FLOTROP, a massive contribution to plant diversity data for open ecosystems in northern tropical Africa

Taugourdeau, Simon; Daget, Philippe; Chatelain, Cyrille; Mathieu, Daniel; Juanes, Xavier; Huguenin, Johann; Ickowicz, Alexandre

doi:10.1038/s41597-019-0120-8

Cited by 18 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…In the savanna biome north of the forest, the resolution of continuous floristic turnover along climatic gradients into useful regions is achieved (region 2: Sudanian, 3: Sahel South, 4: Sahel North). This is likely due to the inclusion of a large floristic dataset from northern tropical Africa (Taugourdeau et al., 2019). Our very literal definition of tropical Africa as the area between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn has probably helped by defining both ends of the moisture gradient.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We analyse 533,383 records of 31,046 tropical African species and infraspecific taxa in 1,197 degree squares of tropical mainland Africa between 24°N and 24°S. To prepare the dataset, the TRAFRICA dataset (Marshall, Wieringa, & Hawthorne, 2016) was supplemented with the FLOTROP dataset (Taugourdeau et al., 2019) and the RAINBIO dataset (Dauby et al., 2016), and is the largest yet compiled for tropical Africa. Species names and synonymy follow the taxonomic backbone of the TRAFRICA database, derived initially from the tropical African section of the African Plants Database (Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques de la Ville de Genève and South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria, 2016).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We analyse 533,383 records of 31,046 tropical African species and infraspecific taxa in 1,197 degree squares of tropical mainland Africa between 24°N and 24°S. To prepare the dataset, the TRAFRICA dataset (Marshall, Wieringa, & Hawthorne, 2016) was supplemented with the FLOTROP dataset (Taugourdeau et al, 2019) and the RAINBIO dataset (Dauby et al, 2016), and is the largest yet com- The geographical resolution of the record was respected via the use of bounding boxes: unlikely coordinates were removed in favour of administrative polygon geolocation, and records which straddled one degree squares were dropped. Distribution data were summarized at the commonly used resolution of one degree square; the difference in area between the largest and smallest degree square is not large (8.8%).…”

Section: Species Distribution Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

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An interpolated biogeographical framework for tropical Africa using plant species distributions and the physical environment

Marshall

Wieringa

Hawthorne

2020

Journal of Biogeography

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AimExisting phytogeographical frameworks for tropical Africa lack either spatial completeness, unit definitions smaller than the regional scale or a quantitative approach. We investigate whether physical environmental variables can be used to interpolate floristically defined vegetation units, presenting an interpolated, hierarchical, quantitative phytogeographical framework for tropical Africa, which is compared to previously defined regions.LocationTropical mainland Africa 24°N to 24°S.Taxon31,046 vascular plant species and infraspecific taxa.MethodsWe calculate a betasim dissimilarity matrix from a comprehensive whole‐flora database of plant species distributions. We investigate environmental correlates of floristic turnover with local non‐metric multidimensional scaling. We derive a hierarchical biogeographical framework by clustering the dissimilarity matrix. The framework is modelled using a classification decision tree method and 12 physical environmental variables to interpolate and increase the resolution of the framework across the study region.ResultsFloristic turnover is related strongly to water availability and temperature, with smaller contributions from land cover, topographic ruggedness and lithology. Region can be predicted with 90% accuracy by the model. We define 19 regions and 99 districts. We find a novel arrangement of the arid regions. Regional subdivision within the savanna biome is supported with minor variation to borders. Within the forests of west and central Africa, our whole‐flora gridded regionalization supports the divisions identified by a previous analysis of trees only.Main conclusionsPhysical environmental variables can be used to predict floristically defined vegetation units with very high accuracy, and the approach could be pursued for other incompletely sampled taxa and areas outside of tropical Africa. Geographical coherence is higher than in previous quantitative phytoregional definitions. For most tropical African vascular plant species, we provide predictions of which species will occur within each mapped district and region of tropical Africa. The framework should be useful for future studies in ecology, evolution and conservation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We analyse 533,383 records of 31,046 tropical African species and infraspecific taxa in 1,197 degree squares of tropical mainland Africa between 24°N and 24°S. To prepare the dataset, the TRAFRICA dataset (Marshall, Wieringa, & Hawthorne, 2016) was supplemented with the FLOTROP dataset (Taugourdeau et al, 2019) and the RAINBIO dataset (Dauby et al, 2016), and is the largest yet com- The geographical resolution of the record was respected via the use of bounding boxes: unlikely coordinates were removed in favour of administrative polygon geolocation, and records which straddled one degree squares were dropped. Distribution data were summarized at the commonly used resolution of one degree square; the difference in area between the largest and smallest degree square is not large (8.8%).…”

