The Integrated Screening Programme: Patterns of Ecological Specialization in British Species

The Integrated Screening Programme (ISP), a major part of the UCPB research programme during the period 1987-1994, applies standardised procedures for the ecological, physiological and biochemical characterisation of plant species, populations or cultivars. The objectives are: (1) to establish the range of variation in selected plant attributes; (2) to recognise recurring patterns of ecological and evolutionary specialisation; (3) to devise a functional classification of plants relevant to the analysis of communities and ecosystems and the management of vegetation .. To date, the programme has been confined largely to the herbaceous species from central northern Britain. Later, and in particular as part of the BC Human Capital and Mobility Programme, the ISP will be extended to both woody species and herbs from other climates, Recent developments include: an examination of a known plant community using multi-variate analysis of a balanced data set generated by the ISP; and the publication of a manual of laboratory methods, a compendium of UCPB screening techniques supplemented by contributions from institutions world wide.