it gave us the knowledge to plan the multi-layered canopies of the tropical forest displays in the Plant Palace. Secondly, it will be invaluable information to facilitate the transfer of plant species into their optimal location in the new glasshouse complex planned for construction during 2019-2020.

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Bolstering the use of biological pest control in the glasshouses

Many species in collection have natural pest-resistance, but this does not make them immune from attack. Vigilance and a quick response after identifying a pest is important to keep the collections pest free. Recently, two leaf mining moths, the succulent moth (Opogona scaphopis) and banana moth (O. sacchari), were discovered in our glasshouses. To thwart this attack a meticulous search of susceptible plants was conducted with repeat observations by our integrated pest control specialist and our team of gardeners.

Since the 1990s, the Garden has placed strong emphasis on biological control. The gardeners’ weapons include: introducing natural enemies that prey on specific pests; application of sprays derived from natural origin (e.g. plant oils); and pheromone and light traps used for control and pest monitoring. In 2016, 28 different predator species were used to control the ten worst pests, such as aphid, mealybug, scale insect, spider mite, tomato looper and cockroaches. When introducing new predators it is vital to select species that cannot turn invasive in the wild, subsequently predator choice is limited to (sub-) tropical species that would not survive outside in Belgium.

Placing Cryptolaemus on a Kwango giant cycad (Encephalarthos laurentianus) for control of mealybugs.

Photo Toon Mariën.

Botanic Garden Meise holds a vast diversity of plants in collection and therefore does not suffer from a significant build-up in pests that some commercial growers who focus on a narrow range of plants experience.

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The 28 predators include a diverse range of organisms including bacteria, a range of invertebrates including mites and parasitic wasps (and other invertebrates) and a few vertebrate species. The vertebrates include two species of fish, the pearl gourami and rainbowfish that ensure the waterlilies in the Victoria pond remain largely pest free. The yellow-striped poison frogs were released in the Mabundu and Victoria glasshouses to combat ants. Ants are well known for spreading certain pests such as aphids and scale insects from one plant to another and ‘milk’ these for their sweet honeydew in return. Therefore, targeting ants in this way is a sensible approach to reduce troublesome pests. The yellow-striped poison frogs came from a Flemish hobby breeder who imported his original frogs from ‘Tesoros de Colombia’, an established frog farm in Columbia that legally export native frogs. In the wild, as their name suggests, these amphibians are poisonous. This occurs due to a build-up of poison sequestered from specific ant species on which they prey. Fortunately, the three ant species found in our glasshouses lack these poisons rendering the frogs harmless and safe to deploy.

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Yellow-striped poison frogs (Dendrobates truncatus) released in the Mabundu glasshouse for the biological control of ants.

Photo Paul Borremans.

By utilising natural enemies to control pests we are able to reduce our dependency on chemical sprays and the potential threat of pesticide resistance, while safeguarding the health of the public and staff.

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Habitat and nature qualities for the ditches of the polders of Lampernisse. Ditch segments in red are best for habitat and nature qualities, grey have lowest qualities and yellow of intermediate value.

Wet transition zones between ditch and meadow grazed by cattle proved to be more interesting than traditionally believed (presence of marsh arrowgrass).

Photo Leo Vanhecke.

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Flowering rush (Butomus umbellatus).

Photo Leo Vanhecke.

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The polders of Lampernisse: sleeping beauty or paradise lost?

Since 2002, almost 1200 ha of genuine, medieval polder landscape around the village of Lampernisse (West-Flanders) have been protected by law as Natural Heritage. This designation was based on cultural-historic values, their biological and ecological characteristics and on the aesthetic qualities of the landscape.

Concurrently however, this area remains rather intensively exploited by agriculture.

One of the main characteristics of the area is the dense network of ditches and other small waterways, many following their original medieval course. In two fieldwork-campaigns (2010 and 2015) 820 sections of ditches and cattle-pools were examined botanically. Results revealed that relatively rare plants like marsh arrowgrass (Triglochin palustris), rootless duckweed (Wolffia arrhiza), knotted hedge-parsley (Torilis nodosa), mare's-tail (Hippuris vulgaris) and to some extend flowering-rush (Butomus umbellatus) were better represented in this protected area than elsewhere in the Polder-region, Flanders and Belgium. Moreover, 43 different vegetation unit types were identified for floating and submersed water- and mud or bank-vegetation. These characterised six major ecological habitats.

However, vegetation dominated by reed was by far the best represented. This is because the management of ditches has been neglected for too many decades. Consequently, reed-vegetation, as the climax vegetation under these conditions, increased in abundance and reduced ecological variation. In a recent response to this (the past five years) ditch clearance has increased. However, the current systematic approach to clearance is too short a period and consequently leads to further losses in plant diversity. Maximum biodiversity is achieved only when ditch clearing is locally staggered, thus allowing species with specific niches to colonise new places rather than become locally extinct. While ditch management is inevitable and necessary, neglect can prove attractive for marsh plants with some developing astonishing wild populations. Grazing on the banks of ditches favours the differentiation of vegetation and the presence of species such as marsh arrowgrass, mare's-tail and knotted hedge-parsley.

The occurrence of ‘special’ species, the number of different vegetation-units per ditch and the number of different ecologicalgroups they represent, and finally the presence of well-developed wet transition-zones between the water and the grazed meadow and of forms of micro-relief (humps) indicating former wetter conditions were used to calculate a value for the ‘habitat and nature value’ of each ditch-segment. Three categories were distinguished. In the ‘best’ category the potential evacuation of the silt in the ditches can only happen under strict conditions.

These habitat and nature values are developed as a tool to be used in a bigger management-plan for the protected area. General dehydration of the soil conditions, silting up of the ditches and recent changes in agricultural management, in particular the replacement of grazing-land (with cattle) by mowing-grass (with up to 5-6 mowing cycles per season) threaten these medieval landscapes, as well as their bird-life, as for the occurrence of some specialised plant species and none the less for their traditional aesthetic aspects.

Relevant publications: 174, 175

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Bringing our heritage to life During its long history the Garden has constantly been collecting and curating a wide range of botanical collections, living plants, books, artefacts, instruments but also buildings, glasshouses and landscapes. Many of these elements still play an active role in our current work; books and archives are consulted by researchers, historic glasshouses protect plant collections and buildings and landscapes are visited and enjoyed by our visitors.

This extensive and diverse collection requires constant specialised care and upkeep and is an irreplaceable source to develop innovative approaches to better fulfil the mission of the Garden in a changing world.

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Botanic Garden Meise launches the ‘Groene Noordrand’ project

Opening of the Strategic Project ‘Groene Noordrand’ attended by an array of organisations and interested members of the public.

Photo SP Groene Noordrand.

North of Brussels, squeezed between busy roads, railway lines and industrial areas, is an area of open green space with streams, valleys, woods and fields known as the Groene Noordrand. This comprises the Maalbeek Valley, an important area for nature that connects green areas from Laarbeekbos in the west to Lintbos in the east.

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On September 1st, 2016 the Strategic Project ‘Groene Noordrand: a metropolitan landscape from Laarbeekbos to Lintbos’ was initiated as part of the Flemish Government’s Spatial Policy Plan for Flanders. The aim of the project is to create and maintain Groene Noordrand as a sustainable, liveable and resilient open space, able to respond positively to ongoing and future changes.

An integrated approach that includes the Maalbeek River basin will combine landscape restoration, nature development, integral water management and quiet recreation with sustainable agriculture. This effort is coordinated by the ‘Regionaal Landschap Groene Corridor’, in collaboration with Botanic Garden Meise (among other partners). Our Garden is one of five green centres in the Maalbeek Valley and an important touristic attraction of valuable cultural heritage. Interestingly, our Garden faces similar challenges to those faced by the wider area, such as creating a harmony between nature, biodiversity conservation and recreational activities in an increasingly urbanised area.

The official launch of the project took place at our Garden in October. This gathering encompassed a public meeting with diverse and enthusiastic presentations, a debate and a reception to facilitate networking opportunities.

Historic and valuable books receive new audiences

One of the books published in Brussels and kept at Botanic Garden Meise. It was a new description for the catalogue.

Photo Nicole Hanquart.

The library of Botanic Garden Meise owns an important collection of valuable books printed between the 16th and 19th centuries.

They cover a range of topics that include botany, horticulture and botanical expeditions. Many of these volumes are richly illustrated.

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This important collection was highlighted during 2016 when our Garden took part in an initiative known as the ‘Short Title Catalogue Vlaanderen Project’ (STCV). This project was initiated in 2000 and aims to develop an online database with extensive bibliographical descriptions of books printed in Flanders and Brussels before 1801. The database contains over 23,550 descriptions, based on more than 43,750 copies from important heritage collections in Flanders and Brussels.

Botanic Garden Meise contributed by adding 92 descriptions to the database of which 39 were new to the catalogue. This collaboration has given our Garden the opportunity to increase its audience, allowing those interested in a wide range of disciplines better access to these resources.

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The Wood Museum in the early 20th century.

Photo State Botanical Garden, Brussels.

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In 2016, much attention was paid to what could be termed the ‘Sleeping Beauty’ of Botanic Garden Meise, the collections from the former Forestry Museum. A taskforce was created to evaluate the possibility of reviving the artefacts for a potential new museum. Items, such as wood samples, fruits, logs and boards had sat in storage in a remote area of the main building where they had not seriously been viewed for decades.

The taskforce took on a varied range of work to evaluate the items. Some dealt with the tons of somewhat dirty bark, wood and root samples while others busily worked on historical resources that documented the former museum. Items considered unsalvageable were discarded, while those worth retaining were treated for pests and diseases. Each artefact’s scientific data was checked to avoid keeping samples that were of no value to the institution. Our art historian carefully scanned dozens of early 20th century pictures of Museum's collection, which are now accessible through our Garden’s website. They comprise invaluable data about what was once displayed in the Museum. The historian also combed countless archives and books to unveil the genesis of the former Forestry Museum. The taskforce concluded that the collection was of high quality and warranted public display once more. Soon, a new, modern Forestry Museum will find a home in Botanic Garden Meise.

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The work was summarised in a paper delivered at the 7th European Society for the History of Science Conference (Prague, September 2016), in which our historian detailed how the Museum was created during the late 19th century and why it eventually settled in our Garden (which at that time was located in Brussels). The evolution of the museum echoed changes in Belgian society during the 20th century. Interest in the forestry museum has since grown, captivating an audience both at home and abroad. Consequently our historian is about to publish articles about the history of the Museum in national and international publications.

Denis Diagre-Vanderpelen spent hours handling tons of old wood samples to select those for the imminent Wood Museum.

Photo Régine Fabri.

The Forestry Museum, a Sleeping Beauty about to wake

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Startup of the digitisation process by Minister Muyters

Minister Muyters lays the first herbarium specimens on the conveyor belt for digitisation.

Photo Peter Lanckmans.

DOE!, the mass digitisation project of the herbarium of Botanic Garden Meise, started in 2015 and is financed by the Flemish Government. The aim within three years is to digitise the complete African and Belgian herbarium collection comprising around 1.2 million specimens and make the data and images available on a new virtual herbarium.

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The official launch of the project was conducted by Flemish Minister Muyters, Minister of Work, Economy, Innovation and Sports on 31st May, 2016. The event started with a warm welcome from Steven Dessein, CEO of our Garden, followed by a brief explanation of the project by Project Manager, Sofie De Smedt. This was followed by a speech by Minister Muyters and Marc Lindeman, head of the company Picturae that specialises in scanning images and making collections available to the public. After these presentations Minister Muyters had the honour of inaugurating the project by placing the first herbarium specimens on the conveyor belt.

This marked the official launch of the DOE! Project and received a great deal of media attention.

The project started in 2015 with our technical staff preparing the collection with volunteers and students. For the actual digitisation, Picturae, an external company, was hired. They installed in one of our offices, a high-tech digitisation ‘street’ comprising a conveyor belt system with built-in camera. Up to 5,000 specimens a day can be photographed using this system. Within a year, all 1.2 million specimens will be imaged. The digital images are then sent to the Flemish Institute for Archiving (VIAA) where they will be kept for long-term storage.

Universities donate collections to Botanic Garden Meise

The alcohol collection of KU Leuven.

Photo Ann Bogaerts.

Botanic Garden Meise’s herbarium (BR) received two important collections in 2016, these were donated by the Free University of Brussels (VUB) and the University of Leuven (KU Leuven).

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Since the 1990’s, universities have focused on research with reduced interest in maintaining herbarium collections favouring them to be curated elsewhere. In many cases these collections find a new home at Meise. The transfer of a particular university’s collections often happens at once, such as those donated by the VUB. Sometimes, however, a university donates material gradually, such as in the case of the University of Leuven. In the latter case, around 80,000 herbarium specimens from the ‘General Herbarium’ were donated in 1999, followed in 2016 by collections preserved in alcohol. These contained c.1,000 preserved specimens, mostly from young inflorescences and flower buds collected by Erik Smets and his students for ontogenetic studies on angiosperms. It is also anticipated that a further transfer of 20,000 herbarium vouchers from their ‘Belgian Herbarium’ will be donated in 2017. These gifts illustrate the importance of Botanic Garden Meise as a depository of herbarium vouchers where important cultural, historic and scientific knowledge on botany can be preserved for the future.

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(Re-)connecting plants and people Everywhere on the planet specific plant and fungi species have provided local populations with food, energy, materials for housing and tools, fibres for clothing and medicines. In many parts of the world plants remain the primary elements in fighting hunger, disease and extreme poverty. Plants also often figure in cultural expressions and religion. Nowadays, cultural plant knowledge is being lost and with it the vital connections we have with plants and fungi.

Our researchers record how plants and fungi are used so that this knowledge can be shared and distributed. Our scientists’ ability to identify plants, even from tiny or ancient remains, contributes to fields as diverse as forensic investigation and archaeology, thus constantly identifying and establishing links between plants and people.

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Networking the mycologists of the African Great Lakes

A trainee during the field workshop in Virunga National Park.

Photo Jérôme Degreef.

The programme ‘Network of mycologists of the African Great Lakes region’ (MycoRGL) is targeted at improving knowledge and research on fungi. The group, formed in 2013, comprises institutions from Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) along with the Royal Institute of Natural Sciences of Belgium and Botanic Garden Meise.

It is particularly targeted towards improving mycological knowledge, especially on edible fungi from the Great Lakes region.

Through symposia and workshops members have the opportunity to developing useful tools for mycological research and strength their technical and scientific capacity.

The second symposium of MycoRGL named: ‘Diversity of fungi in the African Great Lakes region, a resource with high food and economic potential’ took place in Goma (DRC) in November 2016. This one-week event, funded by the Belgian Science Policy (BELSPO), brought together 50 people, including 27 speakers from Burundi, Rwanda and the DRC. Participants presented findings related to ecology, diversity, and the productivity of wild mushrooms. The importance of traditional knowledge was also discussed along with which fungi are gathered and consumed by local human populations. Several experiments detailed the production of wild fungal strains and prompted conversation on constraints, opportunities, challenges and expectations on this subject. These were important topics because they are prerequisites to cultivating wild mushrooms in a local population.

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The group made several recommendations: integration of the network's activities to help safeguard the region’s biodiversity; recognition to respect the knowledge and expertise of local and indigenous communities; valorization of the fungal diversity. The symposium concluded with a field workshop at the base of the Nyiragongo Volcano (Virunga National Park). This aided informal discussions and increased capacity building between the network’s members.

More info : Participants of the 2nd MycoRGL Workshop in Goma.

Photo Franck Hidvégi.

MycoRGL network website : http://www.biodiv.be/mycorgl

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Symposium website : https://mycorgl2016.jimdo.com

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Enriching our knowledge of African chanterelles

Katangese local sellers offering a collection of freshly picked chanterelles.

Photo A. De Kesel.

Several years ago Botanic Garden Meise started a vast ethnomycological research project in Katanga, the southernmost province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). During fieldwork over 100 wild, edible mushroom species were recorded.

Garden researchers discovered that the local human population used only a fraction of the available edible species as food and to generate income. The most utilised type were the Chanterelles (Cantharellus) with, to a lesser extent, a handful of termite mushrooms (Termitomyces), two amanita’s (Amanita) and some milkcap fungi (Lactarius and Lactifluus).

Our study showed that the diversity of chanterelles, recognised both by locals and the scientific literature was a serious underestimate of actual diversity. By lumping together similar species from the same environment, local people in Katanga distinguish three or four ‘species’ of chanterelle sorted, at local markets, by colour: red; pale yellow; and orange. Our study also showed that scientists had done something similar by lumping a large number of African species under a single scientific name, many of these differed in morphology and habitat preference. The decisions by scientists had resulted in ‘fuzzy species’, with morphological differences, odd distribution patterns and diverging ecological preferences in the same (so-called) species.

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In order to connect people with edible fungi we needed to initially understand their taxonomy and have tools to identify them.

Otherwise questions like: which species are available?; Which fungi are used?; Where do they naturally occur? can never be answered. Consequently our Garden, initially invested in resolving the taxonomy of the African Cantharellus. Our findings demonstrated that there are 18 species of edible Cantharellus in Katanga, not the three previously thought. Collectively they can produce 30kg of fresh weight per hectare annually. From the 18 species four were new to science and had specific habitats. This knowledge is important, at all levels of society, because it allows communication, which ultimately contributes to valuing the natural world and exploiting natural fungi sustainably. To communicate our findings on African chanterelles, our Garden published a new identification key listing 43 recorded species of chanterelle. This is an important document and further demonstrates that Africa is by far the most diverse continent for Cantharellus in the world.

