FIU's Orchid Team is working on the frontlines of conservation across the world’s biodiversity hotspots to save some of the world's most beautiful and imperiled flowers.

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Hong Liu 
Professor of Earth and Environment 

Liu is an ecologist with research interests in invasive species biology and conservation ecology. Her research areas include plant mating systems, population viability analysis and plant-animal interactions (seed dispersal, insect pollination and insect herbivory). Her current research addresses important environmental issues such as predicting horticultural plant naturalization, the ecological consequences of specialized invasive pollinator and invasive mutualism. She is also interested in rare plant restoration, especially endangered orchids. She leads several conservation and restoration research projects in a remote area in southwestern China where the first orchid nature preserve is situated. 

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Amir Khoddamzadeh
Assistant Professor of Earth and Environment

Khoddamzadeh's Conservation & Sustainable Horticulture Lab projects broadly covers how to integrate the science and the stakeholders' need to address the real challenges associated with climate change and species endangerment. This multidisciplinary research addresses a range of topics including in-vitro propagation (tissue culture) and gene-banking (cryopreservation) of the endangered plants, seed technology and biotechnology assessments, and optical non-destructive handheld sensor technology for sustainable water and fertilizer management of horticultural crops which is the very valuable practice for precision management decision making in botanic gardens, farms and nursery production.

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