African vegetation studies: introduction to a Special Collection

By

Guuroh, Reginald T.
Brown, Leslie R.
Álvarez, Miguel
Finckh, Manfred
Schmiedel, Ute
Tsheboeng, Gaolathe
Dengler, Jürgen

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2024-12-23

Original Publication

Vegetation classification and survey

Volume

5

Pages

279--288

Subjects

Africa , editorial , International Association for Vegetation Science ( , Phytosociology , Remote sensing , Vegetation classification , vegetation map , vegetation-plot database

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia Pensoft Publishers 2020-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/VCS.143360

 

Abstract

Abstract: This editorial introduces the Special Collection of “African Vegetation Studies”. The collection includes seven research papers from four African countries. One paper examines the impact of traditional agro-ecosystems on plant diversity in Morocco. In Benin, one research paper focuses on vegetation associations in a biosphere reserve, and another is on land cover changes on inselbergs. In Namibia, one paper provides a syntaxonomic description of the Karstveld vegetation, while another models potential vegetation changes along a south-north rainfall gradient. Two papers present research on vegetation classification and descriptions of two natural areas in South Africa, namely the Tankwa Karoo National Park and the Telperion Nature Reserve. The collection demonstrates that there are important classification studies ongoing in different parts of the continent to better understand the diversity and complexity of African vegetation. At the same time our mini-review of the current status of vegetation classification and vegetation-plot databases in Africa highlights that much work remains to be done to achieve a comprehensive and internationally consistent vegetation classification for the countries of Africa, which would be beneficial for land use management, biodiversity conservation and ecological research.<br> Abbreviations: EVA = European Vegetation Archive; EVS = European Vegetation Survey; GDP = Gross Domestic Product; IAVS = International Association for Vegetation Science; IAVS-AS = IAVS Regional Section for Africa; VCS = Vegetation Classification and Survey.