Cantharellus miomboensis one of the largest and most commonly sold edible chanterelle in Katanga (DRC).

Photo A. De Kesel.

This meant that much of the existing knowledge on tropical African Cantharellus was unreliable.

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Cantharellus platyphyllus the most commonly sold edible chanterelle in Katanga (DRC).

Photo A. De Kesel.

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Demonstration on cooking with pulses.

Photo Manon Van Hoye.

Discussing statements on food security at the symposium Vlaamse NME-dag on education, nature and environment.

Photo Jutta Kleber.

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Big Picnic: a European project on food security Botanic Garden Meise is participating in a European Union three-year funded initiative called Big Picnic. This project is under the Horizon 2020 framework focusing on food security. Together with 19 partners from 12 European countries and Uganda from Africa, we will develop themed outreach exhibits and science cafés related to this complex, versatile and highly topical subject.

In 2016, we invited stakeholders to design a blueprint of how the project will be implemented in our Garden. During co-creation meetings staff, consultants and partner organisations developed the strategy of the project for the next three years and cemented partnerships.

To launch the topic to the public, Garden visitors saw demonstrations on cooking with pulses, a small exhibition and a tasting session of different apple cultivars. These activities created a background to explore issues surrounding food security with the public.

The remaining period of the project will have a host of exhibitions, workshops and science cafés, sensitising and informing a large public, using a varied range of approaches to suit all target groups.

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The documentary produced in French with subtitles in English is available at the YouTube channel of the Botanic Garden Meise.

Photo Franck Hidvégi.

Documentary on Rwandan Fungi

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In 2015, the Botanic Garden organised a study mission on edible mushrooms to Rwanda. The project, presented in the 2015 Annual Report, included the production of a short documentary. Du­ ring autumn 2016, the resulting 15 minute film was premiered at a number of international locations. These included Botanic Garden Meise, the federal National Agricultural Library Congress in Washington DC (USA) and at The Symposium of the Mycologists Network of the African Great Lakes Region in Goma (Democratic Republic of the Congo). The documentary was well received from all audiences and highlighted different aspects of the mission by following the researchers at work. The video included specimen harvesting in the field, laboratory work, mushroom cultivation by the Rwandan project partner ‘Kigali Farms’, conservation of living samples in the fungi collection at the Catholic University of Louvain and the preservation of dried specimens in the herbarium of Botanic Garden Meise.

The documentary was produced in French with subtitles in English and is available at https://youtu.be/dY84DavE5HQ or via the mission’s blog: http://rwandafungi.blogspot.be

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Inspiring and informing The Garden is home to 18,000 different kinds of plant, set within 92 hectares of historical domain. It is a beautiful, diverse, green space and a source of enjoyment, wonder and inspiration tempting about 125,000 visitors per year.

Using a broad spectrum of plant displays, museum artefacts, webpages, science communication tools, events, informal learning, awareness instruments and experience-based educational activities, the Garden has the potential to change people’s understanding of the importance of plants for human well-being and to emphasise the vital importance of plant conservation.

Building on this understanding, the Garden can stimulate people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities to act in a sustainable and responsible way.

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Record breaking picnic table at Meise

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Staff at Botanic Garden Meise designed and constructed the table as part of the summer festival activities. It comprised of 178 painted metal legs supporting 2,400 metres of wooden shelving.

The table was decorated along its length with 70 pots of heirloom vegetable cultivars and edible flowers. Some of these were sown by visitors as an activity during the spring festival.

On 26 June, at noon, the adjudicator walked along the driveway or Eredreef, where the picnic table was situated, with his measure to announce the new world record with a staggering 300.58m.

With this 600 visitors, with full picnic baskets, celebrated with cheers and applause.

The picnic table remained in position all summer to allow visitors to picnic and celebrate this success. At the end of the summer, during a ‘tropical’ warm evening, the table had its finale with around 500 people celebrating and picnicking well into the evening.

The masterpieces of the Brussels Museums Botanic Garden Meise took part in a project named ‘#100 Masters’ that aimed to highlight the key artifacts housed in the museums of Brussels. The initiative was led by the Brussels Museums Council, an umbrella association comprising around 100 members including federal, municipal, community and private museums.

Each member of the Brussels Museum Council presented, what they considered, their 10 most important collections – known as ‘masterpieces’. From that selection 100 were chosen as the top 100 masterpieces and published.

Three of our Garden’s proposed masterpieces were selected in the top 100! These were: the Balatkas, the small glasshouse built by Alphonse Balat in 1854, the Amazonian waterlily (Victoria cruziana) and the titan arum (Amorphophallus titanum), which happened to be in bloom at the time. During the course of the event, May to the end of August a garden trail led visitors to the most exceptional areas and plants. The fictional character King Amaryllo engaged children during this activity as he does in other children-focused events at the Garden.

Balatkas, the small glasshouse built by Alphonse Balat in 1854.

Photo Paul Borremans.

The longest picnic table in the world.

Photo Peter lanckmans.

During the first weekend of the Summer Floridylle our Garden became official record breakers achieving the ´longest picnic table' ever constructed. Prior to this the Guinness World Record was held by an organisation in Kuwait, which built a table 194.7m long earlier in 2016.

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Tourism business plan: ‘Botanic Garden Meise 2.0’ Botanic Garden Meise has been awarded a grant of €2.9 million to develop a number of actions set out in ‘Botanic Garden Meise 2.0’, an ambitious tourism business plan. The central objective is to give a clearer narrative and increased value that will raise the profile of our Garden for national and foreign visitors. The plan highlights a number of targeted investments on infrastructure and thematic gardens. The Garden’s narrative will be profiled based on five storylines: 1) An estate rich in history The recorded history of the site occupied by Botanic Garden Meise dates back to the 12th century. A former royal residence, it comprises valuable landscapes and buildings, including a picturesque castle. Within the Garden, visitors will have the opportunity to explore the evolution from medieval medicinal gardens to the romance conjured by its English landscape from the 19th century.

2) A garden celebrating plants on Earth Experience 18,000 different types of plant life from our planet’s biomes in one Garden. The Plant Palace, a glasshouse complex from the 1958 Expo comprises the flora of deserts, tropical rainforests and more temperate regions, whereas those tolerant to the Belgian climate flourish outdoors. The narrative highlights plant adaptations that aid their survival in their natural environment.

3) A taste of Flanders (the Flemish shaped international food culture) Important crops like potatoes, cocoa, coffee and chicory have little in common botanically... except they owe much of their current popularity to Belgian horticulture. The Orangery garden and tropical glasshouses will highlight their fascinating stories detailing where Flemish horticulture has shaped food culture internationally.

4) Green excellence (horticultural finesse) Belgian horticulture has a rich past and remains important today exporting plants, such as Ghent azaleas, tuberous begonias, laurels, roses and bromeliads. Botanic Garden Meise showcases the historical and recent activities in horticulture.

5) Safeguarding life in our ‘Green Ark’ (research & nature conservation) A visit to Botanic Garden Meise gives an insight to our pioneering scientific activities. To showcase this important work we are developing new 7,100m2 glasshouse complex called the ‘Green Ark’. It will comprise of research collections such as bananas, coffee and beans and have an exhibition area to inform visitors of our activities and house our seedbank. Close by is Wild Meise, the part of our Garden managed as a nature reserve, where we encourage our natural flora and fauna.

Visualisation of the five storylines of Botanic Garden Meise.

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Initial illustration of the intended bog garden.

Illustration by Jan de Beck.

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Central to the tourism initiative is the development of a contemporary entrance building and surroundings with facilities to welcome a large and diverse range of visitors. In order to develop the five storylines described above a number of actions are planned.

Sketch of terraces for the mediterranean and cloud forest glass-houses.

Illustration Marc Reynders.

Action 1: Build a ‘state-of-the-art’ visitor’s centre

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All necessary visitor facilities will be provided in an architecturally modern, fully accessible building that also serves as the regional tourist information centre for the Green Belt, the region surrounding Belgium’s capital Brussels that boasts magnificent castles, parks and gardens.

Action 2: Develop the Welcome Garden The Welcome Garden provides an appetiser. The visitor will be able to sample seasonal highlights and be introduced to the five storylines of our Garden. The journey through garden history, for example, will begin in this area with a medieval, medicinal garden.

Action 3: Amplify our Garden’s historic elements Our sites historic diversity lends itself to showcasing different period styles. This action will realise a formal garden associated with the castle and a bog garden designed in the Romantic style on an island.

Action 4: Achieve a culinary experience garden The walled garden of the Orangery will dovetail the culinary experience of the adjoining restaurant where food and drink can be enjoyed. This garden intends to link what you eat with the plants that provide that meal.

Action 5: Complete the restoration of the Plant Palace There remains two glasshouses in the Plant Palace to restore.

These will showcase vegetation from cloud forests and the Mediterranean biome. Completion of this work will see the culmination of renovation work that began over a decade ago.

Action 6: Celebrate and strengthen Flemish horticulture The wealth of our plant collections will highlight and increase awareness of our Flemish horticultural heritage. This will be achieved through targeted planting throughout our Garden.

Action 7: Promote our achievements in interactive displays Through state-of-the-art interactive displays visitors will gain insight into the importance and prominence of Botanic Garden Meise’s scientific work and associated achievements.

The five storylines will be deployed using the seven actions above. The outcome will enhance visitor experiences within Botanic Garden Meise and be inclusive for young, old, amateur and professional. It will also highlight the importance of our Garden on the national and international stages, raise awareness and increase visitor numbers to the surrounding area. Our target by 2024 is to double annual current visitor numbers to quarter of a million.

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The most commonly used pulses were grown and displayed together with their edible products. Displays gave information on their regions of domestication and on culinary use. In addition, their importance as environmental-friendly protein providers and as fixers of atmospheric nitrogen were detailed. These issues were explained in the contexts of an increasing human population and changing climate.

Amongst the most eye-catching plants were crop wild-relatives and a colourful collection of Phaseolus beans that we borrowed from a local organisation ‘Belle Epoque’ in Meise.

To help stimulate the public’s interaction with the exhibit we invited visitors to take part in a competition with questions about these plants and their use. The winners received a cooking book on pulses.

Pulses are an important food source worldwide.

Photo Franck Hidvégi.

The United Nations declared 2016 as the International Year of Pulses. This provided an excellent opportunity for us to create a small exhibition in the glasshouses highlighting these important and versatile plants.

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The amazing diversity of cultivated beans.

Photo Guy Dirix.

Pulses in the picture

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Forest Online

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The Bos Online project is coordinated by RVO-Society, an organisation which aims to bring youngsters into contact with science and engineering. It also develops teaching materials based on recent developments in ‘science, technology, engineering and mathematics’ (STEM). The Botanic Garden provided the location, imec the technology, and the University of Leuven the scientific input. Scientists also developed the data capture system or database, as well as the methods for statistical analysis for the huge amount of data amassed. Scientists from another faculty devised the research questions and objectives. Two installations with different sensors and solar panels (for charging the batteries) are located in the Garden near to the A12 road. One is situated in an open field, the other under trees. The sensors are connected by a wireless network that transmits measurements such as meteorological data, pollution variables and characteristics of growth, such as sap flow and stem width. Data from these variables are stored on a cloud server, which is available to teachers and pupils to utilise and analyse data. The Bos Online project allows children to carry out their own specific research and will continue for several years, offering a unique program of hands-on activities in the Garden.

Minister Muyters in our Garden for the launch of the Bos Online project (21 Sep).

Photo Paul Borremans.

Pupils from secondary schools visited Botanic Garden Meise to investigate the impact of trees on the climate using the ‘internet of things’, a concept where objects are linked digitally to each other and can communicate. Children gathered data from wireless sensors installed in different locations as part of the Bos Online project. The project was possible as a result of a unique collaboration between RVO-Society, Botanic Garden Meise, the high-tech research centre imec and the University of Leuven, with financial support from Flemish Government.

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The Titan arums bloom again in 2016

The titan arum caused a real stink when it flowered in March.

Photo Franck Hidveghi.

If there is one plant that has caught the imagination of the Belgian public in recent years it is the titan arum, Amorphophallus titanum. Its flower, technically an inflorescence (collection of flowers) is the largest in the plant kingdom, smells of rotting flesh and is only open for around 48 hours. Since it first bloomed in Belgium at Botanic Garden Meise in 2008, the Belgian public have been treated to an additional five performances. In 2016, two plants flowered. The first appeared in March reaching 145cm in height with its characteristic purple spadix followed by a specimen in July which had a yellowish spadix. This specimen reached a colossal 237cm tall and was from seeds that were sown at Ghent University Botanic Garden.

Flowering can be such a traumatic event for the plant they may die straight after, but the two specimens of 2016 have both produced a single leaf that will grow to the size of a small tree before flowering once more.

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TV series

Koen Es presenting Wild Meise to Jan Godemont in the 5th episode of 'Geschikt in Meise'.

Photo PlattelandsTV.

In 2016, Botanic Garden Meise took part in a TV series focused on the garden titled 'Geschikt (Arranged) in Meise' on the Flemish and Brussels channel PlattelandsTV. This channel brings audiences a variety of topics focusing on outdoor pursuits such as, agriculture, horticulture, and the passion for gardens in their section ‘Country Life’. The series comprise eight episodes of 20 minutes presented by Lies Martens.

Floral artist Annick Mertens and presenter Lies Martens in the first episode of 'Geschikt in Meise'.

Photo PlattelandsTV.

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Each episode was divided in two halves; the first focused on a different part of the Garden where a botanist toured with a professional floral artist to gain inspiration from different plant collections. The areas visited included the rose collection, Desert House, arum collection, carnivorous plants and Wild Meise where native plants flourish. In the second part of the program, the floral artist set to work in the Castle developing a creation on the theme of the episode, under those people who enjoy international repute for their skills in arranging flowers, such as Ilse Beunen, Stijn Simaeys and Tom De Houwer. The eight episodes were aired initially in spring and repeated in autumn. PlattelandsTV is a TV channel with a growing audience that currently has more than a million viewers each month. For Botanic Garden Meise, such initiatives help to promote the Garden and increase the awareness of its activities.

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The summer’s Floridylle celebrated, among other things, the United Nations’ International Year of Pulses with a series of cooking workshops utilising different peas and beans. Hammocks were hung in some of the garden’s trees tempting visitors to take the weight off their feet and relax for a while. For the children, the woods near the Orangery became an adventure area where the surroundings could be enjoyed through play. Perhaps the most memorable activity was the erecting of the longest picnic table in the world, which was officially measured by an adjudicator on the first weekend of the festival. It totalled 300m and was used throughout the summer festival. At that event the young and young-at-heart were encouraged to hunt for the numerous Pokémon characters that reside within the Garden.

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The autumn Floridylle took place during spectacular weather.

Visitors were able to choose from many activities. These included a guided walk to explore the folklore of trees and an opportunity for children to hollow out pumpkins and make them into lanterns, which eventually totalled 500! The Castle pond became the site of a small hand-pulled rope ferry that carried passengers from one side to the other. In the courtyard of the Pachthof, chestnuts gathered from the Garden, were roasted. This provided many nostalgic moments for visitors. The festival’s feature performance was an Evening of Horror at the castle, where ‘ghosts came to life’.

This event was hugely popular and supported by over 1,200 visitors. Autumn is a very pictorial season with the changing of leaf colour and berries. Consequently, visitors were asked to send their most beautiful autumn photo taken in the Garden as part of a photographic competition. More than 60 people took part and the images used in a wonderful photo exhibition in the Castle during December. The entries gave the judging panel a difficult job to select the best.

Looking back on the year the Floridylles were very successful.

They helped to increase visitor number and also the public’s interaction with the Garden. We hope to repeat the success in 2017.

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Eggs painted using natural vegetable dyes.

Photo Manon van Hoye.

The spring festival’s highlights included an activity where children painted eggs using natural vegetable dyes derived from onion, red cabbage and turmeric. By this method 300 eggs were decorated. Positioned in the courtyard of the Pachthof was a giant bird's nest for children to play in, while in the Castle, there was an exhibition entitled 'Garden of Eden'. The public were also encouraged to create pots from newspaper and to sow herb and vegetable seeds for the summer Floridylle.

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Children blowing giant bubbles.

Photo Peter Lanckmans.

Botanic Garden Meise has much to offer all year round. In each season, visitors can discover new plants and picturesque places at their best. To promote the seasons more effectively, the Public Relations and Education team chose to develop themes based on its established festival concept known as the ‘Floridylle’. The success of these events are based on a fixed format namely: activities for visitors who want to learn; children's activities; exhibitions; and a performance that acts as a crowd-puller.

A raft crossing the Castle Pond.

Photo Paul Borremans.

Season festivals celebrating plants proves a success

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The dance performance during the Wonder Weekend.

Photo Paul Borremans.

A night for families proves a resounding success

The Vespaqua, an opportunity to bathe on the move!

Photo Paul Borremans.

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The Garden falls silent on the clink of the gates as they close each evening, yet for the first time there was an opportunity for families to remain and enjoy a night as the Garden came to life as part of a family-focused festival called Wonder Weekend.

This landmark event occurred during the penultimate weekend of the summer vacation and attracted 483 children and 456 parents who spent the night in cardboard tents. Family festivals, or occasions where families with young children can spend quality time together, seems still quite rare in our country. That was why Botanic Garden Meise was asked by the organisers of Wonder Weekend to cooperate and to let the festival happen within its grounds.

