What is taxonomy?

I am reading this paper by Ungricht et al. (2005) and it points out the "importance of sound taxonomy... is a prerequisite in conservation evaluation in general." (page 221) There appears to be a trend whereby the estimates of endemicity would drop "after taxonomic revisions across major regions as those in the Flora Malesiana, encompassing several centres of endemism."

This sounds entirely logical, as there can only be two outcomes when one studies two sites of endemism. One is that he realizes many of the species that are studied by different individuals and are given different names are actually the same, the other, is that they're different. So the one doing the confirmation, I presume this is called taxonomic revision, would be the one who consolidates, compares and classifies. More likely than not, some species would be classified as the same species.

Is this why these revisional studies are so important? There has been revisional studies done for Asian, Australasian and African members of the Ficus genus but not yet any for the neotropical Ficus flora. Taxonomist like Vazquez Avila and Berg are currently working on the neotropical revisions (Berg 1989).

So what is taxonomy?

Genesis 2:19-20
Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field.

1 Kings 4:33
He(Solomon) described plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of walls. He also taught about animals and birds, reptiles and fish.

The naming and describing of life?

According to A Dictionary of Botany by George Usher (1966), taxonomy is " the science of classifying living things".

According to The Penguin Dictionary of Botany by Allen Lane (1984), taxonomy is "the study of the principles and practices of classification. The term taxonomy strictly applied to the study and description of variation in the natural world and the subsequent compilation of classifications...
In dealing with the flora of an area several phases can be recognized. The first phase is mainly concerned with identification and is sometimes referred to as exploratory or pioneer. Study of many tropical areas is still in this stage. Once material is better known and taxonomists have a good understanding of local and regional variation of the species it moves into the consolidation phase. These two phases are jointly described by some as 'alpha' taxonomy. Once cytological or biosystematic data are available these can be added to existing data. Taxonomy in which all available evidence is considered is described as the encyclopaedic phase or 'omega' taxonomy."

Ah, this is interesting right?

References

Berg, C.C. 1989. Classification and distribution of Ficus. Experientia 45:605-611

Ungricht, S., J. Rasplus and F. Kjellberg. 2005. Extinction threat evaluation of endemic fig trees of New Caledonia: priority assessment for taxonomy and conservation with herbarium collections. Biodiversity and Conservation 14: 205-232