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Robbert Gradstein was born in The Netherlands in 1943. He attended the University of Utrecht where he obtained a Ph.D. in botany in 1975 on his dissertation "A taxonomic monograph of the genus Acrolejeunea (Hepaticae)". He has been on the teaching staff in the Botany Department of the University of Utrecht since 1969 and has been a curator of the Herbarium of that university since 1976. Furthermore, he has held positions as a graduate research assistant at the University of Cincinnati, U.S.A. during 1970-71, as a Fullbright Fellow at the University of Colorado in 1976, as a JSPS fellow at the National Science Museum, Tokyo in 1979, and as a Professor in Tropical Botany at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor during 1986-87. He has been a Research Associate of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama since 1993. In 1995 he became a Full Professor of Botany and Director of the Herbarium and Botanical Garden of the University of Göttingen, Germany, a position which he held until his retirement in 2009. Since October 2010 he works at the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris as an honorary research associate.

Robbert Gradstein's research interests include the systematics of early land plants, especially liverworts (bryophytes), and flora and vegetation of the Tropics, including human-induced impact on biodiversity. He had done research in tropical America and Southeast Asia, has directed 32 dissertations and numerous research projects, and has published more than 400 research papers and 15 books. Together with Steven P. Churchill (Missouri Bot. Garden) and Noris Salazar Allen (Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute) he is an author of the "Guide to the Bryophytes of Tropical America" (2001). With Rodrigo Bernal and Marcela Celis (Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Bogotá) he is an editor of the "Catalogue of the Plants and Lichens of Colombia" (2015).

Professor Gradstein is a member of the Academy of Sciences of Göttingen and the Academia Colombiana de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. He is a founder and former secretary and president of the International Association of Bryologists, editor of Bryophytorum Bibliotheca and a founding editor of the journal Tropical Bryology. He has furthermore been a Deputy-Director and Editor of the Organization for Flora Neotropica (UNESCO) during 1987-2005, and Editor-in-Chief of the journal TAXON of the International Association of Plant Taxonomists during 2005-2011. Since 2011 he is the editor of the series Regnum Vegetabile, which publishes a.o. the "Code of Botanical Nomenclature".

Robbert Gradstein has been awarded the Jesse M. Greenman Award of the Missouri Botanical Garden in 1975 for best dissertation in systematics, the Prix Augustin-Pyramus de Candolle of the Societé de Physique et d'Histoire Naturelle de Genève in 1994 for his monographic work on liverworts, and the first "Fundraising Prize" of the University of Göttingen (2005) for his directorship of the Botanical Garden of Göttingen. In 2013 he received the Hedwig Medal of the International Association of Bryologists for lifelong achievement in bryology.

Robbert Gradstein is also a talented violoncellist and has performed in numerous concerts in the Netherlands and Germany, and elsewhere. With the "Zara Trio" (piano, violin, violoncello) he has been a winner of the National Chamber Music Competition of the Netherlands for non-professionals in 1986 and 1990. He has made recordings of works of Mozart, Debussy, Farrenc, Martinu, von Weber and other composers.


Selected publications 2008-2015

  • Bernal R., S.R. Gradstein S.R., Celis M. (eds.) (2015) Catálogo de plantas y líquenes de Colombia. Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá. catalogoplantascolombia.unal.edu.co
  • Gradstein SR (2015) An overview of the genus Schiffneriolejeunea. Nova Hedwigia
  • Gradstein S.R. (2015) Annotated key to the species of Plagiochila from Brazil. Pesquisas Botanica
  • Gradstein SR, Ilkiu-Borges AL (2015) A taxonomic monograph of the genus Odontoschisma. Nova Hedwigia 100: 16-100
  • Shi XQ, Gradstein SR, Zhu RL (2015) Phylogeny and taxonomy of Archilejeunea (Spruce) Steph. based on molecular markers and morphology. TAXON
  • Shi XQ, Gradstein SR, Zhu RL (2015) Type studies in Archilejeunea: six new synonyms and one new combination. Phytotaxa 195: 248-250

