The Laboratory of Flora and Geobotany is the main botanical diversity research centre in the country, having a long history and traditions. The laboratory is involved in the development of new directions in the study of vegetation in Lithuania according to modern paradigms and the newest methods.
Research objects are vascular plants, bryophytes, charophytes and their communities, which form vegetation complexes of the hemiboreal zone of European importance.
Research on flora includes studies on the functional traits, populations and distribution of native and alien plants, using a variety of methods (taxonomic, anatomical, morphological, genetic, population, plant cartography using GIS, etc.).
Studies on plant communities are performed in key habitats such as forests, grasslands, wetlands, sands, flowing and standing water bodies and human-made ecosystems. Studies on vegetation focus on the syntaxonomic composition of communities, their structure and functions in response to changing environmental conditions and the pattern of economic activity. Studies are performed using both classical methods of vegetation research and remote sensing, involving unmanned aerial vehicles or satellite imagery.
The empirical and analytical data collected by the laboratory contributes to European vegetation surveys, synopses and scientific papers. They are used as a basis for the improvement of the national system of biodiversity conservation and for the compilation of lists of protected taxa and invasive organisms.
The laboratory maintains the herbarium of vascular plants (BILAS), has developed and manages biodiversity databases: phytosociological relevés of Lithuanian vegetation (EU-LT-001), distribution of habitats of European importance (BIGIS), alien and invasive plants (INVA), and in situ soil temperatures (soilTemp-LT).
