Biodiversity of West African Forests: An Ecological Atlas of Woody Plant Species (Cabi Publishing)

Annotation. The rain forests of West Africa have been designated as one of the world's hotspots of biodiversity. They extend from Ghana to Senegal and are referred to as the Upper Guinean forests. Because of their isolated position, they harbour a large number of rare and endemic animal and plant species. This book focuses on the biodiversity and ecology of these forests. It analyses the factors that give rise to biodiversity and structure tropical plant communities. It also includes an atlas with ecological profiles of rare plant species and large timber species 1. West African Forests : Introduction / L. Poorter, F. Bongers And R. H. M. J. Lemmens -- 2. Forest Cover Changes In Cote D'ivoire And Upper Guinea / C. Chatelain, H. Dao, L. Gautier And R. Spichiger -- 3. Forest-savanna Transition In West Africa / L. Gautier And R. Spichiger -- 4. Forests Of Upper Guinea : Gradients In Large Species Composition / F. Bongers, L. Poorter And W. D. Hawthorne -- 5. Floristic Diversity Of Closed Forests In Cote D'ivoire / F. N. Kouame, K. E. Kouadio, K. Kouassi And L. Poorter -- 6. Biodiversity Hotspots In West Africa; Patterns And Causes / J. J. Wieringa And L. Poorter -- 7. What Explains The Distribution Of Rare And Endemic West African Plants? / M. Holmgren, L. Poorter And A. Siepel -- 8. Implications For Conservation And Management / F. Bongers, L. Poorter, V. Beligne, W. D. Hawthorne, F. N. Kouame, M. P. E. Parren And D. Traore -- 9. Ecological Profiles Of Rare And Endemic Species / M. Holmgren, L. Poorter, A. Siepel, F. Bongers, M. Buitelaar, C. Chatelain, L. Gautier, W. D. Hawthorne, A. T. F. Helmink, C. C. H. Jongkind, H. J. Os-breijer, J. J. Wieringa And A. R. Van Zoest -- 10. Ecological Profiles Of Large Timber Species / A. Siepel, L. Poorter And W. D. Hawthorne -- 11. Checklist Of Upper Guinea Forest Species / C. C. H. Jongkind -- App. 1. Colour Figures Chapter 2 : Forest Cover Changes In Cote D'ivoire And Upper Guinea -- App. 2. Forest Sites In Upper Guinea -- App. 3. Forest Reserves In Upper Guinea -- App. 4. Hotspots Of Plant Biodiversity In Upper Guinean Forests -- App. 5. Geographical Map Of West Africa. Edited By L. Poorter ... [et Al.]. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 507-516) And Indexes. This book focuses on the biodiversity and ecology of West African forests. The first part of the book includes 8 chapters which analyse the factors that give rise to biodiversity and structure tropical plant communities. It emphasizes the distribution and state of the forests and analyses vegetation gradients, determines hotspots of plant diversity, and treats distribution patterns of rare and endemic species in the Upper Guinean forests which extend from Senegal to Togo. The main part of the book is an atlas with ecological profiles of 280 rare and endemic plant species and 56 large timber species, each with a one-page entry including a coloured photograph and distribution map. This book will appeal to researchers working in forestry, biodiversity, plant ecology and conservation The rainforests of West Africa have been earmarked as one of the world's hotspots of biodiversity (Myers et al. 2000).