Nature Atlas
Things this atlas does not know. Each entry is a question that specialists
have posed and not settled, recorded with what would actually resolve it and which
expertise the answer needs.
These are kept deliberately, rather than quietly omitted. An atlas that shows
only what it is sure of implies a confidence it has not earned, and the gaps are often where
the interesting work is. Several sit exactly where two fields fail to meet: identifying the
hyssop of the Hebrew Bible needs a botanist and a philologist of Biblical Hebrew, and neither
one settles it alone.
Grouped by the expertise recorded on each question, in the words the question itself uses. Most of these are held by a single question.
Showing 21 to 22 of 22 open questions, page 2 of 2.
Wetland ecology and remote sensing 1
Mesopotamian Marshes
How much of the historic Mesopotamian Marshes has actually been restored since 2003?
Open Mesopotamian Marshes
Why It Is Open The marshes were reduced to a small fraction of their pre-1990s extent by deliberate drainage, and reflooding has been underway since 2003, but published figures for the currently restored area diverge significantly by source and by year, and many describe the recovery only in relative terms (a share of the historic maximum) rather than a settled square-kilometer figure. Water flow from the Tigris and Euphrates, itself affected by upstream damming in Turkey, Syria and Iran and by regional drought, keeps changing the extent year to year rather than letting it settle.
What Would Settle It A current, dated satellite-derived wetland-extent survey, ideally repeated over consecutive years by the same methodology, published by a body such as UN Environment, the Iraqi government's own marshland restoration program, or a peer-reviewed remote-sensing study, would give a figure that can be cited with real confidence rather than the mixed and dated estimates currently circulating.
Expertise Needed Wetland ecology and remote sensing
Question posed in
UNESCO World Heritage Centre.
Not Yet Classified 1
Wild Silk Moth
What Is the IUCN Conservation Status of the Wild Silk Moth?
Open Wild Silk Moth
Why It Is Open The Wikipedia article on Bombyx mandarina, fetched live for this pass, carries no IUCN Red List conservation status; the species may be unassessed or assessed only in a specialist source not consulted here.
What Would Settle It An IUCN Red List entry, or a Lepidoptera-specific conservation assessment, naming a status for Bombyx mandarina.
Question posed in
Bombyx mandarina (Wikipedia).