Scientific Focus and Key Results
The natural environment of terrestrial ecosystems on Earth, aside from crucial abiotic factors, is fundamentally tied to vegetation as a producer of organic matter. Plants, with their diverse life forms, species richness, and geographical specialization, form the essential framework for the environment and for human existence. Research on the species and spatiotemporal diversity of plants is therefore one of the fundamental and key scientific tasks addressed at the Botanical Institute of the CBRB SAS.
Our research group focuses on creating databases that reflect the diversity of vascular plants in Slovakia, as well as on their taxonomic study using morphometric, karyological, chorological, and nomenclatural methods.
The group’s central output is the multi-volume work Flora of Slovakia / Flóra Slovenska, which presents results of fundamental research on the diversity of plants and fungi in Slovakia. It provides the latest data on endemic, relic, endangered, or extinct species, as well as information on newly spreading non-native and invasive plants. It also briefly covers species frequently cultivated in Slovakia (useful or ornamental), species erroneously reported from Slovakia, and species expected to occur here.
A work following Flora of Slovakia is The Small Flora of Slovakia – A Key to the Identification of Vascular Plants, which serves as a plant identification manual based on the latest taxonomic knowledge. We expect it to be published in future updated editions.
A current overview of species and infraspecific taxa of Slovakia’s vascular plants, together with important synonyms, is presented in the name database SlovPlantList.
The revised national nomenclature (vernacular names), including non-native vascular plant taxa, is presented and continuously updated in the Database of Slovak Botanical Names. The published outcome of this national nomenclature revision is the work Slovak Botanical Nomenclature – Vascular Plants.
Since 2024, we have been managing and expanding the web portal PLADIAS.SK – Database of Slovak Flora and Vegetation a publicly accessible database aimed at synthesizing floristic data from multiple sources. It aggregates occurrence records of wild and naturalized vascular plant taxa and, through distribution maps, provides an up-to-date view of their distribution in Slovakia. The database also serves as the foundation of a national biodiversity monitoring center linked to the European monitoring network.
The Laboratory of Biodiversity Informatics and Flora of Slovakia also operates the national node of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and coordinates Slovakia’s participation in the ESFRI project Distributed System of Scientific Collections (DiSSCo).
The activities of our research group are also connected with public outreach. Regularly organized floristic consultations, courses, and field excursions led by our staff are open not only to the scientific community but also to anyone interested in learning more about Slovak flora. In cooperation with the Slovak Botanical Society at Slovak Academy of Sciences, we also provide expert support for the project Slovak Flora on iNaturalist.
Through this citizen-science-based project, anyone can contribute to species mapping: recording their occurrence requires only a mobile phone or camera. Thanks to public participation in data collection, we often obtain valuable information about plant distribution, including from locations that would otherwise be difficult to survey due to time and capacity constraints.