It was a great success. Families had the wonderful experience of spending the night in the Garden but also had the opportunity for a unique range of experiences. These included eating in the restaurant without utensils, and the chance to experience the Vespaqua, the world’s smallest but most exciting mobile bathtub. There were crazy bikes to ride, zorbing across the castle pond, a playground full of outdoor family games and hammocks for relaxation. As the evening became night there was a vertical dance performance on walls of the castle’s tower followed by a torchlight procession through the domain and an opportunity to look through a telescope to view distant stars and sing songs around the campfire.

The overwhelming success of the event has ensured that 2017 will see a repeat performance of this Wonder Weekend.

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An increasing social role for botanic gardens

People arriving at the KVG Family Day. Photo Ilse Versaen.

Botanic gardens are where you find a rich diversity of plants. We are interested in also increasing the social diversity of visitors to the Garden and the ability of the site and staff to accommodate their needs. Activities need to be inclusive providing equality for disabled and disadvantaged groups. Fortunately, this is a growing phenomenon that can be seen not only at Meise but in many other botanic gardens throughout the world.

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Our Garden regularly organises socially inclusive initiatives, some are permanent installations while others occur on demand.

The Garden works with a number of organisations to ensure the gardens are accessible to all. One such is the ‘KVG’, an umbrella organisation for people living with disabilities of all types in Flanders. On Saturday 23rd April, 2016 around two thousand people with disabilities and their companions enjoyed a beautiful day in the Garden. Guides, volunteers and local youth associations provided assistance with numerous activities and tours on offer.

These included a guided tour for the blind and another with a sign language interpreter for the deaf so that were no obstacles on this special day. The successful family day out was graced by Flemish singer songwriter Bart Kaëll who closed with a much appreciated concert. Thanks to the excellent cooperation between Botanic Garden Meise, KVG, Meise municipality and the local police, the whole event went smoothly from beginning to end.

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Belgium and Japan celebrate friendship through Ikebana

Mr. Hiroki Ohara, Fifth Headmaster of the Japanese Ohara School demonstrating Ikebana.

Photo Embassy of Japan.

In 2016, Japan and Belgium marked the 150th anniversary of diplomatic relations. In both countries a number of anniversary events were held over the year in the fields of politics, economics, science and technology, culture, art, academia, education and sports. The friendship between the two countries is based on the result of people-to-people exchanges, consequently, the Embassy of Japan in Belgium focused on events with exchanges. Botanic Garden Meise welcomed the Japanese artist Mrs. Rumiko Hagiwara, who built the installation ‘Fake Wind’ in the Hunting Pavilion. This piece of art was a part of an exhibition called ‘Made in Japan’ at the cultural centre in Stombeek.

On October 2nd, Botanic Garden Meise had the great honour to welcome Mr Hiroki Ohara from Japan to give a masterclass on Ikebana flower arrangements. Mr Hiroki Ohara is fifth Headmaster of the Ohara School of Ikebana International in Tokyo, Japan.

The event attracted Mr Masafumi Ishii, the Japanese Ambassador to Belgium, delegates from the Belgian School for Ikebana (Ohara style) and Ikebana enthusiasts from all over Europe.

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Our participation in the Ghent Floralies festival

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Discussions on how to catch the eye of the public decided upon a four metre tall sculpture of a titan arum planted with groundcover plants of a colour that matched the real titan arum. The reason behind this selection was that the public associate both Botanic Garden Ghent and Botanic Garden Meise with this plant through media attention when this plant is in bloom. The botanical sculpture, which was situated in the orangery of the Botanic Garden of Ghent was achieved by Botanic Garden Meise staff in association with gardeners from Ghent.

Sculpture of the titan arum at the Ghent Floralies.

Photo Koen Es.

One of the most important events of the horticultural calendar is the Ghent Floralies. This event established in 1809 is where the latest trends are displayed via inspirational gardens, floral creations and workshops. The ten day exhibition (22nd April to 1st May) always draws huge numbers of visitors, both from within and beyond Belgium. The Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta of Belgium (VBTA) contributed to the 2016 event to raise the profile of botanic gardens in Belgium. A motto was established: ‘Ten days of Ghent Floralies, 365 days of botanical gardens’ that helped promote the event.

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Realising state-of-the-art visitor & research infrastructure Botanic Garden Meise is situated in a historic landscape of 92 hectares whose history dates back to the early Middle Ages. The domain is home to more than 50 buildings, including underground ice cellars, tropical greenhouses, a medieval castle and various research and service buildings. Due to lack of investment in the infrastructure of the Botanic Garden for several decades, most buildings are in a very poor condition and renovations are required. We aim to sustainably preserve the scientific collections, which enjoy high international reputation, and create an attractive research environment.

There will also be investment to improve the entrances so that Botanic Garden Meise further strengthens its international position both as a research institution and as a tourist destination.

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Five proposals for a new visitor centre for Botanic Garden Meise To help promote Botanic Garden Meise and welcome national and international visitors to the area it is necessary to develop a comfortable multi-purpose building at each of our two entrances, Main Entrance (Nieuwelaan) and Meise Village Entrance on (Brusselsesteenweg).

At the same time the old farmstead, situated near the Main Entrance, requires restoration and sympathetic re-development to accommodate a multi-purpose room, guest accommodation for visiting scientists and a caretaker’s residence.

In our quest to find a suitable solution an architectural design contest was issued in collaboration with the Flemish Government Architect and Flemish Building Agency.

Drawing of Main Entrance.

TV Monadnock, Posad.

Incorporation of new visitor facilities in a protected historical landscape made this contest particularly challenging. Architects were invited to submit designs through an Open Call made by the Flemish Government Architect. Each design company then interpreted the specifications in their own unique ways. The concepts of the five shortlisted submissions are summarised briefly below:

TV Monadnock, Posad

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Ground plan of Main Entrance.

TV Monadnock, Posad.

Designers developed the concept of a hemispherical Welcome Plaza, or meeting area at the Main Entrance. Visitors travel from the curved reception building down a central walkway to the parallel, cobbled driveway (Eredreef) and from there into the heart of the Garden. This design stamps a definite landmark with strong visibility beyond. At the Meise Village Entrance a more intimate, contemporary building is proposed constructed next to the principal axis that allows extended views deep into the Garden.

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Meise Entrance.

TV Monadnock, Posad.

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Position of Main Entrance in relation to existing buildings and landscape.

TV Monadnock, Posad.

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TV ae-architectural, Carton 123 Architects & Murmuur Architects

Exerpt from design proposal.

TV ae-architectural, Carton 123 Architects & Murmuur Architects.

A venture between three architectural firms developed their concept on ‘outdoor rooms’. The visitor passes through a wall symbolising change from a chaotic world to the serene environment of the Garden. The wall forms a U-shaped outdoor room, one side open to the Garden. There are several walkways, one leading into the cobbled inner courtyard of the old farmstead (Vlaamse Hoeve), which in winter is especially welcoming due to a glowing fire from an existing fireplace. Once in the Garden pathways lead along the linear drive (Eredreef) or meanders into the garden beckoning the visitor to explore. The Meise Village entrance building has a similar theme to the Main Entrance, incorporating an existing historic wall into the design.

View on rehabilitated old farmstead.

TV ae-architectural, Carton 123 Architects & Murmuur Architects.

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Position of Main Entrance in relation to existing buildings and landscape.

TV ae-architectural, Carton 123 Architects & Murmuur Architects.

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Impression of the inside of the entrance building.

TV Atelier Veldwerk, Bogdan & Van Broeck Architects, Origin Architecture & Engineering.

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TV Atelier Veldwerk, Bogdan & Van Broeck Architects, Origin Architecture & Engineering

Old farmstead integrated with new architecture.

TV Atelier Veldwerk, Bogdan & Van Broeck Architects, Origin Architecture & Engineering.

This proposal radically renews and engages different relationships with the surroundings and links both Garden entrances. A flexible glasshouse and boardwalk construction links the Main Entrance with Meise Village Entrance 800m away. The link creates a meditative pathway hugging the green edge of the Garden.

Its clever design offers the possibility to extend its development in the future, for example, with respect to the proposed tramway in 2020 and the Garden’s car park. The design could also complement future infrastructure in the park, such as the new glasshouse complex.

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Visualisation of Main Entrance.

TV Atelier Veldwerk, Bogdan & Van Broeck Architects, Origin Architecture & Engineering.

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TV aNNo Architects, URA – Yves Malysse Kiki Verbeeck

View of the interiour of the Main Entrance.

TV aNNo Architects, URA – Yves Malysse Kiki Verbeeck.

Initially, the designers did not look for a building, but for a way to express the right experience and moment. This is realised at the Main Entrance where the core of the building is an open circular space, or nucleus. It is positioned on the drive (Eredreef) to accentuate this historic path’s architectural strength. The circle works like an attraction. The new reception building becomes almost invisible nestled in the green perimeter of the park and at the same height as the surrounding landscape. The build aims to straddle the different styles of building found within the park. The entrance Meise Village has the same features as the Main Entrance but on a more diminutive scale. It also accentuates strong sightlines that take in the castle and other viewpoints.

Visualisation of Meise Entrance TV aNNo Architects, URA – Yves Malysse Kiki Verbeeck.

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Sketches and Maquette of Main Entrance.

TV aNNo Architects, URA – Yves Malysse Kiki Verbeeck.

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Sight of the main drive (Eredreef).

TV aNNo Architects, URA – Yves Malysse Kiki Verbeeck.

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Position of Main Entrance in relation to existing buildings and landscape.

NU Architectuuratelier.

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NU Architectuuratelier

View on welcome plaza.

NU Architectuuratelier.

Visitors encounter the Garden via a Welcome Plaza, a beautiful multifunctional space to begin exploration. A simple and flexible structure is proposed, structuring the space and accentuating the landscape. The view from the park on arrival is found at the centre of the Plaza; a window onto the Garden. Incorporated within the Main Entrance is the shop, information point, offices and other facilities you would expect in a state-of-the-art reception area.

Beyond the reception the visitor encounters a Welcome Garden bordered by the drive (Eredreef) providing definite structure. The Meise Entrance also serves as a multifunctional building, but at a smaller scale to the Main Entrance and affords stunning views of the Garden beyond. The Garden selected this design due to its harmonious dialogue with the landscape and existing buildings and the design’s flexibility.

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Visualisation of Main Entrance.

NU Architectuuratelier.

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Visualisation of Meise Entrance.

NU Architectuuratelier.

Three-dimensional representation of Main Entrance building.

NU Architectuuratelier.

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Maquette of structural element used in the new buildings.

NU Architectuuratelier.

A new Green Ark to safeguard research and conservation collections Botanic Garden Meise currently has two glasshouse complexes.

These comprise over 40 small interconnected glasshouses used for propagation, conservation of endangered species and cultivation of research and orangery collections. Built in the 1930s and 1950s, most are in a very bad state and some have collapsed. Heating a large number of small glasshouses is very inefficient on energy usage and the growing conditions for the plants are not optimal.

Aerial visualisation of new glasshouse complex.

Photo B-architects.

Consequently, our Garden plans to develop a new glasshouse complex to be known as the ‘Green Ark’. It will be around 7,100m2 and include a multi-purpose room where the scientific work of our Garden can be explained and demonstrated. An existing building will adjoin the complex and after renovation will house the seedbank and offices. The total budget for the project is €10.4 million (excluding taxes and fees). In collaboration with the Flemish Building Agency, the Garden launched a European tender to find an architect team. Five teams were selected to develop a full proposal of which one declined. The four plans received were high quality.

B-architects The new glasshouse is approached as an enclosed garden. A brick wall encloses the entire complex. A public path at the east side gives the visitors insight in the activities within the greenhouses. The multipurpose room is situated at the corner; on the other side, an outlook point permits visitors to oversee the entire greenhouse complex.

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Aerial visualisation of new glasshouse complex.

Photo LOW Architects.

LOW Architects The architects create a plaza that harbours the new glasshouse complex and adjoining service building. The plaza connects the different functions and visitors can stroll around and discover the different elements. The multipurpose room is situated opposite the service building, which houses the seed bank that is visible for the visitors.

OFFICE Kersten Geers David Van Severen

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Side view of glasshouse complex.

Photo OFFICE Kersten Geers David Van Severen.

This team optimally uses the topography of the terrain to design a glasshouse complex with a continuous roof. As a result, it figures as a single entity that integrates well with the surrounding buildings and landscape. The multi-purpose room is situated at the heart of the glasshouse complex.

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The design team aims at combining the scientific purposes of the new buildings with a qualitative access for the visitors. A public pavilion is surrounded by the glasshouses and gives room for interpretative panels as well as temporary exhibitions. The seedbank is made visible for visitors, providing an additional attraction. Botanic Garden Meise has chosen this design because of the excellent integration in the existing landscape, the attractiveness for the visitors, and the functionality of the greenhouses.

Side view of glasshouse complex.

Photo Temporary association NU and ar-te.

Exerpt from design proposal.

Photo Temporary association NU and ar-te.

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Temporary association NU and ar-te

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An architectural adventure trail was installed in the canopy glasshouse during 2016.

Photo Marc Reynders.

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Landscaping the new rainforest glasshouses

Planting plan for the glasshouse of Central Africa.

Photo Marc Reynders.

Restoration of the infrastructure and planting in the Plant Palace has been a major undertaking in recent years. The tropical biome, which takes up the entire north wing, became the current focus for this work. A linear trail is planned that will take visitors on an eastwest journey through five glasshouses festooned with lush, tropical rainforest. Since 2014, two tropical glasshouses have welcomed visitors to displays of ethnobotanic species and secondary rainforest plants, Soon, the remaining three glasshouses of the north wing will be completed showing primary rainforest and palms, the rainforest canopy and displays devoted to the vegetation of Central Africa. In 2016, attention was targeted on the Canopy House, where epiphytes and climbers will reside. This display house has two trails. The first is a slightly inclined central causeway that seduces the onlooker to discover the abundance of life in the treetops. The second is an ambitious, elevated walkway three meters in the air where architectural and botanical adventures can begin.

Inspiration for its intricate design was developed by LOW architects of Antwerp who studied fine leaf venation found in tropical plants. This 30m trail is accessible from an existing stairwell in an adjacent 16m high glasshouse. The journey begins on the aerial walkway with a multifunctional terrace for enjoying the view or for use as a teaching area for school groups. From this area visitors’ zigzag through the canopy passing both living and artificial trees swathed with a rich diversity of plants, such as orchids, bromeliads, ferns and mosses.

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Work in 2016 also involved developing planting plans and preparing the site for planting. Botanic Garden Meise is fortunate to have an excellent collection of rainforest species, especially woody plants. It was therefore necessary to perform careful analysis to select the most interesting. As rainforests typically comprise multiple canopy layers, we wanted to reflect this in our glasshouses.

This was best achieved by planting each layer separately taking into account the natural ecology of the species. In this way we will create scenes that are both balanced and natural that will reveal the wonders of the rainforest habitat to visitors.

Planting in the glasshouse of Central Africa.

Photo Marc Reynders.

The elevated walkway comprises alternating meshed square tiles made from wood and metal creating an open, light feel to the trail and allows light to penetrate from below. The delicate feel of the walkway is enforced by meandering handrails spanned with metal webbing giving an impression of the sides of a rope bridge.

To maintain the lightness of the design, large concrete foundations were out of the question and would have substantially reduced the planting area. The solution was to install 27 slender uprights driven into the ground to a depth of six meters. This provided the walkway with structural integrity capable of bearing 500kg per metre squared. The adventurer leaves the humid tree tops by descending a winding staircase that leads back to terra firma.

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Renovation of service building for revitalised wood museum

Wood museum - demolition of the cealing.

Photo Danny Swaerts.

Botanic Garden Meise has a unique wood collection that spans the 19th and 20th centuries. Part of the collection was displayed in a Forestery Museum at the Garden’s former location in central Brussels and focused mainly on the economic importance of wood.

When the Garden relocated to Meise, the collection was stored in the cellars of the herbarium building and all-but forgotten. In 2014, an ambitious program was launched to restore the collection and open a new museum in 2018. Finding a location was easy - a seldom-used service building near the walled garden of the Orangery proved suitable and is being transformed into a state-ofthe-art wood museum. This will relate a much broader range of stories compared to the focus of the former museum. It will include stories on different aspects of wood, such as functional and anatomical information, the role of forests in climate regulation, information on specific trees and the amazing versatility of this natural product.

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Preparation work for the new sewer system.

Photo Dirk Reusens.

Renewal of the sewerage infrastructure Botanic Garden Meise is a historic property with a long history.

The site covers a vast area with many scattered buildings and private roads with a range of utilities that include networks for the supply of gas, electricity, cabling and various sewer systems. Certain parts of this infrastructure are very old and no longer meets today’s needs. An update of the Garden’s sewer system was necessary and so an in-house project was launched in 2016 to modernise and manage this utility. Our approach was to separate wastewater from rainwater, with sewage being diverted to the local sewage works for treatment and rainwater stored on site for irrigating plants. This project is part of the broader vision of our Garden to renew outdated infrastructure over the coming years.

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Installation of the new sewer system.

Photo Dirk Reusens.

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Organisation Our Garden is an ever-changing organisation with about 180 members of staff, more than 100 volunteers and 20 guides. They join forces to reach the Garden’s goals and to prepare for future challenges.

