ASU professor co-authored a scientific work on world’s lycophytes and ferns

Journal of Systematics and Evolution is a respected academic periodical indexed in global citation databases (impact factor: 1.134). On 7 November 2016 the journal announced the issue of monographic fundamental work that combined all the known facts about the systematics of lycophytes and ferns titled “A community-derived classification for extant lycophytes and ferns”.

This landmark publication, comprising 300 pages in total, is a joint result of 65 leading specialists from all over the world, including Professor of the Department of Botany, Director of South-Siberian Botanic Garden Alexander I. Shmakov, who is the only Russian representative. The academic work gives information on classification of 11,916 species in 337 genera, 51 families, 14 orders and 2 classes of extant lycophytes and ferns.

A.I. Shmakov was responsible for taxonomy of several fern groups, with Cystopteridaceae family among them, which had been described by the professor in 2001 in academic botanical journal Turczaninowia published by Altai State University.

It ought to be noted that Alexander I. Shmakov has an extensive experience in making publications in such outstanding journals. Thus, he co-authored the volume dedicated to the pteridophytes of China. The Director of the Botanic Garden has also been collaborating with the world’s prominent pteridologists (Dr. Harald Schneider, Dr. Ronnie Viane, etc.) for a long time by conducting joint research and participating in expeditions to Europe, Asia, Africa and Altai.