Martin Cheek

Summary

I lead the Africa and Madagascar team within Kew’s Identification and Naming department. We undertake fundamental taxonomic research and botanical inventories of underexplored areas, resulting in the discovery of hundreds of species new to science, the publication of baseline taxonomic treatments and the evaluation of the conservation status of thousands of species. We are also responsible for curating a large portion of Kew's Herbarium collections. Immediate beneficiaries of our work include government agencies and non-governmental organisations designating and managing protected areas as well as land managers in the extractive industries tasked with mitigating their impacts on biodiversity rich areas. Long-term beneficiaries include all those wishing to understand, conserve and use the plants of Africa and Madagascar.

My own research is focussed on the floristics of West and Congolian Africa, especially Cameroon and Guinea.

Biodiversity Conservation Biology Environmental Impacts Evolutionary Studies Forestry Freshwater Biology Plant Science Science Policy Taxonomy