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A new online publication repository for the Garden The way scientists retrieve published research has undergone substantial changes over the past two decades, mainly driven by advances in information technology. Online environments, such as e-journals, institutional archives and open-access repositories are now commonplace and provide fast, broad and often free access to scientific information. This trend will continue as there is a growing tendency in scientific institutions to monitor their research output by encouraging authors to self-archive their research output.

Our Garden has recently adopted the Pure database. Pure is an abbreviation of ‘Publication and Research’ and is now used in many academic organisations worldwide. It is a database that stores and integrates information on research activity in a structured and standardised way. Scientists at our Garden are encouraged to manage their own profiles and post their research output, including publications, research projects and conference abstracts.

Currently, over 5,000 titles are included in the database from the Garden, including 3,765 publications.

In the near future, data from Pure will flow into the FRIS research portal (www.researchportal.be), which will provide permanent and immediate access to the research information of all Flemish universities and scientific institutes. To meet the increasing demand for research transparency information from Flemish scientific institutions, the FRIS research portal will be Open Access.

Bibliometric network of the Garden based on A1 publications from 2015-2016, showing co-authorship relations. Nodes correspond to authors, edges between nodes mark joint publications.

The Pure database also allows for analyses of research output, which can provide interesting insights into publication trends.

The graph below illustrates co-authorship relations based international peer-reviewed publications of the garden between 20152016. This graph shows our research is firmly embedded in a broad scientific network, with more than 650 international co-authors.

Although clear research fields can be discriminated in the graph, the connecting lines are evidence for strong internal collaborations between different groups. Expansion of these scientific networks (both external and internal) are important as they result in improved transfer of knowledge and experience, which can take research programs of the Garden in new directions.

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Weed control and leaf removal in the Garden: a social and ecological approach Botanic Garden Meise considers its core values ‘sustainability’ and ‘respect for diversity’ paramount. At the start of 2016, we began a public tender procedure for a social enterprise company to control weeds on our paved areas and to collect fallen leaves in autumn. A major stipulation was that this work had to comply with our policy banning the use of herbicides that came into force in 2015. Weed control without herbicides requires alternative methods and a change in expectations.

Gradually, our employees and visitors will get used to a more relaxed approach to weeding. However, weed control varies depending on where weeds need to be controlled. Those spontaneously occurring in cultivated areas require knowledge and vigilance from our experienced gardeners, whereas controlling those in our pathways and roads is a less skilled job and suitable for social enterprise.

The social enterprise BWBouchout won the contract for this work for two years with the possibility of renewal to four years.

This company distinguishes itself by employing people with special needs and abilities.

In addition to weed control the company undertook the collection and removal of leaves from paved areas and lawns during autumn. This meant that we could rely on a manual workforce rather than on heavy machines that would compact the soil under the trees, cause excess noise and increase our use of fossil fuel. This solution was more ecological for the Garden and did not disturb our visitors.

52 .

Employees of BWBouchout gathering leaves in Botanic Garden Meise.

Photo Kenny Stevens.

The gardening teams of BWBouchout visit on a regular basis to weed an area of 15,400m2 and to collect leaves over 36.8ha. This gives the opportunity to BWBouchout to provide job security and competency development to its staff while Botanic Garden Meise implements a social and environmentally-friendly policy for maintaining the domain.

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Taking care of the welfare of our employees For the first time staff at Botanic Garden Meise participated in an employee survey, organised by the Flemish Government every two years. The ‘Employee Survey 2016’ took place between May and June and was conducted mainly online. Over the region 13,600 staff took part from 50 agencies and departments.

The study allows a measure of employee satisfaction working across different services of Flemish Government. It also provides the possibility to compare results and shows how staff and their managers perceive their working life. The results were included in a report and serve as a basis for potential improvement and change through human resource planning.

The survey was delivered as a questionnaire with 46 questions divided into themes. These included employee’s perception of their: general satisfaction at work; well-being within the job; their salary; direct working environment; career; and managers.

From the Garden 177 Dutch- and French-speaking employees were invited to answer questions. In total 64% of employees (114 participants) responded providing a slightly higher response rate compared to the average response (59%).

The survey revealed that generally employees are satisfied with their work and enjoy the content of their job, which they consider meaningful for society. They also have the impression that their work is evaluated fairly by management. The survey also highlighted some points for improvement. Staff felt cooperation within teams could be better and that there should be greater respect for rules and regulations. They also underlined their concern that opportunities for promotion were currently inadequately served.

Bruce Robertson of Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh with two of our gardeners.

Photo Guillaume Mamdy.

The final question of the survey asked: ‘Do you like working for Botanic Garden Meise?’ For this the Garden received a very high score. The type of information gathered in this survey is invaluable for the success of our Garden and allows managers to target particular areas and perceptions.

Our gardeners working with colleagues from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.

Photo Guillaume Mamdy.

>

>

Exchanging skills and experience: gardeners go international The living collections of Botanic Garden Meise comprise an overwhelming diversity of species from all over the world. To care, nurture and maintain these vast collections, the Garden relies on an experienced team of gardeners with a wide range of specialisations. An important way to develop these is through the exchange of skills and experience. In this context, 13 gardeners went on foreign missions during 2016 to other botanic institutes.

Our gardeners visited three countries, these included: six gardeners going on a day trip to the University of Bonn Botanic Garden (Germany); three gardeners visiting the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (UK) for nine days; and one gardener visiting the Botanic Garden of Nantes (France) for a week. In addition, two gardeners participated in the conference of the International Carnivorous Plant Society at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew (UK), combined with a visit to their collections. Last but not least, one of our gardeners was invited as a judge at the Courson-Chantilly Plant Fair in France.

A fascinating aspect of our living collections is that they are constantly evolving. This is dependent on a range of diverse circumstances including: current scientific and educational needs and opportunities; new horticultural techniques; changing legislations; new phytosanitary issues; and on a changing climate. The exchange of knowledge with other gardens ensures that the gardeners are best prepared for new opportunities and help refine and elaborate their specialist skills and knowledge.

53 .

In memoriam of Daniel Geerinck (1945-2016) Trained as a botanist, student of Paul Duvigneaud and Jean Léonard, Daniel Geerinck was an inquisitive person, interested in many disciplines (dendrology, ornithology, herpetology, environment protection, genealogy and cinema). He published 796 notes, papers and books between 1967 and 2016 on many different subjects of which half concerned botanical science.

Daniel Geerinck will be remembered for his substantial contribution to the Flora of Central Africa (12 families including the two volumes on the orchid family for which he received two prizes: the Émile De Wildeman Prize of the Royal Belgian Botanical Society and the Émile Laurent Prize of the Belgian Royal Academy of Sciences). He is also known for his other botanical works that include: description of more than 118 new taxa, mainly from Central Africa; detailed inventory of the cultivated trees of the public roads of Brussels; and many taxonomic treatments on temperate trees, especially for the regions flora, the Nouvelle Flore de Belgique, du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg, du Nord de la France et des régions voisines. Last but not least, he was known as a good supervisor to ULB students, sharing his taxonomic skills, aiding their research and proofreading the manuscripts of young scientists.

Daniel was one of the most prolific Belgian naturalists of his generation and an inspiration to those around him. He will be sadly missed.

Daniel Geerinck.

Photo Vincent Droissart.

Independently from his career of professor of biology in secondary school, at which he inspired many of his students to go into biological science, he conducted most of his research activities both at the Laboratory of Systematic Botany and Phytosociology at the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and at the Department of Spermatophytes and Pteridophytes at National Botanic Garden of Belgium (now Botanic Garden Meise), where most of his 7,000 herbarium specimens from Belgium and France reside.

>

54 .

Pierre Compère, former Head of the Department Bryophyta & Thallophyta, passed away on April 29, 2016 at the age of 81. Pierre was one of the most renowned algologists of the past 40 years. His career, which began in the Belgian Congo in 1959 and lasted until his death in 2016, is enormously rich. As a specialist in not only diatoms but also cyanobacteria, euglenophytes, desmids and Characeae, Pierre described over 125 new taxa, including three new genera. He also published over 100 articles in peer-reviewed journals. He was president of the French-speaking diatomist group ADLaF between 1988 and 1999 and, since 1993, secretary of the committee for algae nomenclature within the International Association for Plant Taxonomy (IAPT). Aside from these research activities, Pierre was for over 30 years Editor-in-Chief of the Bulletin of the Royal Botanical Society of Belgium (that became the Belgian Journal of Botany in 1990) and was also a member of the reading committee on the journal Cryptogamie, Algologie.

Pierre was an inspiration to many young scientists and always helped them with answers to thousands of questions on algal taxonomy, morphology and nomenclature. He was an example of a true gentleman-scientist. His kindness, experience and colossal knowledge of algae will be greatly missed by all who knew him.

Pierre Compère studying algae at the microscope.

Photo APM.

In memoriam Pierre Compère

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Facts & figures

55 .

Finances Financial Result (in K€)

Evolution of self generated income

The available budget for 2016 was 13,884 K€ of which 12,198 K€ was used for the financial year in question. In addition 1,686 K€ was committed for works that will be executed in the coming years.

2015

2016

Acquisitions

12,662

13,884

Expenses

12,530

12,198

132

1,686

Budgetary year balance

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

1,002

1,181

1,288

2,086

2,197

Self generated income 2,500

2,000

1,500

1,000

Breakdown of financial income (in K€) Financial income consisted of 11,687 K€ from the Flemish Government and 2,197 K€ in total from self generated income. This internal income came mostly from projects, consultancy work and ticket sales. The sales of the shop and webshop increased from 124 K€ in 2015 to 152 K€ in 2016. This can be explained by the success of the new field guide for the Benelux.

Self generated income (K€) Lease

88

Entrance fee

454

Garden shop

152

Staff canteen

37

Projects & consultancy

1,418

Orangery concession

25

Insurance

18

Sponsorship Total

4 2,197

Lease Entrance fee

500

0 2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Expenditure Salary costs accounted for 70% of the total budget in 2016. Energy costs accounted for 4%. For our plant collections, research activities and public outreach there was, respectively, 677 K€, 253 K€ and 323 K€ available.

Expenditure Salary

8,490

Collections

677

Research

253

Public outreach

323

Overheads

884

Improvements & repairs

998

Energy costs

488

ICT Total

86 12,198

Garden shop Staff canteen

56 .

Projects & consultancy Orangery concession

Salary Collections Research

Insurance

Public outreach

Sponsorship

Overheads Improvements & repairs Energy costs ICT

Staff breakdown per income source (situation on the 1st of January 2016) The salaries of Botanic Garden staff were funded by income arising from the Flemish Community (124 staff members, 69%), from the French Community (30 staff members, 17%), and from own resources (26 staff members, 14%).

2014

2015

2016

Flemish Community

129

125

124

French Community Own income

31

31

30

27

25

26

187

181

180

Total

2014

2015

2016

140 120 100

Staff

80 60

Overview of staff (situation on the 1st of January for each year)

40 20 0 Flemish Community

The number of personnel (including temporary staff) dropped to 180.

2013

2014

2015

2016

Statutory scientists

13

21

20

22

Statutory non-scientists Contractual scientists Contractual non-scientists

81

92

92

91

18

13

13

12

69

61

56

55

181

187

181

180

Total

French Community

Own income

Staff breakdown per community and function (situation on the 1st of January 2016) About 19% of the personnel are scientists of which the French Community finances a third. The French Community also pays for 18 persons (10% of total) that are engaged in other activities of the Botanic Garden.

2016

2013

2014

2015

2016

100

Scientists French Community

12

90

Scientists Flemish Community

22

Non-scientists French Community

18

Non-scientists Flemish Community

128

80 70 60 50

57 .

40 12 (7%)

30 20 10 0 Statutory scientists

Statutory non-scientists

Contractual scientists

Contractual non-scientists

22 (12%) 18 (10%)

128 (71%)

Scientists French Community Scientists Flemish Community Non-scientists French Community Non-scientists Flemish Community

French Community

Age pyramid

Male

Female

Total

60-+

3

1

4

55-59

3

1

4

50-54

4

1

5

45-49

3

2

5

40-44

5

1

6

35-39

3

2

5

30-34

1

0

1

25-29

0

0

0

20-24

0

0

0

Total

22

8

30

Male

More than two thirds of the personnel is older than 40 and more than 40% is older than 50 with 9% older than 60. Approximately 40% of staff is female, but the distribution between the various services is very variable, for example most of our gardeners are men.

8

Female

3

2

7

60-+ 55-59 50-54 45-49

All 2016

40-44

Male

Female

35-39

Total

60-+

11

5

16

55-59

15

10

25

50-54

20

13

33

45-49

12

14

26

40-44

13

10

23

35-39

15

7

22

30-34

16

8

24

25-29

7

2

9

20-24

2

0

2

Total

111

69

180

30-34 25-29 20-24

Flemish Community Male

Female

60-+

8

4

12

55-59

12

9

21

50-54

16

12

28

45-49

9

12

21

40-44

8

9

17

35-39

12

5

17

30-34

15

8

23

60-+

25-29

7

2

9

55-59

20-24

2

0

2

50-54

Total

89

61

150

Male 20

15

10

5

Female 0

5

10

15

Total

45-49 40-44

Male

35-39 30-34

58 .

25-29 20-24

15 60-+ 55-59 50-54 45-49 40-44 35-39 30-34 25-29 20-24

10

5

Female 0

5

10

15

Interns and placements The Garden offers many places for trainees and people seeking work place experience. Our goal is to make them better prepared to take up their place in the labour market. With 31 people in 2016, their number remains stable.

Number of interns and placements Total

Paid

Unpaid

2014

32

1

31

2015

30

0

27

2016

31

0

31

Interns and placements with disability Total

Paid

Unpaid

2014

3

0

3

2015

1

0

1

2016

0

0

0

Interns and placements with migration background Total

Paid

Unpaid

2014

11

0

11

2015

13

0

13

2016

12

0

12

Visitors Number of visits The number of visits increased in 2016 to 131,995, a new record.

In comparison with 2000, the year when visitor numbers were for the first time systematically registered, the number of unique visitors have more than doubled (this figures excludes visits from year card holders and free visits by the inhabitants of Meise village). We believe this has been driven by holding numerous events, including activities to celebrate the different seasons.

Number of visits

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

88,612

91,171

126,486

124,781

131,995

140,000 120,000 100,000

Volunteers

80,000 60,000

The number of volunteers reached 120 or almost 10 in terms of fulltime equivalents based on the norm of the Flemish Government (1,520 hours/year). They play a very important role in all activities of the Botanic Garden: from welcoming visitors to scientific work.

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Number

70

98

108

118

120

FTE

5.7

6.7

8.6

10.5

9.6

40,000 20,000 0 2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Evolution one-time visitors 140

Linear (Evolution one-time visitors)

12

250,00 120

10

200,00

100

59 .

8

150,00

80 6 60

100,00 4

40

Number FTE

50,00

2

20

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2016

2004

2015

2003

2014

2002

2013

2001

2012

2000

0,00 0

0

Breakdown of the number of visits (free / reduction / full price) The increase of the number of visits is mainly the result of people entering the Garden free or at a reduced rate. The number of visits at the full prices slightly decreased.

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Free

30,913

31,368

39,312

39,059

44,048

Reduced

38,215

38,992

57,676

60,339

63,493

Full

19,484

20,811

29,498

25,383

24,454

Participation in organised educative visits The number of school visits increased with 35%. Especially the increase of the number of workshops is remarkable (+57%).

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Free visit

2,771

3,523

2,467

2,529

3,214

Guided visit

1,091

989

1,156

857

992

551

713

671

566

643

School workshop

1,763

1,127

1,917

2,330

3,658

Total

6,176

6,361

6,211

6,282

8,507

BAMA-module Free

Reduced

Full

70,000 60,000

2012

50,000

2013

2014

2015

2016

4,000

40,000

3,500

30,000

3,000

20,000

2,500

10,000

2,000 1,500

0 2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

1,000 500 0 Free visit

Guided visit

BAMA-module

School workshop

Year card subscriptions The number of year cardholders increased with 7%. The increase of individual year cardholders Gold is noteworthy (+ 25%).

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

1,113

1,443

1,756

1,233

1,278

Gold

100

94

112

213

267

Gold 1+3

384

411

517

673

732

1,597

1,948

2,385

2,119

2,277

Individual

Total

Visitors to the Garden Shop In total almost 6,672 visitors made a purchase in the Garden shop. Typical Botanic Garden Meise products, such as our Meise honey and Meise coffee remained very popular. The sales of the new Benelux field guide were also very good.

Visitors Individual year card

Gold

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

4,729

5,189

6,244

6,547

6,672

Gold 1+3

3,000 8,000

2,500

60 .

7,000

2,000

6,000

1,500

5,000

1,000

4,000 3,000

500

2,000

0 2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

1,000 0 2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

The Botanic Garden in the news and social networks The Garden issued 21 press releases in 2016. At this moment, 3,830 persons have a subscription with the digital newsletter Musa, which is published every season in Dutch and French. This is an increase of more than 30%. On the Facebook page of the Botanic Garden, 118 messages in Dutch and 106 in French were posted. In total 300.000 different visitors consulted our website, good for 1.3 million visits.

Musa subscriptions

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2,640

2,715

3,270

2,880

3,830

Collections Living collections The living collections are made up of all accessions for which are available either as living plants and/or seeds. At this moment it is made up of 32,230 accessions from 18,928 taxa. 89% belongs to the Federal government scientific patrimony, 11% is the property of the Flemish Community.