Section: Species Distribution Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

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An interpolated biogeographical framework for tropical Africa using plant species distributions and the physical environment

Marshall

Wieringa

Hawthorne

2020

Journal of Biogeography

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“…Hence, in view of the diverse diet composition consumed by cattle over the course of the seasons in West Africa [72][73][74], determination of an appropriate value for Ym is clearly important for estimating the expected enteric methane emission factor using the IPCC 2006 Tier 2 approach.…”

Section: Importance Of Input Parametersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of Inputs Parameters Used to Estimate Enteric Methane Emission Factors Applying a Tier 2 Model: Case Study of Native Cattle in Senegal

Ndao¹

2022

Veterinary Medicine and Science

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In the context of the Paris Agreement, and considering the importance of methane emissions from cattle in West Africa, application of a Tier 2 method to estimate enteric methane emission factors is clearly pertinent. The current study has two purposes. Firstly, it aims to detect how much each input parameter contributes to the overall uncertainty of enteric methane emission factors for cattle. Secondly, it aims to identify which input parameters require additional research efforts for strengthening the evidence base, thus reducing the uncertainty of methane enteric emission factors. Uncertainty and sensitivity analysis methodologies were applied to input parameters in the calculation of enteric methane emission factors for lactating cows and adult male Senegalese native cattle using the IPCC Tier 2 model. The results show that the IPCC default input parameters, such as the coefficient for calculating net energy for maintenance (Cfi), digestible energy (DE) and the methane conversion rate (Ym) are the first, second and third most important input parameters, respectively, in terms of their contribution to uncertainty of the enteric methane emission factor. Sensitivity analysis demonstrated that future research in Senegal should prioritize the development of Ym, Cfi and DE in order to estimate enteric methane emission factors more accurately and to reduce the uncertainty of the national agricultural greenhouse gas inventory.

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“…For example, for a widespread species like M. micrantha , GBIF has only 15 records from India which can be certainly improved by including personal observations, research data and herbaria information. If collected, this information would help in achieving a higher data resolution, as demonstrated by the FLOTROP database on plant diversity of northern Africa by including locally available information with the existing data in GBIF [70]. While we will work towards curating occurrence records from the published literature (ILORA_Occurrence.csv), it may not be possible for us to capture the vast information stored in local herbaria and reports in vernacular languages.…”

Section: Data Accessibilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

ILORA: A database of alien vascular flora of India

Pant

Patwardhan

Patil

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Plant invasions pose an unprecedented threat to biodiversity and ecosystems at different spatial scales, especially for a biodiversity-rich developing nation like India. While country-level checklists are considered as the first step for effective management of plant invasions, databases having biological and ecological attributes of these plant species are of paramount importance for facilitating research activities and developing policy interventions concerning alien plant invasion in a country or region. Though checklists with the names and basic details of alien plant species are available for India, a database aggregating attributes relevant to the understanding of the invasion continuum is lacking. We have curated data for 13 variables related to ecology, biogeography, introduction history, socio-economy and environmental niche of 1747 alien vascular plant species from 22 national and global sources to produce the Indian Alien Flora Information (ILORA) version 1.0 database. This paper describes the detailed methodology of curating these data along with the logic behind selecting these variables to be included in the database. The database, first of its kind for the Indian alien flora, will provide easy access to high quality data, offer a ready reference to comprehend the existing scenario of alien plant species in the country and provide opportunities to identify, scrutinize and prioritize the management of these species. The database is dynamic and will be continuously updated with the availability of new data. It has the provision for bidirectional information exchange with the users, which will allow increasing the resolution of the database as well as the expansion of its capacity. All data will be associated with the source information and ILORA will encourage users to refer to the primary sources to give the contributors full credit and acknowledgement. The database is, therefore, envisaged to become a nationwide collaborative platform for a wide spectrum of stakeholders involving the scientific community, citizens, and policymakers. ILORA is freely accessible via an online data repository as well as through a dedicated website (https://ilora2020.wixsite.com/ilora2020).

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FLOTROP, a massive contribution to plant diversity data for open ecosystems in northern tropical Africa

Cited by 18 publications

References 11 publications

An interpolated biogeographical framework for tropical Africa using plant species distributions and the physical environment

An interpolated biogeographical framework for tropical Africa using plant species distributions and the physical environment

Analysis of Inputs Parameters Used to Estimate Enteric Methane Emission Factors Applying a Tier 2 Model: Case Study of Native Cattle in Senegal

ILORA: A database of alien vascular flora of India

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