The indiscriminate collections of Paphiopedilum species from the wild for their exotic ornamental flowers have rendered these plants endangered. Although the trade of these endangered species from the wild is strictly forbidden, it continues unabated in one or other forms that elude the current identification methods. DNA barcoding that offers identification of a species even if only a small fragment of the organism at any stage of development is available could be of great utility in scrutinizing the illegal trade of both endangered plant and animal species. Therefore, this study was undertaken to develop DNA barcodes of Indian species of Paphiopedilum along with their three natural hybrids using loci from both the chloroplast and nuclear genomes. The five loci tested for their potential as effective barcodes were RNA polymerase-β subunit (rpoB), RNA polymerase-β' subunit (rpoC1), Rubisco large subunit (rbcL) and maturase K (matK) from the chloroplast genome and nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (nrITS) from the nuclear genome. The intra- and inter-specific divergence values and species discrimination rates were calculated by Kimura 2 parameter (K2P) method using mega 4.0. The matK with 0.9% average inter-specific divergence value yielded 100% species resolution, thus could distinguish all the eight species of Paphiopedilum unequivocally. The species identification capability of these sequences was further confirmed as each of the matK sequences was found to be unique for the species when a blast analysis of these sequences was carried out on NCBI. nrITS, although had 4.4% average inter-specific divergence value, afforded only 50% species resolution. DNA barcodes of the three hybrids also reflected their parentage.

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A monitoring system using cmrse satellite data integrated into a geographic information system (CIS) has been developed to asses? the land cover change in Cambodia. This case study focuses (in thc awxsment of land cover variables involving the issues of deforestation, slash and burn practices and variation in !vater levels of the Tonle Sap lake. The baseline of the monitoring is defined from the comparison of the esisting maps. The NOAA AVHRR data provide the information on an annual basts for the vegetation variablc and every two months for the n.ater-lcvel variable. The main mapping outputs are an updated version of the evergrcen forest map and the niap of the burnt arcas of Cambodia. Valuable information has also bcen found at the scasonal and annual scale of the water-level change of the Tonic Sap.