Floristic composition of two 100 km super(2) reference sites in West African cultural landscapes

All non-cultivated, vascular plant species were recorded in two reference sites of each 100 km super(2) situated in traditionally managed agro-pastoral landscapes of the Sudanean and Sahelian zones of Burkina Faso, West Africa. The reference sites contained 421 and 267 species, respectively, of whic...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nordic journal of botany 2004-01, Vol.23 (1), p.99-114
Main Authors: Madsen, JE, Lykke, A M, Boussim, J, Guinko, S
Format: Article
Language:English
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:All non-cultivated, vascular plant species were recorded in two reference sites of each 100 km super(2) situated in traditionally managed agro-pastoral landscapes of the Sudanean and Sahelian zones of Burkina Faso, West Africa. The reference sites contained 421 and 267 species, respectively, of which 131 were common to the two sites. Although the reference sites are highly disturbed by human activity they harbour a significant proportion of the plant diversity of the regions due to a high heterogeneity within the sites. Thus, more than one fourth of the flora of Burkina Faso is found in the two reference sites that cover only 0.07% of the country area. The reference sites are characterized by a high percentage of species that are weedy (50-76%), widely distributed (African or pantropical distribution) (84-92%), and/or restricted to inundated areas (25-33%). The present case study emphasises the need to conserve wild species in cultural landscapes.
ISSN:0107-055X