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Exploring the floristic diversity of tropical Africa

dc.contributor.authorSosef, M.S.M.
dc.contributor.authorDauby, G.
dc.contributor.authorBlach-Overgaard, A.
dc.contributor.authorBurgt, X. van der
dc.contributor.authorCatarino, L.
dc.contributor.authorDamen, T.
dc.contributor.authorDeblauwe, V.
dc.contributor.authorDessein, S.
dc.contributor.authorDransfield, J.
dc.contributor.authorDroissart, V.
dc.contributor.authorDuarte, M.C.
dc.contributor.authorEngledow, H.
dc.contributor.authorFadeur, G.
dc.contributor.authorFigueira, R.
dc.contributor.authorGereau, R.E.
dc.contributor.authorHardy, O.J.
dc.contributor.authorHarris, D.J.
dc.contributor.authorHeij, J. de
dc.contributor.authorJanssens, S.
dc.contributor.authorKlomberg, Y.
dc.contributor.authorLey, A.C.
dc.contributor.authorMackinder, B.A.
dc.contributor.authorMeerts, P.
dc.contributor.authorPoel, J.L. van de
dc.contributor.authorSonké, B.
dc.contributor.authorStévart, T.
dc.contributor.authorStoffelen, P.
dc.contributor.authorSvenning, J.C.
dc.contributor.authorSepulchre, P.
dc.contributor.authorZaiss, R.
dc.contributor.authorWieringa, J.J.
dc.contributor.authorCouvreur, T.L.P.
dc.date.accessioned2019-12-04T11:07:56Z
dc.date.available2019-12-04T11:07:56Z
dc.date.issued2017-03-07
dc.identifier.citationSosef, M.S., Dauby, G., Blach-Overgaard, A., van der Burgt, X., Catarino, L., Damen, T., ... & Duarte, M. C. (2017). Exploring the floristic diversity of tropical Africa. BioMed Central Biology, 15(1), 1-23.
dc.identifier.issn1741-7007
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12478/1655
dc.descriptionOpen Access Journal; Published online: 7 March 2017
dc.description.abstractBackground: Understanding the patterns of biodiversity distribution and what influences them is a fundamental pre-requisite for effective conservation and sustainable utilisation of biodiversity. Such knowledge is increasingly urgent as biodiversity responds to the ongoing effects of global climate change. Nowhere is this more acute than in species-rich tropical Africa, where so little is known about plant diversity and its distribution. In this paper, we use RAINBIO – one of the largest mega-databases of tropical African vascular plant species distributions ever compiled – to address questions about plant and growth form diversity across tropical Africa. Results: The filtered RAINBIO dataset contains 609,776 georeferenced records representing 22,577 species. Growth form data are recorded for 97% of all species. Records are well distributed, but heterogeneous across the continent. Overall, tropical Africa remains poorly sampled. When using sampling units (SU) of 0.5°, just 21 reach appropriate collection density and sampling completeness, and the average number of records per species per SU is only 1.84. Species richness (observed and estimated) and endemism figures per country are provided. Benin, Cameroon, Gabon, Ivory Coast and Liberia appear as the botanically best-explored countries, but none are optimally explored. Forests in the region contain 15,387 vascular plant species, of which 3013 are trees, representing 5–7% of the estimated world’s tropical tree flora. The central African forests have the highest endemism rate across Africa, with approximately 30% of species being endemic. Conclusions: The botanical exploration of tropical Africa is far from complete, underlining the need for intensified inventories and digitization. We propose priority target areas for future sampling efforts, mainly focused on Tanzania, Atlantic Central Africa and West Africa. The observed number of tree species for African forests is smaller than those estimated from global tree data, suggesting that a significant number of species are yet to be discovered. Our data provide a solid basis for a more sustainable management and improved conservation of tropical Africa’s unique flora, and is important for achieving Objective 1 of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation 2011–2020.
dc.description.sponsorshipFondation pour la recherche sur la biodiversité
dc.format.extent1-23
dc.language.isoen
dc.subjectTropical Forests
dc.subjectPlant Growth Forms
dc.subjectBotanical Composition
dc.subjectClimate Change
dc.subjectHerbarium Specimens
dc.subjectDigitization
dc.subjectBotanical Exploration
dc.subjectSpecies Richness
dc.subjectFloristic Patterns
dc.titleExploring the floristic diversity of tropical Africa
dc.typeJournal Article
dc.description.versionPeer Review
cg.contributor.affiliationBotanic Garden Meise, Belgium
cg.contributor.affiliationUniversité de Montpellier
cg.contributor.affiliationAarhus University
cg.contributor.affiliationRoyal Botanic Gardens, UK
cg.contributor.affiliationUniversity of Lisbon
cg.contributor.affiliationWageningen University and Research Centre
cg.contributor.affiliationInternational Institute of Tropical Agriculture
cg.contributor.affiliationUniversité Libre de Bruxelles
cg.contributor.affiliationUniversidade do Porto
cg.contributor.affiliationMissouri Botanical Garden
cg.contributor.affiliationRoyal Botanic Gardens, UK
cg.contributor.affiliationNaturalis Biodiversity Center
cg.contributor.affiliationCharles University, Czech Republic
cg.contributor.affiliationUniversity Halle-Wittenberg
cg.contributor.affiliationUniversité de Yaoundé I
cg.contributor.affiliationUniversité de Paris-Saclay
cg.coverage.regionAfrica
cg.coverage.regionEast Africa
cg.coverage.regionWest And Central Africa
cg.coverage.countryBenin
cg.coverage.countryCameroon
cg.coverage.countryCote D'Ivoire
cg.coverage.countryGabon
cg.coverage.countryLiberia
cg.coverage.countryTanzania
cg.isijournalISI Journal
cg.authorship.typesCGIAR and advanced research institute
cg.iitasubjectBiodiversity
cg.journalBioMed Central Biology
cg.howpublishedFormally Published
cg.accessibilitystatusOpen Access
local.dspaceid82782
cg.targetaudienceScientists
cg.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12915-017-0356-8


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