2014

  • Aranda S, Gradstein SR, Patiño J, Laenen B, Désamoré A, Patiño J, Vanderpoorten A (2014) Phylogeny, classification and species delimitation in the liverwort genus Odontoschisma. TAXON 63: 1008-1025
  • Gradstein SR, Benitez A (2014) A second locality for the critically endangered Colura irrorata in the Ecuadorian Andes. Journal of Bryology 36: 151-155
  • Gradstein SR, Benitez A (2014) Two new taxa of leafy liverworts from Cerro Plateado, Cordillera del Cóndor, Ecuador. Nova Hedwigia 99: 111-118
  • Gradstein SR, Laenen B, Frahm JP, Schwarz U, Crandall-Stotler BJ, Engel JJ, von Konrat M, Stotler RE, Shaw B, Shaw AJ (2014) On the taxonomic status of the enigmatic Phycolepidoziaceae with description of a new species, Phycolepidozia indica. TAXON 63: 498-508
  • Laenen B, Shaw B, Schneider H, Goffinet B, Gradstein SR et al. (16 authors) (2014) Bryophytes diversified slowly but surely since the mid-Mesozoic. Nature Communications 5(5134) Doi:10.1038/ncomms6134
  • Lee GE, Gradstein SR, Damanhuri A, Latiff A (2014) New and neglected taxonomic features in the genus Lejeunea. Polish Journal of Botany 59: 31-36
  • Obregón A, Gehrig-Downie C, Gradstein SR, Bendix J (2014) The potential distribution of tropical lowland cloud forest as revealed by a novel MODIS-based fog/low stratus night-time detection scheme. Remote Sensing and Environment 155: 312-324
  • Sukkharak P, Gradstein SR (2014) A taxonomic revision of the genus Mastigolejeunea. Nova Hedwigia 99: 279-345
  • Wang J, Gradstein SR, Zhu RL (2014) New synonymy in Ptychanthus striatus. Phytotaxa 158: 195-200
  • Wang J, Gradstein SR, Shi XQ, Zhu RL (2014) Phylogenetic position of Trocholejeunea and a new infrageneric classification of Acrolejeunea. Bryophyte Diversity and Evolution 36: 31-44
  • Wang J, Gradstein SR, Cheng CF, Zhu RL (2014) A new species of Trocholejeunea from China. Phytotaxa 158: 195-200
  • Wei YW, Zhu RL, Gradstein SR (2014) On Lejeunea huctumalcensis and the resurrection of Otigoniolejeunea. Phytotaxa 162: 236-238

2013

  • Gehrig-Downie C, Obregón A, Bendix J, Gradstein SR (2013) Diversity and vertical distribution of epiphytic liverworts in lowland rain forest and lowland cloud forest of French Guiana. Journal of Bryology 35: 243-254
  • Gradstein SR (2013) Von den Alpen zu den Anden: Beiträge zur Geobotanik aus der Göttinger Akademie. Geschichte der Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen 1: 215-222
  • Gradstein SR (2013) A classification of Lejeuneaceae (Marchantiophyta) based on molecular and morphological evidence. Phytotaxa 100: 6-20
  • Gradstein SR (2013) Afro-American hepatics revisited. Polish Journal of Botany 58: 149-177
  • Gradstein SR (2013) Auswirkungen von Landnützungsänderungen auf Epiphyten im Tropenwald. Verlag Friedrich Pfeil, Munich
  • Lee GE, Gradstein SR (2013) Distribution and habitats of Lejeunea species from Malaysia. Polish Botanical Journal 58: 59-69
  • León-Yánez S, Gradstein SR, Castillo J, Moscoso-Estrella A, H. Navarrete H (2013) Guía de briofitas comunes de Los Andes de Quito. Herbario QCA, Quito
  • Patiño J, Guilhaumon F, Whittaker RJ, Triantis KA, Gradstein SR, Hedenäs L, González-Mancebo JM, Vanderpoorten A (2013) Accounting for data heterogeneity in patterns of biodiversity: An application of linear mixed models to the oceanic island biogeography of spore–producing plants. Ecography 36: 904-913

2012

  • Gehrig-Downie C, Marquardt J, Obregón A, Bendix J, Gradstein SR (2012) Epiphyte diversity and vertical distribution of filmy ferns as a tool for identifying tropical lowland cloud forest. Ecotropica 17: 53-44
  • Gradstein SR (2012) An overview of the genus Marchesinia. Polish Botanical Journal 57: 69-79
  • Gradstein SR, Kerp H (2012) A Short History of Plants on Earth. In: F.M. Gradstein et al. (eds.), The Geological Time Scale. Elsevier
  • Pardow A, Gehrig-Downie C, Gradstein SR, Lakatos M (2012) Funtional diversity of bryophytes in two tropical lowland forests from French Guiana. Biodiversity and Conservation 21: 3637–3655
  • Pichonet A, Gradstein SR (2012) Male dwarfism in the genus Dicranum. Cryptogamie Bryologie 32: 29-36
  • Vanderpoorten A, Désamoré A, Laenen B, Gradstein SR (2012) Striking autapomorphic evolution in Physotheca J.J. Engel & Gradst. blurred its actual relationships with Leptoscyphus Mitt. Journal of Bryology 34: 251-256