Federal

Flemish

Global

Taxa

16,540

2,923

18,479

Species

12,437

2,388

13,701

Accessions

28,547

3,683

32,230

4,500 4,000 3,500 3,000 2,500 2,000 1,500

Living plant collections

1,000 500 0

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

The number of subscribers to Dumortiera, a digital periodical for floristry, decreased to 1,022. This is explained by the cleaningup of the database, resulting in deleting duplicates.

Subscribers Dumortiera

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

643

1,000

1,050

1,205

1,022

Currently, the living plant collections are made up of 25,675 accessions. They represent 347 families, 3,053 genera, 17,504 taxa and 12,958 species. They are spread over the greenhouses (55%) and open park land (45%). The best represented plant families in the greenhouses are the Cactaceae (2,194 accessions), Orchidaceae (1,691), Euphorbiaceae (1,518), Liliaceae (713), Rubiaceae (559), Araceae (483) and Crassulaceae (465). In the open park collections, the best representated plant families are Ericaceae (789 accessions), Rosaceae (769), Liliaceae (510), Asteraceae (468) and Malaceae (421).

Outdoors

Indoors Outdoors

Indoors Outdoors

Indoors

2014

2014

2015

2015

2016

2016

7,887

9,637

7,942

9,667

7,964

9,540

Subscribers Dumortiera

Taxa

1,400 1,200

Species

5,024

7,937

5,015

7,970

5,078

7,880

1,000

Accessions

11,390

14,869

11,391

14,470

11,480

14,195

800 600 400 200

Outdoors 2014

Indoors 2014

Outdoors 2015

Indoors 2015

Outdoors 2016

Indoors 2016

16,000

0 2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

61 .

14,000 12,000 10,000 8,000 6,000 4,000 2,000 0 Taxa

Species

Accessions

Evolution of the acquisition of living plant material Even if the number of new acquisitions was relatively low in 2016, substantial increase has to be noted for the collections of Euphorbiaceae (166 accessions), Orchidaceae (135) and Cactaceae (116).

Cultivated

Total

Wild origin

2011

1,021

863

2012

1,631

528

2,159

2013

710

404

1,114

2014

1,233

465

1,698

2015

1,440

312

1,752

2016

619

244

863

Cultivated

1,884

The seizure of plant material prohibited under CITES In 2016, the Belgian customs authorities carried out eleven confiscations under the international legislation of CITES. Plants of seven confiscations, corresponding to 20 introductions, were introduced in our collection. The plants of the other confiscations were either destroyed or returned.

CITES accessions

3,000 2,500

2013

2014

2015

2016

86

122

43

48

20

140

2,000

120

1,500

100

1,000

80 60

500 0

2012 Wild origin

40

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

20 0 2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Evolution of queries entered in LIVCOL LIVCOL is an in-house databank that is used for the daily management of the living collections and supporting scientific documentation. This database is partially accessible via the internet site of the Botanic Garden. The number of queries dropped slightly in 2016.

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

3,734

3,962

5,838

7,602

7,251

Number of confiscations

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

12

10

10

9

11

Number of confiscations

Queries LIVCOL

14 12 10

Queries LIVCOL

62 .

8,000

8

7,000

6

6,000

4

5,000

2

4,000

0

3,000 2,000 1,000 0 2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Distribution of living material The number of plant or seed specimens sent out is slightly being increased. In 2016 it reached 2,749 specimens; 76 % of them being seed samples.

Distribution material

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

1,664

1,770

1,830

2,610

2,749

Distribution material 3,000 2,500

Long term seed conservation

2,000 1,500 1,000 500 0 2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Mounting of herbarium specimens The mounting of specimens is an important and time-consuming activity that facilitates the long term storage of plant material.

The number of mounted specimens decreased in 2016 to 13,000.

This is explained by the fact that our herbarium staff was mainly involved in preparing the collections for digitalization for the DOE! project.

The seed bank is a very important ex situ conservation tool to support, in particular in situ conservation projects. It facilitates, over a long period of time (more than 100 years), the conservation of a very broad range of genetic diversity in a very limited area. At this moment, the seed bank of the Botanic Garden conserves some 980 accessions of wild Belgian species, 896 accessions of copper plants from Katanga and 2,149 accessions of wild species of beans.

Belgian flora

Copper flora

Wild beans

2012

841

536

2,144

2013

890

626

2,152

2014

906

803

2,152

2015

949

820

2,152

2016

980

896

2,149

24%

Total

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

18,096

24,311

35,514

20,300

13,000

Belgian flora 54%

Copper flora Wild beans 22%

Total 40,000 35,000 30,000

2012

25,000

2013

2014

2015

2016

2,500

20,000 15,000

63 .

2,000

10,000 5,000

1,500

0 2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

1,000 500 0 Belgian flora

Copper flora

Wild beans

Databasing the collections Herbarium specimens hold valuable information about the distribution, ecology and use of plants. Imaging and databasing the collections make this information available to interested users. In 2016 the number of encoded specimens further increased to 242,937. This high number is the result of ‘rapid databasing’ for the digitalisation project DOE!

Total

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

47,811

75,446

51,037

133,128

242,937

Loans and exchange program The transfer of herbarium specimens between herbaria worldwide is an important step to facilitate botanical research. Specimens can be transferred between herbaria on a temporary basis as loans or on a permanent basis as a gift or as part of a specimen exchange program.In 2016 there were two important gifts: the herbarium of the Free University of Brussels (VUB) and the herbarium of Leuven. In the annual report of 2015, the number of specimens as gift was not correctly reported. The correct number is 49,054 instead of 24,054.

total 300,000 250,000 200,000 150,000 100,000

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Incoming exchange

7,892

15,536

853

2,758

1,919

Incoming gift

8,591

3,918

7,141

49,054

53,599

Incoming loan

2,391

678

1,394

904

472

Outgoing exchange

1,655

1,991

459

183

8,507

Outgoing gift

175

128

116

132

903

Outgoing loan

1,701

2,366

2,430

1,719

472

50,000 0 2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

60,000

50,000

40,000

64 .

30,000

20,000

10,000

0 Incoming exchange

Incoming gift

Incoming loan

Outgoing exchange

Outgoing gift

Outgoing loan

Library acquisitions The number acquisitions to the library further decreased in 2016. More than two third of the acquisitions belonged to the Flemish scientific patrimony. A bit less than one third was added to the Federal Government scientific patrimony (gifts from André Fraiture, Jacques Lambinon & Jean Lehman). A small number of books are the property of the Royal Belgian Botanical Society, whose library is accommodated in the Botanic Garden.

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Monographs

1,035

926

965

1,165

911

Periodical fascicles

2,733

2,500

2,500

2,200

2,000

Monographs

Periodical fascicles

3,000 2,500 2,000

Library database

1,500

The number of records in our library database grew steadily. The complete catalogue, available online, contains now a little more than 130,000 records.

1,000 500 0

Articles

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

49,030

49,150

49,404

49,330

49,709

4,695

4,789

4,828

5,007

5,080

Series Correspondance Monographs

7,444

7,444

7,444

7,452

7,453

49,969

50,743

51,268

52,010

52,499

Valuables

3,386

3,421

3,461

3,465

3,467

Serials

8,979

9,117

9,168

9,118

9,201

560

1,554

2,185

2,640

2,904

123,503

124,664

127,758

129,022

130,313

Iconographic material Total

2012

2013

2014

2015

2014

60,000

2016

Monographs

Flemish

Federal

Society of Belgium

627

264

20

20 (2%)

Flemish Federal 627 (69%)

2016

2015

Royal Botanical

264 (29%) 2012

2013

Royal Botanical Society of Belgium

50,000 40,000

65 .

30,000 20,000 10,000

ial

ls

er

ria hi

c

m

at

Se gr ap no Ico

s

les ab Va lu

og on M

es

po

nd

ra

an

ph

ce

s rie Se

rr Co

Ar

tic l

es

0

External library consultation The library is accessible to the public. However, the number of visits has further fallen in 2016. This trend is expected to continue considering that many botanical publications are available online.

External visitors Loans between libraries

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

457

440

342

177

167

61

58

95

25

23

Research Number of publications

External visitors

Loans between libraries

The number of scientific contributions by members of the staff further increased. The ratio between publications with impact factor and without impact factor dropped, but the total number of papers with impact factor remained stable.

600 500 400 300 200

Manuscipts and book chapters

Abstracts of posters or presentations

2012

83

72

14

169

2013

116

50

26

192

2014

131

100

14

245

2015

134

97

27

258

2016

141

103

19

263

100 0 2012

2013

2014

2015

Other publications (reports, book reviews,...)

Total

2016

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

300

250

200

150

66 .

100

50

0 Manuscripts and book chapters

Abstracts of posters or presentations

Other publications (reports, book reviews,...)

Total

International papers with IF

International or national papers without IF

Books or book chapters

2012

30

45

8

2013

49

40

27

2014

75

42

14

2015

74

37

23

2016

74

46

21

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

80 70 60 50 40 30 20

Average impact factor

10 0 International papers with IF

International or national papers without IF

Papers with IF

Books or book chapters

Papers without IF

% with IF

2012

30

45

40%

2013

49

40

55%

The average impact factor of the manuscripts by staff members of the Botanic Garden decreased to 2.1. This decrease is explained by the absence of publications in the best journals outside our domain.

Average IF

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2.81

2.33

2.04

3.25

2.11

Average IF 3.5

2014

75

42

64%

2015

74

37

67%

3

2016

74

46

62%

2.5 2

% with IF

1.5

70 1

60 0.5

50 0

40

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

30 20 10

67 .

0 2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Publications Publications in journals with impact factor (IF) Abrahamczyk, S., Janssens, S.B., Xixima, L., Ditsch, B. & Fischer, E. (2016) Impatiens pinganoensis (Balsaminaceae), a new species from Angola. Phytotaxa 261: 240-250. (IF 2015: 1.087) 2. Aptroot, A., Ertz, D., Etayo Salazar, J.A., Gueidan, C., Mercado Diaz, J.A., Schumm, F. & Weerakoon, G. (2016) Forty-six new species of Trypetheliaceae from the tropics. Lichenologist 48: 609-638. (IF 2015: 1.29) 3. Bauman, D., Raspé, O., Meerts, P., Degreef, J., Muledi, J.I. & Drouet, T. (2016) Multiscale assemblage of an ectomycorrhizal fungal community: the influence of host functional traits and soil properties in a 10-ha miombo forest. FEMS Microbiology Ecology 92: fiw151.

(IF 2015: 3.53) 4. Boedeker, C., Leliaert, F. & Zuccarello, G.C. (2016) Molecular phylogeny of the Cladophoraceae (Cladophorales, Ulvophyceae), with the resurrection of Acrocladus Nägeli and Willeella Børgesen, and the description of Lurbica gen. nov. and Pseudorhizoclonium gen. nov. Journal of Phycology 52: 905–928. (IF 2015: 2.536) 5. Buckles, L.K., Verschuren, D., Weijers, J.W.H., Cocquyt, C., Blaauw, M. & Sinninghe Damsté, J.S. (2016) Interannual and (multi-)decadal variability in the sedimentary BIT index of Lake Challa, East Africa, over the past 2200 years: assessment of the precipitation proxy. Climate of the Past 12: 1243-1262. (IF 2015: 3.638) 6. Cabaña Fader, A.A., Salas, R., Dessein, S. & Cabral, E.L. (2016) Synopsis of Hexasepalum (Rubiaceae), the priority name for Diodella and a new species from Brazil.

Systematic Botany 41: 408-422. (IF 2015: 1.098) 7. Cadima Fuentes, X., van Treuren, R., Hoekstra, R., van den Berg, R. & Sosef, M.S.M. (2016) Genetic diversity of Bolivian wild potato germplasm: changes during ex situ conservation management and comparisons with resampled in situ populations. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution: doi:10.1007/s10722-015-0357-9. (IF 2015: 1.258) 1.

68 .

8. Carlier, A., Fehr, L., Pinto-Carbó, M., Schäberle, T., Reher, R., Dessein, S., König, G. & Eberl, L. (2016) The genome analysis of Candidatus-Burkholderia crenata reveals that secondary metabolism may be a key function of the Ardisia crenata leaf nodule symbiosis.

Environmental Microbiology 18: 2507-2522. (IF 2015: 5.932) 9. Chen, J., Parra, L.A., De Kesel, A., Khalid, A.N., Quasim, T., Ashraf, A., Bahkali, A.H., Hyde, K.D., Zhao, R.L. & Callac, P. (2016) Inter- and intra-specific diversity in Agaricus endoxanthus and allied species reveals a new taxon, A. punjabensis. Phytotaxa 252: 1-16. (IF 2015: 1.087) 10. Cocquyt, C., de Haan, M. & Lokele Ndjombo, E. (2016) Eunotia rudis sp. nov., a new diatom (Bacillariophyta) from the Man and Biosphere Reserve at Yangambi, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Phytotaxa 272: 73-81. (IF 2015: 1.087) 11. Cocquyt, C. & Ryken, E. (2016) Afrocymbella barkeri spec. nov. (Bacillariophyta), a common phytoplankton component of Lake Challa, a deep crater lake in East Africa. European Journal of Phycology 51: 217-225. (IF 2015: 2.205) 12. Crop, E.D., Van De Putte, K., De Wilde, S., Njouonkou, A.L., De Kesel, A. & Verbeken, A. (2016) Lactifluus foetens and Lf. albomembranaceus sp. nov. (Russulaceae): Look-alike milkcaps from gallery forests in tropical Africa. Phytotaxa 277: 159-170. (IF 2015: 1.087) 13. Couvreur, J.M., San Martin, G. & Sotiaux, A. (2016) Factors affecting the presence and the diversity of bryophytes in the petrifying sources habitat (7220) in Wallonia and the Brussels-Capital region, Belgium.

International Journal of Agronomy 2016: 1-18. (IF 2015: pending) 14. Dauby, G., Zaiss, R., Blach-Overgaard, A., Catarino, L., Damen, T., ..., Engledow, H., ..., Janssens, S.B., ..., Sonké, B., Sosef, M.S.M., ..., Stoffelen, P., ... & Couvreur, T.L.P. (2016) RAINBIO: a mega-database of tropical African vascular plants distributions. PhytoKeys 74: 1-18. (IF 2015: 0.99) 15. De Kesel, A., Amalfi, M., Kasongo Wa Ngoy Kashiki, B., Yorou, N.S., Raspé, O., Degreef, J. & Buyck, B. (2016) New and interesting Cantharellus from tropical Africa. Cryptogamie, Mycologie 37: 283-327. (IF 2015: 1.509 ) 16. de Moraes, P.L.R., De Smedt, S. & Esser, H.-J. (2016) Supplement to the "Catalogue of Brazilian plants collected by Prince Maximilian of Wied". Plant Ecology and Evolution 149: 308-315. (IF 2015: 1.162) 17. Ebeneye, H.C.M., Taudière, A., Niang, N., Ndiaye, C., Sauve, M., Awana, N.O., Verbeken, A., De Kesel, A., Séne, S., Diédhiou, A., Sarda, V., Sadio, O., Cissoko, M., Ndoye, I., Selosse, M-A. & Bâ, A.M. (2016) Ectomycorrhizal fungi are shared between seedlings and adults in a monodominant Gilbertiodendron dewevrei rain forest in Cameroon. Biotropica. doi: 10.1111/btp.12415 (IF 2015: 1.944) 18. Ertz, D., Fryday, A., Schmitt, I., Charrier, M., Dudek, M. & Kukwa, M. (2016) Ochrolechia kerguelensis sp. nov. from the Southern Hemisphere and O. antarctica reinstated from the synonymy of O. parella. Phytotaxa 280: 129-140. (IF 2015: 1.087)

19. Ertz, D., Heuchert, B., Braun, U., Freebury, C.E., Common, R.S. & Diederich, P. (2016) Contribution to the phylogeny and taxonomy of the genus Taeniolella, with a focus on lichenicolous taxa. Fungal Biology 120: 14161447. (IF 2015: 2.244) 20. Follak, S., Belz, R., Bohren, C., De Castro, O., Del Guacchio, E., Pascual-Seva, N., Schwarz, M., Verloove, F. & Essl, F. (2016) Biological flora of Central Europe: Cyperus esculentus L. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 23: 33-51. (IF 2015: 3.578) 21. Gautier, L., Lachenaud, O., van der Burgt, X. & Kenfack, D. (2016) Five new species of Englerophytum K. Krause (Sapotaceae) from central Africa. Candollea 71: 287-305. (IF 2015: 0.386) 22. Godefroid, S., Le Pajolec, S. & Van Rossum, F. (2016) Pre-translocation considerations in rare plant reintroductions: implications for designing protocols.

Plant Ecology 217: 169-182. (IF 2015: 1.49) 23. Groom, Q.J., Weatherdon, L. & Geijzendorffer, I.R. (2016) Is citizen science an open science in the case of biodiversity observations? Journal of Applied Ecology. doi: 10.1111/1365-2664.12767 (IF 2015: 5.196) 24. Haelewaters, D., Zhao, S.Y., Clusella-Trullas, S., Cottrell, T.E., De Kesel, A., .... & Roy, H.E. (2016) Parasites of Harmonia axyridis: current research and perspectives.

