The botany team at Selby Gardens have conducted over 200 expeditions into some of the world’s most remote areas. One of the latest crusades led them into a 425’ sinkhole in Belize. Bruce Holst, Director of Botany shares the mystery of this unexplored world beneath the earth’s surface.
Earlier this year, I joined an international team for a descent into the Nohoch Ch’en Sinkhole in Belize, one of the most biologically diverse and difficult to access natural environments in the country. This project perfectly aligned with our mission at Selby Gardens to understand, conserve and bring awareness to threatened and endangered wild ecosystems in the tropical world. We were honored to play a role in the discoveries that helped showcased the historical significance of this special place.
The team included staff from Caves Branch Botanical Gardens in Belize, the Belize Forest Department, and the Friends for Conservation Development. The 10-day expedition marked the first step in a year-long process to gather and document botanical specimens. Major logistical planning and funding for the expedition was provided by Eco Tourism outfitters and lodge, Mountain Equestrian Trails.
The sinkholes in the area sit atop the Chiquibul Cave System, the largest in Belize and the longest in Central America. The entire region is a veritable treasure chest of botanical, geological, and archeological wonders. The area has been a recent source of political tensions and conflict with neighboring Guatemala due to trespassing activity that threatens the region – specifically habitat degradation, fire damage, illegal logging, hunting, and looting of artifacts.
During the 10-day expedition, we acquired the first scientifically documented botanical collection of over 400 specimens, from the sinkhole area. This provides a baseline for further studies that will assist in the conservation of the Chiquibul wilderness.
Since the Mayan, some 1500 years ago, the only other known descent into the hole was by a group of British and Belizean explorers in 2000. While their trip was of shorter duration and did not yield biological collections, they painted a picture in their report summary of what would be found, including the presence of numerous epiphytic plants, which our team was able to confirm.
We look forward to returning at other times to continue exploration of this vast area and document flowering plants in other seasons. To learn more about this work, join us for a presentation on Thursday, April 16 at Selby Gardens. For more information, visit s33944.p20.sites.pressdns.com.