2011

  • Bach K, Gradstein SR (2011) A comparison of six methods to detect altitudinal belts of vegetation in tropical mountains. Ecotropica 17: 1-13
  • Devos N, Renner M, Gradstein SR, Shaw AJ, Laenen B, Vanderpoorten A (2011) Evolutionary significance and trade-offs in life history traits in Radula. New Phytologist 192: 225-236
  • Gehrig-Downie C, Obregón A, Bendix J, Gradstein SR (2011) Epiphyte biomass and canopy microclimate in the tropical lowland cloud forest of French Guiana. Biotropica 43: 591-596
  • Gradstein SR (2011) Guide to the Liverworts and Hornworts of Java. Bogor, 150 pp.
  • Gradstein SR, Ilkiu-Borges A-L, Vanderpoorten A (2011) Habitat specialization triggers the evolution of unusual morphologies: the case of Cololejeunea stotleriana sp. nov. from Ecuador. The Bryologist 114: 9-22
  • Jácome J, Gradstein SR, Kessler M (2011) Response of epiphytic bryophyte communities to simulated climate change in the Tropics. In: Bryophyte Ecology and Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, p. 191-210
  • Ludwickzuk A, Gradstein SR, Nagashima F, Asakawa Y (2011) Chemosystematics of Porella. Natural Products Communications 6: 315-321
  • Thouvenot L, Gradstein SR, Hagborg A, Söderström L, Bardat J (2011) Checklist of the liverworts and hornworts of New Caledonia. Cryptogamie Bryologie 32: 287-390
  • Werner FA, Köster N, Kessler M, Gradstein SR (2011) Is the resilience of epiphytic assemblages to human disturbance a function of local climate? Ecotropica 17: 15-20

2010

  • Costa DP, Almeida J, Santos Dias N, Gradstein SR, Churchill SP (2010) Manual de Briologia. Intersciência, 207 pp.
  • Désamoré A, Vanderpoorten A, Laenen B, Gradstein SR, Kok P (2010) Biogeography of the Lost World. Phytotaxa 9: 254-265
  • Gradstein SR, Sporn SG (2010) Diversity of epiphytic bryophytes along land use gradients in the Tropics. Nova Hedwigia Beiheft 138: 309-321
  • Martinson GO, Werner FA, Scherber C, Conrad R, Flessa H, Wolf K, Corre MD, Klose M, Gradstein SR, Veldkamp E (2010) Tank bromeliads: Methane producing canopy wetlands in neotropical forests. Nature, Geoscience 3: 766-769

2009

  • Elsner N, Fritz HJ, Gradstein SR, Reitner J (2009) Evolution - Zufall und Zwangsläufigkeit der Schöpfung. Wallstein Verlag, 456 pp.
  • Gradstein SR, Ilkiu-Borges AL (2009) Guide to the Plants of Central French Guiana: Liverworts and Hornworts. Memoirs of the New York Botanical Garden 76,4: 1-140
  • Gradstein SR, Schwerdtfeger M (2009) Blüten der Gelehrsamkeit: Hallers Garten in europäischer Perspektive. In: Albrecht von Haller im Göttingen der Aufklärung. Wallstein Verlag, p. 183-206
  • Mota de Oliveira S, ter Steege H, Cornelissen JHC, Gradstein SR (2009) Epiphytic bryophyte communities in the Guianas are niche-assembled. Journal of Biogeography 36: 2076-2084
  • Vanderpoorten A, Gradstein SR, Carine MA, Devos N (2009) The ghosts of Gondwana and Laurasia in modern liverwort distributions. Biological Reviews 85: 471–487
  • Wolf J, Gradstein SR, Nadkarni NM (2009) A protocol for sampling vascular epiphyte richness and abundance. Journal of Tropical Ecology 25: 107-121

2008

  • Gradstein SR, Homeier J, Gansert D (2008) The tropical mountain forest. Universitätsverlag, Gotinga, 219 pp.
  • Gradstein SR, Kessler M, Lehnert M, Abiy M, Mandl N, Makeschin F, Richter M (2008) Vegetation, climate and soil of the unique Purdiaea forest of southern Ecuador. Ecotropica 14: 15-26
  • Homeier J, Werner FA, Breckle S-W, Gradstein SR, Richter M (2008) Potential vegetation and floristic composition of Andean forests in South Ecuador. Ecological Studies 198: 87-100
  • Nöske N, Hilt N, Werner F, Brehm G, Fiedler K, Sipman HJ, Gradstein SR (2008) Disturbance effects on diversity of epiphytes and moths in a montane forest in Ecuador. Basic and Applied Ecology 9: 4-12
  • Werner F, Gradstein SR (2008) Diversity of epiphytes of tropical dry forest across a gradient of human disturbance in the Andes of Ecuador. Journal of Vegetation Sci. 20: 59-68