BioControl. doi:10.1007/s10526-016-9766-8. (IF 2015: 1.767) 25. Hamsher, S.E., Kopalová, K., Kociolek, J.P., Zidarova, R. & Van de Vijver, B. (2016) Revision of the genus Nitzschia in the Maritime Antarctic Region. Fottea 16: 79102. (IF 2015: 2.026) 26. Hoehndorf, R., Alshahrani, M., Gkoutos, G.V., Gosline, G.W., Groom, Q.J., Hamann, T., Kattge, J., Mota de Oliveira, S., Schmidt, M., Sierra, S., Vos, R., Smets, E.F. & Weiland, C. (2016) The Flora Phenotype Ontology (FLOPO): tool for integrating morphological traits and phenotypes of vascular plants. Journal of Biomedical Semantics 7: 65. (IF 2015: 1.62) 27. Janssens, S.B., Groeninckx, I., De Block, P., Verstraete, B., Smets, E.F. & Dessein, S. (2016) Dispersing towards Madagascar: Biogeography and evolution of the Madagascan endemics of the Spermacoceae tribe (Rubiaceae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 95: 58-66. (IF 2015: 3.792) 28. Janssens, S.B., Vandelook, F., De Langhe, E., Verstraete, B., Smets, E., Vandenhouwe, I. & Swennen, R. (2016) Evolutionary dynamics and biogeography of Musaceae reveal a correlation between the diversification of the banana family and the geological and climatic history of Southeast Asia. New Phytologist 210: 14531465. (IF 2015: 7.21) 29. Ječmenica, V., Droissart, V., Noret, N. & Stévart, T. (2016) Taxonomy of Atlantic Central African orchids 5. A new species of Angraecum sect. Conchoglossum (Orchidaceae, Angraecinae) from Gabon and Cameroon.

PhytoKeys 64: 61-71. (IF 2015: 0.99) 30. Jongkind, C.C.H. (2016) Maesobotrya Liberica Jongkind (Phyllanthaceae), a new forest species from Liberia.

Candollea 71: 275-279. (IF 2015: 0.386) 31. Karthick, B., Kociolek, J.P., Taylor, J.C. & Cocquyt, C. (2016) Gomphonema grande sp. nov., a new diatom (Bacillariophyta) from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tropical Africa. Phytotaxa 245: 187-196. (IF 2015: 1.087)

32. Kochman-Kędziora, N., Noga, T., Zidarova, R., Kopalová, K. & Van de Vijver, B. (2016) Humidophila komarekiana sp. nov. (Bacillariophyta), a new limnoterrestrial diatom species from King George Island (Maritime Antarctica). Phytotaxa 272: 184-190. (IF 2015: 1.087) 33. Kopalová, K., Zidarova, R. & Van de Vijver, B. (2016) Four new monoraphid diatom species (Bacillariophyta, Achnanthaceae) from the Maritime Antarctic Region. European Journal of Phycology 217: 1-19. (IF 2015: 2.205) 34. Kumla, J., Suwannarach, N., Vadthanarat, S., Raspé, O. & Lumyong, S. (2016) First report of Singerocybe in Thailand. Mycotaxon 131: 205-209. (IF 2015: 0.61) 35. Leliaert, F., Tronholm, A., Lemieux, C., Turmel, M., DePriest, M.S., Bhattacharya, D., Karol, K.G., Fredericq, S., Zechman, F.W. & Lopez-Bautista, J.M. (2016) Chloroplast phylogenomic analyses reveal the deepest-branching lineage of the Chlorophyta, Palmophyllophyceae class. nov. Scientific Reports 6: 25367. (IF 2015: 5.228) 36. Lemaire, B., Van Cauwenberghe, J., Verstraete, B., Chimphango, S., Stirton, C., Honnay, O., Smets, E., Sprent, J., James, E.K. & Muthama Muasya, A. (2016) Characterization of the papilionoid-Burkholderia interaction in the Fynbos biome: The diversity and distribution of beta-rhizobia nodulating Podalyria calyptrata (Fabaceae, Podalyrieae). Systematic and Applied Microbiology 39: 41-48. (IF 2015: 3.691) 37. Li, G.J., Hyde, K.D., Zhao, R.L., Hongsanan, S., AbdelAziz, F.A., ..., Raspé, O. & Maharachchikumburaa, N. (2016) Fungal diversity notes 253-366: taxonomic and phylogenetic contributions to fungal taxa. Fungal Diversity 75: 27-274. (IF 2015: 6.991) 38. Lücking, R., Nelsen, M.P., Aptroot, A., Barillas de Klee, R., Bawingan, P.A., ..., Ertz, D., ... & Ventura, N. (2016) A phylogenetic framework for reassessing generic concepts and species delimitation in the lichenized family Trypetheliaceae (Ascomycota: Dothideomycetes).

Lichenologist 48: 739-762. (IF 2015: 1.29) 39. Martin, H., Touzet, P., Van Rossum, F., Delalande, D. & Arnaud, J.-F. (2016) Phylogeographic pattern of range expansion and evidence for cryptic species lineages in Silene nutans in western Europe. Heredity 116: 286-294. (IF 2015: 3.801) 40. Meeus, S., Janssens, S.B., Helsen, K. & Jacquemyn, H. (2016) Evolutionary trends in the distylous genus Pulmonaria (Boraginaceae): Evidence of ancient hybridization and current interspecific gene flow.

Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 98: 63-73. (IF 2015: 3.792) 41. Morin, S., Rosebery, J., Van de Vijver, B. & Schoefs, B. (2016) Advances in diatom biodiversity and ecology.

Botany Letters 163: 69-70. (IF 2015: 0.776) 42. Noirot, M., Charrier, A., Stoffelen, P. & Anthony, F. (2016) Reproductive isolation, gene flow and speciation in the former Coffea subgenus: a review. Trees Structure and Function 30: 597-608. (IF 2015: 1.706) 43. Obbels, D., Verleyen, E., Mano, M.J., Namsaraev, Z., Sweetlove, M., ..., Ertz, D., ... & Vyverman, W. (2016) Bacterial and eukaryotic biodiversity patterns in terrestrial and aquatic habitats in the Sør Rondane

69 .

44.

45.

46.

47.

48.

49.

50.

51.

52.

53.

54.

55.

70 .

56.

57.

Mountains, Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica. FEMS Microbiology Ecology 92: doi:10.1093/femsec/fiw041. (IF 2015: 3.53) Otto, R. & Verloove, F. (2016) A new natural hybrid in Argemone (Papaveraceae). Phytotaxa 255: 57-65. (IF 2015: 1.087) Pinto-Carbó, M., Sieber, S., Dessein, S., Wicker, T., Verstraete, B., Gademann, K., Eberl, L. & Carlier, A. (2016) Evidence of horizontal gene transfer between obligate leaf nodule symbionts. The ISME Journal 10: 2092-2105. (IF 2015: 9.328) Quiroz, D., van Andel, T. & Sosef, M.S.M. (2016) Why ritual plant use has ethnopharmacological relevance.

Journal of Ethnopharmacology 188: 48-56. (IF 2015: 3.055) Raspé, O., Vadthanarat, S., De Kesel, A., Degreef, J., Hyde, K.D. & Lumyong, S. (2016) Pulveroboletus fragrans, a new Boletaceae species from Northern Thailand, with a remarkable aromatic odor. Mycological Progress 15: 15-38. (IF 2015: 1.572) Riaux-Gobin, C., Compère, P., Jordan, R.W., Coste, M. & Yesilyurt, J.C. (2016) Cocconeis molesta Kütz., C. diaphana W.Sm. and C. dirupta W.Greg. (Bacillariophyta): type material, ambiguities and possible synonymies. European Journal of Taxonomy 204: 1-18. (IF 2015: 0.873) Simo, M., Sonké, B., Droissart, V., Geerinck, D.J.L., Lowry Ii, P.P. & Stévart, T. (2016) A taxonomic revision of Angraecum section Dolabrifolia (Orchidaceae, Angraecinae), with the description of a new species from Gabon. Phytotaxa 280: 81-115. (IF 2015: 1.087) Sonké, B., Droissart, V., Micheneau, C., Lowry Ii, P.P., Hardy, O.J., Plunkett, G.M. & Stévart, T. (2016) Morphometrics and molecular phylogenetics of Angraecum section Dolabrifolia (Orchidaceae, Angraecinae). Plant Systematics and Evolution 302: 10271045. (IF 2015: 1.361) Sonké, B. & Lachenaud, O. (2016) Two New Species of Oxyanthus DC. (Rubiaceae) from Central Africa.

Candollea 71: 173-180. (IF 2015: 0.386) Sosef, M.S.M. (2016) Producing the Flore d'Afrique centrale, past, present and future. Taxon 65: 937-939. (IF 2015: 2.907) Sosef, M.S.M. (2016) Taxonomic novelties in Central African grasses (Poaceae), Paniceae 1. Plant Ecology and Evolution 149(3): 356-365. (IF 2015: 1.162) Sukhorukov, A.P., Kushunina, M. & Verloove, F. (2016) Notes on Atriplex, Oxybasis and Dysphania (Chenopodiaceae) in West-Central Tropical Africa. Plant Ecology and Evolution 149: 249-256. (IF 2015: 1.162) Suwannarach, N., Kumla, J., Vadthanarat, S., Raspé, O. & Lumyong, S. (2016) Morphological and molecular evidence support a new truffle, Tuber lannaense, from Thailand. Mycological Progress 15: 827-834. (IF 2015: 1.572) Taylor, J.C., Cocquyt, C. & Mayama, S. (2016) Navicula nielsfogedii J.C.Taylor & Cocquyt sp.nov., a new diatom (Bacillariophyta) from tropical and sub-tropical Africa.

Fottea 16: 201-208. (IF 2015: 2.026) Taylor, J.C., Cocquyt, C. & Mayama, S. (2016) New and interesting Eunotia (Bacillariophyta) from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, tropical central Africa. Plant Ecology and Evolution 149: 291-307. (IF 2015: 1.162)

58. Thongbai, B., Tulloss, R.E., Miller, S.L., Hyde, K.D., Chen, J., Zhao, R. & Raspé, O. (2016) A new species and four new records of Amanita (Amanitaceae; Basidiomycota) from Northern Thailand. Phytotaxa 286: 211-231. (IF 2015: 1.087) 59. Thongklang, N., Chen, J., Bandara, A.R., Hyde, K.D., Raspé, O., Parra, L.A. & Callac, P. (2016) Studies on Agaricus subtilipes, a new cultivatable species from Thailand, incidentally reveal the presence of Agaricus subrufescens in Africa. Mycoscience 57: 239-250. (IF 2015: 1.165) 60. Van de Vijver, B., Kopalová, K. & Zidarova, R. (2016) Revision of the Psammothidium germainii complex (Bacillariophyta) in the Maritime Antarctic Region.

Fottea 16: 145-156. (IF 2015: 2.026) 61. Van de Vijver, B., Kopalová, K., Zidarova, R. & Kociolek, J.P. (2016) Two new Gomphonema species (Bacillariophyta) from the Maritime Antarctic Region.

Phytotaxa 255: 209-220. (IF 2015: 1.087) 62. Van de Vijver, B., Mertens, A. & van Dam, H. (2016) Olifantiella elisabethiana, a new raphid diatom species (Bacillariophyta) observed in the Port of Antwerp (Belgium). Phytotaxa 261: 251-259. (IF 2015: 1.087) 63. Van den Broeck, D. & Ertz, D. (2016) Cryptophaea, a new genus of byssoid Arthoniaceae (lichenized Ascomycota) and its phylogenetic position. Phytotaxa 261: 168-176. (IF 2015: 1.087) 64. van Proosdij, A., Raes, N., Wieringa, J.J. & Sosef, M.S.M. (2016) Unequal contribution of widespread and narrow-ranged species to botanical diversity patterns.

PLOS ONE 11: e0169200. (IF 2015: 3.057) 65. Van Rossum, F., Weidema, I., Martin, H., Le Cadre, S., Touzet, P., Prentice, H.C. & Philipp, M. (2016) The structure of allozyme variation in Silene nutans (Caryophyllaceae) in north-western Europe. Plant Systematics and Evolution 302: 23-40. (IF 2015: 1.361) 66. Verloove, F., Brusa, G. & Ardenghi, N.M.G. (2016) Studies in the genus Paspalum (Paniceae, Poaceae) in Europe: 3. Paspalum thunbergii, a new naturalized neophyte in W Europe. Willdenowia 46: 137-143. (IF 2015: 0.5) 67. Verloove, F., Mesterhazy, A. & Browning, J. (2016) Studies in Schoenoplectiella (Cyperaceae) in tropical West Africa. Phytotaxa 283(1): 96-100. (IF 2015: 1.087) 68. Vieira, C., Camacho, O., Wynne, M.J., Mattio, L., Anderson, R.J., Bolton, J.J., Sansón, M., D'Hondt, S., Leliaert, F., Fredericq, S., Payri, C. & De Clerck, O. (2016) Shedding new light on old algae: Matching names and sequences in the brown algal genus Lobophora (Dictyotales, Phaeophyceae). Taxon 65: 689-707. (IF 2015: 2.907) 69. Vinsova, P., Kopalová, K. & Van de Vijver, B. (2016) Morphological observations on Pseudoeunotia linearis Carter (Bacillariophyta) and its transfer to the genus Eutonia. Botany Letters 163: 117-123. (IF 2015: 0.776) 70. Wang, T.W., De Kesel, A., Haelewaters, D. & Pfister, D.H. (2016) Farlow Herbarium cockroach hosts new record of Laboulbeniales for North America. Rhodora 118: 26-31. (IF 2015: 0.41) 71. Yu, S.-X., Janssens, S.B., Zhu, X.-Y., Lidén, M., Gao, T.-G. & Wang, W. (2016) Phylogeny of Impatiens (Balsaminaceae): integrating molecular and

morphological evidence into a new classification.

Cladistics 32: 179-197. (IF 2015: 4.952) 72. Zanatta, F., Patiño, J., Lebeau, F., Massinon, M., Hylander, K., de Haan, M., Ballings, P., Degreef, J. & Vanderpoorten, A. (2016) Measuring spore settling velocity for an improved assessment of dispersal rates in mosses. Annals of Botany 118: 197-206. (IF 2015: 3.982) 73. Zemagho, L., Liede-Schumann, S., Sonké, B., Janssens, S.B., Lachenaud, O., Verstraete, B. & Dessein, S. (2016) Phylogenetics of tribe Sabiceeae (Ixoroideae, Rubiaceae) revisited, with a new subgeneric classification for Sabicea. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 182: 551-580. (IF 2015: 2.523) 74. Zidarova, R., Kopalová, K. & Van de Vijver, B. (2016) Ten new Bacillariophyta species from James Ross Island and the South Shetland Islands (Maritime Antarctic Region). Phytotaxa 272: 37-62. (IF 2015: 1.087)

Publications in journals without IF 75. Charwat, E., Fabri, R. & Hanquart, N. (2016) "Dieu a créé et Linné a organisé" et le Linnaeus Link Catalogue met à disposition ou un Catalogue commun au service de l'oeuvre de Linné. Cahiers de la Documentation 70: 5-8.

76. de Haan, M. (2016) Myxomyceten op epifytische mossen in Vlaanderen, een opportuniteit. Sterbeeckia 34: 47-61.

77. De Kesel, A., Haelewaters, D. & Dekoninck, W. (2016) Myrmecophilous Laboulbeniales (Ascomycota) in Belgium. Sterbeeckia 34: 3-6.

78. De Mulder, C., Van Hoey, S., Van Hulle, S., Agathos, S.N., Cauwenberg, P., Mergen, P., ... & Nopens, I. (2016) Pressing topics in the Belgian water sector anno 2015.

Sustainability of Water Quality and Ecology 7: 32-36.

79. Degreef, J., Demuynck, L., Mukandera, A., Nyirandayambaje, G., Nzigidahera, B. & De Kesel, A. (2016) Wild edible mushrooms, a valuable resource for food security and rural development in Burundi and Rwanda. BASE Biotechnologie, Agronomie, Société et Environnement 20: 1-12.

80. Diagre-Vanderpelen, D. (2016) The School of Botany of the Brussels Botanic Garden (1797-...): From Center to Margins. Museologia & Interdisciplinaridade 5: 42-65.

81. Diansambu, I., Dibaluka Mpulusu, S., Lumande, K.J. & Degreef, J. (2016) Valorisation de résidus organiques solides d'origine agricole comme substrats pour la culture de deux espèces de champignons comestibles.

Revue scientifique et technique Forêt et Environnement du Bassin du Congo 6: 28-38.

82. Fabri, R. & Demoulin, V. (2016) Jacques Lambinon (1936-2015), un pilier de la botanique en Belgique. Natura Mosana 69: 44-46.

83. Fabri, R. & Hanquart, N. (2016) Botanic Garden Meise, Belgium : From art to plants and from plants to art.

The Botanical Artist 22: 16.

84. Ferrer Gallego, P.P., Ferrando, I., Verloove, F. & Laguna Lumbreras, E. (2016) Rhynchosia aurea (Rottler) DC. (Leguminosae), nueva especie exótica para la flora valenciana introducida a través de sustratos de cultivo hortícola. Bouteloua 26: 31-33.

85. Galasso, G., Domina, G., Adorni, M., Ardenghi, N.M.G., Banfi, E. & Verloove, F. (2016) Notulae to the Italian alien vascular flora: 1. Italian Botanist 1: 17-37.

86. Galasso, G., Domina, G., Ardenghi, N.M.G., Arrigoni, P., Banfi, E., ..., Verloove, F., ... & Nepi, C. (2016) Notulae to the Italian alien vascular flora: 2. Italian Botanist 2: 55-71.

