In November 2024, a group of Garden scientists began exploring one of the least-known areas of Madagascar: a forgotten tsingy.
The goal of the field expedition was to better understand plants growing exclusively in this geographical range.
What is a tsingy and why are the plants growing there Important?
Tsingys are karstic environments defined by complex structures of nearly vertical walls and deep crevasses. These structures formed through the dissolution of limestone over time from precipitation.
The Malagasy word tsingy translates to “where one cannot walk barefoot” or “walking on tiptoe.”
As a result of the formation process, tsingys have little soil for plants to grow in. These plants have adapted in unique ways to survive in these harsh environments.
The Garden has a special interest in the flora of tsingy, with many of the plants believed to be endemic to the area.
Finding a forgotten tsingy and Exploring Endemic Plant DNA
Last November, a team from the Garden’s William L. Brown Center set out on a field expedition to explore one of the less well-known Malagasy tsingy and collect specimens there.
The team consisted of Armand Randrianasolo, Fortunat Rakotoarivony, and Tefy Andriamihajarivo. Dr. Eric DeChaine of Western Washington University joined the group on the expedition.
The two-day field trip revealed that there was indeed a tsingy-like range southwest of the Analavelona conservation area managed by the Garden.
The team collected plant samples and gathered preliminary data that will be part of a larger project to understand endemic plants.
“Our next steps are to incorporate the data from these collections into a large dataset of all plants occurring in the tsingys, to identify species that are potentially of conservation concern and help us better understand how the flora occurring in these unique geologic formations arose,” said Alexander Linan, a Garden scientist working on the project with Patricia Barbara Sanchez.
“We aim to sequence the DNA of species in these environments to learn how and when species gained some of the remarkable traits needed to thrive in the tsingy.”
A unique habitat at risk
Alongside the data and specimens collected on the trip, the field expedition also gave researchers a disheartening view of the tsingy’s future.
Because of activities like burning and logging in the surrounding communities, the endemic plants growing here are at risk of being lost.
“Conservation actions to protect what remains of the vegetation of this southern tsingy should be implemented as soon as possible,” reported Randrianasolo. “Otherwise, the irreversible loss of biodiversity in this magnificent ecosystem is inevitable.”
Jessika Eidson | Public Information Officer
Thanks to Armand Randrianasolo, Senior Curator at the Brown Center, and Alexander Linan, Assistant Scientist with the Garden’s Africa and Madagascar Program.
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