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A phytogeographic analysis of the woody elements of New World savannas

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 April 2010

J. C. Lenthall
Affiliation:
Forest Research, Northern Research Station, Roslin, Midlothian EH25 9SY, UK.
S. Bridgewater
Affiliation:
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, 20A Inverleith Row, Edinburgh EH3 5LR, UK.
P. A. Furley
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, University of Edinburgh, Drummond Street, Edinburgh EH8 9XP, UK.
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Abstract

An analysis was made of the floristic composition of 45 savanna sites located throughout the southern neoarctic and neotropics. A total of 533 woody species were recorded from published and reliable unpublished floristic lists; of these, 234 species (44%) were from 10 Brazilian cerrado sites, with 187 (80%) of them restricted to the cerrado biome. The cerrados were clearly shown to be the most diverse New World savanna system with a high degree of endemism. The data were analysed using two multivariate techniques: TWINSPAN and DCA. Four phytogeographic zones were identified: Central Brazil and Bolivia extending to Southern Amazonia; north of Amazonia extending across the isthmus of Central America and including the Caribbean; Belize, Guatemala and Southern Mexico; and north of the Mexican Plateau. The analyses revealed gradients of floristic variation associated with latitude and longitude, and showed the great heterogeneity of savanna vegetation.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Trustees of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh 1999

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