87. Geerinck, D.J.L. (2016) Jacques Lambinon et la dendrologie. Natura Mosana 69: 47-49.

88. Gerstmans, C. & Ertz, D. (2016) Arthonia phlyctiformis Nyl. (Arthoniaceae) retrouvé en France, après plus d'un siècle. Bulletin d'informations de l'association française de lichénologie 41: 10-12.

89. Godefroid, S., Hidvégi, F., Le Pajolec, S. & Van Rossum, F. (2016) Life Herbages: Au secours de joyaux botaniques menacés. Le Magazine Natagora 72: 14-16.

90. Godefroid, S., Le Pajolec, S. & Van Rossum, F. (2016) Rescuing critically endangered species in Belgium? an ambitious reintroduction program of the Botanic Garden Meise. BGjournal 13: 24-27.

91. Hanquart, N., Robbrecht, E. & Diagre, D. (2016) De Rio à Bruxelles : les herbiers d'Ernest Sonnet (18401901). Problèmes posés par les collections d’un floriste atypique. Dumortiera 109: 23-37.

92. Hoste, I. (2016) Le Brome des Ardennes, plante emblématique de la flore belge, et le patriotisme de François Crépin. Natura Mosana 69: 50-57.

93. Hoste, I., Barendse, R., de Zwart, A. & van der Sluis, H. (2016) De eerste vondsten van de Zuid-Europese soort Veronica cymbalaria in Nederland en België. Dumortiera 108: 8-12.

94. Hoste, I. & Diagre, D. (2016) Belgian botany in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries: From plant hunting to nascent nature conservation. Journal for the History of Environment and Society 1: 37-63.

95. Hoste, I. & Verloove, F. (2016) Juncus tenuis subsp. dichotomus, lang miskend maar mogelijk sinds kort inburgerend in België. Dumortiera 108: 22-29.

96. Koureas, D., Arvanitidis, C., Belbin, L., Berendsohn, W., Damgaard, C., Groom, Q., Güntsch, A., Hagedorn, G., Hardisty, A. & Hobern, D. (2016) Community engagement: The last mile-challenge for European research e-infrastructures. Research Ideas and Outcomes 2: e9933.

97. Koureas, D., Hardisty, A., Vos, R.A., Agosti, D., Arvanitidis, C., ..., Groom, Q.J., ..., Mergen, P., ... & Smith, V.S. (2016) Unifying European Biodiversity Informatics (BioUnify). Research Ideas and Outcomes 2: e7787.

98. Lachenaud, O. & van der Maesen, L.J.G. (2016) Notes on African Dalbergia (Leguminosae-Papilionoideae) with the description of two new species from Atlantic Central Africa. Symbolae Botanicae Upsalienses 38: 167-194.

99. Leese, F., Altermatt, F., Bouchez, A., Ekrem, T., Hering, D., ..., Mergen, P., ... & Zegura, B. (2016) DNAqua-Net: Developing new genetic tools for bioassessment and monitoring of aquatic ecosystems in Europe. Research Ideas and Outcomes 2: e11321.

100. Lucy, F.E., Roy, H., Simpson, A., Carlton, J.T., Hanson, J.M., ..., Groom, Q.J., ... & Panov, V.E. (2016) INVASIVESNET towards an International Association for Open Knowledge on Invasive Alien Species.

Management of Biological Invasions 7: 131-139.

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101. Mady, M., Brunerye, L. & Verloove, F. (2016) Un Scirpus nord-américain nouveau pour la flore française : Scirpus cyperinus (L.) Kunth (Cyperaceae). Journal de Botanique 76: 71-77.

102. Mangambu Mokoso, J.d.D., Janssens, S.B., Robbrecht, E., Janssen, T., Ntahobavuka Habimana, H. & Diggelen, R. (2016) A molecular investigation of Asplenium: Asplenium kivuensis nov. - a new species from Kivu (Democratic Republic of Congo). International Journal of Current Research in Biosciences and Plant Biology 3: 27-37.

103. Otto, R. & Verloove, F. (2016) New xenophytes from La Palma (Canary Islands, Spain), with emphasis on naturalized and (potentially) invasive species.

Collectanea Botanica 35: 1-40.

104. Roy, H.E., Hesketh, H., Purse, B.V., Eilenberg, J., Santini, A., ..., Groom, Q., ... & Dunn, A.M. (2016) Alien pathogens on the horizon: Opportunities for predicting their threat to wildlife. Conservation Letters: doi: 10.1111/ conl.12297.

105. Runnel, V., Wetzel, F.T., Groom, Q.J., Koch, W., Pe'er, I., Valland, N., Panteri, E. & Kõljalg, U. (2016) Summary report and strategy recommendations for EU citizen science gateway for biodiversity data. Research Ideas and Outcomes 2: e11563.

106. Sanchez Gullon, E. & Verloove, F. (2016) New records of interesting vascular plants (mainly xenophytes) in the Iberian Peninsula. VI. Folia Botanica Extremadurensis 10: 51-58.

107. Smirnova, L., Mergen, P., Groom, Q.J., De Wever, A., Penev, L., Stoev, P., Pe'er, I., Runnel, V., Camacho, A., Vincent, T., Agosti, D., Arvanitidis, C., Bonet, F.J. & Saarenmaa, H. (2016) Data sharing tools adopted by the European Biodiversity Observation Network Project.

Research Ideas and Outcomes 2: e9390.

108. Somme, L., Van Rossum, F., Mairesse, J.-L. & Jacquemart, A.-L. (2016) Influence de la restauration et de l’entretien de milieux tourbeux sur les communautés de pollinisateurs en Lorraine belge. Parcs & Réserves 71: 4-11.

109. Sukhorukov, A.P., Martin-Bravo, S., Verloove, F., Maroyi, A., Iamonico, D., Catarino, L., El Mokni, R., Daniel, T.F., Belyaeva, I.V. & Kushunina, M. (2016) Chorological and taxonomic notes on African plants.

Botany Letters 163: 417-428. (IF 2015: 0.776) 110. Van de Kerckhove, O. (2016) Geïllustreerd overzicht van Leccinum subsectie Scabra in België. Somber gekleurde ruigsteelboleten bij berk. Sterbeeckia 34: 7-32.

111. Van de Put, K. & De Kesel, A. (2016) Dacrymyces olivei sp. nov., een dubbelganger van D. stillatus. Sterbeeckia 34: 62-64.

112. Van den Broeck, D. (2016) Atlasproject lichenen en lichenicole fungi provincie Antwerpen. Verslag van acht excursies in 2015. Muscillanea 36: 43-55.

113. Van den Broeck, D. & De Wit, D. (2016) Lichenologisch verslag van het weekend in Belval-enArgonne 3-6 september 2015. Muscillanea 36: 11-30.

114. Van den Broeck, D., Van Dort, K. & De Wit, D. (2016) Thelidium zwackhii, nieuw voor Vlaanderen. Met een veldsleutel voor de pyrenocarpe terrestrische lichenen van België. Dumortiera 108: 30-32.

115. Vanhecke, L. (2016) In memoriam Herman Stieperaere (17.09.1945-11.06.2015). Dumortiera 108: 3-4.

116. Verloove, F. (2016) Adventieve en ingeburgerde zeggen (Carex, Cyperaceae). Dumortiera 108: 13-21.

117. Verloove, F. (2016) Jacques Lambinon (1936-2015) en de Nouvelle Flore de la Belgique. Een terugblik. Dumortiera 108: 5-7.

118. Verloove, F. (2016) Les campings du littoral belge : un lieu de prédilection inattendu pour l'introduction de plantes exotiques. Natura Mosana 69: 96-100.

119. Verloove, F. (2016) A naturalised population of Espostoa melanostele (Cactaceae: Cactoideae) on Tenerife (Canary Islands). Cactus Explorer 17: 19-22.

120. Verloove, F. & Alves, P. (2016) New vascular plant records for the western part of the Iberian Peninsula (Portugal and Spain). Folia Botanica Extremadurensis 10: 7-25.

Books and book chapters 121. Beentje, H.J. (2016) Pandanaceae. In: Sosef, M.S.M. (Ed.) Flore d'Afrique centrale, nouvelle série. Botanic Garden Meise, Meise, 13 pp.

122. Compère, P. (2016) Cyanoprocaryota. In: Malaisse, F., Schaijes, M. & D'Outreligne, C. (Eds.) Copper-cobalt flora of Upper Katanga and Copperbelt: Field guide. Presses agronomiques de Gembloux, Gembloux, pp. 44-45.

123. Degreef, J., Demuynck, L., Dibaluka Mpulusu, S., Isaac, D., Kasongo Wa Ngoy Kashiki, B., Mukandera, A., Nzigidahera, B., Yorou, N.S. & De Kesel, A. (2016) African mycodiversity, a huge potential for mushroom trade and industry. In: Baars, J.J.P. & Sonnenberg, A. (Eds.) Science and cultivation of edible fungi: Proceedings of the XIXth international congress on the science and cultivation of edible fungi, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 30 May-2 June 2016. International Society for Mushroom Science, pp.

371-376.

124. Ector, L., Van de Vijver, B., Wetzel, C.E., Cauchie, H.-M., Hoffmann, L. & Dobrowolski, A. (Eds.) (2016) Programme et livre des résumés, 35ème Colloque de l'Association des Diatomistes de Langue Française (ADLaF), Belvaux, Luxembourg, 13-15 septembre 2016. Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST), Esch-sur-Alzette, 79 pp.

125. Ertz, D. (2016) Lichenized Fungi. In: Malaisse, F., Schaijes, M. & D'Outreligne, C. (Eds.) Copper-cobalt flora of Upper Katanga and Copperbelt: Field guide. Presses agronomiques de Gembloux, Gembloux, pp. 46-52.

126. Es, K.C.R. (2016) De Plantentuin Meise. Groen en Smakelijk. KNNV Uitgeverij.

127. Geerinck, D.J.L. (2016) Asparagaceae. In: Sosef, M.S.M. (Ed.) Flore d'Afrique centrale, nouvelle série. Botanic Garden Meise, Meise, 34 pp.

128. Janssens, S.B. (2016) Musaceae. In: Sosef, M.S.M. (Ed.) Flore d'Afrique centrale, nouvelle série. Botanic Garden Meise, Meise, 15 pp.

129. Lachenaud, O. (2016) Dalbergia. In: Sosef, M.S.M., Florence, J., Ngok Banak, L., Bourobou, H.P.B. & Bissiengou, P. (Eds.) Leguminosae - Papilionoideae. Margraf Publishers; Backhuys Publishers, Weikersheim, pp. 101153.

130. Ralitsa, Z., Kopalová, K. & Van de Vijver, B. (2016) Diatoms from the Antarctic Region. I: Maritime

Antarctica. In: Lange-Bertalot, H. (Ed.) Iconographia Diatomologica, Vol. 24. Koeltz Botanical Books, Oberreifenberg, 504 pp.

131. Sosef, M.S.M. (2016) L'exploration botanique du Gabon. In: Vande weghe, J. & Stévart, T. (Eds.) Plantes à fleurs du Gabon. Agence Nationale des Parcs Nationaux, Libreville, pp. 28-31.

132. Sosef, M.S.M. & Bissiengou, P. (2016) Ochnaceae.

In: Sosef, M.S.M., Florence, J., Ngok Banak, L., Bourobou, H.P.B. & Bissiengou, P. (Eds.) Eriocaulaceae, Ochnaceae, Scrophulariaceae. Margraf Publishers, Backhuys Publishers, pp. 21-87.

133. Sosef, M.S.M., Florence, J., Ngok Banak, L., Bourobou, H.P.B. & Bissiengou, P. (Eds.) (2016) Eriocaulaceae, Ochnaceae, Scrophulariaceae. Margraf Publishers, Backhuys Publishers, Weikersheim, 158 pp.

134. Sosef, M.S.M., Florence, J., Ngok Banak, L., Bourobou, H.P.B. & Bissiengou, P. (Eds.) (2016) Leguminosae Papilionoideae. Margraf Publishers, Backhuys Publishers, Weikersheim, 407 pp.

135. Stieperaere, H. (2016) Antherocerotophyta. In: Malaisse, F., Schaijes, M. & D'Outreligne, C. (Eds.) Copper-cobalt flora of Upper Katanga and Copperbelt : Field guide. Presses agronomiques de Gembloux, Gembloux, pp. 53-55.

136. Stieperaere, H. (2016) Bryophyta. In: Malaisse, F., Schaijes, M. & D'Outreligne, C. (Eds.) Copper-cobalt flora of Upper Katanga and Copperbelt: Field guide. Presses agronomiques de Gembloux, Gembloux, pp. 58-61.

137. Stieperaere, H. (2016) Marchantiophyta. In: Malaisse, F., Schaijes, M. & D'Outreligne, C. (Eds.) Copper-cobalt flora of Upper Katanga and Copperbelt: Field guide. Presses agronomiques de Gembloux, pp. 56-57.

138. van der Maesen, L.J.G. & Lachenaud, O. (2016) Millettia sect. Afroscandentes Dunn. In: Sosef, M.S.M., Florence, J., Ngok Banak, L., Bourobou, H.P.B. & Bissiengou, P. (Eds.) Leguminosae - Papilionoideae. Margraf Publishers; Backhuys Publishers, Weikersheim, pp. 251-260.

139. van der Meijden, R., Strack van Schijndel, M. & Van Rossum, F. (2016) Guide des plantes sauvages du Benelux. Agentschap Plantentuin Meise, 520 pp.

140. van der Meijden, R., Strack van Schijndel, M. & Van Rossum, F. (2016) Wilde planten van de Benelux, een veldgids. Agentschap Plantentuin Meise, 520 pp.

141. van der Meijden, R., Strack van Schrijndel, M. & Van Rossum, F. (2016) Field guide to the wild plants of Benelux. Agentschap Plantentuin Meise, 520 pp.

Popular publications 142. Cambré, C. & Es, K. (2016) Asters. Jardins & Loisirs 9-10: 60-63.

143. Cambré, C. & Es, K. (2016) Oranjerieplanten. Fence 11-12: 62-65.

144. Cambré, C., Es, K. & Hidvégi, F. (2016) Les plantes d'orangerie. Jardins & Loisirs 11-12: 72-75.

145. Es, K. (2016) Ficus. Fence 6-8: 54-56.

146. Es, K. (2016) Pleins feux sur les rhododendrons. Jardins & Loisirs 4: 90-93.

147. Es, K. (2016) Rododendrons, in vuur en vlam. Fence 4: 82-85.

148. Es, K. (2016) Theatrale irissen. Prachtig kleurenpalet.

Fence: 59.

149. Es, K. & Hidvégi, F. (2016) Coniferen, ouder dan dinosaurussen. Fence 2-3: 76-79.

150. Es, K. & Hidvégi, F. (2016) Iris théâtraux. Une superbe palette de couleurs. Jardins & Loisirs 4: 65.

151. Es, K. & Hidvégi, F. (2016) Les conifères, plus vieux que les dinosaures. Jardins & Loisirs 2-3: 82-85.

152. Es, K. & Hidvégi, F. (2016) Les Ficus. Jardins & Loisirs 6-8: 52-54.

153. Es, K. & Hidvégi, F. (2016) Les majestueuses serres du Jardin botanique Meise. Jardins & Loisirs 4: 70-73.

154. Es, K. & Hidvégi, F. (2016) Parels van serres: De kassen van de Plantentuin Meise. Fence 4: 64-67.

155. Van Conkelberge, L. (2016) Opnieuw Gentse knolbegonia's in Plantentuin Meise. Sierteelt & Groenvoorziening 60: 41-41.

156. Van Conkelberge, L. (2016) Focus op Belgische potchrysanten in Plantentuin Meise.

Sierteelt&Groenvoorziening 18: 29.

Web publications and book reviews 157. Branquart, E., Vanderhoeven, S., Groom, Q.J. & Tanaka, H. (2016) [Web publication] Acer rufinerve (grey snake-bark maple) (http://www.cabi.org/isc/ datasheet/2889).

158. De Block, P. (2016) [Book review] Extinct Madagascar.

Picturing the island's past, Steven M. Goodman and William L. Jungers with Plates by Velizar Simeonovski.

Biological Conservation 193: 115.

159. Diagre-Vanderpelen, D. (2016) [Web publication] Biographies of F. Crépin, L. Errera & E. Marchal (http:// www.botany.be/fr/prix). The Royal Botanical Society of Belgium Awards.

160. Diagre-Vanderpelen, D. (2016) [Web publication] Maris, Martin (Martijn) (Fijnaart, 14 janvier 1810 - Ixelles, 28 septembre 1868), voyageur, naturaliste-collecteur, médecin (?), diplomate (http://www.kaowarsom.be/fr/ notices_maris_martin). Dictionnaire Biographique des Belges d’Outre-Mer KAOW - ARSOM. 161. Groom, Q.J. (2016) Caring for and sharing data created by volunteers. (https://jappliedecologyblog.wordpress. com/2016/10/04/caring-for-and-sharing-data-createdby-volunteers/).

162. McGeoch, M., Groom, Q.J., Pagad, S., Petrosyan, V.G., Ruiz, G.M. & Wilson, J. (2016) Data fitness for use in research on alien and invasive species. Global Biodiversity Information Facility, 29 pp.

163. Sosef, M.S.M. (2016) [Book review] Spot-characters for the Identification of Malesian Seed Plants. Plant Ecology and Evolution 149: 366-367.

164. Vanderborght, T. (2016). List of seeds. (http://www. plantentuinmeise.be/RESEARCH/COLLECTIONS/ LIVING/INDEX_SEMINUM/BR_IS2016.pdf) 165. Vanhecke, L. (2016) [Book review] De KNNV Veldgids Rompgemeenschappen en enkele kanttekeningen daarbij. Dumortiera 108: 33-37.

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Reports, documentary films 166. Cocquyt, C. (2016) Analyses of 6 filtered phytoplankton samples from Lake Kivu. Report January 2016. 12 pp.

167. Dessein, S., Es, K.C.R. & Bellefroid, E. (2016) Plantentuin Meise 2.0 De wereld van planten in hartje Europa.

48 pp.

168. Fraiture, A., Sroka, G. & Van den Broeck, D. (2016) Convention d'étude pour l'inventaire des polypores et des lichens des placettes du réseau de suivi extensif de l'état sanitaire des écosystèmes forestiers : Rapport final 2016. Jardin Botanique Meise, 319 pp.

169. Hidvégi, F. (2016) Enquête de satisfaction de la Newsletter Musa. Tevredenheidsenquête Musa (Newsletter). (https://infogr.am/enquete_musa__results) 170. Hidvégi, F. & Degreef, J. (2016) Documentary: Rwanda Fungi - A scientific expedition to Rwanda to make an inventory of edible mushrooms (https://youtu. be/dY84DavE5HQ).

171. Vanderborght, T. (2016) LIVCOL, database for the Living Collections. Data and Programming. 26 pp.

172. Vanderborght, T. (2016) PHASEO, database for the Wild bean Collection. Data and Programming. 16 pp.

173. Vanderborght, T. (2016) Quel avenir pour les bases de données relatives aux collections vivantes? Brahms vs IrisBG. 7 pp.

174. Vanhecke, L. & Becuwe, M. (2016) Overzicht van de floristische, vegetatiekundige, ecologische en historischagrarische kenmerken van sloten en poelen in het westelijk en zuidoostelijk gedeelte van het beschermde landschap Oudlandpolders van Lampernisse en van hun habitat- en natuurwaarde en kwetsbaarheid. Rapport.

Agentschap Plantentuin Meise, 173 pp.

175. Vanhecke, L., Becuwe, M., Engledow, H. & Vanbillement, B. (2016) Botanische, ecologische en landschappelijke elementen voor de opmaak van een beheersplan tot het behoud en verdere ontwikkeling van de biodiversiteit in en langs de sloten en poelen in de Beschermde Oudlandpolders van Lampernisse. Rapport.

Agentschap Plantentuin Meise, 233 pp.

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The Garden’s team Staff Flemish Community .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

Amalfi, Mario Asselman, Sabrina Baert, Wim Ballings, Petra Bawin, Yves Bebwa Baguma, Nestor Bellanger, Sven Bellefroid, Elke Bockstael, Patrick Bogaerts, Ann Borremans, Paul Brouwers, Erwin Buyle, Céline Cambré, Chitra Cammaerts,Thomas Cassaer, Ronny Clarysse, Katrien Claus, Liliane Cocquyt, Christine Cremers, Stijn Dardenne, Christel De Backer, Rita De Beck, Jan De Block, Petra De Bondt, Leen De Coster, An De Groote, Anne de Haan, Myriam Dehaes, Mimi De Jonge, Gerrit De Kesel, André De Medts, Steve De Meeter, Ivo De Meeter, Niko De Meyer, Frank De Meyere, Dirk De Pauw, Kevin De Smedt, Sofie Decock, Marleen Dehertogh, Davy Delcoigne, Daphne Deraet, Nancy Derammelaere, Stijn Derycke, Marleen Dessein, Steven D'Hondt, Frank Engledow, Henry Es, Koen Esselens, Hans Franck, Pieter Gheys, Rudy Ghijs, Dimitri Groom, Quentin Hanssens, Francis Herbosch, Johan Heyvaert, Karin Heyvaert, Louisa

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Hoste, Ivan Janssens, Marina Janssens, Steven Kaïssoumi, Abdennabi Kleber, Jutta Kosolosky, Chris Lachenaud, Olivier Laenen, Luc Lanata, Francesca Lanckmans, Peter Lanin, Lieve Lanin, Myriam Lanin, Peter Leliaert, Frederik Le Pajolec, Sarah Leyman, Viviane Lips, Jimmy Lucas, Glen Looverie, Marleen Maerten, Christophe Mertens, Micheline Mombaerts, Marijke Ntore, Salvator Olievier, Bart Pauwels, Geert Peeters, Katarina Peeters, Marc Postma, Susan Puttemans, Barbara Puttenaers, Myriam Reusens, Dirk Reynders, Marc Robberechts, Jean Ronse, Anne Ryken, Els Saeys, Wim Schaillée, David Scheers, Elke Schoemaker, Erika Schoevaerts, Johan Schuerman, Riet Semeraro, Alexia Seynaeve, Isabelle Sosef, Marc Speliers, Wim Steppe, Eric Stevens, Kenny Stoffelen, Piet Swaerts, Danny Swaerts, Wouter Tavernier, Wim Thiebackx, Mattehw Tilley, Maarten Tytens, Liliane Van Belle, Nand Van Caekenberghe, Frank Van Campenhout, Geert

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Van Damme Vivek, Seppe Van de Kerckhove, Omer Van de Vijver, Bart Van de Vyver, Ann Van den Borre, Jeroen Van den Broeck, Dries Van den Broeck, Mia Van Den Troost, Gery Van der Beeten, Iris Van der Jeugd, Michael Van der Plassche, Thierry Van Eeckhoudt, Jos Van Eeckhoudt, Lucienne Van Grimbergen, Dieter Van Hamme, Lucienne Van Herp, Marc Van Hove, Daniel Van Hoye, Manon Van Humbeeck, Jos Van Humbeeck, Linda Van Kerckhoven, Ken Van Opstal, Jan Van Ossel, Anja Van Renterghem, Koen Van wal, Rita Van Wambeke, Paul Vandelook, Filip Vanden Abeele, Samuel Vandendriessche, Yuri

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Vanderstraeten, Dirk Vanwinghe, Petra Verdickt, Nathalie Verdonck, Carina Verissimo Pereira, Nuno Verlinden, Kevin Verlinden, Willy Verloove, Filip Vermeerbergen, Jochen Vermeersch, Bart Versaen, François Versaen, Ilse Verschueren, Alice Verstraete, Brecht Verwaeren, Leen Vissers, Dany Vleminckx, Kevin Vleminckx, Sabine Vloeberghen, Jos Willems, Stefaan Zérard, Carine

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Beau, Natacha Charavel, Valérie Degreef, Jérôme Denis, Alain Diagre, Denis Dubroca, Yaël Ertz, Damien Etienne, Christophe Fabri, Régine Fernandez, Antonio Fraiture, André Galluccio, Michele Gerstmans, Cyrille Godefroid, Sandrine Hanquart, Nicole

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Hidvégi, Franck Jospin, Xavier Lahaye, Chantal Lekeux, Hubert Magotteaux, Denis Mamdy, Guillaume Orban, Philippe Raspé, Olivier Rombout, Patrick Salmon, Géraud Stuer, Benoît Telka, Dominique Van Onacker, Jean Van Rossum, Fabienne Vanderborght, Thierry

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Aerts, Lutgarde Bailly, Francine Belmans, Lucie Berckx, Anna-Maria Bonnin, Jacques Boyker, Viktor Buekenhoudt, Marijke Buelens, Luc Cammaerts, Jean Pierre Cammaerts, Lisette Cappelleman, Ingrid Claes, Philippe Claessens, Alfons Coen, Marie-Laure Cuvry, Bruno De Beer, Dirk De Boeck, Marc de Borman, Sandrine De Cock, Marianne De Cuyper, Jef De Hondt, Eugeen de Lominne de Bisc, Percy De Ronghé, Rose-Marie De Smet, Françoise De Wit, Daniël Dehaes, Mimi Delière, Sandra Devolder, Christiane Doutrelepont, Hugues Du Bois, Martine Dumont, Anne Marie Durant, Daniël Edmunds, Clive Engels, Maria-Helena Erpelding, Nathalie Exsteen, Walter Fabré, Lisette Gheysens, Godelieve Girotto, Alberto Goossens, Flor Gorteman, Anne-Marie Guillaume, Michel Gyssens, Paola Hendricx, Philippe Hoffstadt, Jacqueline Horions, Christiane Houben, Guido Huriaux, Thierry Jacobs, Ludo Jessen, Georgette Kozloski, Elisabeth Laureys, Myriam Le Clef, Amaury Lecomte, Josiane Lenaerts, René Lepage, Pierre Lokadi, Valère Lucas, Mireille Mager, Gertrude Malevez, Philippe Maton, Bernard

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Mattheeuws, Anne Meira Y Duran, Octavio Mignolet, Vinciane Minost, Claire Moesen, Piet Mortelmans, Bieke Moulaert, Colette Narmon, Gisèle Peeters, Henrica Petri, Vitalija Putman, Didier Ray, Anne Roeck, Robert Roggemans, Martine Rombauts, Luc Saintrond, Dominique Scheers, Patricia Scheiba, Maria Schotte, Marleen Sevenants, Emiel Seynaeve, Isabelle Shutt, Richard Speeckaert, Claudine Simon, Daniel Snyers, Ludo Sonemann, Anja Sroka, Gabriela Sterckx, Marie-Louise Strack, Maarten Swyncop, Muriël Tavernier, Paul Thielemans, Lea Tielemans, Elza Valle Moro, Maria Van Asch, Solange Van Camp, Karel Van Campenhout, Wilfried Van Capellen, Gisèle Van Conkelberghe, Luc Van De Casteele, Geertrui Van der Straeten, Elza Van Kerckhoven, Leo Van Lier, René Van Rossem, Maria Vandeloo, Rita Vanden Baviere, Cécile Vanden Baviere, Nelly Vandeweghe, Sylverster Vanderstukken, Christel Vanhoucke, Wendy Vereschaka, Kateryna Verlinden, Hugo Verswyvel, Myriam Vivignis, Patrick Wagemans, Emiel Wagemans, Philip Wilfert, Sandra Würsten, Bart Wymeersch, Miet

Visiting postdocs .. Ensslin, Andreas

Student workers .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

Ait Aadi, Aïcha Chahbouni, Jaouad De Braekeler, Jolien De Dobbeleer, Nele De Neve, Elke De Neve, Jo De Pauw, Karen De Raedt, Laura Decoene, Isaak Foets, Jasper Geels, Alexandra Geeroms, Jonathan Glodé, Quentin Gouwy, Queenie Heylen, Annelies Hoebeke, Laura Jacquemyns, Maxim Lambrecht, Vincent Lanckmans, Jonas Lanckmans, Simon Lu, Ding-Ding Lucas, Glen

.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

Mariën, Toon Masy, Cindy Masy, Kelly Masy, Sven Masy, Tim Merckx, Jef Mertens, Arne Poppeliers, Sanne Praet, Eline Rombout, Fiona Sax, Yannick Scheere, David Stevens, Laurenz Telka, Shane Telka, Tasha Turk, Oguzhan Abdulmelik Van den Driessche, Anouk Van Den Eynde, Wouter Van Dijk, Jesper Van Thielen, Tessa

.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

Mazy, Maxim Oguzhan, Turk Pinnck, Kris Slepcevic, Julie Temple, Sophie Thongbai, Benharong Tiebackx, Matthew Vadthanarat, Santhiti Van De Vondel, Lieven Van Den Broucke, Wein Vandenberghe, Kevin Verelst, Tim Yian Gouve, Claver

Trainees .. Benedetti, Sofia .. Birimgamine, Mugoli Elisabeth .. Bukasa, Odiia Axel .. Chuankid, Boontiya .. Ding Ding, Lu .. Duhin, Audrey .. Erkelbout, Kurt .. Etienne, Elisa .. Finet, Elliot .. Foets, Jasper .. Heylen, Annelies .. Hoebeke, Laura .. Jacquemyns, Maxim .. Lebrun, Thibault .. Marien, Toon .. Masy, Cindy

Guides .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

Bailly, Francine Baumers, Maarten Benit, Danielle De Boeck, Marc De Cock, Marianne De Cuyper, Jef Delière, Sandra Doutrelepont, Hugues Geernaert, Inge Kozloski, Elisabeth Loconte, Francesco Mortelmans, Bieke

Honorary research associates .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

Proost, Alida Silverans, Michel Steensels, Steven Van Conkelberge, Luc Vandeloo, Rita Van den Broeck, Martine Van Der Herten, Frank Van de Vijver, Martine van Lidth, Bénédicte Verschueren, Frans Wayembergh, Lisiane Wymeersch, Miet

.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

Billiet, Frieda Champluvier, Dominique Compère, Pierre Geerinck, Daniel Jongkind, Carel Kopalová, Katerina Malaisse, François Pauwels, Luc Rammeloo, Jan Robbrecht, Elmar Sanín, David

.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

Sharp, Cathy Sonké, Bonaventure Sotiaux, André Stévart, Tariq Vanderpoorten, Alain Vanderweyen, Arthur Vanhecke, Leo van der Zon, Ton Verstraete, Brecht Vrijdaghs, Alexander

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Botanic Garden Meise A portrait A Garden with a long history…

Older than Belgium, the earliest roots of the Botanic Garden can be traced to 1796, meaning that we have been working with plants for over two centuries. The Garden comprises 92 ha and includes many historical buildings, including a castle that dates back to the 12th century.

Our mission Building a sustainable future through discovery, research and conservation of plants.

With unique collections…

The Garden has a large herbarium housing about 4 million specimens and containing the largest Rosa herbarium of the world and important historical collections from Brazil and Central Africa. It also has a botanical library holding over 200,000 volumes, comprising publications from the 15th century to modern day.

With the mission to conserve plants…

The Garden holds a collection of about 18,000 different kinds of living plants, among which several are threatened, such as the Laurent cycad (Encephalartos laurentianus). The Garden also houses an internationally recognised seed bank including inter alia the seeds of numerous wild bean species.

To study plants and fungi...

Activities of our scientists to inventory and study plant, fungal and algal diversity span the globe; from Antarctica to the rainforests of Congo. The scientific work focuses on the correct and scientific identification of plant species. What are the characteristics of a species? How many species are there? How do we distinguish one species from another? Without answers to these questions no economic activity based on plants or plant derived product could function. Knowing the correct scientific name of a species is the key that unlocks all information on this species. Correctly identifying a species helps us to recognise poisonous species from related medicinal ones. It helps us to establish if a plant species is threatened by extinction and in need of protection.

To teach about plant diversity...

On a yearly basis approximately 125,000 people visit the Garden.

Most of our visitors come to explore the glasshouses and the gardens, but, of course, there is more. Our scientists fully realise the importance of sharing their knowledge, passion and enthusiasm with the public. Botanic Garden Meise has developed a range of tools to spread knowledge about plants and to raise public awareness about plant conservation. Our website www.botanicgarden. be offers an overview of current activities in the Garden.

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Our values The six guiding values of the Garden, necessary to keep us growing and flourishing.

One team, one mission The staff of the Botanic Garden are team players.

We combine our talents to realise our goals; through a process of consultation we are all responsible for its success.

Respect for diversity We should be respectful and considerate to everyone with whom we come into contact. We appreciate their individuality and diversity. Our colleagues deserve respectful cooperation and professionalism.

Delivering a professional service In performing our tasks and developing new ideas we always have the needs and expectations of our internal and external customers in mind.

An eye for sustainability As professionals in environmental sciences, we have a responsibility for being role models in creating a healthy environment for people and plants.

Open communication We should communicate openly and honestly in our daily work and decision making. Sharing useful information serves the common good. Problems should be shared and solutions sought together with discretion where necessary.

Strive for excellence Our objectives are achieved to a high standard in an efficient and honest manner. We are always open to constructive criticism and we should critically evaluate our work and dare to make adjustments where necessary.

Board of Directors Mark Andries – government commissioner Steven Dessein – secretary Véronique Halloin – member Chantal Kaufmann – member Jan Rammeloo – president Jan Schaerlaekens – member Raf Suys – government commissioner Ann Van Dievoet – member Mieke Van Gramberen – member Yoeri Vastersavendts – member Mieke Verbeken – member Renate Wesselingh – member

Scientific council Representatives from universities Flemish community Geert Angenon – Vrije Universiteit Brussel Olivier Honnay – KU Leuven Ivan Nijs – Universiteit Antwerpen Mieke Verbeken (president)– Universiteit Gent

Representatives from universities French community Frédérik De Laender – Université de Namur Pierre Meerts – Université libre de Bruxelles Claire Périlleux – Université de Liège Renate Wesselingh – Louvain-la-Neuve

International representatives Pete Lowry – Missouri Botanical Garden, USA Michelle Price – Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques de la Ville de Genève, Switzerland Erik Smets – Naturalis The Netherlands

Representatives Botanic Garden Meise Elke Bellefroid Petra De Block Jérôme Degreef Régine Fabri

Secretary Steven Dessein

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Text : Botanic Garden Meise & BotanicalValues This report is also available in Dutch and French and can be downloaded from our website www.botanicgarden.be The Botanic Garden is supported by the Flemish Community and French Community Printed on recycled FSC labeled paper with plant-based inks, without ip alcohol or solvents.

© Botanic Garden Meise, 2017

Botanic Garden Meise Nieuwelaan 38, 1860 Meise

www.botanicgardenmeise.be